The Hidden Faces of World War One: Representing Disfigurement in Film
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The Hidden Faces of World War One: Representing Disfigurement in Film Siân Liddle A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2019 This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights. i ABSTRACT This study uses a creative-critical-archival approach to construct the first British, feature-length screenplay depicting the experiences of facially-injured World War One servicemen: The Battalion of Dandelions. This screenplay is an historical war drama, written in the form of a shooting script and informed by archival, filmic and theoretical studies. Its narrative is inspired by research into the experiences of a small number of the 60,500 British servicemen who suffered facial injuries during World War One. Facial injury was viewed as one of the strongest symbolic manifestations of the ‘horror’ of the Great War. A century later, this study has been conducted in the context of a British World War One film genre that has, thus far, omitted facial injury as a primary subject, and a film culture that has repeatedly reinforced disfigurement as belonging to an aesthetic of horror. The Battalion of Dandelions challenges this using cinematic devices, including shot scale, focus and sound, chosen in order to encourage audience members to slow down their perceptions and reconsider their responses to techniques used to signal monstrosity. Elements of trauma theory and haptic cinema are also included in The Battalion of Dandelions to encourage a stronger connection between character and viewer. Hiroshima mon amour (1959) and A Quiet Place (2018) are particularly strong studies in the deployment of narrative and cinematic devices to represent the unrepresentable and elicit empathy from the viewer. The deep-rooted existence of visual prejudice is beginning to be challenged within our society. This thesis offers an original contribution to knowledge by outlining how film can play a significant part in supporting a humanised aesthetic of disfigurement, whilst filling a gap within British film culture concerning the commemoration of the facially-injured servicemen of World War One. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For four years, from the time that this thesis was only the seed of an idea to its final draft, it has been nurtured by the support, guidance and unending patience of my supervisory team. Firstly, I would like to thank my Director of Studies, Dr Sharon Ouditt, for navigating me through the toughest moments in this process with calmness and a smile. Your advice and encouragement drove me to always want to improve on yesterday, and gave me the confidence to believe it was possible. I would like to thank Professor Martin O’Shaughnessy for offering me his invaluable experience and insight, while gently guiding me back onto the right path when I got lost. I would also like to thank Dr Georgina Lock, who initially encouraged me in pursuing this thesis, for fostering my passion for screenwriting and always leaving me feeling optimistic and inspired after our meetings. I would like to take the time to thank Professor Timothy Youngs, who provided me with consistently valuable and encouraging feedback, Dr Andrew Bamji, who was a great inspiration in my work and always willing to impart his incredible subject knowledge when I hit a wall, and Roger Green and Ruth Neave from The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, who breathed new life into my screenplay by guiding me through a treasure trove of information on both Gillies and Queen’s in their archives. I am incredibly grateful to Nottingham Trent University for awarding me a Vice- Chancellor’s PhD Scholarship, which funded this thesis and enabled me to embark upon the most enjoyable and enriching years of my life so far. A great part of this was due to a group of PhD students who gave me unending support and wisdom, so I would like to thank Amy Williams, Tara Coltman-Patel, Eddie Cheetham, Dr Helen Drew, Dr Suzy Harrison and Dr Stacey Griffiths for the joy of their company. iii Finally, to my wonderful family, who I will be forever grateful to have had walking along this road with me, thank you. To Harrison, Jack and Ella, thank you for your smiles and cuddles, which were always the perfect remedies to any stress, and to Michelle, Matthew and Phil, thank you for believing in my capabilities in the moments when I was in doubt, and for being a source of happiness every day. I would like to dedicate this thesis to two people who have supported every ambition their children have ever had in life without a second thought – my parents. To my Dad and alarm clock Stephen, thank you for inspiring me with your work ethic, picking me up when I fall and motivating me to reach higher. To my Mum and live-in editor, who has read every word I’ve ever written, thank you for sharing in my love of storytelling, for your endless belief and encouragement, and for teaching me that with hard work, there are no limits. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... ii INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 SCREENPLAY – The Battalion of Dandelions ..................................................................... 8 CHAPTER ONE – Writing History: Archives and the Sequence Paradigm ................. 131 The Sequence Paradigm: Breaking and Building the Narrative Spine ......................... 132 Historical Truth: Interpretation and Imagination ........................................................... 140 The Archives: Approaching and Applying History ....................................................... 153 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 169 CHAPTER TWO – Monster to Man: The Aesthetics of Facial Disfigurement ............. 171 The Monstrous Face: Aesthetics of Horror .................................................................... 172 The Face of Man: Aesthetics of Humanity .................................................................... 185 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 196 CHAPTER THREE – Touching Trauma: Conflict, Memory and Haptic Cinema ....... 198 The Trauma of War: Suffering and Forgetting in Hiroshima mon amour .................... 199 Touching Sound: Family and Trauma in A Quiet Place ................................................ 218 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 231 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 232 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 237 1 INTRODUCTION The principal concern of this thesis is to use a three angled, creative-critical-archival method to construct the first British, feature-length screenplay depicting the experiences of facially- injured World War One servicemen. Specifically, this thesis aims to interpret archival material regarding the disfigured serviceman of the Great War, in order to create an historical narrative that attempts to shape aesthetic results through the careful application of cinematic techniques informed by film theory. This objective has been pursued in the context of a British World War One film genre that has, thus far, omitted facial injury as a primary subject, and a film culture that has repeatedly reinforced visual ‘abnormality’ as an aesthetic of monstrosity. Facial injury during World War One holds a prominent place in both military and medical history. The weapon technologies of the previous centuries converged during the Great War, resulting in a large number of casualties and fatalities on both sides. 8.7 million British men served between 1914-1918, of which around 700,000 died and 2.2 million were wounded.1 Of the wounded, approximately 41,000 men had a limb amputated, but around 60,500 suffered facial injuries.2 Queen Mary’s Hospital, World War One’s major centre for maxillo-facial and plastic surgery, was founded in Sidcup in 1917 in response to this influx of facial cases, and by 1921 it had treated over 5,000 servicemen.3 The hospital’s work, led by New Zealand surgeon Harold Gillies, was at the forefront of pioneering developments in plastic surgery, and the experimental procedures endured by its patients paved the way for modern day reconstructive methods. 1 ‘Some British Army statistics of the Great War’, The Long, Long Trail <http://www.1914-1918.net/faq.htm> [accessed 3 July 2017]. 2 Joanna Bourke, Dismembering the Male: Men’s Bodies, Britain and the Great War (London: Reaktion Books, 1996) p. 33. 3 The Gillies Archives <http://gilliesarchives.org.uk>