A Character in the Space of Leisure. An Essay on Dramatic Composition of Film

Relationship dynamics of a character and his action space is essential to the plot. Consider the case when a character becomes part of high society that is a space of everlasting holiday, of subtle delight, witty talks and fancy entertainments. Most likely this character will face death. Film makers developing that kind of plot seem to anticipate the final collision by charging the film space with various omens. Why? What conflicts is the dazzling world of wealth and leisure fraught with? The study answers that, introducing the concept of “the space of leisure” meaning by leisure an ostentatious waste of time. This definition largely corresponds to Thorstein Veblen’s theory of the leisure class. The ostentation of time wasting gives their existence in the space of leisure the tone of a never ending show blurring the line between the true-life and the semblant. This contradiction is resolved by strict necessity to follow the rules of the game.

The study proves that the space of leisure is a confined playing area with inviolate rules of the game. Introducing in it a spielbrecher (Huizinga), that is a character willing to violate the fixed rules, contributes to unleashing the forces of social disorder loosely-bonded by these rules. Death in the space of leisure results from the spielbrecher’s collision with the elite’s collective interest which makes this death a side effect of the threat of breaking up relations between those in power and the underlings.

So the present day cinema not only draws forth the culture’s ludic aspect but also brings into sharp focus the playing areas’ boundaries and reveals the conflicts of the modern society.