Cruelty

While fun is linked to positive engagement and inclusive community, we explore the connection between fun and cruelty, arguing that acts of aggression and humiliation can also provide pleasurable hedonic experience. In this, we extend the sociological analysis of emotions, emphasizing that emotion work that is broadly rejected can be accepted and desired within the boundaries of local culture as long as interactional commitments exist. These acts, requiring the social support that groups provide, rely on a commitment to cohesion. By examining descriptive accounts of gang activity, bullying, hooliganism, political violence, and military brutality, different in degree of hostility, but similar in rejecting norms of acceptable behavior, we formulate the concept of "dark fun." In these cases that reveal the establishment of hierarchies of power, the ability to make victims suffer establishes the authority of the group, coupled with the low probability that victims will respond in the situation. However, this rejection of consensual norms occurs in sites of emotional heating. What is deviant in the wider society reveals group belonging. To this end, we advance a meso-level theory of hedonic cruelty that draws on features of group affiliation based on collective effervescence, local commitments, and moral ordering.

Írásomban a kegyetlenség problémáját vizsgálom. Hangsúlyozottan kegyetlenségről beszélek és nem erőszakról. Az utóbbi témáról rengeteg írás született, az előbbiről már jóval kevesebb. Természetesen a kegyetlenség és az erőszak összefüggésbe hozhatók egymással, de itt a kegyetlenség " tág " fogalmáról lesz szó, amely nem csak az erőszakos magatartásmódokat foglalja magába. Ha kegyetlenségnek minősítünk egy cselekvést vagy egy struktúrát, annak elfogadhatatlanságára utalunk. Éppen azért érdemes foglalkozni a kegyetlenség változataival, a kegyetlenséghez kapcsolódó jelenségekkel, hogy nyilvánvalóvá tegyük elfogadhatatlanságukat. Tanulmányom I. részében megpróbálom körülhatárolni a kegyetlenség fogalmát, majd leírom a felfoghatatlan kegyetlenség rendjének lényegi működésmódját. A II. részben a témát érintő néhány fontos kérdéssel foglalkozom, végül pedig hétköznapi kegyetlenségeket – amelyeket általában nem tekintenek kegyetlenségnek – elemzek. Dolgozatom alapvetően filozófiai szempontú, de a probléma átfogó filozófiatörténeti áttekintését mellőzöm, viszont a legkülönbözőbb tudományterületekhez kapcsolódó, a felvetett kérdéseket tárgyaló írásokra is utalok, illetve viszonylag sok irodalmi alkotásra hivatkozom, ezek közül azonban csak néhányat vizsgálok behatóbban, a többi esetben az éppen tárgyalt jelenséget próbálom érthetőbbé tenni irodalmi példákkal.

This paper seek to correlate the search for self and knowledge in Okpokam Ngun with Antonin Artaud's articulated idea of a philosophical theatre calibrating it with Martin Heidegger's critique of consciousness. Artaud's vision of the 'Theatre of Cruelty' provides an inquiry into consciousness in that he saw theatre as a way of uncovering Being. He stressed a radical return to experience in artistic practice. For him, this was also the overcoming of metaphysical thinking. While for Heidegger consciousness is not even the right word for human existence and experience of the world. He asserts that the task of philosophy is to investigate the meaning of Being. Thus suggesting an alternative methodology to the scientific model of understanding consciousness, a methodology founded in experience. Okpokam concedes to Artaud and Heidegger's notion by presenting in Ngun a comprehensive re-examination of the journey to self though played out in the confines of man's imitation of life. Ngun projects a theatre that creates a metaphysics of gesture, and expression, in order to rescue it from its servitude to psychology and human interest; all these done with some kind of real metaphysical inclination, an appeal to certain unhabitual ideas, which by their very nature cannot be limited or even formally depicted.

The purpose of this paper is to review the multiple meanings of the terms "barbarian" and "barbarity" during World War I in France. The atrocities perpetrated by the German armies in late Summer 1914 contributed to portray the Germans as "barbarians". This widely circulated image was increasingly used by wartime propaganda. This paper also shows how the term was used by the French themselves to describe their own barbarity and to question brutal forms of warfare.

