The Purpose of the Game: Response to Art as Performative Enactment

“The purpose of the game is simply to be played so that the game becomes master over the players. Then and only then does the player enter the zone where the game plays itself through the players” (71).

 I found this passage exceedingly interesting because, for me, it evokes the ‘90s German film Run Lola Run, enhancing the themes the movie toys with. Through an innovative narrative structure, the film explores the tension between the ideas of human agency and predestination. To what degree are we in control of our lives? Do our choices matter, or are they merely the means through which a greater, divine plan is carried out?   

Things become even more interesting when we consider the movie’s aesthetic design. By disrupting the space-time continuum and fragmenting reality into “levels,” the film takes on the feel of a videogame, with the titular hero playing the role of the gaming avatar (with her shock of red hair, she looks the part too). The movie’s opening (see below) features a recurring character, here mysteriously removed from the plot, speaking directly to viewers about “the game,” of which they are a part of for the next 90 minutes. He lays out the rules then sets the plot in motion. So the notion of “the game” enters the picture, as well as the viewer’s participation in the game’s unfolding.  

If, indeed, experiencing art can be thought of as a game, the act of viewing Run Lola Run creates a fascinating meta-reality for viewers. The film, structured like a game, invites us to question Lola’s agency in the writing of her own story. Is she the player or, as her status as an avatar suggests, the one being played? Take a step back, and we have our role as viewers as outlined by Art as Performative Enactment. According to the article, we as the audience are “players” in the “game” of the artwork, relinquishing our agency so that we can then play by the rules of the game. This analysis of the art-audience relationship fits curiously well with the themes of Run Lola Run; if we are playing by the rules, are we in control, or is all freedom illusory?  With this question, we take a final step back, mapping the experience of the movie onto our own reality, perhaps itself a game or artwork with an unknown creator or artist.

Opening of Run Lola Run:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqHipUWLGGY

In the spirit of our upcoming performance pieces, here's a clip from Holy Motors:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR9ktdI4LFM