Reibungsfläche

English translation: theater only reaches those...

14:19 Mar 31, 2004

German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

German term or phrase: Reibungsfläche

"Der Zuschauer, der nun noch kam, befürwortete weitestgehend das ihm Gebotene. Eine Tatsache, die Regisseure wie Frank Castorf heute beklagen, denn ihrem kritischen Theater fehlt nun die Reibungsfläche, es erreicht nur noch diejenigen, die ihr Theater ohnehin bejahen."

I understand what this means - more or less a kind of creative friction or resistance - and it's a popular word in cultural studies, but is there an exact English equivalent?

Isabel Cole (X) KudoZ activity Questions: 26 (1 open) Answers: 18
Local time: 22:22

English translation:theater only reaches those...

Explanation:
and it does not experience the creative frisson needed

frisson can be used in this context...

Selected response from:

Nancy Arrowsmith
Local time: 14:22

Grading comment

Interesting suggestion - I think frisson has a slightly different nuance in English, but then, it does come from "friction", too, so it preserves the image.
Thanks alll!
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

critical sounding board

Kim Metzger

venue for constructive debate (controversy)

Robert Schlarb

seal of approval by a broader audience

David Hollywood

abrasive element

rjbemben

theater only reaches those...

Nancy Arrowsmith

Answers

30 mins confidence:

Reibungsfläche critical sounding board

Explanation:
Sounding board - a person whose reactions to something serve as an indication of its acceptability; "I would use newspapermen as a sounding board for such policies"

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 14:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 213

28 mins confidence:

Reibungsfläche seal of approval by a broader audience

Explanation:
I think this is one way of handling this one ... just a suggestion

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Note added at 32 mins (2004-03-31 14:51:32 GMT)
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or: approval by noninsiders

David Hollywood
Local time: 17:22
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 50

1 hr confidence:

Reibungsfläche venue for constructive debate (controversy)

Explanation:
I doubt where there is an *exact* equivalent

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Note added at 1 hr 45 mins (2004-03-31 16:04:37 GMT)
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erratum: whether

Robert Schlarb
Local time: 22:22
Native speaker of:

English,

German
PRO pts in category: 12

2 hrs confidence:

Reibungsfläche abrasive element

Explanation:
What is described here is a "provocative" type of theater it seems.

See web reference which is a review of Castorf's ensemble. Descriptors like "provocative", "abrasive" and "sardonic" are applied to his work.

Reference: http://www.uclalive.org/Press_Releases/Volksbuhne.pdf

rjbemben
Local time: 16:22
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 3

3 hrs confidence:

theater only reaches those...

Explanation:
and it does not experience the creative frisson needed

frisson can be used in this context...

Nancy Arrowsmith
Local time: 14:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 19

Grading comment

Interesting suggestion - I think frisson has a slightly different nuance in English, but then, it does come from "friction", too, so it preserves the image.
Thanks alll!

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