外文原版娱乐性恐怖当代恐怖电影的后现代元素.docx

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外文原版娱乐性恐怖当代恐怖电影的后现代元素

外文翻译

RecreationalTerrorandthePostmodernElementsoftheContemporaryHorrorFilm

Theuniverseofthecontemporaryhorrorfilmisanuncertainoneinwhichgoodandevil,normalityandabnormality,realityandillusionbecomevirtuallyindistinguishable.This,togetherwiththepresentationofviolenceasaconstituentfeatureofeverydaylife,theinefficacyofhumanaction,andtherefusalofnarrativeclosureproducesanunstable,paranoiduniverseinwhichfamiliarcategoriescollapse.Theiconographyofthebodyfigureasthesiteofthiscollapse.Henry:

PortraitofaSerialKillerunfoldsinthispostmodernuniverse.Thefilm,whichdetailsthesanguinaryactivitiesofapsychoticserialkiller,wasreadyforreleaseearlyin1986butremainedonthedistributor'sshelfuntil1989,whenErrolMorris,directorofTheThinBlueLinebroughtHenrytotheTellurideFilmFestival（VillageVoice1990,59）.AmongtheobstaclesthefilmfacedwastheunwillingnessoftheMotionPictureAssociationofAmerica（MPAA）togiveitanRrating.Thereason?

Its"disturbingmoraltone"（McDonough1990,59）.FearfulbecauseanXratingmeansdeathattheboxofficefornonpornographicfilms,distributorslostinterest.EventhedirectorJohnMcNaughtonexpressedconcernoverwhetherthefilmwouldfindanaudience.AshetoldVariety,"[Henry]maybetooartyforthebloodcrowdandtoobloodyfortheartcrowd"（quotedinStein1990,59）.McNaughton'sconcernandtheMPAA'sjudgementrestedonthefilm'stendencytoplaywithandagainsttheconventionsofthecontemporaryhorrorgenre.Whatmakesitaninnovativeanddaringfilmalsomakesitdifficulrtoclassify.Thisholdstrueaswellforthepostmodernhorrorfilm,ofwhichHenryosemblematic.

Theboundariesofanygenreareslippery,butthoseofthepostmodernhorrorfilmareparticularlytreacheroustonegotiatesinceoneofthedefiningfeaturesofpostmodernismistheaggressiveblurringofboundaries.Howdowedistinguishhorrorfromotherfilmgenreandthepostmodernhorrorfilmfromotherhorrorfilms?

InthischapterIwillarguethatthecontemporaryhorrorgenre,i.e.,thosehorrorfilmsproducedsinceabout1968,canbecharacterizedaspostmodern.Iwillformulateaworkingdefinitionofthepostmodernhorrorgenrebasedongeneralizationsdrawnfromthestudyoffilmswhichculturalconsensusdefinesashorrorfilms,thoughnotnecessarilyaspostmodernones.Inthecourseofdelineatingthepostmodernfeaturesofthecontemporaryhorrorgenre,Iwilldifferentitfromitspriorclassicalincarnation.

THEQUESTIONOFPOSTMODERNISM

InMonstersandMadScientists:

ACulturalHistoryoftheHorrorMovie,AndrewTudor（1989）chartsthedevelopmentoftheAnglo-Americanhorrorgenre,Theprimarydistinctionthedrawsisbetweenthepre-sixties（1931-1960）andthepost-sixties（1960-1984）genre,termsthatroughlycorrespondtomyuseof"classical"and"postmodern."Tudorparentheticallyalignsthepost-1960sgenrewithpostmodernismandthe"legitimationcrisis"ofpostindustrialsocietybywhichhemeansthefailureoftraditionalstructuresofauthority（1989,222）.AlthoughTudordoesnotinvolvehimselfindiscussionsofthepostmodernismperse,hedoespointoutthatthelegitimationcrisisoflatecapitalismmaybethesalientsocialcontextinwhichtogroundthecontradictionsofthepost-sixtieshorrorgenre.Butbeforewecanaddressthepostmodernelementsofthecontemporaryhorrorfilm,wemusttacklethethornyissueofdefiningpostmodernism.

Socialtheoristsrepresentisasawidespreadandelusivephenomenon,asyetunclearlydifined,itsamorphousboundariesarehardtopindown.AndreasHuyssenportraysitasbothahistoricalconditionandastyle,"partofaslowlyemergingculturaltransformationinWesternsocieties,achangeinsensibility"（repr.1990,234）.ToddGitlinassociatespostmodernismwiththeerosionofuniversalcategories,thecollapseoffaithintheinevitabilityofprogress,andthebreakdownofmoralclarities（1989,353）.Jean-FrancoisLyotardcharacterizestheposrmodernasentailingaprofoundlossoffaithinmasternarratives（claimstouniversalTruth）anddisenchantmentwiththeteleologyofprogress（1984,xxiv）.CraigOwensindentifiesitwith"acrisisof[Western]culturalauthority"（1983,57）.

Formypurposes,thepostmodernworldisanunstableoneinwhichtraditional（dichotomous）categoriesbreakdown,boundariesblur,institutionsfallintoquestion,Enlightenmentnarrativescollapse,theinevitabilityofprogresscrumbles,andthemasterstatusoftheuniversal（readmale,white,monied,heterosexual）subjectdeteriorates,Consensusinthepossibilityofmasteryislost,universalizinggrandtheoryisdiscredited,andthestable,unified,coherentselfacquiresthestatusofafiction.Althoughthepoliticalvalenceofpostmodernismissubjecttodebate,thereismuchtobesaidfortheprogressivepotenialofthisparadigmshift.

