Thinking on the audiovisual figure. Propositions about figure in film

Abstract

The figure, widely studied over centuries in the field of oral discursivities, and particularly in the area of literature, has received little interest in the space of audiovisual discursivities. The fact is striking, especially when it comes to film theory, which is longstanding. Throughout its evolution, this language has shown, in what concerns the production of meaning, operations of sophistication equivalent –and even more complex– to those implemented in literature, since literature rests on verbal language, whereas film sets in motion a vast range of expressive series, visual and audible. The following propositions are connected to an investigation of figural behavior in historical film poetics, and develop initial hypotheses for the addressing of audiovisual figure, starting with a discussion on categories developed by the classical theory of figure.