Text, figura, autor: tři aspekty přežánrovění ve filmu

Mgr. Roman Gazdík

Master's thesis

Text, personage, author: Three aspects of regenrification in film

Abstract:

Roman Gazdík ve své diplomové práce Text, figura, autor: tři aspekty přežánrovění ve filmu produktivně využívá a rozvíjí potenciál Altmanova konceptu přežánrovění, který přesvědčivě aplikuje při zkoumání problémů: 1) vícenásobného sledování (rovina diváka a textu: zdařilý rozbor přežánrovění Shyalamanovy Vesnice při dvojím sledování), 2) žánrové identity autora (analýza producentského i auteurského diskurzu, který ovlivňuje žánrové vnímání filmů D. Cronenberga) a 3) „života“ žánrových figur, které se v historickém vývoji žánru stávají hlavním příznakem jeho přežánrovění (hororová monstra). Gazdíkova práce je přiznaně heterogenní, proces přežánrovění sleduje ve třech autonomních rovinách či aspektech, které v jednotlivých kapitolách otevírá jako legitimní témata, a zároveň ve svém celku přínosně naplňuje a ilustruje možnosti ústředního zvoleného konceptu jako užitečného nástroje pro popis a zkoumání různých projevů žánrové nestability.

Abstract:

Author of the text dwells on the concept of regenrification taken from the book Film/Genre by Rick Altman (Altman 1999). Altman’s main proposition is that genres are not stable entities as the reader might conclude from the vast array of the theoretical books on genre dating back as far as Aristotle’s Poetics. Rather – argues Altman – we should see genres as constantly changing objects deconstructed and reshaped by many different groups of “users” (producers, distributors, film critics, film fans and others) that invest them with their own meanings and don’t take into account the meanings of the other members of the “genre community”. The notion of “regenrification” is used by Altman for the texts that – once generically codified – are later relabeled as representatives of a different genre. Gazdík stems from the original Altman’s concept, but broadens the perspective. The American theoretician uses the term focusing on the subsequent critical or distributional reevaluation; however Gazdík stresses also the inherent qualities of the texts that enable them be regenrified immediately on the spot and semantical features that can achieve the same thing in the longer run. The central idea is that no other extratextual agent is needed for the text to be regenrified. Although the author considers the regenrification to be a general constituent of all the genres, he focuses primarily on horror due to the pragmatical nature of the genre as well as for the exhaustive theoretical portrayal of horror in filmological literature, both of which allow for an easier description of the regenrification in talk. Specifically Gazdík concentrates on three aspects of how the regenrification can operate. In the first chapter we look at The Village (2004) by Manoj Night Shyamalan. Shyamalan’s film tells a story of a community of people in New England at the end of 19th century that leaves the civilization and establishes a hamlet in the woods where dangerous creatures live. The community forms a pact with the creatures saying that the creatures wouldn’t enter the village and nobody from the village should step into the woods. However in the end of the movie is revealed that no such creatures have ever existed and all their manifestations have been created by the elders of the village that feared their abandonment by the youngsters who might felt attracted by the incursions into the outside world of the starting 21st century. The Village was advertised as a horror movie with monsters, moreover it was stressed in the campaign that it is a work by the director of films like The Sixth Sense (1999), The Unbreakable (2000) and The Signs (2002). The Gazdík’s claim is that due to the advertising campaign the spectator of the film was expecting the Village to be a horror movie and during the first watching the picture conforms to this expectation. During the second viewing however the genre changes due to the disappearing of the threatening element, moreover other aspects of the film in question – aspects that cannot be appreciated during the first watching – are revealed or come to the fore and the film regenrificates itself to the allegory of the present political situation in the United States. Gazdík supports his political reading of the film by the political components that openly appear in other Shyamalan’s films. The second chapter focuses on the regenrification of the figure of the classical monster (especially the vampire) in the recent American cinematography. According to the genre theorists these figures always bore strong sociopolitical meanings that enabled multiple readings of the genre texts. However in the late 20th century for the first time in a film history a string of blockbusters appeared that feature these monsters as central protagonists. Based on the concepts of Noël Carroll, Gazdík claims that in these blockbusters the traditional monsters don’t work as such. In the first of the blockbu

