Rahppoye, Hekmat-e Honar

Rahppoye, Hekmat-e Honar

The Representation of Eros in Postmodern Cinema Through the Perspective of Byung-Chul Han (Case Study: The Film Melancholia)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
behzad Asadi 1
Mohammad Shokri 1
Minoo Khani 2
1 PhD Candidate in Philosophy of Art, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Art Research, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/rph.2025.2062813.1152
Abstract
This article investigates the representation of Eros in postmodern cinema through the philosophical lens of Byung-Chul Han. It focuses in particular focus on Lars von Trier’s Melancholia as a paradigmatic example. The depiction of existential and emotional crises in the postmodern world. Classical philosophy understands Eros as life-affirming and connective. force, Han argues that, in contemporary society, Eros is eroded and fragmented. Love, longing, and human desire have deteriorated within the frameworks of Consumerism and radical individualism. Employing qualitative content analysis and Han’s theoretical framework, the study analyzes the manifestations of the erosion of Eros in the film’s narrative, characters, and symbolic atmosphere. The study focuses on portraying depression, isolation, and interpersonal disconnection as symptoms of a broader cultural exhaustion of erotic vitality in postmodernity. The analysis reveals that human relations in Melancholia are devoid of genuine affective bonds, giving way to apathy and passivity in the face of the world’s collapse. Rooted in classical Greek thought—particularly in Plato’s philosophy—Eros was historically conceived not merely as erotic desire but as a transcendent yearning for beauty, truth, and the good. However, in modern and postmodern contexts, Eros undergoes significant conceptual transformations. The rise of critical discourses such as psychoanalysis and sociology has challenged and reshaped traditional understandings of desire and affection. What was once considered a spiritual and noble force is now often viewed as pathological or commercialized, requiring a critical reevaluation. Byung-Chul Han, a Korean-German philosopher, offers one of the most incisive critiques of this transformation. In his work, Han argues that contemporary society—centered on performance, productivity, and efficiency—substitutes authentic desire with utilitarian goals. In such a world, Eros, which thrives on openness, alterity, and emotional vulnerability, is incompatible with the logic of self-optimization and neoliberal capitalism. This results in emotional fatigue, alienation, and the erosion of intimate bonds. According to Han, love has become a consumable good, while human relationships have become short-lived and transactional. Cinema, as a quintessential postmodern art form, provides a potent platform for exploring such existential and emotional dislocations. It can capture not only the psychological complexities of contemporary human life but also the cultural decay of foundational values like Eros. Lars von Trier’s Melancholia exemplifies this capacity. With its symbolic imagery and apocalyptic atmosphere, the film reflects the psychological exhaustion of the postmodern subject. Eros, instead of symbolizing connection and transcendence, becomes an emblem of rupture, depression, and psychic disintegration. Confronted with the impending collision of the planet Melancholia and Earth, the film’s characters exhibit profound emotional detachment and a total collapse of the will to connect. The study’s central question is how the concept of Eros is represented in postmodern cinema, particularly through Han’s philosophical framework. The analysis identifies recurring symbols, narrative patterns, and aesthetic strategies in Melancholia that illustrate the degeneration of Eros from a creative force to a marker of existential disintegration. This cinematic narrative mirrors Han’s philosophical diagnosis of a society marked by overexposure, performativity, and emotional disaffection. Methodologically, the research is based on interpretive qualitative content analysis. The theoretical framework draws on Han’s critiques of the collapse of love, the corrosion of desire, and the disintegration of human bonds in the postmodern condition. Through close reading of the film’s narrative structure, character construction, and aesthetic strategies, the study investigates the symbolic presence—or absence—of erotic energy in contemporary visual storytelling. The findings demonstrate that in Melancholia, classical Eros—as a life-generating, transcendent, and connective force—has been replaced by a paralyzed, exhausted, and