On Roma’s Monumentality
A cursory glance at reviews of Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma (2018) reveals the overwhelming recurrence of the expression “intimate epic” to describe it. In this article I explore the implications of this oxymoron for an appreciation of the film. Much of the discussion surrounding Roma attributed its politi...
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| Vydáno v: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces, |
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| Médium: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Jazyk: | Anglais |
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Interfaces
2024
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| On-line přístup: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:interfaces_7978 https://doi.org/10.4000/interfaces.7978 urn:doi:10.4000/interfaces.7978 en https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/7978 2024-01-16T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/vltx https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ On Roma’s Monumentality Interfaces Université Bourgogne Europe info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2647-6754 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1164-6225 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces de Luca, Tiago échelle Cuarón (Alfonso) monumentalité événement histoire Netflix panoramique Roma (film) scale Cuarón (Alfonso) monumentality event history panoramic Roma (movie) Netflix A cursory glance at reviews of Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma (2018) reveals the overwhelming recurrence of the expression “intimate epic” to describe it. In this article I explore the implications of this oxymoron for an appreciation of the film. Much of the discussion surrounding Roma attributed its politics, or lack thereof, to aspects of narrative representation and character psychology. I suggest that Roma’s politics is to be found, instead, in its aesthetic interplay of scale and the monumental. Commonly understood in terms of large-scale objects designed to memorialise and glorify regimes, nation-states and doctrines, monumentality is often deemed aligned with a conservative and authoritarian project. But what happens when the monumental is applied to objects and subjects existing outside the remit of its scale? At the same time, “intimate epic” assumes another meaning here related to the fact that, while the film was conceived for the largest possible screen, it was relegated to domestic viewing due to its Netflix distribution. To properly account for questions of scale in Roma, I suggest, aesthetics and representation must thus be examined alongside modes of reception and spectatorship. Un survol des critiques du film Roma (2018) d'Alfonso Cuarón révèle l’usage omniprésent de l'expression « épopée intime » pour le décrire. Dans cet article, j’explore les implications de cet oxymore pour l'appréciation du film. Une grande partie de la discussion autour de Roma a attribué sa politique, ou son absence de politique, à certains aspects de la représentation narrative et de la psychologie des personnages. Je suggère que la politique de Roma se trouve plutôt dans son traitement esthétique des rapports entre échelle et monumentalité. Généralement comprise comme se référant à des objets de grande échelle conçus pour commémorer et glorifier des régimes, des États-nations ou des doctrines, la monumentalité est souvent considérée comme alignée sur un projet conservateur et autoritaire. Mais que se passe-t-il lorsque la monumentalité s’applique à des objets et à des sujets qui existent hors de son échelle ? En même temps, l'expression « épopée intime » prend un autre sens, lié au fait que, bien que le film ait été conçu pour le plus grand écran possible, il a été relégué à un visionnage domestique en raison de sa distribution par Netflix. Pour rendre compte correctement des questions d'échelle dans Roma, je suggère que l'esthétique et la représentation soient examinées en même temps que les modes de réception et les formes de public. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
échelle Cuarón (Alfonso) monumentalité événement histoire Netflix panoramique Roma (film) scale Cuarón (Alfonso) monumentality event history panoramic Roma (movie) Netflix |
| spellingShingle |
échelle Cuarón (Alfonso) monumentalité événement histoire Netflix panoramique Roma (film) scale Cuarón (Alfonso) monumentality event history panoramic Roma (movie) Netflix de Luca, Tiago On Roma’s Monumentality |
| description |
A cursory glance at reviews of Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma (2018) reveals the overwhelming recurrence of the expression “intimate epic” to describe it. In this article I explore the implications of this oxymoron for an appreciation of the film. Much of the discussion surrounding Roma attributed its politics, or lack thereof, to aspects of narrative representation and character psychology. I suggest that Roma’s politics is to be found, instead, in its aesthetic interplay of scale and the monumental. Commonly understood in terms of large-scale objects designed to memorialise and glorify regimes, nation-states and doctrines, monumentality is often deemed aligned with a conservative and authoritarian project. But what happens when the monumental is applied to objects and subjects existing outside the remit of its scale? At the same time, “intimate epic” assumes another meaning here related to the fact that, while the film was conceived for the largest possible screen, it was relegated to domestic viewing due to its Netflix distribution. To properly account for questions of scale in Roma, I suggest, aesthetics and representation must thus be examined alongside modes of reception and spectatorship. |
| author |
de Luca, Tiago |
| author_facet |
de Luca, Tiago |
| author_sort |
de Luca, Tiago |
| title |
On Roma’s Monumentality |
| title_short |
On Roma’s Monumentality |
| title_full |
On Roma’s Monumentality |
| title_fullStr |
On Roma’s Monumentality |
| title_full_unstemmed |
On Roma’s Monumentality |
| title_sort |
on roma’s monumentality |
| publisher |
Interfaces |
| publishDate |
2024 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/interfaces.7978 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/7978 |
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