Bakhtin's Concept of Carnival and Carnivalesque in the Film "The Border"

Introduction

Mikhail Bakhtin, a Russian philosopher who wrote on a variety of subjects, including his famous work Rabelais and his World, on the French Renaissance writer François Rabelais, where he discusses carnivalesque and Carnival. By definition, according to Bakhtin, it is the period of public gala that happens annually. Typically, the carnival is when the public participate in a sort of public gatherings. Carnival, however, is when everything (except violence) is allowed. It exists on the “borderline of life and art”. It is often marked by displays of grotesqueness. It is a type of communal performance, with no limit between performers and audience. It creates inverse cases and breaks down conventions. It creates the chance for a new perspective and a new order of things. Bakhtin's “Carnival and Carnivalesque” notes that the carnival is not a performance, and does not make any difference between the spectators from the performer. All participants in the carnival “live it”, but it is not an extension of the “real world” or “real life” but rather “the world standing on its head”, Bakhtin says. It is the event in which all rules, restrictions and regulations which determine the course of everyday life are suspended, and most of all the form of hierarchy in society.

The “carnival and carnivalesque” create an alternative space, presented by freedom and equality; class and status are demolished, whereas everyone is equal. People are reborn into truly human relations. In carnival, the body is figured not as the individual but as a growing, where life manifests itself not as isolated individuals but as a collective ancestral body. This is not, however, a collective order, since it is also continually in change and renewal, the self is also transgressed through practices such as “masking”. Bakhtin states that the carnival penetrates the house and does not exist merely in the public sphere or some square, but the town’s square and streets are the central point of the carnival, for they embodied and symbolized the carnivalesque idea of being universal and belonging to all and everybody. The core of the carnivalesque sense of the world reflects the change - the death and rebirth. The carnival is seen as a festival of time which demolishes all, and renews all. Carnivalesque imagery is always ambivalent. The carnival unites the two poles of change, birth and death, old and young, up and down etc. Things are reversed; cloths are worn upside down, household items serve as weapons, and the clown is a king, and the king becomes the clown.

Bakhtin’s Concept of Carnival and Carnival Laughter

As I have mentioned previously in the introduction, in Rabelais and his world, a focus is drawn into the images of folk carnival in the work of the French Renaissance writer, Rabelais. He says that the carnival as a “ritual based on laughter… (that) offered a completely different… extra political aspect of the world, of man, and of human relations”. The “folk carnival humor” involves a festive laughter. Therefore it is not an individual reaction to some isolated comic event. Carnival laughter is the laughter of all the people… this laughter is ambivalent: “it is gay, triumphant, and at the same time mocking, deriding”. Further, in, where “clowns and fools (characteristic of the medieval humour culture)…were the constant, accredited representatives of the carnival spirit in daily life out of the carnival season”. In Rabelais’ “idiom of carnival forms, symbols and system of images”, the carnival idiom includes exaggerated pictures of the “body”, where the principle of “material bodily” degrades, resulting in a “lowering of all that is high”. Bakhtin traces the “grotesque” in literature and finds that ‘pre-Romanticism and Romanticism witnessed a rebirth of it, but a radically distorted image.

The conversion of the “laughter” turned into numerous differences between Romantic grotesque and medieval folk grotesque. What I am trying to say here is that on one hand, the romantic grotesque in literature involves an everyday world that “becomes senseless, questionable and aggressive, as reconciliation takes place in a subjective, lyric, and mystic sphere”. On the other hand, the folk grotesque represents elements of terror “by comic monsters that were defeated by laughter”. The characteristics of Romantic grotesque present fear of the world and crave to inspire with it, whereas, the images of folk culture are fearless and communicate this fearlessness to all. Fear is an “extreme expression of narrow-minded and stupid seriousness, which is defeated by laughter… Complete liberty is possible only in the completely fearless world”, Bakhtim says. That is said, certain contemporary cultural forms such as TV shows, reality TV, costume parties, Halloween and festivals retain the nature and function of the medieval carnival, and this is exactly what I will discuss further in this paper, applying Bakhtin’s carnival to the Syrian case, embodied first Syrian film The Border, then selecting specific rituals of Syrian Kurds and pilgrims in Syria to scrutinize and analyze according to Bakhtin’s carnival and Carnivalesque, where the experience would be related to the romantic grotesque, fearlessness and freedom.

Analysis of "The Border"

The film to be discussed is The Border, written by the Syrian dramatist and poet Mohamad al-Maghout and produced by the Syrian director and actor Duraid Lahham. The Border is a film about a character named Wadoud (i.e. friendly), who is a good hearted and simple man, travelling around the country through the several borders controlled by two different military sides. Wadoud becomes a victim of border control due to the loss of his passport, as he is neither allowed to return nor advance, and without any identification documents he cannot be recognized. Wadoud decides to settle in between the two borders where he invites soldiers of each side to rejoice in his new café house. The movie shows the frustration and isolation of a man without recognition, leading to his outburst of crossing by force on foot, later on leading to the fatal consequences of his breaking the laws and rules. Bakhtin explained that “Carnival is not a spectacle seen by people; they live in it”, whilst the actors are immersed “in” the carnival on screen, the audience will ultimately be “outside” and so the carnival will therefore be “seen by them, the audience”.

