Representation of Lyotard's Philosophical Opinions in Cinema (Case Study: Amour Film by Michael Haneke)

Abstract

Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1998), one of the most prominent critical thinkers of the second half of the 20th century, is most famous for his analysis of postmodernism and postmodernity. Lyotard believes that the great theoretical metanarratives and the liberation of modernity, useful in organizing knowledge for humanity, have lost their credibility and power in the postmodern world. In another part of his speech, Lyotard considers the role of art to break down reasonableness and argues that modern and postmodern art refers to the great idea of showing the boundaries of understanding and new possibilities. The reflection of the postmodern situation that he analyzes can see in the film The Amour by the Austrian director Michael Haneke (1942- ). This research has been done through a descriptive-analytical method and its main purpose is to help better understand postmodern cinema. It also seeks to answer the question of how Lyotard's postmodern status is portrayed in Haneke's Amour film. Finding and tracking Lyotard's opinions in the Amour film, this article concludes that the film represents the post-modern situation Lyotard describes, in which the metanarratives have lost their effectiveness and the postmodern replaces this situation.