Tsvetomira Nikolova,
Associate Professor at New Bulgarian University
Abstract:
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann is a unique
author for several reasons. His influence on Western literature, musicology,
philosophy, psychoanalysis, psychology, cognitive sciences, cyber design,
theatre, opera, ballet, cinema and particularly on animation is huge and
difficult to be traced not only because of its extent. Many of his ideas and/or
works have undergone significant modifications before entering the hall of
fame. Often it is through other authors that Hoffmann’s legacy has reached the
contemporary world. For almost two centuries now his works has been
referred to, quoted, adapted, or even consciously or unconsciously plagiarized.
Hoffmann’s works is closely related to
animation in three ways. Some of his works or adaptations of his works have
been filmed, especially The Nutcracker and
the Mouse King, because it is
widely considered to be his only story, appropriate for children. The
other link to Hoffmann’s literary works is Dr Masahiro Mori’s ‘uncanny valley’
hypothesis from 1970, which has left traces in the development of computer
generated animation of android characters. Dr Mori, a pioneer in robotics and
cyber design, based his theory on Dr Ernst Jentsch’s essay On the Psychology of the Uncanny (1906), which focused on
Hoffmann’s novelette The Sandman.
Hoffmann’s art has much in common with
contemporary art and, in particular, with animation not only because its
connection with “the uncanny valley’. Its typical mixture of genres –
fairy tale, documentary prose, dreams, satire, romantic novel, gothic novel,
grotesque, caricature – has become one of the features of modern art and in
particular, animation.
E. T. A. Hoffmann and Animation
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776
- 1832) is a unique
author for several reasons. His influence on Western literature, musicology,
philosophy, psychoanalysis, psychology, cognitive sciences, cyber design,
theatre, opera, ballet, cinema and animation is huge and difficult to be traced
not only because of its extent. Many of his ideas and/or works have undergone
significant modifications before entering the hall of fame. Often it is through
other authors that Hoffmann’s legacy has reached the contemporary world.
For almost two centuries now his works has been referred to, quoted,
adapted, or even consciously or unconsciously plagiarized.
Hoffmann’s art is closely related to
animation in three ways. Some of his works or adaptations of his works have
been filmed, especially The Nutcracker
and the Mouse King[1], because it is
widely considered to be his only story, appropriate for children. The
other link to Hoffmann’s literary works is Dr Masahiro Mori’s ‘uncanny valley’
hypothesis[2],
which has left traces in the development of computer generated animation of
android characters. Dr Mori, a pioneer in robotics and cyber design, based his
theory on Dr Ernst Jentsch’s essay On
the Psychology of the Uncanny [3], which focused on Hoffmann’s novelette The Sandman[4].
In Dr Mori’s hypothesis people would react emotionally better to a robot, whose
design deviates from purely geometric forms and is more similar to humanoid
forms, even though stylized. But if this similarity increases, a zone can
be reached where the robot’s design evokes negative human reactions and this
may seriously hinder the industrial implementation of robots. Dr Mori’s
hypothesis has found a wide response amongst specialists in cybernetics,
cognitive scientists, software programmers, psychologists, neurologists,
evolutionary scientists, designers. Besides, it has gained large popularity
amongst writers, artists, filmmakers and especially, animation directors. We can find anticipations of “the uncanny valley’
existence in the Hellenic world, in ancient China, in medieval Japan.
Inevitably, the birth and evolution of android automata has been associated
with observations of human reactions towards them. Still, Dr Mori’s theory derives exclusively from the analysis of Hoffmann’s The Sandman by the German psychiatrist
Dr Jentsch.
Dr Jentsch’s essay interested Freud, who
wrote in response his essay The Uncanny[5] explaining the human
need (meaning both artists and audiences) to face horror and go through it
again and again. Freud
criticizes Jentsch for limiting his concept within the boundaries of the
unknown and taking the ‘intellectual uncertainty’ for the most essential factor
with regard to human reaction towards androids. Freud
introduces another, more important factors for the existence of the ‘uncanny’ than the ‘android’. Analyzing
Hoffmann again, he interprets the ‘uncanny’ as a manifestation of our hidden essence, subconsciously reminding us of our Ego and our suppressed impulses. Our Super-ego, tormented by Oedipal guilt and fear of punishment for violating social norms, perceives it as a threat. But Hoffmann’s art has much in common with
contemporary art and, in particular, with animation not only because it often
borders on horror. Its mixture of genres – fairy tale, documentary prose, dreams, satire, romantic novel, gothic novel,
grotesque, caricature – has become one of the features of modern art and in
particular, animation. Hoffmann, maybe the most eccentric representative of
German romanticism, is up-to-date in
the postmodern era with his fragmented narrative, reversed roles, grotesque
exaggeration, parallel worlds, imperceptible line between parody and
nightmares.