As I mentioned before, the carnival is a “a festive laughter” that is “gay”, “triumphant”’ and “mocking” with an “extra political aspect of the world, of man, and of human relations” is depicted in a scene of The Border where soldiers of the opposing parties at war rejoice for the opening of Wadoud’s new café. Even though there is a line marked in the middle of the café to ensure that the opposing soldiers do not cross into each other’s land, the men drink, feast with laughter and sing mockingly, all together, happily. Wadoud, in one of the scenes sits in blue shirt, playing on a Syrian traditional instrument, within his café, which is a modest, simple, built of earthy colored straws, and of his car parts such as the yellow windows and wheels for seats. This successfully and spontaneously creates a carnival spirit that opposes all that is official, normative and serious. In one of the scenes, mini tables are located on each side, seating three military personnel on each side, as the space is furnished and the table is well-presented with food, while the military personnel are seen eating and drinking - bringing out the “grotesque realism”. Soldiers can be seen in an exaggerated bodily gestures particularly the waving of hands and shoulders, adding more comic effect. This is resulted in “lowering of all that is high”. Besides, everyone rejoices to sing in unison, the music and singing renders a festive carnival spirit, a member of each side is also playing an instrument, and the whole atmosphere reinforces how carnival laughter is the “laughter of all people”.

To turn the carnival into one that is “extra political” of the world and human relations, Wadoud interrupts the mocking and encourages the soldiers to sing about fraternity and love. He interrupts with singing: “these two flowers are of one stem, love in tough times can erase the borders.” A spectator can realize that the aspect of the carnivalesque where everyone is involved is well depicted in The Border where the “festive spirit” is successfully communicated to the audience. The way of the carnival spirit embodied in defeating the opponent with laughter or subverting hierarchies of power through derision, can be employed by an “isolated-comic-event”. In fact, this is indeed the issue of the very film that deals with politically tensioned environment, set in troubled land such as Syria, where “political actors” are represented and questioned. The carnival transforms into a tool for presenting the liberation of the oppressed through laughter where the oppressor cannot be part of the experience of a group of people or an individual resisting the harmful effects of power through laughter. Carnival was described by Bakhtin as an event where “everyone participates” and “since carnival lasts, there is no other life outside”.

So far, in The Border, the feast in Wadoud’s cafe depicted a scene of Bakhtin’s carnival where an extra political space or second unreal world, detached from the official sense, was created. However in the ending, reconciliation of terror takes place in the romantic grotesque. The terror is represented by an officer watching the border who repeatedly refuses Wadoud from crossing back to his home without finding his lost passport. Wadoud is deeply frustrated with his repeated failed attempts and despite the public support he got, from all around the (real world), because of one female reporter who shed light his case on a regional level, he is still not allowed to cross without a passport. Eventually Wadoud lets out his farm animals from the car, holds his wife by the hand and crosses on foot with a defiant glare forward at which point the camera freezes as the final shot, Wadoud did it, he crossed to the other side.

The audience is left skeptic; whether the officer who points a gun at Wadoud’s back will shot him or not. In this very crucial moment, a question is raised if Wadoud will achieve “complete liberty”? His fearlessness was not achieved as a result of “carnival laughter” but rather of “frustration and despair”. In case of Wadoud, he did not express fear of the military officer, but on the contrary, he was oblivious to the expected and potential consequences, yet the final cut still inspired the audience with fear because of the military officer was pointing the gun at him. In other words, “Images of romantic grotesque express fear of the world and seek to inspire the reader or viewer with this fear,” Bakhtin states. The events occurred in The Border are deeply close to real life where laughter cannot free victims from oppression, as in the case of some Syrians under the oppression by radical and extreme ideologies. This leaves for a conclusion that the carnival laughter may achieve “ultimate liberty” for the characters but for the viewers who face similar realistic struggles, on a daily basis.

Syrian Kurds and the Concept of Carnival

Carnivalesque is perhaps the best, if not the only way to describe what goes on every March in Syria’s Newroz; the ancient Persian festival, commonly known as Iranian New Year - the occasion that is also celebrated by Syria’s Kurds, differently. Main events of Newroz start on the eve before holiday at spring equinox, mostly on 21th of March. People gather at fires and perform traditional dances (e.g. Dabke). In Aleppo, Kurds gather at shores of Midanki Lake where they perform traditional music, dances and expose national symbols as flags and Kurdish traditional dresses. In addition to its being a holy day for Zoroastrians of Syria, Nowruz is celebrated as well by people from diverse ethnic communities and different religious backgrounds for thousands of years. It is rather a secular holiday for most celebrants that are enjoyed by people of several different faiths. However Bakhtin says that “the carnivalesque sense of the world penetrated language and literature” Moreover, the carnivalesque form was manifested in a language of artistic imagery that retained the sensual nature of the carnival. For instance, the carnival's familiarity was transformed into certain types of prose and is reflected in certain plot structures, situation, narration style and language. Concerning this specific idea presented by Bakhtin, Newroz has been mentioned in works of many Kurdish poets and writers as well as musicians. One of the earliest records of Newroz in Kurdish literature is from Melayê Cizîrî (1570–1640): Without the light and the fire of Love, Without the Designer and the power of Creator, We are not able to reach Union. (Light is for us and dark is the night) This fire massing and washing the Heart, My heart claim after it And here come Newroz and the New Year, When such light is rising.

