Béla Balázs’ın Kavramlarıyla Sinemayı Anlamak: ‘Yakın Çekim’, ‘Yüz’, ‘Şeylerin Yüzü’ ve ‘Fizyonomi’

Year 2022, Volume: 7 Issue: 14, 255 - 278, 28.12.2022

Alper Erçetingöz , Hüseyin Gençalp

https://doi.org/10.31122/sinefilozofi.1145259

Abstract

Durağan imgelerin mekanik bir aygıtın devinimiyle hareketli görsellere dönüştürülmesi neticesinde vücut bulan sinema, anlamın yaratımı ve iletimi bağlamında mümkün kıldığı yeni olanaklar sayesinde kendinden önceki tüm medyumların ötesine geçerek bireyin düşünce düzlemi ile imgeler arasında kurulan karmaşık ilişkiler ağının saklı yönlerinin keşfine kaynaklık etmiştir. Bu yeni aparatın muhtemel potansiyelinden etkilenen pek çok fikir insanı, aygıtın icadını takip eden birkaç yıl içinde sinematik düşünce yaratımı üzerine kendi kuramsal yaklaşımlarını geliştirmeye başlamıştır. Bu doğrultuda klasik dönem film teorisyenleri arasında sinemaya ilişkin yenilikçi söylemleriyle dikkati çeken Macar düşünür Béla Balázs’ın ayrıcalıklı bir konuma sahip olduğu görülür. Balázs’ın sinema sanatına ilişkin düşünsel literatürü, yalnızca yaşadığı dönemde ortaya konulan diğer kuramsal çalışmalardan ayrışmakla kalmamış, aynı zamanda kendisinden sonra filmin mekanik varlığı, fenomenolojisi ve felsefesi gibi farklı alanlarında kaleme alınan eserlere de kılavuzluk etmiştir. Béla Balázs’ın bugün film literatüründeki bilinirliği, sinemanın ve genel olarak bir kültürün mekânı olarak insan yüzüne ilişkin söylemlerine dayanır. Balázs, ileri sürdüğü ‘yakın çekim’, ‘yüz’, ‘şeylerin yüzü’ ve ‘fizyonomi’ kavramları aracılığıyla, sinemanın teknolojik imkânlarının görünenin ötesinde yer alan gizil duygu ve düşünceleri ortaya çıkarma potansiyeline atıfta bulunur. Balázs’ın yakın çekimde çerçevelenen imgeler ve bir bütün olarak kadrajda izleyiciye yansıtılan tüm unsurların fizyonomisi üzerinden gerçekleştirdiği bu vurgu, onu çağdaşı teorisyenlerden farklı bir konuma getirmiştir. Çalışmada Béla Balázs’ın teorik söylemlerini içeren kitap ve makale formatındaki eserleri ile Balázs’ın fikri mirasını bugünün perspektifi üzerinden değerlendiren düşün insanlarının akademik çalışmalarına odaklanılmaktadır. Bu amaçla, öncelikle Balázs’ın hayatı ve sinema sanatına yönelik genel bakış açısı ortaya konulmaktadır. Ardından söz konusu kavramlar incelenmekte ve Balázs’ın ifade ettiği şekliyle sinemanın biçim dilinin unsurları ile bu kavramlar arasındaki ilişki değerlendirilmektedir.

Keywords

Béla Balázs, Yakın Çekim, Yüz, Şeylerin Yüzü, Fizyonomi.

Understanding Cinema through Béla Balázs: ‘The Close-Up’, ‘Face’, ‘Face of Things’ and ‘Physiognomy’

Abstract

Cinema, which came into being as a result of transforming static images into moving images with the movement of a mechanical device, went beyond all previous mediums thanks to the new possibilities it made possible in the context of the creation and transmission of meaning, and became a source for the discovery of the hidden aspects of the complex network of relations established between the individual's thought plane and images. Fascinated by the possible potential of this new apparatus, many intellectuals began to develop their own theoretical approaches to cinematic thought creation within a few years of its invention. In this respect, Hungarian thinker Béla Balázs, who draws attention with his innovative discourses on cinema among classical period film theorists, has a privileged position. Balázs's intellectual literature on the art of cinema has not only differentiated itself from other theoretical studies in his lifetime, but has also guided works written in different fields such as the mechanical existence, phenomenology and philosophy of film after him. The recognition of Béla Balázs in the film literature today is based on his discourses on the human face as a place of cinema and a culture in general. Through the concepts of 'close-up', 'face', 'face of things' and 'physiognomy', Balázs refers to the potential of cinema's technological possibilities to reveal hidden emotions and thoughts beyond the visible. Balázs's emphasis on the physiognomy of the images framed in close-ups and the physiognomy of all the elements reflected to the viewer in the frame as a whole has brought him to a different position from his contemporary theorists. The study focuses on the works of Béla Balázs in book and article format containing his theoretical discourses, and the academic studies of thinkers who evaluate Balázs' intellectual legacy from today's perspective. For this purpose, first of all, Balázs's life and general perspective on the art of cinema is presented. Then, the concepts in question are examined and the relationship between these concepts and the elements of the formal language of cinema as expressed by Balázs is evaluated.

Keywords

Béla Balázs, The Close-Up, Face, Face of Things, Physiognomy.

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