Jacques Derrida & Deconstruction Theory
Derrida's Influence on Postmodern Theatrical Performance
Aug 31, 2008 Tuirenn Hurstfield
Deconstruction
'The only certainties about postmodernism are that it is deeply sceptical and that this doubt derives from an obsession with language and meaning.' [i]
Derrida studies the necessary effects of writing any text from a philosophical standpoint. He unravels literary and philosophical works to expose contradictions and flaws within the text and undermines the authority of that text. Not only does Derrida consider written language but also, as he terms, ‘arche-writing’ being the spoken word and anything else considered to be text – for instance sign systems. Derrida is sceptical about the underlying meanings within all writings, text and spoken language.
Derrida is Interested in Translations and the Inevitable Differences that Occur
In his deconstructive works, Derrida refers to two terminologies: logocentrism and différance. Logocentrism is the belief that knowledge is rooted in a primeval language given by God to humans which is now lost. God (or some other superior signifier: Truth, The Self etc) acts as a foundation for all our thought, language and action.
Derrida refuses to believe in this foundation. Logos refers to authority; something that controls or captivates, for Derrida this foundation cannot exist owing to what he terms différance. This term, meaning difference or deferral, implies that nothing is what it is intended to be including words, ideas, texts or subjects. Derrida believes that: “nothing is identical with itself; the moment something is thought, said, written or intended, it becomes a trace of itself, no longer itself, no longer present…”[iii]
Truth Cannot Exist
It is with this notion that logocentrism, for Derrida, cannot exist. Since logocentrism is the belief in a higher authority and the ‘truth’ of all language it is counteracted by différance. The ‘truth’ can never materialise, it has no presence and it becomes a trace, it has been deferred and loses its authority. For Derrida, “If nothing can legitimately claim to possess a stable, autonomous identity, then there is nothing which can be invested with the authority of logos.”[iv] Therefore, ‘truth’ and ‘meaning’ can never actually arrive as they are always deferred.
Applying Derrida's Theories to Stage
On the stage, Derrida considered the actor as being the speaker of the primeval language given by a playwright (or “God”), thus making the theatre a theological, logocentric space, since the playwright’s intended meaning can be identified as being logocentric. Derrida, quoted by P.Auslander, states that "The stage is theological for as long as it has a structure, following the entirety of tradition, comports with the following elements: an author-creator who, absent and from afar, is armed with a text and keeps watch over, assembles, regulates time or the meaning of the representation, letting the latter represent him as concerns what is called the content of his thoughts, his intentions, his ideas."
For Derrida, if the theatre were to dispose of the authority of the playwright it would cease to be theological and logocentric, thereby relieving it of the domination of a hidden authority. This has influenced postmodern performance; by breaking free of the traditional theatrical conventions it seizes its own authority over the performance and, logistically, removes the need for a playwright.
Another argument posed by Derrida is that “structuralism is caught up in many of the philosophical assumptions it sets itself against.”[vi] For Derrida the act of unravelling these assumptions is more important. This unravelling, or deconstruction, offers accessibility to an open signification that underlines any meaning. Deconstruction shows that any collection of linguistic signs can always produce different interpretations of meanings.
Semiotics - Sign Systems
To understand the application of deconstruction within postmodern theatre we must first understand the role of semiotics. Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles S. Pierce are two of the most important and widely cited semioticians of the 20th century. An insight into their work will allow us an understanding of semiotics. Once we understand sign systems we have the ability to deconstruct them, thereby defamiliarising or opposing conventional theatre aesthetics.
- [i] Robinson D Nietzsche and Postmodernism p.35
- [ii] Fortier M Theory/Theatre Ch.1 p.39
- [iii] ibid Ch.1 p.39
- [iv] Auslander P From Acting to Performance Ch.3 p.28
- [v] ibid Ch.3 p.29
- Fortier M Theory/Theatre Ch.1 p.37
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