Marta Gorgula | Freelance Researcher (original) (raw)
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Papers by Marta Gorgula
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Apr 30, 2019
Histories of Laughter and Laughter in History: HistoRisus, 2016
"When one envisages war, World War I in particular, one may associate with it such ideas as those... more "When one envisages war, World War I in particular, one may associate with it such ideas as those of death, destruction, wounds and the annihilation of human beings. Yet, while war might be rarely considered as a merry event, it appears that humour, albeit often dark and self-deriding, was not necessarily absent even during one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. This chapter is an attempt to examine and reconsider the perception of World War I through discussing the theme of humour as a feature of vital importance to soldiers stationed in the trenches, based on selected examples from self-styled trench journals, songs and jokes.
Although the theme of World War I humour still requires further research,
this chapter endeavours to argue that it was indeed an essential and often
determining part of a survival strategy that made service on the front lines
at least endurable. It is even possible to observe a link between the development of humour in the trenches (with the humorous attitude often acting as a coping strategy) and the notion of humour as a tension relieving defence mechanism – a fact examples discussed in this chapter
support and reinforce. While often sombre and mocking, the sense of
humour developed in the trenches was probably one of the reasons why
soldiers were able to handle the horrors of the war, further exemplifying humour’s role as a strategy fortifying endurance."
World and Word, Apr 30, 2019
Henry Tonks’ pastel portraits of the wounded Great War servicemen have perplexed researchers for ... more Henry Tonks’ pastel portraits of the wounded Great War servicemen have perplexed researchers for years. These stunning pieces of art made by the surgeon-gone-artist remain an example of a fascinating but shunned history of the war. Unlike other war art, usually representing the wounded covered with bandages or as stoic or martyred heroes, these portraits defy the conventional, idealized memorializing. They are uncannily raw and frank, with fleshy wounds revealed and soldiers staring blatantly, almost defiantly at the onlookers, making Tonks’ portraits impossible not to be questioned beyond their medical function. They were meant to document ‘before’ and ‘after’ images of the wounded, making the artist a “historian of facial injuries” and thus fulfilling a strictly medical, recording function. And yet, these portraits pose much more complex questions of ethics, aesthetics and memorializing, mostly through the ‘healing’ properties of art, which gave the depicted soldiers back some semblance of humanity they were stripped off so unexpectedly, losing an important part of their selves, i.e. their faces. Although focusing on unsettling subject, Tonks’ portraits perform a particular memorial function since they represent a direct, almost intimate experience of war, recording a hidden history that contributes to a more coherent and fleshier understanding of World War I.
Thesis Chapters by Marta Gorgula
SHELL-SHOCKED CRIMINALS AND NEUROTIC VILLAINS: REPRESENTATIONS OF (THE WORLD WAR I) TRAUMATISED SUBJECTS IN THE EARLY EUROPEAN CINEMA, 2015
“The aim of this thesis is to analyse the representations of (World War I) traumatised subjects i... more “The aim of this thesis is to analyse the representations of (World War I) traumatised subjects in the early German cinema. For years, the perception of Weimar cinema as a prophecy of the Nazi regime, a notion proposed by Sigfriend Kracauer in his influential book From Caligari to Hitler, slightly biased the reception of the Weimar films. But thanks to researchers like Anton Kaes, Weimar cinema is perceived more and more as the ‘shell-shock’ cinema - an industry unconsciously influenced by World War I and its traumatising effects. By studying Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (1922) and M (1931), with the focus on villains, one might conclude that such characters were not only evil criminals and tyrants, but traumatised victims of the war as well. By approaching the villains of the early cinema through the after-effects of World War I trauma, numerous new interpretations could surface. Applying the theories of Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche, it will be possible to determine whether the villains were anxious trauma victims, creative individuals or madmen. Considering that the shock of World War I, especially on Weimar society, was similar to that of the West during the Vietnam War, one could conclude that war releases the most hidden and terrifying parts of human consciousness and that such madness moved the imaginations of the Weimar filmmakers.
