Brechtian
Epic theater style
Brechtian describes theater, art, or storytelling influenced by German playwright Bertolt Brecht.
The hallmarks are techniques that break illusion and remind audiences they're watching a performance—visible stagehands, actors addressing the camera, songs that interrupt narrative, placards announcing scenes.
The goal is critical distance rather than emotional absorption: The film's Brechtian devices kept viewers from identifying too closely with the characters.
Communist theory follower
- dialecticalRelating to logical debate
- class struggleConflict between economic groups
- proletariatLaborers lacking capital ownership
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
agitprop · socialist · ideology · materialism · revolution · collective · propaganda · radical
Didactic, distancing stagecraft
- ensembleUnified group or outfit
- stagingPreparing for presentation
- harsh lightingUnflattering, intense illumination
- Threepenny OperaWeimar-era satirical stage work
Acknowledging fictional boundaries
- direct addressSpeaking to someone named
- placardsSigns carried at demonstrations
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- montageAssembled sequence of images
narration · chorus · tableau · fragmentation · non-linear · juxtaposition · demonstrating · quotation
Advocate of experimental forms
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- defamiliarizationMaking common things seem strange
- intellectualConcerning thought and reason
- coolCalm or fashionable
detachment · analytical · rational · formalist · experimental · sparse · austere · functional
Marxist
Communist theory follower
- dialecticalRelating to logical debate
- class struggleConflict between economic groups
- proletariatLaborers lacking capital ownership
bourgeoisie · agitprop · socialist · ideology · materialism · revolution · collective · propaganda · radical · subversion
epic theater
Didactic, distancing stagecraft
- ensembleUnified group or outfit
- stagingPreparing for presentation
- harsh lightingUnflattering, intense illumination
breaking the fourth wall
Acknowledging fictional boundaries
- direct addressSpeaking to someone named
- placardsSigns carried at demonstrations
- projectionSomething that extends outward
montage · narration · chorus · tableau · fragmentation · non-linear · juxtaposition · demonstrating · quotation
modernist
Advocate of experimental forms
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- defamiliarizationMaking common things seem strange
- intellectualConcerning thought and reason
cool · detachment · analytical · rational · formalist · experimental · sparse · austere · functional · objective
Brechtiannaturalistic
Imitating actual appearance
Method acting · immersive · illusionistic · realist · mimetic
Brechtiancathartic
Emotionally releasing, relieving
absorbing · escapist · empathetic · sentimental · melodramatic
BrechtianAristotelian
Of ancient systematic philosophy
seamless · unified · continuous · representational · linear narrative