This paper also shows how the term was used to describe one's own barbarity and to question brutal forms of warfare.

Key words : First World War; Image of Enemy; Barbarian; Brutalization; Cruelty.

Résumé :

Cet article s’intéresse aux différentes acceptions des termes « barbare » et « barbarie » en Grande Guerre, et notamment dans le cas de (...)

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Cet article s’intéresse aux différentes acceptions des termes « barbare » et « barbarie » en Grande Guerre, et notamment dans le cas de la France. Il montre que le barbare est une image de l’ennemi très répandue et utilisée qui se radicalise encore entre 1914 et 1918, notamment du fait des atrocités allemandes du début de la guerre qui permettent d’accuser l’ennemi de « barbarie ». Mais il montre aussi que le terme est parfois employé pour évoquer sa barbarie propre en interrogeant les pratiques de violence sur le champ de bataille.

Mots clés : Première Guerre mondiale ; image de l’ennemi ; barbare ; brutalisation ; cruauté.

In the scheme of the Greek myths of masculine love, the myth of Ameinías and Narkissos falls in the category of myths depicting "hubristic eromenoi" (a category that also includes the myth of Promachus and Leucocomas), in other words, boys who abuse their men lovers. This reconstruction attempts to restore the original form of the myth, not the modified story later published by Ovid in his "Metamorphoses," a myth hijacked by the poet (as was the custom in antiquity) to serve his need for tales of transformation.

The name of the protagonist is rendered here as a transliteration of the original Greek form, as a reminder of its origin in the Greek word narkē meaning numbness, or insensibility. From that root we derive words such as narcotic, and narcosis, a state of stupor. Therefore the name of Narkissos is a signifying name. It  tells us that he represents the archetype of a youth who is numb and insensible to the feelings of other people. In particular, his stupor shuts him off from the love of his lovers, men whose role in Ancient Greek society was to make their beloveds better.

As Aelian describes it, “Lovers’ affection for their beloved has a remarkable power of stimulating the virtues, if the former are themselves worthy of respect." (3.9, 3.10 Var. Hist. in LCL 1997 p.135; Tr. N. G. Wilson) In this context, the suicide of Narkissos can be read as symbolizing the intellectual and social death to which a sullen and unresponsive youth fated himself, if unwilling to reciprocate the well-meaning interest of honorable men. Thus, while in modern times the name "Narcissus" has all kinds of positive romantic and floral connotations, its original intended sense as used in this myth is much closer to "Callous Dolt."

We are all opposed—at least ostensibly—to mindless animal cruelty. Almost no one defended Michael Vick and his cohorts when they tortured and killed dogs for their dog fighting ring. Imagine Michael Vick had been selling a product—say dog-skin handbags from the “losing” dogs—that financially supported and enabled the continued torture of more dogs. We would not only not buy these dog-skin handbags, we would boycott the handbags and urge others not to buy them as well. This essay argues that we are a lot more like Michael Vick than we care to imagine. No, we’re not highly paid football players and we won’t go to jail or go bankrupt for our participation in animal cruelty. But like Michael Vick, we participate in animal cruelty, and we are similarly raised in a way that we do not see its wrongfulness. How do we participate in animal cruelty? By spending billions of dollars each year financially supporting an incredibly common and pervasive form of animal cruelty: factory farming, which involves raising pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys, and other animals in deplorable conditions. And, like Michael Vick, we financially support it in part because we have an addiction. More specifically, we are addicted to the taste of low-cost industrial meat. As a result, we refuse to see our financial support of large scale cruelty to animals.

A critical analysis of The Zoo Story reveals that under the absurd, grim, pessimistic and violent cover, the play sparks illumination of hope and positivism. This article endeavours to establish that the play carries a strong message for reconciliation of the compartmentalized modern society. It also examines how the playwright delivers the message through experimentation on communication and violence in order to create a 'teaching emotion' to push the higher class to endorse existence and needs of the vulnerable lower class.

