The 'zone' as heterotopia in Andrei Tarkovsky's stalker

• Author: Mihai Burlacu
• Position: Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 69-76

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 8 (57) No. 2 - 2015

THE ‘ZONE’ AS HETEROTOPIA IN

ANDREI TARKOVSKY’S STALKER

Mihai BURLACU1

Abstract: In this article, I approach Tarkovsky’s depiction of the ‘Zone’,

from the film ‘Stalker’. I argue that the ‘Zone’ is a heterotopia. Firstly, I

review the perspectives developed by Foucault, Deleuze and Tarkovsky which

are relevant for my argument. Next, I emphasize the connections that could

be ascertained between Foucault’s ‘heterotopology’ and Tarkovsky’s

portrayal of the ‘Zone’, using Deleuze’s ‘cinematic philosophy’. Afterwards,

I compare the ‘Zone’s’ characteristics with the features attributed to

heterotopias by Foucault in his ‘heterotopology’. I conclude that the ‘Zone’,

just like the ship, could be considered a heterotopia par excellence.

Key words: heterotopia, heterotopology, cinematic philosophy, time-

image, Tarkovsky’s Zone.

1 Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Introduction

In this article, I approach Andrei

Tarkovsky’s portrayal of the ‘Zone’, in his

film Stalker (1979). While the topic of

whether the ‘Zone’ is a heterotopia was

previously suggested in a few papers, I

attempt to approach this topic from an

anthropological and semiotic perspective.

Drawing upon the innovative lecture of

Michel Foucault entitled “Des Espace

Autres” (i.e. “Of Other Spaces: Utopias

and Heterotopias”) and on Gilles

Deleuze’s book Cinéma 2, L’ Image-temps

(i.e. Cinema 2: The Time–Image), I argue

that the ‘Zone’ is a heterotopia. Thus, I

agree Léopold Lambert’s assertion that the

‘Zone’ matches what Foucault calls a

‘heterotopia of crisis’ in the first principle

of his ‘heterotopology’ [5], [8]. However, I

also assert that to describe it solely as a

‘heterotopia of crisis’ would mean to

ignore many of the characteristics of the

‘Zone’ which were richly represented in

the movie. Thus, I claim that the ‘Zone’

also has certain characteristics that could

be described using the other ‘principles’

devised by Foucault in his attempt to

imagine a systematic description of

heterotopias.

My approach requires several additional

remarks regarding Foucault’s original

concept. Delivered as a lecture on 14th of

March 1967 at the Cercle d’études

architecturales in Paris, Foucault’s attempt

to envisage a new type of spatial analytics,

which he called ‘heterotopology’ (i.e. fr.

‘hétérotopologie’), quickly gained

notoriety among architects and social

scientists. Between 1960 and 1970, the

circle was directed by Ionel Schein and

Jean Dubuisson. Foucault held his lecture

at Schein’s invitation, after the latter heard

the former’s discourse on “France Culture”

from 7th of December 1966, entitled “Les

Hétérotopies”. Foucault’s wrote his lecture