Film, trauma and the enunciative present

If we believe that traumatic memory and experience can be translated into language, then that process of representation becomes a desirable one and the normalization of speech around the trauma-the rendering into normal quotidian discourse-is understood as a redemptive process. If, however, we don't accept this translatability-if we believe that there is a core that eludes representation-then an ethical approach must be entirely different and must involve awareness of the affective dynamics of the enunciative act. This is not prescriptive but suggests certain principles for an ethical practice. Such dynamics are not specific to the image or to artwork-they are relevant to all discourses of trauma. As much as specific questions about visual culture are pertinent here, the debate must go beyond the question of images to a broader ethics of address.