Un elemento no desdeñable de las religiones políticas contemporáneas, desde el jacobinismo al nazismo, fue la emulación del pasado clásico, no solo en sus formas culturales y artísticas, sino también en lo que tenía de retorno a la ética presocrática y precristiana con su desprecio por la debilidad. El peligro de la evocación del imperialismo del mundo clásico no ha estado circunscrito a los nacionalismos o al colonialismo. De hecho, en sus orígenes estuvo más bien vinculado con tendencias políticas revolucionarias.
Este ensayo constituye un recorrido exhaustivo por las fuentes de la literatura y la historia de la Antigüedad Clásica para exponer la crueldad sistémica de esa época, y, mediante el análisis de los textos contemporáneos que se sirvieron de modelos antiguos para legitimar sus políticas de violencia, establecer los vínculos que se dieron entre la evocación del mundo clásico y las políticas de terror del mundo contemporáneo.
El primer problema que afronta el historiador de la crueldad es la relativa ausencia de materiales textuales pertenecientes al género que hoy día podríamos llamar ‘literatura de denuncia’. La indignación moral ante el sufrimiento de las víctimas inocentes, si estos eran ajenos a la comunidad política o cultural a la que se pertenecía, es algo que muy raramente encontramos en las fuentes clásicas. Aun así, hay decenas de textos del mundo clásico, además de evidencias arqueológicas y artísticas, que permiten hacer un estudio de la violencia estructural con los débiles que se daba en esas sociedades: masacres de prisioneros desarmados, violencia indiscriminada contra civiles en conflictos bélicos y luchas políticas, violaciones en masa de mujeres, suplicios capitales y tortura judicial, la esclavitud o el abuso sexual y explotación laboral de niños.

This is an author proof of Chapter 8: Holocaust Pleasures, from my monograph Sexual Myths of Modernity: Sadism, masochism and historical teleology. This chapter considers the role of invocations of 'sadism' in recent Holocaust perpertrator historiography and sociology. 

I have been receiving so many requests for this chapter since it does not show up at all on the google books search and Lexington still charges over US$100 for my book!

R. Włodarczyk, Okrucieństwo, przemoc i wychowanie według Michela de Montaigne'a. Szkic z deontologii pedagogicznej [Cruelty, Violence, and Education by Michel de Montaigne. The aim of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon of cruelty according to deontology in education. The cruelty represents a significant threat to the pedagogical relationship for two reasons. Firstly, as one of the forms of aggression. Secondly, it occurs mostly in a hidden or covert form. The author refers to the concepts of cruelty put forth by Michel de Montaigne and Judith N. Shklar. Indicating indicates the difference between cruelty and violence, he points out the measures to prevent the emergence of atrocities in education and everyday life.

The present paper offers a succinct comparative study of the philosophical considerations on the nature and function of cruelty by the Marquis de Sade and by Friedrich Nietzsche. As such, this paper is meant to serve three main purposes: (1) It provides an account of the understanding of cruelty in the philosophies of these two thinkers, thus highlighting (although not probing further) a major axiological dimension involved in the moral assessment of cruelty; (2) It adds to the rather thin body of contemporary studies in philosophy and in the history of ideas dealing with cruelty; (3) It develops a detailed comparison between their two philosophies, thus deepening the understanding of a striking case of intellectual affinity, which has been recognised by many but studied by few.

Introduction to completely rewritten, edited an updated version of Dr Voeten’s PhD thesis. Voeten has been focussing on the Mexican Drug Violence since 2009, as a photographer, journalist and anthropologist. It is currently the most violent conflict in a modern, industrialized country, taking nearly 250.000 casualties in 15 years time. In his book, Voeten first analyzes the nature and dynamics of the drug violence. He argues how it is a new type of conflict: Hybrid warfare, multidimensional, elusive and unpredictable, fought at different levels, with different intensities with multiple goals. The war ISIS has declared against the West is another example of hybrid warfare.
Voeten proceeds to analyse how a neoliberal system in overdrive has created a class of superfluous, expendable people who become the foot soldiers for organized crime. Drug cartels function as predatory, hyper-capitalist corporations that thrive in a globalized economy and use, just as legitimate corporations, elaborate branding and markerting strategies.
Voeten also looks at the anthropological, individual level and explains how people can become ruthless killers and actually enjoy killing. He talks to Mexican assassins for hire (sicarios) and compares them with Jihadists, West-African child soldiers and crack dealers from New York. He explores the sense of ‘senseless’ violence and researches how humans are able to commit ‘inhumane’ acts that are in fact very human.

