René Viénet

René Viénet (* 1944 in Le Havre ) is a French situationist , author , sinologist and filmmaker .

life and work

During the Paris Riots in 1968 Viénet was involved in the occupation of the Sorbonne . In 1963 he joined the Situationist group. He lived in China until 1966 , then was expelled for his criticism of the Cultural Revolution , and is still considered a critic of the regime there . Later he also worked at the Center national de la recherche scientifique .

In 1967 Viénet demanded that the abolition of the cinema should not be left to Jean-Luc Godard alone . In 1970 or 1971 he was expelled from the Situationist International. His films were an illustration of the situationist practice of detournement , such as Vienet using break bricks in Can Dialectics? from 1973 an existing kungfu film ( The Crush by Doo Kwang Gee), which he set to music - with satire and political discussions referring to May '68. Similarly, but more harmless, did Woody Allen in What's Up Tiger Lily? deal with the material found. This approach also criticizes (and deliberately disregards) copyright law .

Quote

• "A fire was lit here that will not go out again." (On May '68)

Movies

• Can dialectics break bricks? (1973)
• The Girls of Kamare (1974)
• Chinois, encore un effort pour être révolutionnaires (1976)
• Mao par lui-même (1977)

literature

• René Viénet: Angry and Situationists in the Movement of the Occupations , July 1968, in German 1977, Nautilus Verlag ( Raubdruck 2006 )

Web links

• René Viénet in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Feature at ubuweb
• About the films Debords and Viénet
• Translator's Preface for the French Edition of Harold Isaac's The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution. By Rene Viénet, February 1967
• Viénet: Enrages and Situationists in the Occupations Movement, 1968
• Rene Viénet - the bad boy of sinology at www.notbored.org