The Nutcracker is probably the only work that Hoffmann meant particularly for children,
devoting
it to his friend Hitzig’s children for whom he had made a cardboard castle the previous Christmas. Certainly in the story there is
something children-friendly in the unbounded arabesque, drawn by Hoffmann’s
imagination. Still, he
is not usually regarded as an author of children’s literature and even though
dedicated to children, The Nutcracker owes its longlasting fame as a children’s
story to its ballet adaptation, which premiered in 1892 at the Mariinsky
Theatre in St Petesburg. The libretto by Dumas Senior, the brilliant and romantic music by Tchaikovsky
and the
choreography by Petipa and Ivanov, turned the ballet into an evergreen
and in its turn, a basis for numerous interpretations, theatrical performances and films. Strangely, it conquered
even America. Alastair Macaulay, the head dance critic for New York Times, says in his column Chronicles of The Nutcracker: ‘The importance of this
ballet to America has become a phenomenon that surely says as much about this
country as it does about this work of art.‘[6] Sarah
Kaufman[7],
also a
distinguished ballet critic, says
that this ballet corresponds
to the Christmas sentiment and optimism of the American audience to such a great extent that most companies do not dare ignore a century old tradition and thus
The Nutcracker has already become a holdback to American ballet. Ironically, literary criticism as a whole, and especially in
America, looks down upon the original Hoffmann’s tale as being inappropriate
for children because it is too scary and because it breaks the rule of thumb in storytelling. Thus
it is the ballet, not the
story itself,
which has brought forth numerous children-orientated animated films.
I have hereby made a brief review of several of these films, choosing them
mostly for their being representative of their cultural and historic
background.
In 1973 Soyuzmultfilm released a traditionally animated version of The Nutcracker directed by Boris Stepantsev. What
distinguishes this Nutcracker from the rest is mainly the script. Although Hoffmann’s name is cited in the credits, the film
starts with a Cinderella motive, presumably as a
social element. While the
other children enjoy their Christmas, little Masha, a broom in hand, dreams for her
own Christmas happiness. The final episodes again can be associated with
Cinderella. Masha throws her clog against the
Mouse King in an attempt to protect her beloved Nutcracker.
The clog bounces from the three- headed Mouse (a slight deviation from Hoffmann’s
seven- headed mouse) and
turns into
a beautiful little shoe. The Nutcracker turns into
a prince not through metamorphosis.
Its outer shell peels
off and inside is
the Prince,
who has always been living within the doll. The score is a Tchaikovsky medley. This makes the film a more romantic, more
sentimental and closer to the spirit of Andersen than to that of Hoffmann. Characters are designed in the
good Russian tradition in children’s books illustration, although some Disney-style elements
are also evident. Still one can feel the 1970s revolt against rounded and oval shapes. The social element is not necessarily due to the Soviet
period. I would
rather attribute
it to
the deliberate Andersen's atmosphere of the film, which in a way deprives
it of Hoffmann’s spirit but on the other hand makes
it a great film
for children.
I even think children of today might like it despite the new cinematic fashions.
The ‘uncanny valley’ factor does not exist here because of the handdrawn animation.
Moreover, the Nutcracker is
just as alive
in the beginning of the movie as it is in the end – an effect due
to the Andersen’s atmosphere and not to the poor quality of the animation.
In 1990 another animated version of The Nutcracker
Prince[8], directed by Paul Schibli, was released. This is
a typical American production for children. Again, it uses more motifs from the Dumas/ Tchaikovsky ballet than from the original Hoffmann’s story.