This paper deals with the question, how an abstract practice like 'vio-lence' can be measured. On a methodological level, there are two possibilities: On the one hand, a quantitative approach that tries to determine homicide rates allegedly allowing comparisons over regions and time. On the other hand, there is a qualitative approach that analyses key concepts like 'cruelty' in order to define the limits of acceptable violence. However, both approaches have clear shortcomings. This article proposes another perspective: Using the example of France in the later Middle Ages, it scrutinises contemporary ideas of violence as they were expressed in chronicles and treatises. By focussing on decidedly negative descriptions of violent acts, we can pinpoint several characteristics that show which cultural aspects were of special importance for the contemporaries, e. g. the social standing of the people involved, the context of the act itself as well as the physical integrity of the nobles' bodies.

It was for a planned future section of his war museum entitled “Storia dell’avvenirismo – Precursori della Futurologia” (“History of Futurism – Forerunners of Futur- ology) that in 1957 Diego de Henriquez, ex-soldier and passionate collector, bought fifteen of Albert Robida’s original sketches for Pierre Giffard’s La Guerre infernale (1908) from a bookstand in Rome. Of these original illustrations (today at the Civico Museo di guerra per la pace “Diego de Henriquez” of the City of Trieste), eight are reproduced in Law, Justice and Codification in Qing China. Accompanying and drawing on their publication, this essay critically assesses Giffard and Robida’s work, outlining precedents and coeval trends as regards the representation of Chinese tortures and the Yellow Peril in early science fiction and Western public discourse.
La Guerre infernale is an early work of science fiction which offers, today, a graphic example of the collective imagery of coeval times related to future wars and technologies, Chinese punishments and atrocities, and fears of the Yellow Peril. By 1908, the theme of Chinese torture, and the topos of Oriental cruelty was not unprecedented in Robida’s work, nor was it an isolated case in popular French and Western publications. Be that as it may (and perhaps precisely because it taps into broader cultural currents), the clash, in La Guerre infernale, between ethnic stereotypes, which informed the representation of Oriental brutality and sadism, and visions of a future driven by technological progress, offers a unique vantage point from which to observe and critically assess Sino-Western cultural relationships at the dawn of the Twentieth century (or at the end of a “long” Nineteenth century).

In this article, we explore cruelty under populism, focusing on radical right populism. We develop our argument by introducing a two-dimensional model of cruel behavior in politics, in which cruelty is conceptualized as a dependent variable defined in terms of empathy (how the leader addresses those who suffer) and action (how the leader acts to alleviate suffering). This framework provides a nuanced understanding of how cruelty and populism connect, providing an original and cutting-edge contribution to both bodies of work. We use our two-dimensional model of cruel behavior to shed light on the different ways radical right populists (RRP) embrace cruelty as part of their political strategies. We have come to three “ideal” types of RRP cruel behavior: downplaying, blaming, and conspiring. In order to advance our ideas, we rely on the qualitative analysis of Brazil's far-right populist President Jair Bolsonaro and his (in)actions regarding COVID-19, who once asked about the soaring number of dead from COVID-19 simply answered: “So what? What do you want me to do?.” Using this case study, we empirically illustrate different ways in which how cruelty can manifest itself in practice and what real-life consequences it can have.

Following Michael Polanyi’s conception of the learned community qua “society of explorers”, i.e., actual persons who are responsibly committed to the candid investigation of reality for the overall sake of the common good, we reconstruct and present hereby the varied and varying understanding of two major common-sense concepts in the history of Western culture: ‘humour’ and ‘cruelty’. On this exploration, we traverse a wide range of disciplinary fields, encompassing the humanities and the social sciences at large, albeit focussing upon philosophy and psychology in particular. Phenomena of interest are duly tracked, described, and discussed, according to the import that we deem they possess in terms of epistemic, ethical and existential value. The aim of our exploration is to produce a richer map of human thought, showing how the vast historical plurality of expert interpretations of these two concepts, and frequently underplayed intersections thereof, is no sheer frustrating ambiguity but, as it is eventually argued, the inevitable and even useful result of the polysemy inherent to all common-sense concepts. Michael Polanyi, once again, serves as our key reference-point in making this case.

