Introduction

Hi my name is Lakshmanan, but I usually go by Lucky. I’m a senior Neuroscience major and Philosophy minor. From the first week of classes I can tell that the notion of mimesis is a very complex topic that has wide implications. Throughout my posts I will do my best to refine my understanding of this concept, and find examples of its use in our culture.

Mimesis is an ancient Greek word that can be roughly translated as “imitate.” However, mimetic art is not simply trying to copy reality; rather, it gives a more stylized viewpoint of reality (I was wondering if one could even say that mimetic art is an extension of reality. Any thoughts?) . A mimetic exploration of art involves looking at an artwork as its own micro-world. This exploration involves more than an audience simply staring at the artwork. Instead, it involves actively participating in the emotions and story being portrayed. As St. Coolidge states, this exploration also involves a “willing suspension of disbelief.” For example, the audience of a play must be willing to overlook that the events they are watching are not actually happening (i.e. person being killed on stage), and still engage the performance. Particularly good mimetic art has an internal harmony that is evident to the audience.

Last weekend, I watched Sucker Punch and thought about mimesis as I was leaving the theatre. In short, this movie is about a girl who uses her imagination to construct an alternate reality in order to escape from the mental institution she is imprisoned in. In one scene, a fight was occurring in a castle between Elves and Orcs (think Lord of the Rings). Meanwhile, the main character flies onto the scene on a helicopter and immediately starts shooting at the Orcs with a machine gun. As I was watching this, an almost subconscious thought popped into my head that something wasn’t right in this picture. Surely machine guns didn’t exist in the Middle-Ages? However, as quickly as this thought popped into my head it disappeared and I continued to watch the movie.

Upon reflection, this experience seems to question Socrates’ thoughts on mimesis. While watching the movie, I agree with Socrates that arational part of my mind took over. I was definitely emotionally affected by the events occurring. However, for such an obvious contradiction as a machine gun in the Middle-Ages, my rational mind stepped in for a brief moment to raise its concerns. Thus, while it seems like the arational part of my mind was in control at the time, the rational mind is constantly watching in the background. When it seems that something is morally questionable or logically incoherent, this rational mind steps in to ensure that we aren’t changed by these false ideas. For this reason, no matter how many movies I watch with machine guns in the Middle-Ages, I am not going to believe that people actually used guns in that time period. What does everyone else think about this idea?