Abstract:

sters analyzed The Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola we are – unlike in the Stoker’s novel – presented as well with the point of view of the undead count which leaves us with mixed emotions towards this previously abhorrent figure. In addition to the concept of the vampire as the biological threat to the humankind and both the subject and the object of the human obsession, the Coppola’s film treats him as both the object and the subject of love that extends beyond the physical death and is itself the cause of his curse. Gazdík also argues that even the choice of the actor for the male lead implies our identification with the monster. Dracula was played by Gary Oldman, other notable film stars appearing here were Anthony Hopkins, Wynona Ryder and Keanu Reeves. The romantic streak of the vampire was enforced two years later by another high concept adaptation of a literal bestseller, this time by Anne Rice. Interview with the Vampire (1994) – by Neil Jordan and staring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea and Kirsten Dunst – takes the notion of a gentle and loving vampire even further; here there are no vampire hunters and no big confrontation between the undead and the humans takes place. The vampires are the only heroes of the film as well as of their world. The moral question of the human superiority above all the beings is a wrong question, claims atheistically the movie, vampires are as normal beings as we are. The romantic aspect of the vampire was however not pursued in the subsequent developments of the blockbusters featuring the undead protagonist. Rather it was capitalized on the qualities that made the vampire a strong competitor in the quest for the survival, the qualities that we humans lack but wish to possess: the enormous strength and immunity, the immortality and the eternal youth. In the blockbusters Blade (1998), Blade 2 (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), Underworld (2003) and Underworld: Evolution (2006) the vampire transforms itself into the action hero that is capable of gimmicks that even the most hard boiled male leads of the 80’s were unable of. In both of the types of the transfigurations – the romantic and the action – the vampire is treated as something quite normal, as an everyday component of our world, not as something unknown and cognitively threatening. The worldwide success of this blockbusters – as well as the undercurrent of cheaper movies featuring other classical monsters – allow us to say that their original horror function of these old monsters is wearing out and most of the social dangers that we associated with these figures might evaporated during the course of the 20th century. Rather than a socially threatening figure these classical monsters are nowadays admired as superheroes next to Spider-Man or Batman. In the third chapter we go back to the Altman’s idea of regenrification as an extratextual process implemented by a human agent in order to achieve specific ends. Surveying many interviews we take a look at the career of one of the most acclaimed horror auteurs: the Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg. Cronenberg started his line of business in a low-budget horror working for the Montreal-based company Cinépix (their another protégée was Ivan Reitman) and supported himself the word of mouth of him being the “King of Canadian Horror”, “The Horror Prince”, “The Baron of Blood”, or “The Dave Depraved”. He associated himself with the horror genre for several reasons. Firstly he wanted to avoid the criticism of his works claiming that it was his intention to create a schlock. Secondly he felt flattered by the comparison to figures like Alfred Hitchcock and Roger Corman. Thirdly he felt than any kind of label is needed in order to achieve a success in the film industry. However at the beginning of the 80’s and after several very successful low-budget movies, Cronenberg started to feel that the genre label does him more harm than good – he was now famous and didn’t need it to open the doors of the producers and his films started to be promoted using his brand name. Moreover the label hampered the extra-generical readings of his films as well as impeded many spectators that didn’t like horror to come and enjoy them. Cronenberg stopped to talk about himself as about the horror filmmaker even before the marketing campaigns of his films ceased to rely on the horror semantics themselves. He didn’t only regenrificate himself, but nowadays claims that none of his movies actually are horror movies. As a filmmaker he nevertheless continues to explore the same themes (albeit in a more subtle approach) as at the beginning of his career and as a smart businessman discusses these themes and horror inducing imagery in the interviews. Cronenberg also knows who is he speaking to and adapts his speech to the targeted audience (ex. horror fans x general public). In comparison with his early years, he now creates more complex self-image of a one-of-a-kind auteur not connected with any kind of genre which every now and then uses imagery that might be in some circles described as horror imagery.

Keywords

žánr, genre, přežánrovění, regenrification, Altman, monstrum, monster, Shyamalan, upír, vampire, Cronenberg, auteur, autor, postava, opakované sledování, Vesnice, horor

Language used: Czech

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 4. 9. 2007

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 4. 9. 2007
• Supervisor: Mgr. Jakub Kučera

Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Master programme / field:
General Theory and History of Arts and Culture / Film and Audio-Visual Culture Studies