The article tackles two of the main points of Michael Hampe's book "Die Dritte Aufklärung" (The Third Enlightenment): 1. Hampe's version of the classical liberal paradoxon (how much violence is allowed in order to maintain the non-violence-vote?). 2. Hampe's definition of cruelty and violence and his ideas on how to avoid them. Regarding 1., I counter Hampe's vote for tolerance regarding lifestyles by insisting on the importance of a unified or at least always partially converging reality, that we all inhabit commonly. This allows for a different, though not less rigorous, evaluation of the use of violence against, in Hampe's case, the "enemies of enlightenment". Regarding 2., I argue that cruelty should not be relegated to the realm of physical violence only but include the subtle humiliations that stem from crushing people's ways of attributing existential sense to their lifes, i.e. their sets of interconnected beliefs and desires. Hampe is voting for more rationality and Bildung in order to counter the post-truth-plight. I agree on the need for rational practices but think that the creation of a common imaginary is equally important and that this is possible only if it includes equal opportunities and hence the redistribution of wealth. Where Hampe thinks that we are in need of a Third Enlightenment, I argue that the last Enlightenment has not kept its promise of emancipation because most people's desires for autonomy are still waiting to be backed up by reality.

ÖZ Şiddet toplumsallık söz konusu olduğunda hem yapılandırıcı hem de dönüştürücü bir yansıma sunmaktadır. Bu metinde temel amaç, şiddetin fiziksel durumundan çok, oluşsal ve içsel bir itki olarak sergilenmesidir. Toplumsallık insanın varlığını koruma güdüsüyle ortaya çıksa da, yasal düzenin baskısının sınırlaması insanın doğal duruma dönme itkisini ortaya koyar. Ancak toplumsal alanda olan bir tökezleme insanı dehşete sürükler; bu noktada insan bastırdığı yönlerini tanımaya başlar. Amacımız, tam da bu noktada doğal şiddetin insanın içinde itici bir güç oluşturduğu ve böylelikle insanın kendini bu dönüştürülmüş şiddetle yeniden belirlediğini göstermektir. Bu nedenle özellikle Nietsche'nin acıyı olumlayan insanı, Artaud'un dehşet fikri ve Heidegger'in Dasein anlayışı temel alınacaktır. ABSTRACT When sociality is concerned, it presents a reflection both as constructive and transformer. At this text the fundamental aim is rather than the physical condition of violence, exhibiting it as an existential and inner impulse. Although, sociality appears with the drive of keeping existence, limitation of law order's pressure show the drive of turning back to natural condition. However, a trip in social area drags human into terror; at this point man starts to recognize his suppressed sides. Our aim, exactly at this point to show that, natural violence constructs a repulsive power inside of human and in this way human re-determines his self with transformed violence. For that reason especially Nietzsche's human who is affirm suffer, Artaud's cruelty idea and Heidegger's Dasein understanding will be the basis.

In this paper I outline and criticize Judith Shklar’s and Richard
Rorty’s ‘liberalism of fear’. Both political thinkers believe liberalism to be characterized by a fundamental opposition to cruelty, which they regard as the least liberal of the features that may distinguish any given human community. In order to demonstrate the limits of the Shklar–Rorty thesis, I make use, in the first place, of John Kekes’s critique of liberalism as to show that liberalism allows for cruelty in so far as it grants wider margins of agency to the members of the community. In the second place, I make use of Cesare Beccaria’s reflections on the cruelty implied by liberalism as such, in so far as this political doctrine endorses the institutions of penal justice and private property.

Nous nous proposons d’approfondir ici le portrait psychologique et idéologique, dessiné notamment dans Kaputt, du comte Agustín de Foxá, intellectuel espagnol phalangiste, ami de Malaparte et, comme celui-ci, romancier, journaliste, dramaturge et diplomate. Cette étude est, à nos yeux, importante pour comprendre quelques aspects Fondamentaux de l’oeuvre et de la personnalité de l’écrivain de Prato. Par exemple :
1. La valeur et le sens de notions clés de son oeuvre telles que la dichotomie cruauté-pitié.
2. La fonction importante exercée par le catholicisme dogmatique et “rhétorique” de l’écrivain espagnol dans l’itinéraire de Malaparte qui débouche sur son attitude particulière face à la souffrance réelle de l’homme.
3. La caractérisation du christianisme “anarchiste” de Malaparte par rapport au catholicisme “théologique” du comte de Foxá.