The
main children characters are not a brother and a sister, but two sisters, the
younger one feeling jealous of the exciting opportunities that her elder sister
has received because of her age. The storyline is relatively close
to Hoffmann’s
story, but quite distant in spirit and atmosphere. The character design for Clara, who
dreams of growing up and falling in love, is an animation
cliché
for an
adolescent girl, who is still like the ugly
duckling, promising to become a beauty. Furthermore, the cliché is
more related to the preliminary stage of storyboard drawing than to a complete cartoon
character. The film, made by all American
standards,
relies to such an
extent to battles between the Prince's the Mouse King’s entourages, that it
somehow manages to target the largest portion of the American audience – boys
in their early teens.
The next
film which deserves attention, is the CGA Barbie in the
Nutcracker [9] (directed by Owen Hurley). It uses video-capture technology: a
direct video link to the New York Opera. This is the first film
since 1987 in a series of cartoons where Barbie is a character in popular children’s stories.
Like most animated Hoffmann’s adaptations, it is again based on the ballet.
The gracious movements
of the real
dancers look strangely
grotesque not only with the
Nutcracker and the other toys
but with
all the characters. Barbie being the
protagonist could serve as an excuse, regardless of the fact that she is not a doll but a ballerina, who tells
the story to her little sister. The film often ‘quotes’ Tchaikovsky's episodes from the Disney Fantasia (1940)
and ironically, thus illustrates the ‘uncanny valley’theory. The fairies from Fantasia are
much more graceful and alive than
their digital granddaughters.
Paradoxically, the ‘terrible’ stone monster,
animated in 3D due to lack of a ‘digital actor’ is
somehow more likeable than Barbie, who is
firmly stuck in the
‘uncanny valley’ with her candy colors, elusive eyes and irritant
pretense of being real. The fact that the film is considered in the USA to be the best and most
popular film
throughout the
whole series
suggests that the ‘uncanny valley’ is to a large extent a matter of cultural background, age, even religion.
In 2004 was
released the Russian-German animated feature film The Nutcracker and the Mouse King[10], directed by Tatiana Ilyina.
Again,
the film uses motifs from Hoffmann’s tale and Tchaikovsky’s
ballet.
The 2004 Nutcracker is
remarkable with its phantasy design,
abundance of characters, storyline twists and
gags. Its
masterly handdrawn animation prevents it from entering the ‘uncanny valley’.
The scriptwriters Tatiana Ilyina and Michael Morer have tried to make the story
suitable for both European and American audiences. The location is St
Petersburg where on Christmas Eve Drosselmeyer arrives to look for the girl who
could remove the magic from his nephew. On Drosselmeyer’s carriage there
are three mice – a
fat mouse, a thin one and
their king. Drosselmeyer opens a toy shop
where he performs a puppet show, telling the story of the Nutcracker Prince. It
grabs the attention of a Russian girl, Masha, who takes the play seriously in
spite of her brother’s objections. At night, Masha and
her new doll are attacked by the Mouse King. After a series
of adventures,
everything ends happily – Мasha and the Prince, hand in hand, disappear in the
distance. A
mouse’s shadow appears as
a reflection on the street lantern. Apart from that slight deviation,
probably an expression of homage to Hoffmann, the film is made following the recipe
for a children’s story. The mice are funnier than terrifying; Tchaikovsky’s
music is mixed
with an American-style score. With all respects to the tremendous
work that was done in the film, it still looks like a sumptuous gift, waiting
for its audience under the Christmas tree.
The last two versions of The
Nutcracker that I
have chosen to look into are two live-action feature films, where
animation is just a ‘guest’. The first is the Canadian TV film The Secret of the Nutcracker (directed by Eric Till), in which the
main character Clara, with her mother and two brothers, wait for her father to
return from WWII. The film uses several attractive elements: Tchaikovsky’s music, Venetian carnival masks; 3D computer generated
animation,
ballet dancers from the prestigious Alberta
Ballet. Drosselmeyer
(reminding of Einstein) occasionally turns
into an owl whose magical
eyes are perhaps the most mystic elements in the film. Mice here are the Nazis. Thus evilness
receives a concrete impersonification and the strange mingling of dreams and reality,
so characteristic of Hoffmann, is lost.
This ‘confusion’ is a challenge for any director who decides to tackle the topic ‘Hoffmann and war’, especially when he uses Tchaikovsky’s ballet,
by rule included
into the Christmas
TV programs around the world. Probably that is what made the director choose for the finale a trivial family
reunion embrace.
