Spectatorship, Embodiment and Physicality in the Contemporary Mutilation Film

ISBN-13: 9781137444370 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 192 str.

Laura Wilson

Opis

Focusing on the representation of mutilation on the screen and the physical responses this evokes - what the author defines as 'physical spectatorship' - this book is organised around the study of a series of dynamic engagements that reconfigure the film-viewer relationship; these include: corporeal mimicry and the cinematic visualisations of mutilation; generalised anxiety and experimental use of sound; and the nausea generated by audio-visual techniques that both signify and locate the filmic gut in the viewer's body.

Combining close textual analyses with theoretical approaches, and traversing a number of national cinemas, Wilson draws upon psychoanalytic, phenomenological and feminist theories of film and spectatorship to explore specific aspects of this often overlooked group of films, aspects such as the assault narrative sequence, the use of extreme frequencies, and haptic sounds and images.

Recenzje

"Wilson bypasses the negative connotations surrounding "torture porn" by opting for a productive thematic model: the mutilation film. This approach is fruitful, leading to insightful discussions regarding, for example, sound, repulsion and self-harm. The filmic analysis is detailed, and the overarching argument represents a valuable contribution to scholarship in the field." - Steve Jones, author of Torture Porn

Spis treści

List of Figures
Introduction
1. Embodied Voyeurism
2. Mutilation as Spectacle
3. Representing the Unrepresentable: Self-Harm as Affect
4. Extreme Frequencies
5. The Gut
Conclusion
Bibliography
Filmography
Index

O autorze

Laura Wilson completed her PhD at the University of Manchester where she also taught introductory modules on film, led seminars for the Manchester Leadership Programme and lectured for Ahmed Iqbal's Race Relations Resource Centre. She has presented her work at UK and international conferences. Further publications include articles on race, gender and physical spectatorship.