Play behaviour is notorious for constituting a much debated, yet little clarified field of research. In this article, attempts are made to reach conclusions on the relation between human play and the play of other animals (especially cat play), as well as on the very character of play. The concept of Umwelt is reviewed, as are definitions of animal play, categorization of animal play and the role of meta-communication in playful behaviour. For some, play is a symbol of everything that is good. The author of the current article does not deny that social morality may have originated from play behaviour, but stresses the existence of cruelty play, which leads to additional assumptions. Another notion that is treated in some detail is perceptual play, which proves to demonstrate complex semiotic play that is related first of all to signification. At the end of the article an alternative categorization of animal play is suggested, in which the fundamental role of mind games is emphasized. Throughout the text, examples examples of play behaviour are offered by the two domestic cats Muki and Maluca.

Résumé
Les violences subies par les déportés dans les camps de concentration et d’extermination ont le plus souvent, à juste titre, été rapportées à une industrie impersonnelle et bureaucratique, voire à des logiques institutionnelles mettant l’accent sur les logiques propres à un camp ou les idéologies corporatistes, dont celle des nazis ou des SS. Dans cet article, nous proposons une perspective complémentaire, sans doute marginale, mais qui a tout de même sa pertinence : en postulant l’existence de marges de manœuvre des acteurs socio-historiques, nous développons le concept d’« acte d’initiative » par lequel il devient possible de sociologiser les pratiques de cruauté. En suivant de près la trajectoire d’un officier SS, Otto Moll, il s’agit d’articuler les cadres structurels évolutifs (passage de l’état de paix à l’état de guerre, du Reich allemand au Reich européen) et d’explorer les spécificités institutionnelles des camps étudiés (des camps de concentration aux camps d’extermination). Enfin le parcours professionnel et social du bourreau sera étudié non seulement par sa logique de carrière, mais aussi par ses postures propres et notammment ses actes de cruauté inédites.

Mots clés : cruauté ; système concentrationnaire nazi ; SS ; Otto Moll.

Abstract
“Concentration-camp violence in the prism of cruelty (1933-1945): The case of Otto Moll”

The violence suffered by deportees in the concentration and extermination camps has rightly been attributed most frequently to an impersonal and bureaucratic industry, even to institutional logic, with an emphasis on the particular logic of a camp or of corporatist ideologies, such as those of the Nazi Party or the SS. In this article, we propose a complementary perspective, undoubtedly marginal, but which nonetheless has relevance: in postulating the existence of margins of maneuver for socio-historical actors, we develop the concept of the act of initiative through which it becomes possible to understand the practices of cruelty in a sociological framework. In closely following the trajectory of an SS officer, Otto Moll, we articulate the evolving structural frameworks (passage from peace to war, from the German Reich to the European Reich), the institutional specificities of the camps studied (from concentration camps to extermination camps), and finally the professional and social path of the executioner understood not only through the logic of his career, but also in terms of his individual agency and even creativity that spurred his particular acts of cruelty.
Key words : Cruelty; Nazi Concentration Camp System; SS; Otto Moll.

Pour citer cet article : Patrick Bruneteaux et Elissa Maïlander, « Les violences concentrationnaires au prisme de la cruauté (1933-1945) : le cas d’Otto Moll », Histoire@Politique, n° 26, mai-août 2015, www.histoire-politique.fr
http://www.histoire-politique.fr/index.php?numero=26&rub=dossier&item=251

