Mimetic Theory in Literature and Film

This session explores the enduring influence of mimetic theory in interpreting both interpersonal conflict and contemporary literature. The first paper engages Stephen Karpman’s “Drama Triangle” alongside René Girard’s theories of desire and opposition, showing how the recurring roles of Persecutor, Victim, and Rescuer in conflict mirror cinematic portrayals of heroism and villainy. By placing Girard in dialogue with conflict psychology and film, the paper suggests that Christian nonviolence offers a counter-narrative to the moral scripts of popular media. The second paper turns to the fiction of Michel Houellebecq, whose novel Submission critiques and yet unwittingly enacts key Girardian insights. Though Houellebecq's narrator dismisses mimetic theory, his fiction reveals characters caught in webs of triangular desire, grappling with the consequences of secularization and political fatigue. Together, these papers offer fresh perspectives on how mimetic patterns shape both our cultural imagination and our understanding of conflict, desire, and ethical possibility.