In the end, it might appear that certain characters, especially villains, of the Weimar Cinema might be victims of the Great War. Studying such films from the perspectives suggested by Anton Kaes, Bert Cardullo or Tomasz Kłys may contribute to the reinvention of the understanding of the films by Robert Wiene and Fritz Lang. Perceiving them from a modern perspective, almost a hundred years after their creation, it is possible to distance oneself from the premonitions of the Nazi regime, popular after the Second World War, and study the works of Wiene and Lang from the perspective of the Great War and all the trauma connected with it.”
THE OTHER BEAUTY: BODILY MUTILATION AND THE EXPERIENCE OF WORLD WAR I, 2013
“The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the representation of body mutilation sustained af... more “The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the representation of body mutilation sustained after the World War I in different works of art (literature, portraiture, film) as well as the perception of such disabilities and the effect they had on the able-bodied people.
Bodily mutilation, and especially facial mutilation, were subjects of very delicate discussions. Also, the prevalent perception that by the loss of the face one loses his or her identity, made it hard to study the theme for many years following the Great War. Only recently, the interest of the public and of the researchers is rising slightly, mostly due to publications of many works of art that were either forbidden or forgotten. Though the subject of facial deformity after the World War I was perceived as something that had to be forgotten quickly, the incredible representation and record of the Great War itself is clearly seen in such brutal depictions. Trying to understand the idea and fascination behind such subject can lead to new conclusions. It is not only about the horror and uncanny appearance but also about ethics, perception of beauty and creation of identity. It may appear in the end that the reactions of the able-bodied men towards the ones with facial mutilation seem more important to the well-being of the latter than it may be thought.
In the end, this research may help perhaps not to answer, but at least to emphasize the fact that beauty is but a construct and a subjective perception of the seen objects and beings. As such, the idea of ultimate beauty shared and perceived by all people as common would not be possible to achieve. As long as subjective perception of the others exist, there would never be any ultimate schematics.” (2013)
Drafts by Marta Gorgula
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Apr 30, 2019
Histories of Laughter and Laughter in History: HistoRisus, 2016
"When one envisages war, World War I in particular, one may associate with it such ideas as those... more "When one envisages war, World War I in particular, one may associate with it such ideas as those of death, destruction, wounds and the annihilation of human beings. Yet, while war might be rarely considered as a merry event, it appears that humour, albeit often dark and self-deriding, was not necessarily absent even during one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. This chapter is an attempt to examine and reconsider the perception of World War I through discussing the theme of humour as a feature of vital importance to soldiers stationed in the trenches, based on selected examples from self-styled trench journals, songs and jokes.
Although the theme of World War I humour still requires further research,
this chapter endeavours to argue that it was indeed an essential and often
determining part of a survival strategy that made service on the front lines
at least endurable. It is even possible to observe a link between the development of humour in the trenches (with the humorous attitude often acting as a coping strategy) and the notion of humour as a tension relieving defence mechanism – a fact examples discussed in this chapter
support and reinforce. While often sombre and mocking, the sense of
humour developed in the trenches was probably one of the reasons why
soldiers were able to handle the horrors of the war, further exemplifying humour’s role as a strategy fortifying endurance."
World and Word, Apr 30, 2019
Henry Tonks’ pastel portraits of the wounded Great War servicemen have perplexed researchers for ... more Henry Tonks’ pastel portraits of the wounded Great War servicemen have perplexed researchers for years. These stunning pieces of art made by the surgeon-gone-artist remain an example of a fascinating but shunned history of the war. Unlike other war art, usually representing the wounded covered with bandages or as stoic or martyred heroes, these portraits defy the conventional, idealized memorializing. They are uncannily raw and frank, with fleshy wounds revealed and soldiers staring blatantly, almost defiantly at the onlookers, making Tonks’ portraits impossible not to be questioned beyond their medical function. They were meant to document ‘before’ and ‘after’ images of the wounded, making the artist a “historian of facial injuries” and thus fulfilling a strictly medical, recording function. And yet, these portraits pose much more complex questions of ethics, aesthetics and memorializing, mostly through the ‘healing’ properties of art, which gave the depicted soldiers back some semblance of humanity they were stripped off so unexpectedly, losing an important part of their selves, i.e. their faces. Although focusing on unsettling subject, Tonks’ portraits perform a particular memorial function since they represent a direct, almost intimate experience of war, recording a hidden history that contributes to a more coherent and fleshier understanding of World War I.