L'oeuvre de Brian Evenson, ténébreuse et inquiétante, longtemps marginale, s'impose désormais comme majeure dans le champ de la littérature américaine. Le présent ouvrage constitue une tentative d'approcher des textes à l'origine d'une expérience de lecture inédite, d'une intensité rare, qui inaugure une nouvelle forme de violence faite au corps ainsi qu'au sens. Il propose en effet une réflexion suivie, à plusieurs voix et engageant plusieurs disciplines, sur la notion de cruauté envisagée dans l'oeuvre de Brian Evenson et plus largement en littérature. La production de Brian Evenson, pour être subtile et volontiers déconcertante, joue avec les genres et les niveaux de lecture pour toucher aussi bien le critique aguerri que le lecteur désintéressé, amateur de suspense, de science-fiction, de récit gothique ou plus largement d'intrigues à sensations. L'ouvrage explore la diversité générique de l'oeuvre et la grande dextérité langagière qui la rend appréciable par une grande variété de lecteurs, pour des raisons différentes. Cet ouvrage est l'occasion de se confronter à une oeuvre exigeante, obsessionnelle, mue par le désir d'approcher les confins dangereux de l'expérience humaine.

Antonin Artaud’s concept of a theater of cruelty and his scarce writings on cinema
have profoundly infl uenced fi lm scholarship, especially in view of the large number
of contemporary European fi lms that employ images of extreme violence and utilize an
aesthetics of visual unpleasure. But is the politics of the Artaudian aesthetic to be reduced
to the reproduction of gory images of revolting violence? This article explores the
politics of Artaudian cinema by going back to Artaud’s writings on the medium and comparing
them to Brecht’s writings on fi lm. The focus of this article is twofold: the fi rst part
goes back to Artaud’s writings and investigates the politics of the cinema of cruelty, while
the second uses as case studies Jonas Mekas’s The Brig (1964) and Costas Zapas’s The
Rebellion of Red Maria (2011). The fi rst fi lm is a screen adaptation of a performance
renowned for reconciling the theater of cruelty with a political context, while the second
is a contemporary paradigm of a fi lm that draws on the Artaudian and Brechtian traditions
with a view to responding to the political concerns of the present.

Sexual experimentation in Lars von Trier's Nymph()maniac functions as a vehicle for a devastating critique of moral and conscious man. This critique is enabled via the integration of two models of Nature: Spinoza's vital reserve of affects (a vision woven around the film's analogy between trees and human souls), and Artaud's idea of Nature as cruelty (a debt that is immanent to life before it is sadistically levied on our bodies by others). This essay focuses on the film's unresolved tension between a seemingly affirmative model of Nature and a much darker vision of cruelty. Résumé Dans Nymph()maniac de Lars von Trier, l'expérimentation sexuelle sert de métaphore à une critique impi

Cet article traite de l’univers inconscient des sculptures de l’artiste brésilien Francisco Brennand (1927) et des mécanismes archaïques qui sous-tendent leur création. Axée sur la thématique de l’origine, cette approche des œuvres de Brennand étudie les racines du désir sexuel et son rapport aux objets partiels, considérant la sidération du sujet face à la cruauté d’une sexualité archaïque et la jouissance de l’artiste comme défi à la mort et à l’énigme du néant. Elle s’intéresse alors au processus sublimatoire comme transmutation du matériel traumatique et au destin de la pulsion scopique et de cruauté dans la création artistique.

In this article, we explore cruelty under populism, focusing on radical right populism. We develop our argument by introducing a two-dimensional model of cruel behavior in politics, in which cruelty is conceptualized as a dependent variable defined in terms of empathy (how the leader addresses those who suffer) and action (how the leader acts to alleviate suffering). This framework provides a nuanced understanding of how cruelty and populism connect, providing an original and cutting-edge contribution to both bodies of work. We use our two-dimensional model of cruel behavior to shed light on the different ways radical right populists (RRP) embrace cruelty as part of their political strategies. We have come to three “ideal” types of RRP cruel behavior: downplaying, blaming, and conspiring. In order to advance our ideas, we rely on the qualitative analysis of Brazil's far-right populist President Jair Bolsonaro and his (in)actions regarding COVID-19, who once asked about the soari...

Roman cruelty. The paper, taking into consideration the historiographical and literary contexts, presents Romans' relationship with various forms of cruelty; such heterogeneous phenomena as, among others, the imperial aggressiveness, the "lupine" pedigree of Romans or the "insanity" of the Caesars are discussed.