The violent real as fetish

intersections between en Octubre no Hay Milagros and the Balcony

Abstract

The novel En Octubre no hay milagros by Oswaldo Reynoso approaches the play by Jean Genet, The Balcony, in the representation of violent realisms. It is aimed to discuss how the passion for the real is correlated in the novel and in the play under the bias of scandal, “theatrical operation”, carnivalization and Brecht’s estrangement effect. Under this prism, removing oneself from forged costumes and dressing up are two sides of the same coin. This dichotomy complicates the very notion of the real. Reality, therefore, cannot be understood as what remains when the masks of representation fall, since they are semblances themselves and are also part of the real. It can be said that the romance and the play manage to immediately capture the phenomenon of fetishizing the image of violent reality, in order to achieve the effect of the spectacularization of violence in a particular and inaugural way.