Hell Becomes Other People: Cinematic Form and Cruel Fantasies
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
HELL BECOMES OTHER PEOPLE: CINEMATIC FORM AND CRUEL FANTASIES OF AFFECTLESSNESS by Morgan Harper Hon. B.A., University of British Columbia (Vancouver), 2016 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Film Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2018 © Morgan Harper, 2018 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: Hell Becomes Other People: Cinematic Form and Cruel Fantasies of Affectlessness submitted by Morgan Harper in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Film Studies Examining Committee: Dr. Lisa Coulthard, Film Studies Supervisor Dr. Christine Evans, Film Studies Supervisory Committee Member Supervisory Committee Member Additional Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Supervisory Committee Member Supervisory Committee Member ii Abstract Towards the end of Jean-Paul Sartre's 1944 play, No Exit, Joseph Garcin begrudgingly recognizes that due to his misdeeds on Earth he has been punished to eternally share a single drawing room with two strangers. "Hell is---other people," he realizes (45). Instead of this recognition surfacing further anxieties amongst the new roommates, it calms them down. The realization that we cannot escape the impact of others, but will always be contingent upon them, opens up the possibility for a less strained form of co-existence. In other words, hell is not necessarily other people. However, if we do not accept and work with our capacity to be affected by others, then hell becomes other people. Despite the inescapability of our contingencies and capacity to be affected, contemporary Hollywood genre cinema is well-stocked with characters that have either seemingly achieved or are actively pursuing the fantasy of an unaffected existence. Although this lack of feeling is usually only explicitly associated with societies’ most beleaguered citizens (e.g., drug users, serial killers, etc.), this thesis argues that these cinematic fantasies of affectlessness have become ordinary and widespread. By diverting my attention away from cinema's explicit announcements, and toward cinematic form, I will explore how specific formal features encourage fantasies of affectlessness for both characters and audience members. Within this thesis, I seek a theoretical explanation of these fantasies as well as to understand the motivations that have encouraged their widespread popularity. In order to understand how cinema facilitates these fantasies for audiences, I will also examine two formal features which filmmakers have used to evoke these fantasies of an unaffected existence: coloured noise (in Solaris (Soderbergh 2002) and Mom and Dad (Taylor 2018)) as well as the iii erasure of affective markers (in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Wright 2010)). Despite these fantasies’ widespread circulation, I will argue that these fantasies encourage what Lauren Berlant has termed ‘cruel optimism’; indeed, despite the optimism these fantasies of affectlessness provide in promising a tensionless existence, in actuality they cruelly obstruct individuals from reducing their lives’ tensions. iv Lay Summary Although Hollywood genre cinema has primarily depicted one’s connections with others (e.g., love) as productively enabling them to live more virtuous and fulfilling lives, recent films have moved away from this prioritization. Instead, fantasies in which one entirely escapes the impacts of other entities, places, and institutions have become a dominant ideal in Hollywood filmmaking. This thesis seeks to understand the structures of and motivations for these unaffected fantasies. To understand how Hollywood genre cinema has subtly facilitated these fantasies for audiences, I will examine a pair of formal features: coloured noise (in Solaris (Soderbergh 2002) and Mom and Dad (Taylor 2018)) as well as the erasure of sweat (in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Wright 2010)). In this thesis, I will argue that these fantasies cruelly prohibit what they promise to actualize: a tensionless existence. v Preface This thesis is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Morgan Harper. A preliminary draft of Chapter 4 was presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ annual conference in March, 2018. vi Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary .................................................................................................................................v Preface ........................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ vii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... ix Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature Review .....................................................................................................10 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Fantasies of Absolute Continuity and Boundaries ........................................................ 12 2.3 For All and None of Us ................................................................................................. 15 2.4 An Impossible End to Interrelationality ........................................................................ 20 2.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3: Sound as Affective Border: Coloured Noise and the Fantasy of Terminating Tension ..........................................................................................................................................30 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 30 3.2 Tensionless Fantasies with Effectively Affectless Atmospheres .................................. 32 3.3 Complete Engulfment in Solaris ................................................................................... 43 3.4 Stochastic Resonance in Mom and Dad ........................................................................ 50 3.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 57 vii Chapter 4: When Fight Scenes Don’t Sweat: Contemporary Action Cinema’s Decentering of Bodily Production ....................................................................................................................59 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 59 4.2 Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff?: Theorizing Sweat as an Affective Marker ................... 62 4.3 Sweat’s Obfuscation, Erasure, and Absence in Contemporary Action Sequences ....... 69 4.4 An Impossible End to Interrelationality ........................................................................ 78 4.5 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ........................................................................................... 85 Chapter 5: Conclusion .................................................................................................................87 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................93 viii Acknowledgements Throughout my four years at the University of British Columbia, I have been immensely fortunate to receive a remarkable amount of encouragement from the Film Studies faculty. In many ways, these efforts have been spearheaded by my thesis supervisor, Dr. Lisa Coulthard. You have been unflinching in your support of my interests, presented me with countless opportunities, and provided me with a remarkable example of how to navigate institutions without compromising one’s values. I pursued a Master’s degree at UBC to continue working with you, and I am very grateful to have been given that opportunity. I would also like to thank my second reader, Dr. Christine Evans. During my first semester as an undergraduate at UBC, I was enrolled in one of your classes and was almost immediately inspired to want to pursue graduate school. Thank you for your guidance over the past four years. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Brian McIlroy for his uniquely kind and nurturing disposition. As an immensely stressed and intimidated undergraduate, I was extremely fortunate to get to have you as both a teacher and Honour’s supervisor because you showed me that academia could feel both human and accessible. During my time at UBC, I have also been extremely fortunate to share classrooms with brilliant peers, and I would like to extend my thanks to Zoë Laks, Amanda Greer, Matthew