Brecht’s Epic Theater And The Construction Of Class Community

This thesis places Brecht’s theory of the epic theater in the context of Marxist aesthetics,examines the function of the epic theater and its mode of operation by focusing on its core technique of "verfremdung".The paper first defines and clarifies the concept of "epic theater" by starting from its characteristics.Epic theater is both a drama that unfolds in the form of epic narrative and an epic that is presented in the form of theatrical performance,combining the characteristics of both "epicness" and "theatricality".In terms of "epicness," epic theater incorporates narrative forms into the dramatic body,focusing on the true reflection of the common life of mankind and highlighting the historical consciousness implicit in events through historicization.In terms of "theatricality," epic theater,as a kind of "social action drama," emphasizes that the ultimate purpose of drama is to point to social practice,i.e.,the critical transformation of reality."Epicness" and "theatricality" complement each other and together constitute Brecht’s artistic goal.The dual characteristics of the epic theater highlight Brecht’s strong pursuit of the role of art in reality,which is inseparable from the traditional social function of theater itself and the realistic demands faced by the epic theater.Since its inception,theater has had a political and edifying function,which is reflected in the "theater polity" of the Athenian city-state and theoretically elaborated in Aristotle’s treatise on the "katharsis".The tragedy in classical society realized the indoctrination of citizens through the "katharsis" and thus constructed the community of the city-state;the modern drama is located in a class-divided society,and the construction of the class community therefore became the task of the theater in this period.Brecht believed that drama of the capitalist class paralyzed the audience by "creating illusions" in order to maintain the stability of its own ideology.In order to seize the cultural leadership and construct a proletarian community,he was committed to innovating epic theater as a kind of proletarian theater.In the light of this reality,the thesis further investigates how the function of the epic theater works,i.e.,how the class community is constructed through the central technique of "verfremdung".The technique of "verfremdung" allows for the public presentation of events in the private sphere,causing a crowd to gather and watch,which can be called the "spectator effect".The spectator effect creates a platform for public participation and discussion in civil society.The materialist dialectic implied in "historicization" as a manifestation of "verfremdung" in the ephemeral state provides a methodological basis for the awakening of class consciousness of all classes in civil society.Ultimately,under the spectator effect,the civil society participates in the artistic production of epic theater,and the audience obtains the entertainment of the scientific era in the artistic production practice,and at the same time realizes the confirmation of self-identity in it,thus generating the class consciousness of the proletariat and constructing the proletarian community in the entertainment of production and liberation."Verfremdung" not only plays its role in the field of art,but also integrates into people’s daily social life with the development of contemporary self-media,triggering a larger scale of "network spectacle" in the Internet platform.The emergence of the "dual" living space of real and virtual society has brought new conditions and forms for social citizens to watch,observe,and discuss events,and in the virtual space,"verfremdung" can still build a community in social discussion.However,at the same time,the expansion of the "spectator effect",the extension of social criticism under "verfremdung",and the deconstruction of the meaning of events in this context have created distortions and violence in the virtual space,which is also a challenge to examine in contemporary society.The effect of "verfremdung" also constitutes,to a certain extent,a reflection on the limitations of Brecht’s epic theater theory.