Inhuman characteristics of modern architecture represented in Jacques Tati’s films

Abstract

In 1940~60s France, there was massive housing construction with government-led postwar reconstruction and Haussmannization, and society was under the cultural wave of modernization and Americanization. Meanwhile, the film director Jacques Tati (1907-1982), also an actor, criticized the excessive pursuit of modernity and Americanization through his feature films. The purpose of this study is to analyze the 'Inhuman Characteristics of Modern Architecture' represented in Tati's films during the 1950-70s. It is assumed that films reflect the social and architectural backgrounds as well as the interests of the general public. For the analysis, a pool of artistically and publicly renowned Tati films was constructed. Through the scenes and their respective scripts, the characters, acts, and architectural spaces were analyzed. The contents of the main body of this research are the following: 1) The abuse of International Style buildings, the loss of local singularity and the lack of originality of modern architecture were criticized in the films. 2) The sterility and impersonality of modern architecture and rigid functional spaces were blamed. 3) The social infatuation with cutting-edge technology and ultramodern buildings were satirized. 4) Lastly, there was resistance to the overuse of 'glass', one of the valuable modern building materials.