alienated version of itself. The characters lack the capacity for emotional agency or genuine human connection; love neither liberates nor binds, and desire is stripped of its transformative power. This failure is not solely psychological, but reflective of deeper socio-cultural forces—forces that demand constant self-performance, transparency, and consumption. In Han’s view, neoliberal society leads to the resignation of the subject from love, and Melancholia powerfully visualizes this resignation through its imagery and thematic depth. Melancholia is a powerful work in the psychological drama and apocalyptic genre, structured in two distinct yet interconnected parts: Justine and Claire. This dual structure allows director Lars von Trier to explore different dimensions of decay and depression through the perspectives of two sisters. In the first part, titled Justine, the viewer accompanies the protagonist (played compellingly by Kirsten Dunst) on the night of her wedding. The ceremony takes place in a luxurious estate, but signs of restlessness, anxiety, and Justine’s inability to conform to social norms and expectations are evident from the very beginning. A wedding—meant to symbolize joy, unity, and a new beginning—gradually transforms into a tableau of Justine’s inner turmoil. As the evening progresses, she sinks into deep depression, unable to express joy, grows distant from her new husband, and her relationships with her family—particularly her cold mother and irresponsible father—become increasingly strained. Justine embodies melancholia (profound depression) as a fundamental existential state that not only prevents the formation of emotional bonds but also pushes her toward detachment and isolation. This section vividly illustrates how, even at the height of expected joy, Eros (the force of love and connection) is weakened within Justine, giving way to forces of disintegration and self-destruction. The breakdown of the wedding and Justine’s abandonment of it serve as a powerful metaphor for the collapse of hope and the incapacity to connect in her world. The second part of the film focuses on Justine’s sister, Claire (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg), presenting a different psychological landscape—though it ultimately leads to the same dissolution and decay seen in the first half. A cosmic catastrophe is introduced: a mysterious planet called Melancholia has deviated from its orbit and is heading toward Earth. At first, scientists assure everyone that there will be no collision, but Claire becomes increasingly anxious about the impending disaster. She represents the modern human being, who, despite attempts to maintain order and control, quickly succumbs to fear and dread when faced with forces greater than herself. Claire tries to rationalize and manage reality, but as Melancholia draws nearer, her grip on herself and her surroundings weakens. In contrast, Justine, who outwardly appears unexpectedly calm, accepts the looming death and even reaches a kind of surrender. Justine’s serenity, which Claire finds both strange and disturbing, may reflect that she has long lived in a state of melancholia and existential alienation. For Justine, the collision with another planet might simply be the external manifestation of the inner collapse and isolation she has endured for years. This contrast between Claire’s anxiety and Justine’s calm beautifully illustrates how the concept of Eros and the desire for life take divergent paths in different individuals when confronted with annihilation and decay. The film’s apocalyptic atmosphere metaphorically captures an era in which, even in the face of extinction, humanity fails to reclaim meaningful connection. Eros in this world is not a redemptive power but a symbol of modern isolation. This research shows that Han’s philosophical critique offers a robust analytical tool to understand emotional fragmentation in postmodern cinema. Although this study is limited to a single film, it opens pathways for future comparative research on the representation of love, desire, and subjectivity in contemporary visual culture. Moreover, it contributes to a sharper portrayal of the condition of the modern individual—one who, in a world emptied of meaning, still yearns for signs of human connection, yet repeatedly encounters its impossibility. Thus, Eros in postmodern cinema—especially in Melancholia—transcends the boundaries of romantic representation and becomes a critical lens through which to interrogate the psychological, cultural, and philosophical crises of our time.
Keywords
Melancholia
Eros
Byung-Chul Han
Postmodernism
Lars von Trier