The same is the problem
with The Nutxcracker
in 3D[11]
by Russian-American director
Andrei Konchalovsky. An English-Hungarian
production, it had a high
budget,
which ensured the participation of distinguished performers
and professionals - John Turturro, Nathan Lane, Frances de la Tour, Tim Rice, and etcetera. However, it is considered by film critics to be a complete
failure. Some critics focus on the horror children would suffer when watching the movie – a
dubious assumption in
the modern film environment. Others believe the film to be boring and amateurish, criticizing the choice of
3D technology or the
lack of professionalism in using it, and the neglect of Tchaikovsky’s ballet. The idea for the ballet on screen occurred in the late 1960's and belonged to the well-known British film director Anthony Askott. Konchalovsky
wrote the script together
with his father, Sergei Mikhalkov and Andrei
Tarkovsky. Askott’s death
cancelled the project.
The new script is
by Konchalovsky and Chris Solimine.
Konchalovsky says that ballets
are difficult to be filmed. The only doll
in the movie is Nutcracker, shot against
green screen to show its wooden
texture, and
following the preliminary 3D animation. All the other dolls are actors with heavy make-up. Mice
are also actors who took special lessons in animal behavior. The
atmosphere is an ecclectic mix between the beginning of last century and World War II. The director points at Gustav Klimt’s
art and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis as sources of inspiration. I tried to watch the film as
impartially as I could, regardless of the critics’ warnings. The film
disappointed me: Konchalovsky has replaced the ballet with an American-style
musical, shot against disturbing pictures from World War II. Drosselmeyer is
here a direct replica of Einstein. The fights between mice and the Nutcracker’s
entourage are overloaded with 3D effects and try to combine the surreal and
grotesque with blatant American style action. Three film critics, independently
from each other – Tasha Robinson[12], Jonathan Crow[13], Claudina Puig[14] –
have called the film ‘mishmash’. But it is not the ‘mishmash’ of the plot
and the ecclectic atmosphere that disappointed me. The problem is that the film
is meant to please everyone – Hoffmann’s and Tchaikovsky’s devotees, children,
intellectuals, aficionados of the American musical and most of all, fans of 3D
animation, which, like the optical illusions ridiculed by Hoffmann himself, in
this film almost suffocate the viewers’ imagination.
The ‘uncanny valley’
factor here is to be found not so much in the clumsy movements of the main
character, but in the whole artificial atmosphere, probably a result of the
great ambition of its creators and the high budget.
Mentioning again the
“uncanny valley’, I would like to look into Hoffmann’s original story The Sandman once again and examine
its influence not only on roboticism, principles of animation design,
psychoanalysis, but in postmodern art as a structure, means and purpose. In his story Hoffmann uses an old folkloric belief,
common in the Scandinavian countries and Germany: every evening the Sandman
comes and sprays ‘magic dust’ into the eyes of children, thus lulling them to
sleep. In Hoffmann’s version Sandman takes the eyes of naughty children, and
flies to the moon to feed his own offspring with them. As I have already
mentioned, Freud’s analysis of the story differs from the one Dr Jentsch made
in his essay. But Hoffmann himself with his versatility suggests different
points of view to his work, depending on the reader’s occupation, character,
and background. It is clear why the story has provoked the interest of
psychoanalysts - the traumatic incident as a child and the post-traumatic
experiences of the protagonist, the 'accidental' repetition of the same
experience, character or symbolic element, the image of the father who for some
strange reason assists the Sandman only to be brought by this collaboration to
his death. The story can be accepted as a ‘horror’, fantastic or satirical genre.