Clearly,thetermpostmodernismacknowledgesashiftfrommodernism,onenotcleatlydefinedandunabletostandasaseparateterm.Butthisculturaltransformationwasnotusheredinbyanapocalypticendingoracleanbreak.Itwasandcontinuestobeamatterofunevendevelopment,where,toheedawarningissuedbypostmodernists,developmentcannotbeconflatedwithprogress.Insofaraswecanconceptualizethisculturaltransformationasabreak,itmightbemorefruitfultospeakofitasastressbreak,nottheresultofanoriginarytraumaticeventbutthecumulativeoutcomeofrepetitivehistoricalstressesincludingtheHolocaust,Hiroshima,theColdWar,Vietnam,theanti-warmovement,andthevariousliberationmovementsassociatedwiththesixties:

civilrights,blackspower,feminism,andgayliberation.Indeed,theimpetustosituatepostmodernismasasixtiesorpost-sixtiesphenomenonliesinthecelebrated（orscorned）associationofthatperiodwithculturalcontradictionsandresistancetoauthoritythatfiguresoprominentlyindiscussionsofthepostmoderntoday.

THERELAIONSHIPOFPOSTMODERNISMTOPOPULARCULTURE

Thecontemporaryhorrorgenreissometimescriticizedinmodernisttermsforbeingalignedwiththedegradedfromofpleasure-inducingmassculture.Criticsrelegatethecontemporarygenretotheranksofideologicallyconservativecultureandexcoriateorlauditforpromotingthestatusquothroughitsreinforcementofsuchclassicalbinaryoppositionsasnormal/abnormalsexuality.Indeed,inDreadfulPleasures（1985）,JamesTwitchellportraysthehorrorfilmasamoralitytalethatdemonstratesthedangersofsexualityoutsidetheheteromonogamousunclearfamily.

Incontrast,thevexedrelationshipofthecontemporaryhorrorfilmtopostmodernismisrarelyarticulated.Whenthecontemporarygenreisassociatedwithpostmodernismitisoftentodiscreditoneorboth.ForKimNewman,"thepostmodernhorrorfilm"referstothoseeightieshorrorfilmscharacterizedbycamp.ThiscomicturnsignalsforNewmanadegneration,adyingoutofthegenre'scapacitytodepict"thehorrorsandneurosesoftheage",afunctionheclaimsisnecessarytoculturebutonethathasbeendisplacedanddispersedacrossothergenresthatarethemselvesincreasinglyhybirdinform（1988,211-15）.Hespeaksasadisappointedhorrorfanforwhom"postmodernhorrorfilms"failtodowhattheyarefittedtodo.TaniaModleski,ontheotherhand,isnofanofthegenre.In"TheTerrorofPleasure:

TheContemporaryHorrorFilmandPostmodernTheory,"sheclassifiescontemporaryhorrorfilmsasanexpressionofpostmodernismandconcludesthattheformerillustratewhatismostperverseaboutthelatter.Thispositionbearsclosercloserinspection.

Althoughinprinciplepostmodernismerodesallbinaryoppositions,Huyssenlocatespostmodernism'sdefiningfeatureinitschallengetomodernism'sgroundingdistinctionbetweenhigh（artworld）cultureandlow（mass）culture.Postmodernismblurstheboundariesbetweenartandmassculture.Ironically,asbothHuyssen（repr.1990241）andModleski（1986156）argue,manypostmodernistsunselfconsciouslyreproducethehighculture/lowcultureoppositioninitsmodernistFrankfurtSchoolformintheirownwork.Theysay,ineffect,thatmasscultureproducepleasure,whichinscribestheconsumerintothedominatebourgeoisideology.Incontrast,thedecenteredtextproducesjouinssanceandtakesanadversarialstanceagainstbourgeoissociety.Modleskialignsthecontemporaryhorrorfilmwiththeletterformbutquestionsitsvalueforfeminism.

Modleskiidentifiesthefollowingaspostmodernelementsofthecontemporaryhorrorfilm:

open-endednarratives,minimalplotandcharacterdevelopment,and（relatedly）thedifficultyofaudienceindentificationwithundevelopedandunlikeablecharacters.Modleskiarguesthethedecentered,disorderedhorrorfilm,liketheavant-garde,changestextualcodesinordertodisruptnarrativepleasure,andthatassuchitisaformifoppositionalculture.（Huyssennotesthatpostmodernismappropriatesandrecylesmanyofmodernism'saestheticstrategies,liketheonesModleskiindicates.）Modleskialignsthehorrorfilmwithpostmodernismandbothwiththedisriptionofpleasureforwomen,giventhelengthstowhichwomenhavehistoricallybeendeniedpleasure,andconsequentlytoquestionthelimitsofpostmodernismforfeminism.

Modleskiraisesimportantquestions.Butherdepictionofthecontemporaryhorrorfilmsisflawedandthereforehercomclusionisflawed.Shefailstograspthewaysinwhichthecontemporaryhorrorispleasurable,notonlyforamaleaudiencebutalsoforafemaleaudience.Althoughthehorrorfilmisnotnecessarilycriticalorradical,itdoescontain,asHutssensuggestsforpostmodernism,"produc