SHELL-SHOCKED CRIMINALS AND NEUROTIC VILLAINS: REPRESENTATIONS OF (THE WORLD WAR I) TRAUMATISED SUBJECTS IN THE EARLY EUROPEAN CINEMA, 2015
“The aim of this thesis is to analyse the representations of (World War I) traumatised subjects i... more “The aim of this thesis is to analyse the representations of (World War I) traumatised subjects in the early German cinema. For years, the perception of Weimar cinema as a prophecy of the Nazi regime, a notion proposed by Sigfriend Kracauer in his influential book From Caligari to Hitler, slightly biased the reception of the Weimar films. But thanks to researchers like Anton Kaes, Weimar cinema is perceived more and more as the ‘shell-shock’ cinema - an industry unconsciously influenced by World War I and its traumatising effects. By studying Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (1922) and M (1931), with the focus on villains, one might conclude that such characters were not only evil criminals and tyrants, but traumatised victims of the war as well. By approaching the villains of the early cinema through the after-effects of World War I trauma, numerous new interpretations could surface. Applying the theories of Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche, it will be possible to determine whether the villains were anxious trauma victims, creative individuals or madmen. Considering that the shock of World War I, especially on Weimar society, was similar to that of the West during the Vietnam War, one could conclude that war releases the most hidden and terrifying parts of human consciousness and that such madness moved the imaginations of the Weimar filmmakers.
In the end, it might appear that certain characters, especially villains, of the Weimar Cinema might be victims of the Great War. Studying such films from the perspectives suggested by Anton Kaes, Bert Cardullo or Tomasz Kłys may contribute to the reinvention of the understanding of the films by Robert Wiene and Fritz Lang. Perceiving them from a modern perspective, almost a hundred years after their creation, it is possible to distance oneself from the premonitions of the Nazi regime, popular after the Second World War, and study the works of Wiene and Lang from the perspective of the Great War and all the trauma connected with it.”
THE OTHER BEAUTY: BODILY MUTILATION AND THE EXPERIENCE OF WORLD WAR I, 2013
“The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the representation of body mutilation sustained af... more “The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the representation of body mutilation sustained after the World War I in different works of art (literature, portraiture, film) as well as the perception of such disabilities and the effect they had on the able-bodied people.
Bodily mutilation, and especially facial mutilation, were subjects of very delicate discussions. Also, the prevalent perception that by the loss of the face one loses his or her identity, made it hard to study the theme for many years following the Great War. Only recently, the interest of the public and of the researchers is rising slightly, mostly due to publications of many works of art that were either forbidden or forgotten. Though the subject of facial deformity after the World War I was perceived as something that had to be forgotten quickly, the incredible representation and record of the Great War itself is clearly seen in such brutal depictions. Trying to understand the idea and fascination behind such subject can lead to new conclusions. It is not only about the horror and uncanny appearance but also about ethics, perception of beauty and creation of identity. It may appear in the end that the reactions of the able-bodied men towards the ones with facial mutilation seem more important to the well-being of the latter than it may be thought.
In the end, this research may help perhaps not to answer, but at least to emphasize the fact that beauty is but a construct and a subjective perception of the seen objects and beings. As such, the idea of ultimate beauty shared and perceived by all people as common would not be possible to achieve. As long as subjective perception of the others exist, there would never be any ultimate schematics.” (2013)