Western culture perceives it primarily as a ‘horror’ story. Central European
and Russian cultures more easily accepts Hoffmann’s diversity. My attitude
certainly also depends on my professional and cultural background. Being an
animator, for me the continuing issue that arises with Hoffmann is not a
problem - what is dream and hallucination and what is real. The boundary
between imagination and reality in animation is also dynamic, often invisible
and subtle. What most strikes me in The
Sandman is Hoffmann’s irony: to the rationalism and pretentiousness of
scientists from the Enlightenment era, to the common sense of the German
Burger, to the subjective idealism of the romantics, and mostly to himself. The
‘eyes’ motif, also subject of various interpretations, for me is the most
accurate metaphor for the puzzle that constantly tormented not only Hoffmann
but philosophers of much more serious reputation than his. Which is more real,
what we see outside or what we see within us? Is what we see within us simply a
reflection of the outside world? Or vice versa – is the outside world a
reflection of what we think? Hoffmann does not provide answers but the
questions can be found in all his works. Moreover, in his texts these questions
are more vividly and clearly interpreted than in many academic works. I have
always associated Hoffmann’s texts with Heisenberg’s ‘uncertainty principle‘ and the famous Schrödinger's cat
paradox. Notably, Hoffmann has often been declared by researchers mad, an alcoholic,
addicted to gambling and opium. Yes, he visited Bamberg’s madhouse to watch the
patients and in his diaries often reflected on his own mental condition. Yes,
at that time opium was promoted as an omnipotent remedy, especially against the
writer’s diseases. In several of his works Hoffmann praises alcohol never
leaving out the pitiful consequences that drinking can lead to. I take
skeptically speculations about Hoffmann’s personality. How could an addicted or
mentally deranged person be such a prolific writer, composer, conductor,
musical critic, artist, lawyer, theatre manager and director, lawyer, as
described by his contemporaries – this is a minor problem. But it is very
difficult to reconcile with his image of a deranged person his brilliant philosophical
insight, his noteworthy fluency in several languages (which makes his literary
works so difficult to translate and read), his accuracy as a musician and sharp
eye for caricature. Cognitive science has now and then pointed at
Hoffmann as an example of ‘synesthesia’. But even without any scientific
methods anyone can see that his work is polyphonic and this is the key to my
perception of The Sandman . There are
several themes in it that develop simultaneously: the fear of the small
Nathanael grows along with his curiosity towards the unknown, incomprehensible
and horrible. What happens in front of the fireplace in his childhood is
similar to what he witnesses years later – the scene where Spalanzani and
Coppola fight over the automaton Olympia and tear her apart, her legs drooping
terribly from their sockets, and her two ‘pretty’ eyes tumbling on the floor.
While the childhood incident evokes real horror, the second scene is
ridiculous. The fireblast that kills Nathanael’s father later appears in another
mood and circumstances - his student’s lodging burns out, forcing him to settle
against the home of the mysterious Olympia. The tune of his relationship with
Clara, the ‘common sense’ girl, is played with a sense of comedy, while his
falling in love with the automaton is played in a satirical, even grotesque
mood. Hoffmann suggests that Olympia’s constant reaction ‘Ah, ah’ is the
reason Nathanael prefers her to Clara, who is often annoyed with his ongoing
romantic prattling.
In 1991 the deceased English animator Paul Berry finished his short animated film Sandman. For many critics Sandman is a source of inspiration for Nightmare Before Christmas where Paul Berry participated as an
animator. A masterpiece
made in the best traditions of the
remarkable puppet animation studio
Cossgrove Hall,
Sandman crosses several borders. This film not only changed the reputation of the studio, achieved mainly by the beautiful animated adaptation
of the Wind of the Willows but
forbode the Gothic trend in
animation. The film defies some experts’ prejudice that puppets can never be as scary as digitally animated characters. Paul Berry did not name Hoffmann in the film credits but it atmosphere (definitely
not for children) is an
exploration of the deepest
childhood nightmares - when
we are afraid that someone will come out
from under the bed and we hear the
strange noises of the night that seem to
breathe
like a huge, unfamiliar monster.
Sandman
is the title of a monthly comics
series (1988-1996)
by the British author Neil Gaiman. Apart from the main storyline, it includes several horror stories by guest writers and artists. The main character is Morpheus, an anthropomorphic incarnation of ‘sleep’,
who, like Hoffmann’s character, steals his victims’ eyes. The design is dark – much more sinister than one can find in Hoffmann’s
art. Reminding of Art Nouveau, it distances away from Hoffmann’s sarcasm,
humor and caricature. Gaiman is known to the younger generation not only for Sandman
(DC Comics edition),
but also for his
novels Stardust, American Gods
and Coraline,
all of which were turned into
successful Hollywood movies. Gaiman became a
passionate reader from his early childhood and his work is
characterized by numerous
literary references.
As he
says in an interview, when he began reading at the age of 4, he instantly fell
in love with ‘brackets’. The skill to
use
brackets can be interpreted as the ability to make implications, to use subtexts, to
put things into
context. Brackets are also used in playwriting when the character turns directly to the audience, and
then continues to perform.
