AGON. Constructions of Democracy

Nico Carpentier (Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism, Charles University, República Checa)

The film essay AGON is a theoretical reflection on the political construction of democracy. It emphasizes democracy’s contested nature, which distinguishes between the core (hegemonic) defining elements of democracy, the areas of political struggle over democracy, democracy’s conditions of possibility, and the threats for democracy. The structure of this analysis is inspired by first part of the book entitled Democracy and Media in Europe, which, with its extensive textual theoretical reflection, in turn, complements the film essay.

In the film essay, democracy is seen as an empty signifier—a concept theorized by Laclau and Mouffe (1985)—which allows capturing the idea that democracy can gain different meanings in different democratic-ideological-communicative projects, which engage in fierce discursive-material political struggles over these meanings, trying to establish a hegemonic position and saturate the empty signifier of democracy.

 At the same time, the film essay is an experiment, embedded in the practices of arts-based research (Leavy, 2015), which combines an academic-theorical emphasis with fictional stagings and dance. The narrator’s voice is theoretical, but theory becomes entangled with more artistic approaches, making the film oscillate between theorization and evocation, between fact and fantasy, and between rationality and emotionality.

 The film’s first main character, the ‘woman with the balloons’, represents democracy. She is seen walking through the Prague city streets and other public spaces of the Czech capital, carrying four balloons with “DE–MO–CRA–CY” on them. Her visual presence combines references to a famous scene in Spielberg’s Schindler’s List and one of Banky’s most iconic artworks. This central symbol guides the film’s narrative as it explores four interconnected dimensions of democracy, namely the core elements of democracy, the political struggles over democracy, democracy’s conditions of possibility, and the threats to democracy. 

 In the first part of the film, the ‘woman with the balloons’ visits institutions traditionally associated with democratic practice, including a parliament (legislative), a government building (executive), and a courtroom (judicial), with the narrator discussing the core elements of democracy. Through her journey, the film showcases how (formal) democracy is enacted, but also how it is contested within these formal political arenas. 

 Her journey then shifts to the micro-level of democracy, where she observes democracy in everyday life—most notably, within the family (See Giddens, 1992). Here, democratic practice is shown through the ability of each family member to convey their opinions, highlighting the importance of participation and representation as foundational to democracy. But also the struggles over democracy are highlighted here, when a ‘strange’ visitor comes, and is eventually allowed to join the family dinner.

 Moreover, democracy is supported by a series of conditions of possibility, a notion originally used by Kant, but later developed by Foucault and Deleuze. In the film essay, democracy’s conditions of possibility are those processes and phenomena which are outside of democracy, but simultaneously enable it and intersect with it. This theme features in the film essay’s third part, where different workers are seen collaborating, in order to build structures that represent the “pillars” of democracy. Their work symbolizes the collective, emancipatory effort required to create and sustain democratic systems, but it also allows highlighting these foundations on which democracy is built, with references to the need for economic and socio-political stability, an active people, the legitimacy of state regulation in liberal democracies, and a democratic culture.

 However, democracy is not immune from threats, which is addressed in the fourth part of the film essay. These threats are symbolized through the film essay’s second main character, the red-faced demon (or ‘the masked dancer’), bringing in visual references to Indonesian cultural practices. The threats to democracy include public apathy, the frustration caused by democracy’s imperfections, and the use of violence, whether by state or by non-state actors, as a means of resolving conflict. One key threat is the recentralization of power, a process which can fundamentally undermine democratic institutions, even potentially giving way to new authoritarian regimes. In the film essay, this struggle over the empty seat of power (Lefort, 1988) is represented through the use of the medium of dance, while the eventual victory of the new monarch is represented by the coronation scene of ‘the masked dancer’.

 In the final scene, the film essay switches to a more optimistic and hopeful mode, as ‘democracy’ and ‘the masked dancer’ are seen walking together towards the horizon, with the latter giving up his crown again and switching to a more Chaplinesk walk.  This scene again underscores the idea that democracy itself is a discursive struggle that brings together various elements and is never fully complete. To use Derrida’s (2005) words, it is always to become. This final scene does have an optimistic tone, as ‘democracy’ is seen to prevail, but at the same time, the demon does not disappear, which signifies the acknowledgement of the continuous threats that democracy has to face. In this way, the film essay’s end becomes a celebration of the ongoing process of constructing, contesting and reaffirming democracy.

References

 AUTHOR 2 ((removed for peer review))

Derrida, Jacques (2005) Rogues: Two essays on reason, Stanford University Press.

Giddens, Anthony (1992) The Transformation of Intimacy. Sexuality, Love, and Eroticism in Modern Societies, Stanford University Press.

Laclau, Ernesto, Mouffe, Chantal (1985) Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics, Verso.

Leavy, Patricia (2015) Method Meets Art: Arts- Based Research Practice, 2nd ed., Guilford.

Lefort, Claude (1988) Democracy and Political Theory, University of Minnesota Press.