Subjects

ارجمند، شیرین (1400)، نقد سرمایه‎داری عاطفی در سینمای لارس فون تریه، مطالعات میان‎رشته‎ای در علوم انسانی، شماره 17.
افلاطون (1388)، ضیافت، ترجمه محمدحسن لطفی، انتشارات خوارزمی.
باومن، زیگموند (1397)، عشق سیال، ترجمه فریبا مقدم، نشر آگاه.
بهرامی، محمدرضا (1398)، بازنمایی عشق در سینمای مدرن و پست‎مدرن، پژوهش هنر، شماره 23، دانشگاه هنر تهران.
بودریار، ژان (1385)، جامعه مصرفی، ترجمه حسن افشار، نشر ثالث.
جیمسون، فردریک (1396)، پست‎مدرنیسم یا منطق فرهنگی سرمایه‎داری متأخر، ترجمه محسن حکیمی، نشر مرکز.
فروید، زیگموند (1388)، سه رساله درباره نظریه جنسی، ترجمه اسماعیل فصیح، نشر نو.
لکان، ژاک (1393)، نوشته‎ها، گزیده، ترجمه فریدون حسین‎نژاد، نشر نی.
مؤمنی، نرگس (1397)، خوانش فروید و لکان از میل در سینمای اروپای شرقی، پایان‎نامه کارشناسی ارشد، گروه سینما، دانشگاه تربیت مدرس.
هان، بیونگ چول (1398)، جامعه فرسودگی، ترجمه سعید مقدم، نشر نی.
هان، بیونگ چول (1398 )، در ستایش عشق، ترجمه عارف اقوامی مقدم، نشر ققنوس.
فهرست منابع لاتین
Arjmand, S. (2021). Critique of emotional capitalism in the cinema of Lars von Trier. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities Quarterly, 17.
Bahrami, M. R. (2019). Representation of love in modern and postmodern cinema. Art Research Quarterly, 23, University of Art, Tehran.
Barthes, R. (2010). Image, Music, Text (S. Heath, Trans.). Fontana Press.
Barthes, R. (2010). Image, Music, Text (S. Heath, Trans.). Fontana Press.
Baudrillard, J. (2006). The Consumer Society (H. Afshar, Trans.). Sales Publishing. (Original work published 1970)
Bauman, Z. (2018). Liquid Love (F. Moghaddam, Trans.). Agah Publishing. (Original work published 2003)
Blanchot, M. (1995). The Writing of the Disaster (A. Smock, Trans.). University of Nebraska Press. (Original work published 1980)
Blanchot, M. (1995). The Writing of the Disaster (A. Smock, Trans.). University of Nebraska Press. (Original work published 1980)
Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality: Volume 1: An Introduction. Pantheon Books.
Freud, S. (2009). Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (E. Fasih, Trans.). Nashr-e No. (Original work published 1905)
Han, B.-C. (2021). The Burnout Society (S. Moghaddam, Trans.). Ney Publishing. (Original work published 2010)
Han, B.-C. (2022). The Agony of Eros (A. Aghvami Moghaddam, Trans.). Ghoghnoos Publishing. (Original work published 2012)
Jameson, F. (2017). Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (M. Hakimi, Trans.). Markaz Publishing. (Original work published 1991)
Kornbluh, Anna. (2021). Love and Neoliberalism in Postmodern Cinema. Cultural Critique, Issue 117, University of Minnesota Press.
Lacan, J. (2014). Écrits: A Selection (F. Hossein-Nejad, Trans.). Ney Publishing. (Original work published 1966)
Momeni, N. (2018). A Freudian and Lacanian reading of desire in Eastern European cinema (Master’s thesis, Tarbiat Modares University).
Mulvey, L. (1989). Visual and Other Pleasures. Palgrave Macmillan.
Mulvey, Laura. (1989). Visual and Other Pleasures. Palgrave Macmillan.
Plato. (2013). Symposium (M. H. Lotfi, Trans.). Kharazmi Publishing.
Wagner, R. (2011). Opera and Drama (W. A. Ellis, Trans.). University of Nebraska Press. (Original work published 1851)
Wagner, R. (2011). Opera and Drama (W. A. Ellis, Trans.). University of Nebraska Press. (Original work published 1851)
Williams, L. (1999). Hardcore: Power, Pleasure, and the “Frenzy of the Visible”. University of California Press.
Williams, Linda. (1999). Hardcore: Power, Pleasure, and the “Frenzy of the Visible”. University of California Press.
Žižek, Slavoj. (2006). The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema. Verso.
Rahppoye, Hekmat-e Honar
Volume 5, Issue 1 - Serial Number 8
April 2026
Pages 107-118

  • Receive Date 08 June 2025
  • Revise Date 02 July 2025
  • Accept Date 16 July 2025