"Son of celluloid", Clive Barker (1986) - cinema and its metaphors

Résumé du document

Son of celluloid' is a short novel written by the British author Clive Barker in 1983. It was originally published in 'The Book of Blood' in 1986 and it was an extract from a comic series called 'Trapping the Vein'. Barker is well-known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. He belongs to the splatterpunk movement which is distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence and 'hyperintensive horror with no limits'. Clive Barker chose to set his story in the context of a movie theater thus placing his protagonists in a reassuring topoï. Indeed, the story is grounded in reality because it takes place in a well-known public space. This device is typical of the splatterpunk movement whose goal is to create a defamiliarizing effect in order to increase tension and fear.

Extraits

[...] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splatterpunk According to Deleuze, a line of flight, or line of escape, is a deterritorializing process through which people can emancipate themselves from the tyranny of government. [...]

[...] All of them die because of that, except Birdy who seems to be the only true asocial character because of her obesity and who thus manages not to succumb to the illusions that the “cinema-monster” had (mis)chosen for her. The monster in Clive Barker's narrative stands for the cinema as an illusion only designed to seduce the audience and has them trapped in an apathetic, lifeless state. Ricky's case shows the “cinema-monster”'s huge potential to seduce us: after a first failed attempt with a western fiction (initially created for Dean), it succeeds in catching his eyes with the ultimate temptress Monroe. [...]

[...] "Son of celluloid", Clive Barker (1986) - cinema and its metaphors of celluloid” is a short novella written by the British author Clive Barker in 1983. It was originally published in The Book of Blood (vol. in 1986 and it was an extract from a comic series called Trapping the Vein. Barker is well-known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. He belongs to the splatterpunk movement which is “distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence and "hyperintensive horror with no limits[1]”. [...]

[...] The famous catchphrase Brother is watching is relevant here when linked to the as the monster who can read the characters' minds and can choose the perfect illusion which will convince them and finally lead to their death. The author's aim may be to denounce and condemn the global capitalist state which imposes a uniformized lifestyle and thought system. Indeed, Barker uses quite a few biblical references which show that the cinema is made sacred and has become the “opium of the people”. [...]

[...] Then, I'm going to relate the notions of the persona to the novella and envision the cinema as an illusion, emphasizing the importance of the gaze. To finish, I want to underline the religious aspects of the cinema in this text. The cinema has now become a major art maybe more important than literature at least more popular. Watching a movie seems to be more and more perceived as an intellectual exercise but it's also a kind of entertainment. The main Hollywood stars from the 20th century are mentioned or even play an important role in the novella. [...]