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American Daydream, European Nightmare – En Studie I Skillnader Mellan Amerikansk Och Europeisk Skräckfilm Under Stumfilmseran INNEHÅLLSFÖRTECKNING

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American Daydream, European Nightmare – En Studie I Skillnader Mellan Amerikansk Och Europeisk Skräckfilm Under Stumfilmseran INNEHÅLLSFÖRTECKNING Växjö universitet FMC160 Institutionen för humaniora HT/2006 C-uppsats i filmvetenskap Handledare: Olof Hedling Maria Soneson American daydream, European nightmare – en studie i skillnader mellan amerikansk och europeisk skräckfilm under stumfilmseran INNEHÅLLSFÖRTECKNING Inledning............................................................................................................................ 3 Definition av skräckfilmen som genre............................................................................ 3 Frågeställning och ämnesval ........................................................................................... 4 Avgränsning...................................................................................................................... 4 Syfte ................................................................................................................................... 5 Metod................................................................................................................................. 5 Analys ................................................................................................................................ 6 Skräckfilmer producerade 1896 - 1918, kortfattad historik .......................................... 6 Skräckfilmerna 1919 - 1932.......................................................................................... 9 TYSKLAND............................................................................................................... 9 ÖVRIGA EUROPA................................................................................................. 15 USA......................................................................................................................... 16 Slutsats............................................................................................................................. 19 Sammanfattning/avslutning .......................................................................................... 22 Källförteckning Bilaga: Skräckfilmer 1913 – 1932 indelade efter kategorier 2 Inledning Av alla de filmepoker jag har studerat, har jag framför allt fastnat för stumfilmen. Det som gör att jag tycker att denna epok/teknik är särskilt intressant är inte bara själva handlingen och skådespeleriet, utan också de stora variationerna inom filmteknik och kvalitet under filmens tidiga historia: Här syns det verkligen hur utvecklingen går framåt, både konstnärligt och tekniskt och man kan ofta följa hur filmen förbättras för varje år. Det syns också äkta skillnader filmerna emellan. Dessutom var det inte, som idag, den klassiska Hollywoodstilen som dominerade, utan varje filmproducerande land hade sin egen speciella stil, som t.ex. den tyska expressionismen, den franska impressionismen eller den ryska montagefilmen. En genre som verkar ha varit särskilt populär på den här tiden var skräckfilm, även om dåtidens skräckfilmer ofta skiljer sig markant från de kriterier som vi idag har ställt upp på hur en skräckfilm skall se ut. Eftersom begreppet skräckgenre ännu inte hade uppfunnits, eller rättare sagt, då ”kriterierna” för att något skall klassas som skräckfilm egentligen inte sammanfattades förrän på 30-talet (av det amerikanska filmbolaget Universal, som var det första att skapa en form av standard för hur kommande skräckfilmer skulle komma att se ut1), fanns det ännu inga fasta regler för vad som kunde betraktas som skräckfilm. Innan Universal ”tog makten” över skräckfilmen skiljde just skräckfilmerna sig också ganska tydligt mellan olika länder. Vad dessa stora skillnader beror på är vad jag vill ta reda på och presentera i mitt arbete. Definition av skräckfilmen som genre När man idag talar om en skräckfilm ”Horror Movie”, avser man en film som har till avsikt att skrämma publiken. Detta kan ske på många olika sätt, mer eller mindre psykologiskt: En del bygger skrämseltekniken mest på det överraskande, våldsamma eller avskyvärda, ofta genom bloddrypande specialeffekter (det som idag kallas för ”splatterfilmer”), medan andra istället lyckas bygga upp en fruktansvärt kuslig stämning med mycket små medel. Någon typ av skräckinjagande företeelse finns dock oftast med i handlingen, antingen i form av någon övernaturlig varelse (monster; vampyr; djävulen; spöke; gengångare; konstgjord livsform o.d.), eller något som i sig är helt naturligt, men som människan står maktlös emot (vilda djur t.ex. dinosaurier, hajar, fåglar; rymdvarelser; ”onda övermänniskor” etc.) Det kan också röra sig om psykiska eller fysiska sjukdomstillstånd, smitta, skadliga ämnen, magiska förbannelser 1 Roy Kinnard Horror in Silent Films, A Filmography, 1896-1929 Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co 1995, s. 1. 