Regardless of all
possible implications,
it is easy to associate brackets
with the well known and trendy quotations gesture. Sometimes it is a way to show one’s ironic attitude to
the meaning,
invested in the
quoted text.
One of the most commercially realized
and award-winning contemporary writers, Gaiman definitely uses brackets in all possible ways,
including as a reference. I have not met
Hoffmann’s name in Gaiman’s interviews, but the vast majority of his work,
and separate facts from his personal life resemble Hoffmann’s world. Anonymous, revised and updated, Hoffmann parades on the pages of comic books,
graphic novels, and on the big
screen. The latest
example is Coraline[15] (2009) by
Henry Selick. The plot is an implicit
reference to Hoffman’s Sandman, to Alice
in the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll and The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
A girl with blue hair (a reference to the blue-haired fairy in Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi?), moved with her parents into an old house. The eccentric new neighbours are two old Scottish actresses (the landladies), their grandson and
a Russian acrobat. Coraline's parents are nice, but too busy to pay attention to her. Exploring the house, Coraline finds
a door in the wall (a reference to Alice
in Wonderland or The Chronicles of
Narnia?),
behind which there are
only bricks. In the
night the door leads
her to
a parallel world (a reference to Hoffmann’s The Devil’s Elixir[16]?) where her parents and neighbours
have their counterparts. Instead of eyes they all have buttons, but otherwise they look more amusing and pay special attention to Coraline,
luring her to remain forever in their world. The girl continues to visit the parallel world despite the warnings of the landladies’ black cat (Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat?) The pseudo mother invites the girl to remain forever in their world, which will cost her the eyes. Coraline disagrees and the witch sends her through the mirror into a tiny room, full of children’s ghosts. Their
eyes have been stolen and their
parents –abducted.
Her own parents are
also kidnapped. Coraline challenges the
witch
- if the girl
manages
to find the children’s eyes
and parents, the witch
should leave them alone. Otherwise Coraline
would lose both her eyes
and her parents. An
important role plays the
witch’s mechanical hand. It penetrates into the real world, pursuing Coraline everywhere, until finally the landlady’s grandson helps the girl out and everything ends with the expected
‘happy end’. Contrary to the
end, the
opening scene is
no less and even more
sinister than the film itself.
Moreover, it
may make by itself
a short film for adults – a
mechanical hand tears down a raggedy doll. The impact of these images, to which the music conributes a lot, is so disturbing that
even the credits
fail to remind us that we are just
watching a
movie. Henry
Sellick has admitted that the film was
a risk, and I am
certain that the horror element is one of the risk factors. Metaphors
of the eye and the hand
appear repeatedly both in history of
animation, in Gothic novels and, as one can see in contemporary art. The ‘eyes’ and ‘hand’ theme appear,
already interpreted in a utilitarian aspect, even in the ‘uncanny valley’ theory.
The film brings another important
issue -
the question of references, such a favourite with the writer of the film,
Gaiman, who is known for a long legal fight with an artist over the copyright of some characters from the comic strip Spoon. Paradoxically, in the times of postmodern interpretations, variations
and references which
are a logical development of human culture, copyright issues are constantly on the agenda. The dolls in Coraline are
printed with a 3D printer. The agility of the characters’ faces almost equals the plasticity of Disney-style animation, probably a purposefully sought
effect to avoid the ‘uncanny valley’. Besides, Selick is a graduate from
CalArts,
the very centre of
the Disney culture.
One way or other,
Coraline is a vivid example of how Western culture has been influenced by Hoffmann, even though
his name is not explicitly mentioned.
Sandman is one of the three Hoffmann’s tales on which
Stanislav Sokolov and Mikhail Shemyakin have been making for years the animated
feature film Hofmaniada, whose premiere is expected this year. The project
originated in 2001 at the initiative of Shemyakin and is the largest of its
kind in Russia. The production began in 2005, but due to financial
difficulties, has not been finished yet. Excerpts from the film show
exceptional puppet animation and a specific approach to Hoffmann. Horror and
phantasy exist together with good-natured humour, growing into satire. At times
these notes fade away to let us hear the clear ‘sound’ of beauty. In 2001
Shemyakin also put on stage at the Mariinsky Theatre his version of the ballet,
where Masha and the Prince eventually become sugarmade decorations on top of
their wedding cake. Even if we leave apart his interesting background of
a political exile, painter and sculptor, and if we judge only from this version
of The Nutcracker, Shemyakin seems to
be one of the truest heirs of Hoffmann.
