Dottorato di ricerca in Filologia Moderna Scuola di dottorato in Lingue, Culture e Società Ciclo 23° A.A. 2009 - 2010 The Representation of Violence in Five Dystopian Film Narratives: Myth, Catharsis and Adaptation in ‘28 Days Later,’ ‘28 Weeks Later,’ ‘Children of Men,’ ‘The Road’ and ‘V for Vendetta.’ Five Case Studies. SETTORE SCIENTIFICO DISCIPLINARE DI AFFERENZA : L-LIN/10 Tesi di dottorato di Brigitte Taschler matricola 955514 Coordinatore del Dottorato Tutore del dottorando Prof. Enrica Villari Prof. Flavio Gregori Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................5 Chapter One: Adaptation ....................................................................................11 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................11 1.1.1 Reflections on Film Adaptation ..........................................................12 1.2 The Contempt of Adaptation .....................................................................14 1.2.1 Fidelity ..................................................................................................14 1.2.2 Logophilia and Iconophobia ...............................................................16 1.2.3 Word/Image Dichotomy ......................................................................17 1.3 Context .........................................................................................................21 1.4 Adaptation as Product and Process ..........................................................24 1.4.1 Transfer versus Adaptation ................................................................25 1.4.2 Media-specific Strategies ....................................................................27 1.4.2.1 Novel and Film ..............................................................................28 1.4.2.2 Graphic Novel and Novel .............................................................32 1.4.2.3 Graphic Novel and Film ...............................................................36 Chapter Two: Dystopia ........................................................................................41 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................41 2.1.1 Utopia and Dystopia ............................................................................41 2.1.2 Apocalypse and Post-Apocalypse .......................................................44 2.2 Contemporary Issues ..................................................................................48 2.2.1 Terrorism .............................................................................................48 2.2.2 Illness as Metaphor ..............................................................................51 2.3 Dystopian Style ...........................................................................................54 2.4 Film Analyses ..............................................................................................55 2.4.1 Children of Men ....................................................................................55 2.4.1.1 Synopsis .........................................................................................55 2.4.1.2 Analysis ..........................................................................................56 2.4.2 The Road ...............................................................................................63 2.4.2.1 Synopsis .........................................................................................63 2.4.2.2 Analysis ..........................................................................................64 1 2.4.3 V for Vendetta .......................................................................................66 2.4.3.1 Synopsis .........................................................................................66 2.4.3.2 Analysis ..........................................................................................68 2.4.4 28 Days Later ........................................................................................76 2.4.4.1 Synopsis .........................................................................................76 2.4.4.2 Analysis ..........................................................................................78 2.4.5 28 Weeks Later ......................................................................................82 2.4.5.1 Synopsis .........................................................................................82 2.4.5.2 Analysis ..........................................................................................83 3.1 Film Violence ..............................................................................................87 3.1.1 Introduction .........................................................................................87 3.1.1.1 Definition .......................................................................................87 3.1.1.2 Historical Overview ......................................................................90 3.1.1.3 The Action Genre ..........................................................................92 3.1.1.4 The Horror Genre ........................................................................96 3.1.2 Applied Analysis ..................................................................................99 3.1.2.1 V for Vendetta : An Action Movie ................................................99 3.1.2.2 28 Days Later : Horror and Action ............................................100 3.1.2.3 28 Weeks Later : Horror and Action ..........................................102 3.2 The Adaptation of Violence .....................................................................105 3.2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................105 3.2.1.1 The Violence of Adaptation .......................................................105 3.2.1.2 Showing – Telling – Imagining ..................................................107 3.2.2 Close Analysis ....................................................................................109 3.2.2.1 From Novel to Film ....................................................................109 3.2.2.1.1 Children of Men .....................................................................109 Government atrocities ......................................................................109 The ambush scene: source text .........................................................111 The ambush scene: film adaptation ..................................................112 3.2.2.1.2 The Road ................................................................................113 The violence of the environment .......................................................113 Cannibalism ......................................................................................116 2 3.2.2.2 From Graphic Novel to Film .....................................................122 3.2.2.2.1 V for Vendetta ........................................................................122 The prison scene: framing sequences ...............................................122 The prison scene: source text ...........................................................127 The prison scene: adaptation ...........................................................136 3.2.2.3 From Film to Graphic Novel .....................................................142 3.2.2.3.1 Infection and the Infected......................................................143 The representation of the Infected ....................................................143 The workings of infection .................................................................144 The power and dynamics of infection ...............................................145 The representation of infection .........................................................150 3.2.2.3.2 Horror Movie Tropes.............................................................153 The Final Girl ...................................................................................153 The gore ............................................................................................156 Chapter Four: Myth ...........................................................................................157 4.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................157 4.1.1 Definition of Myth .............................................................................157 4.1.2 Myth, Psychoanalysis, Structuralism and Formalism ...................159 4.1.3 Myth and Film ...................................................................................161 4.2 Mythical Elements in the Films ...............................................................163 4.2.1 The Heroic Journey ...........................................................................163 4.2.1.1 Children of Men ...........................................................................164 4.2.1.2 The Road ......................................................................................166 4.2.1.3 V for Vendetta ..............................................................................168 4.2.1.4 28 Days Later ...............................................................................170 4.2.1.5 28 Weeks Later .............................................................................174