영화 <버드맨>에 나타난 예술 장(field)의 경합 양상

Abstract

This study analyses the movie <Birdman> with reference to the concept of `the field of art', proposed by Pierre Bourdieu. A figure dreaming to be an artist is the antinomic being who wants to reveal the uniqueness of his own, but has to be conscious of valuation criteria offered by neighboring society or cultural context to achieve his desire. In the movie <Birdman>, hero, Reagan Thompson who was the top Hollywood star, presents an image of artist trying to stage comeback for a play and suffering the chaos of identity in the midst of the multiple conflicts surrounding the culture circle. To begin with, setting that Reagan was successful in the superhero movie but now is ready for an authentic stage play suggests the conflict between commercial popular art and pure high art. ‘The soaring (flying)' motif, revealed in the title, is a typical image of superhero movie. This film parodies it and makes use of the soaring motif to express Reagan's mental confusion surrealistically. The setting that hero is preparing for a theater, affects the mode of filming itself, takes the same aesthetic effects as the performing arts filming mostly long-take. Putting forward interests in the stage, this movie does not take into account play text as literature genre. Instead, it presents a play adapted from the work of Raymond Carver representing modern short stories in the United States. This movie stresses the desire of Reagan trying to communicate with the contemporary audience through a literary legitimate drama. On the other hand, hero who wants to be recognized as an intellectual artist, is faced with a hostile attitude of the authoritative critic. In the opening night, Reagan performs enthusiastically and actually is injured on stage. As a result, he gets favorable comment. But the title of the review is ‘The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance’, which means Reagan failed to be recognized as an intellectual artist.