Donate

Game in "Call Me by Your Name" by Andre Aciman

Авторский перевод эссе: https://syg.ma/@oliegh-ighnatienko/ighra-v-nazovi-mienia-svoim-imieniem-andrie-asimana

Author’s translation of the essay: https://syg.ma/@oliegh-ighnatienko/ighra-v-nazovi-mienia-svoim-imieniem-andrie-asimana

Psychological game is moves hidden from inattentive eyes. Either it is conversations of Raskolnikov with Porfirij Petrovich or relationships of secret lovers. The game element lies in hints and omissions because they contain parts of deception and trick, when there is a difference between what is said and what is implied. The game can be hidden when there is an illusion of simplicity and peace on surface but inside there is a crash of hopes or gaining freedom. The relations of hidden lovers could relate to this type of game because essential information cannot be said and therefore information is conveyed through signs, symbols and multi-value phrases. Here inner or external censure performs the role of a strict father who forbids his daughter to express her own individualized position and the daughter is forced to invent a chain of arabesques, half-smiles and musical scales. Prohibition awakes the conscious. Prohibition turns a straight line into curved one, transforming it into sly snake. In that sense, prohibition is one of artist“s best friend because it awakens trick and wit, it transformed a dull rock into an arrowhead. Inner prohibiton is much more benefical because it was invented by the mind of a person but not by the mind of a tyrant. The inner prohibition for the artist is often a prohibition for banality, vulgarity and poshlost”. Thanks to this prohibition were created Nabokov“s and Flaubert”s novels and also poetry if there is any difference.

In the beginning of the novel relationships between Oliver and Elio are conditioned by the scopes in which they have to be. Social scopes and ethical-psychological scopes. They can“t be together on the social level for their homosexuality and they can”t be together on the ethical-psychological level due to the big difference in age and uncertainty about feelings experienced by the other. The uncertainty of conscious is the main theme of the literature. And psychological side is stronger then social. The conscious is stronger than the World.

By reason of impossibility to speak straightly, heroes have to come unscrewed, practicing in flirt and cipher. They decided to start a game where matters not the words but the things they hide. Facial expressions and diction are prevail. Flirt is a special, subtle kind of game. Its aim is to get the partner’s attenton and to rise the degree of stress. It consits of a riddle and an answer. The riddle is the question “What my parther wants to say by this phrase?”. Of course, sometimes a game turns into such side that you can understand the real meaning of the words by fatty corners of the mouth, glitter in the blue eye, syllable stretching but the high art if it is possible to use the words “High art” is high game and high riddle. Flirt is a wonderful playwryting exercise because dramaturgy is based on what is said and what is implied. A play is a deception. Any phrase opens a bottomless meaning. And the task of a partner is to guess the true meaning of a phrase and to keep the convrersation going either turn it into another side but do not kill it in this moment. Flirt can be called an intellectually-emotional ping-pong. A wrong turn of a hand can lead to the defeat.

The absent of possibility to clearly speak about what you want just awakes the desire and make it more complex. The passion is in the same boat with the fear. In that case it is a fear of losing a partner because of the wrong interpretation of his words. The fear that life will go like it goes earlier but also a fear of changing. In the scene where Oliver unexpectdly massaging Elio“s shoulder, Elio feels himself a limp doll but he cannot float in tenderness for the emotions will be shown too brightly and game will be ceased. Elio wants to be with Oliver but when he has such chance he doesn”t use it because he is afraid of aftermath.

Game in “Call Me by Your Name” have an absolutely compelled character and heroes are unfold in this game.

Comment
Share

Building solidarity beyond borders. Everybody can contribute

Syg.ma is a community-run multilingual media platform and translocal archive.
Since 2014, researchers, artists, collectives, and cultural institutions have been publishing their work here

About