3 o.d., som ju inte är egentliga varelser, men som ändå är skrämmande. Av filmtekniska skäl kopplas denna typ av ”osynliga” hot ändå oftast till någon person eller varelse, främst för att man ska kunna visualisera ”det onda” genom en representant. Filmer med handlingen centrerad runt skräckvarelser har en mycket lång historia, även om begreppet skräckfilm egentligen inte användes förrän efter stumfilmperioden, varken i marknadsföringen eller av filmvetarna / allmänheten.2 Det är faktiskt så att detta är det enda fall som jag känner till, där man kan tala om exakt vilken dag som en genre officiellt fötts: Begreppet skräckfilm (Horror Movie) myntades den 16 november 1931, efter premiären på Universal Studios Frankenstein.3 Detta innebar dock att även filmer producerade före detta datum automatiskt kom att hamna i genren, varför senare genreförteckningar normalt sett omfattar alla skräckfilmer, oavsett produktionsdatum. Handlingen varierar givetvis starkt, men generellt sett har den klassiska skräckfilmen nästan alltid två parallella handlingar: Dels kampen mellan gott och ont, dels någon form av kärlekshistoria. Ofta är dessa två sammanflätade, genom att ”monstret” faller för, eller på annat sätt intresserar sig för, ”flickan” (det s.k. ”skönheten och odjuret”-motivet), vilket givetvis leder till ett triangeldrama, med ”hjälten” (oftast flickans fästman eller beundrare), som tredje part.4 Frågeställning och ämnesval Jag har valt att rikta in mig på att ta reda på vilka skillnader som fanns mellan framförallt de europeiska och de amerikanska skräckfilmerna under stumfilmsperioden: Vad är typiskt för en skräckfilm från USA respektive Europa? Vilka skillnader finns mellan de olika europeiska ländernas filmer? Vilka samhällsfaktorer påverkade respektive land filmproduktion? Vilket samspel / påverkan förekom mellan de olika ländernas produktion? Avgränsning Med tanke på att kriterierna för vad som kallas för en skräckfilm har ändrats under årens gång, har jag valt att definiera skräckfilmerna efter dåtidens kriterier. Detta innebär att de filmer 2 Roy Kinnard Horror in Silent Films, s. 1. 3 Ibid. 4 Thomas Elsaesser, Warren Buckland Studying Contemporary American Film, A Guide to Movie Analysis London: Arnold 2002, s.31. 4 som jag tar upp, med nutidens kriterier, också kan sorteras in under begreppen science-fiction, thriller, action, adventure osv. Tyvärr har tillgängligheten varit avgörande för vilka filmer jag kunnat studera, vilket gör att många intressanta verk inte finns med i listan, medan några av de som finns med troligen skulle ha valts bort om jag haft tillgång till ett större urval. Ytterligare en parameter som varit avgörande för att en film medtagits i studien är att den förekommer i den litteratur som behandlar ämnet. Vissa filmer finns med i så gott som alla böcker om skräckfilmen, medan vissa omnämns bara av vissa. Eftersom så gott som alla filmer (i alla fall skräckfilmer) före omkring 1910 (Staiger anger, för amerikansk film, 1909 som ”brytpunkt”5) är mycket korta och därför har mycket bristfällig handling, behandlas dessa endast översiktligt, som inledande historik. Svårigheten att finna kopior av de filmer som spelades in t.o.m. 1918 har också gjort att studien huvudsakligen inriktar sig på långfilmer (”feature length movies”) från tiden omkring 1919 – 1932. Syfte Att granska skillnader mellan stumma skräckfilmer från främst Amerika och Europa, men även mellan olika europeiska länder; hur skiljer de sig åt? Är det de kulturella och historiska traditionerna; de politiska skillnaderna; censurregler etc.? Följer de en viss mall eller modell, eller beror det på någonting annat? Metod Arbetet grundas på en litteraturstudie, där tyngdpunkten kommer att läggas på A.L. Zambrano’s Horror in Film and Literature, Stephen Prince’s The Horror Film och Roy Kinnard’s Horror in Silent Films. För de tyska filmerna även Lotte Eisner’s The Haunted Screen och Siegfried Kracauer’s From Caligari to Hitler. Givetvis kommer Elsaesser’s m.fl. Studying Contemporary American Film och Janet Staiger’s Interpreting Films att finnas med som källor till ”allmän” filmkunskap. Dessutom på en studie av ett tjugotal filmer från perioden 1913-1932, varav ungefär hälften är europeiska (huvudsakligen tyska) och hälften amerikanska. För att möjliggöra en jämförelse, har en viss klassificering av de sinsemellan så olika filmerna måst göras, för att indela dem i ett smärre antal ämnesgrupper. Detta innebär vissa förenklingar, men är den enda metod som tiden och utrymmet medger. 5 Janet Staiger Interpreting Films, Studies in the Historical reception of American Cinema Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press 1992, s.102. 5 Analys Skräckfilmer producerade 1896 – 1918, kortfattad historik Fram till omkring 1910 var filmen tämligen primitiv; den korta speltiden (som mest runt 10, men ofta
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