Shia Pilgrims in Damascus

Bakhtin’s “Carnivalesque” can be traced back in the heart of the oldest inhabited capital in the world, Damascus, the capital of Syria. Every year, Damascus, in specific old Damascus, witnesses huge waves of pilgrims, Shia pilgrims mostly, coming to the very city to pay tributes. Until the very moment of writing these lines, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visit Syria annually. They come to visit Shia religious places, such as the shrines of Zainab and Ruqaia, the Great Mosque, and the Small Door Cemetery, which is a historic graveyard and houses the remains of the Prophet’s wives. Often, after having visited the Prophet’s “friends and family”, Shia pilgrims pay a visit to one of Prophet’s “friends” grave in order to curse him. Sometimes, they even stone his grave, while his corpse rests underground. Concerned about the reaction of local Sunnis, officials from the Syrian government ordered to build a fence around the grave, for protection.

Ironically, situated near the graves of the Prophet’s wives, right exactly near the cemetery, outside of the wall encircling the Old City of Damascus, Shia pilgrims can buy Viagra, sex- enhancement creams, and massage oils. As far as I do know, sexual “stuff” has been strictly guarded in the Republic of Syria, and medicines were normally available only at pharmacies. Yet, there in one of Syria’s most historically and religiously significant cemeteries, makeshift vendors sold an array of sex-related items, including lingerie!

My Concern in this part of the paper is not -at all- sex objects or other “stuff” needed by pilgrims coming to Syria, but to focus on the very phenomenon of how many religious pilgrims might consider the sale of Viagra and the arrangement of “pleasure” relations a sinful aberration, considering it a corrupt practice. In a way or another, these practices could be seen as modern incarnations of traditional aspects of shrine visitation. Well, legally speaking, prostitution in Syria is illegal, for now at least, earlier it was (before 2000). The sale of sex-enhancement medication is generally restricted to pharmacies and other medical places, as I mentioned before. These practices were symbolically related to death rites because they resembled Mikhail Bakhtin’s notion of the carnival.

According to Bakhtin, “medieval societies celebrated the carnival as a time outside of their everyday, structured lives.” It allowed people to exist briefly beyond the control of the state and the church. It relativized institutionalized authorities and inverted social norms. In such sense, Shia pilgrims in Syria, mainly in Damascus, constituted a Bakhtinian carnival. Invisible from and beyond the surveillance of their strict and traditional societies, pilgrims were temporarily “liberated” in Syria. In other words, the conservative Iranian women, for example, do not travel long distances without a male escort. However, for this reason, meaning the purpose of pilgrimage, thousands of Iranian women move hundreds of miles, alone. In such case, no one cares. These women advertised, organized, and negotiated the logistics of the journey, they are fully independent now. To some extent, and in some cases, they bossed around male tour guides and bus drivers, whose jobs have been reversed from the conventional gender role; embodied in cooking and cleaning up after female pilgrims. In brief, pilgrimages were “carnivalesque” because they allowed for inversions in gender roles and hierarchies, “an attitude towards the world which liberates from fear,” Bakhtin says. Moreover, crowded streets and cafes, houses and fast food shops encouraged men and women to mingle. For example, on Ashura, in Iraq, bare-chested men march around the shrine. Accompanied by the rhythmic beating of drums, hundreds of men hit their chests and wound their bodies with sharp tools. Even pious women did not refrain from “ogling” the men. Like Bakhtin’s carnival, death rites included the public parading of grotesque bodies. The flagellants’ bleeding bodies drew everyone’s attention to carnal matters: pain, death – and implicitly to life and sex.

Result and Conclusion

The grotesque, exaggerated body and the bringing down-to-earth of systemic abstractions are present even in such small, apparently apolitical gestures. They signify what is missing in the official picture – much as those who perform such acts are often excluded from the “official world”. Therefore, carnivalesque remains a potential counter-power in everyday life and activism, but is “cramped” in its potential by the repressive construction of spaces of monologue. Medieval carnival was possible because the spaces it inhabited could be carved-out and defended through the “arts of resistance” and the power of the weak. There is a need to recompose such powers to resist, in order recreating spaces where alternatives can proliferate.

References

1. Bakhtin, M. (1984). Rabelais and his world (H. Iswolsky, Trans.). Indiana University Press.
2. Hutcheon, L. (1980). The politics of postmodernism. Routledge.
3. Holquist, M. (1990). Dialogism: Bakhtin and his world. Routledge.
4. Stallybrass, P., & White, A. (1986). The politics and poetics of transgression. Cornell University Press.
5. Morson, G. S., & Emerson, C. (1990). Mikhail Bakhtin: Creation of a prosaic. Stanford University Press.