The Living Room and the Public Rise of the Private Human Condition

This essay explores the evolution of the domestic living room, examining its transformation from the aristocratic salon of European courts to the bourgeois living room of the 20th century. Historically, the salon served as a space for both public and private sociability, combining pleasure, politics, and art. The transition to the modern living room was marked by the rise of consumer culture and mass media, exemplified in Richard Hamilton's iconic 1956 collage Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?. The essay specifically focuses on the cinematic representation of the living room, using sociological theories by thinkers such as Georg Simmel, Max Weber, Norbert Elias, and Jürgen Habermas to analyze how the evolution of domestic space reflects changes in social and cultural values, including the separation between public and private spheres, the growth of media consumption, and gender dynamics. The essay also explores how directors such as Luis Buñuel and Federico Fellini used the living room in their films to critique bourgeois values, portraying the decadence and ambiguity of bourgeois social codes. Thus, this study highlights how the cinematic portrayal of the living room has contributed to reflections on culture, politics, and social dynamics in modernity.