The Dynamics of Symbolic Resistance in the Film Die Gänseprinzessin A Bakhtinian Carnivalesque and Scott’s Infrapolitics Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the dynamics of symbolic resistance and the forms of carnivalesque humor represented in Stoye’s film, Die Gänseprinzessin. Using a qualitative approach and a cinematic narrative analysis method, this study dissects the function of humor in the film which is an adaptation of the fairy tale Die Gänsemagd, by examining how humor operates as a strategy of symbolic resistance against rigid, authoritarian hierarchies of power. The theoretical framework integrates Bakhtin’s concept of the carnivalesque, encompassing the indicators of ambivalent laughter, the grotesque body, and the suspension of hierarchy, together with Scott’s theory of covert functions not only as entertainment but also as an effective instrument of infrapolitics. Ambivalent laughter, the performativity of the grotesque body, and symbolic profanation, represented through the protagonist Polly and marginal figures (the palace guards), succeed in demystifying the sanctity of the monarchy and the monopolistic culture of mourning imposed by the ruler.