The Official and Hidden Scenarios of Role-Playing in István Dárday's The Prize Trap (1974)
The Official and Hidden Scenarios of Role-Playing in István Dárday's The Prize Trap (1974)

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyses the film entitled The Prize Trap (Jutalomutazás) directed by István Dárday, which counts as one of the most emblematic examples of the so-called docu-features in Hungary. The The Prize Trap represents an exciting and idiosyncratic symbiosis of documentary and feature cinema, and as such, it may offer useful insights into the nature of reality and fiction as represented by cinema. The author examines the film from a new perspective. He begins with the gap filling survey about a method engaged by numerous directors belonging to the Budapest School, that is, the employment of amateur actors. With the analysis of their role playing, the role conflicts and role confusions manifested in the process of acting, the author reveals the “double consciousness” of contemporary society, the encounter between the official and hidden scenarios of that time. The theoretical frames of the analysis are the role-theories of social sciences, Jay Ruby’s reflections about the anthropological film, together with Scott’s idea of everyday resistance.

• Details
• Contents