I have abstained from going deeper into Hoffmann’s life
because of time limitations, although his life and personality have much to do with his work and its worldwide impact on
art, philosophy and culture. Nevertheless, I will
finish with an episode from
his life.
A month before he died, Hoffman wrote My
Cousin’s Corner Window– a story about a paralyzed man who watches from his window the market square below. His cousin
– a poet, receives a lesson on how one should see - not using
his eyes, but his imagination. Food items from the market become theatrical characters. On the
day before his death, Hoffman again flies on the wings of
imagination to the cookies
kingdom from
The Nutcracker. Relieved from
pain, due to complete paralysis, Hoffmann asks his friend to
turn him face to the the wall and says: ‘It is time to think of God’. Thus he departed from
this world,
leaving a significant, often unaccounted for, legacy.
Bibliography
1. Hoffmann,
E.T.A.(1816), Nachtstücke (2 vol., 1816–1817), [published
annonymously]
2. Mori, M.
(1970), Bukimi no tani. The
uncanny valley
(Translated by K.
F. MacDorman & T. Minato). Energy, 7 (4),33–35 [
originally in Japanese]
3. Yentsch, E.
(1906), Zur Psychologie des Unheimlichen,
Psychiatrisch-Neurologische Wochenschrift 8.22 and 8.23. 195-198., Angelaki, 2.1, Routledge. Translated by
Roy Sellars.
4. Hoffmann,
E.T.A.(1816), Nachtstücke (2
vol., 1816–1817), [published annonymously]
5. Freud, Z.
(1919), Das Unheimliche, Imago, Bd.
V.; Standard Edition of the Complete
Psychological Works (1995).Translated by James Stratchi, Hogarth Press,
London.
8. Robinson, T.
(2010)’ The Nutcracker in 3D’, Rotten
Tomatoes. Available at www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nutcracker-the-untold-story[23
November 2010]
9. Crow, J.
(2010) ‘The Nutcracker in 3D’, Yahoo Movies. Available at movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809912514/details [23 November 2010]
10. Puig, C.(2010), 'Nutcracker in 3D is
not at all relative USA today”, USA Today. Available at
www.usatoday.com/.../2010-11-23-nutcracker3D_ST_N.htm[23 November 2010]
11. Hoffman, E.T.A.(1815),Die Elixiere
des Teufels: Nachgelassene Papiere des Bruders Medardus, eines Capuziners
[published anonymously]
[1] Hoffmann, E.T.A.(1816), Nachtstücke
(2 vol., 1816–1817)
, [published annonymously]
[2] Mori, M. (1970), Bukimi no tani. Energy, 7, 33–35, [in
Japanese]
[3] Jentsch, E.
(1906), Zur Psychologie des Unheimlichen,
Psychiatrisch-Neurologische Wochenschrift 8.22
and 8.23.
[4] Hoffmann, E.T.A.(1816), Nachtstücke
(2 vol., 1816–1817), [published annonymously]
[5] Freud, Z. (1919), Das Unheimliche, Imago, Bd. V.
[8] Lacewood Productions and Warner
Bros.
[9]
Produced by Jesyca Durchin and Jennifer Twiner McCaron
.
[10] Produced by Media Cooperation
One
,I.F.A. Infine
,Telemagination
, Argus International
Sandstorm Films
[12] Robinson, T.(2010)’ The Nutcracker
in 3D’,Rotten Tomatoes. Available at www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nutcracker-the-untold-story[23 November 2010]
[13] Crow, J. (2010) ‘The Nutcracker in
3D’, Yahoo Movies. Available at movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809912514/details [23 November 2010]
[14] Puig, C.(2010), 'Nutcracker in 3D is not at all relative
USA today”, USA Today. Available at
www.
usatoday.com/.../2010-11-23-nutcracker3D_ST_N.htm
[23 November 2010]
[16] Hoffman, E.T.A.(1815),Die
Elixiere des Teufels: Nachgelassene Papiere des Bruders Medardus, eines
Capuziners [published anonymously
]
Published in Visual and
Performing Arts, edited by Stephen Arbury and Aikaterini Gergoulia,
Athens Institute for
Education and Research, 2011
