JOHN G. CAWELTI CHINATOWN AND GENERIC TRANSFORMATION IN RECENT AMERICAN FILMS (One of the fascinating things about Roman Polasi's Chinaow i hat it Inokes in so many ways th American popala gene of the harold detective ‘sory. Mos ous. [soppse, sociation particularly wihtwofims bth ‘of which stared Hurpare Bogart: John Huston’ he Malese Falcon (1941) 260 Howard Havis' The Big Seep (1946) Bu these ae only the two ostemem ‘rad and perhaps the moat memorable vison ofa narrative formal which as ‘been epiated in hundreds aoe, fmt, nd television programs, Next 10 western thc hard-bsed detective sori Americas most distinctive coaueuton {o the Words stock of action-adventure stares out contemporaseous embod ‘mentoftbedeamactheroiequast which as apearlin so many tects ‘nso many diferent guises Unie the wesero—Rersc quest on the font ‘ibich can pshap be traced back far athe ncn capt nares of the ae sevententh century, and cerisinly to Cooper's Leathertocking sg of th ey ‘intenth century the har oiled detectives (oped in the vents through the medium of sor action stores in ulp magzin& lke the frous Black Mask. By 1929, Dashiell Haramet bad produced m Rod ‘Harvie aries detective novel, Before etn ito erry lene ib ‘he midhirties, Hammett had creat basic core ofhard-boed adventure BS Continental Op storiss and his noves—The Male Faicon (1930), The Dain Curse (1929), The Glass Key 1931) and The Tum Man 193) I very horton thebardboed detective made the tanstion fom novel fm. The Males Fal ‘on appeared eto fm versions in the eary 3s, before Jn ston made the ‘Setintive version ia 1941, The Glass Key was prodoedin theca 30sand inthe ‘Wx The Thin Aan became one of be peat movie sss of he ner 305, 50 Dovular that it ed Yoo number of vented sequels And while the harold (CHINATOWN AND GENERIC TRANSFORMATIONINRECENTFILMS. 499 ectve Nourish in fl, Hamme’ example was followed in novels by writers ‘shoe literary approach ranged from the ube and depth of Raving Candee nd Ros Msdonal tothe senetonal—and testing cris of Mikey Spc lane Radio andes, to, made many vies based onthe figure of he had bol detective and is gust foe utc hough he ambiguous andsape of he ‘modern American city. Ifa myth an be defined asa rater of rai known ‘hrouphout he culture and presented in many deren! versionsby many ileeat ‘lle then the hace eteciv sory isin tha sense an important American oth ‘Chinatown invokes his myth in many diferent ways Ii sting in Los Angles inthe 1930sis ery much the azcheypal “har ble”setng, he place anise ‘Hamat’ sand Chandlers aovels, While ts traethat many bar-oled novels tnd ms are sti diferent places and ties Mickey Spilae’s Mike Hammer ‘rie a New York City, Jaa D. Mactonals Tras McGee saga in Fide the Califor city setting of Hammett an Chandler and the approximate time of ‘hee sors, memorialize nthe period furnishings, visual cons, ad seo the pat han-boled fimo he 1940s, have bone er usthe look ad the ero ‘patalaurvolthehar holy Its thisaure which Plans generates, ough ‘here issomeing not quite pt something disturbingly off abou ttn ise, it isthe colo. The word of th hard-oed maths preeminent! a woul of back tnd white Is ambience ba compound of angular ght and shadow eames in webs of op which grew ot ofthe visual legacy of German expressions in rama and lm, wansfrmed inc wAatisnow usually called fm mtr sags ‘neato American loses and ores, olan cereflly contol bis spectrum of bean tone onder to ie the fei f fis no but ts nonetels cole with seasonal moments ofich olen light—asin the scee in the ry vest. Test ‘moments f warm coor often rele to scens that are cutie the waa sting oF "tematic content—for example, soenesin herr ands oie the st — which arethemscves generally oats the Worl ofthe aro detective story “he invocation of many other dina ements of the hard-boiled my the imc tonoand the 19805 sting cu wstoexpet he adional mythical Woe ‘ofthe evate ee hero. Rut he presence of colar, along with increasing deviations ftom etished patterns of plot. motive and character ive us an eee Fetng of ‘one myth colding wit and begining to ge ay to others, ‘i stein by examining Chinatown ition woth wadionl mys of the hard-boiled detective. The exaisho nau formula ofthe hie. boed sory assis protagonist a peat ivenigator who cmp marginal positon with respect othe offi socal institutions of eiminal justice. The pate eye is lcemed by teste, but hough he maybe a former member of x police forse ot Ainet attorney's sa. be is ot now connected with sch an orgniation nthe ‘couse ofthe story, ser keto come int confit wit epreentatvesof the ‘ficial machinery hough he may also have fends who are poe ofices. Hit oaton on th dg ofthe av is very important, because one of the central femes ftehuroied mythistheambiguty eevee insiutionalzal aw enroment nd uu juste. The tory shows stat the pale and he cours are neapabl of ‘efectively protecting the innocent and bringing the quit wo appropriate Justice0 ULMGENRES ‘Onl the individual fina who exis onthe marin of society can ve the ‘nme and bing boat tue jsice "The mail character othe pivat eye hero i thus rial ohio in the nyt ee alo central to hischaactorzation, We ec him not only a gue out ‘Sdetheinstisonlined pres of a enforcement, but a the paradosieal com> bination oa man ofsharacter who ral sure. The pivate eye isa rete oor man who operates oat of aseedoce and never seers o make very nach money by bi exploits hes the most arial sor of lower-midle cas quasi profesional Yer unlike theusalstereotypecfthissoi elas heisaman ofonor {nd inter wo eannot be made to pve up his qv brea usice- He isa com paling Ameran hero type, clearly Ftd othe traditional western hero who ‘ante many ofthe stme characters and condos of mapa “The sory bens when the hardbold her sven a ison by a ent. is ‘ypica ha ths nial miston ea desetve one ther the cent yng, 2 Beg ‘O'Shaughnessy ies to Sam Spade in The Aatese Falcon oe ent hs himself teen deed and doesnot understand wat veal at stake hen be gives he Cette is casa with General Stermsoodn he Big Sep. OMen the deecine Isbeing sed asa pan in some ne plot of te clent's Whatever isin impe fs to ston, the detective 10on fds himself enmesied in avery complex com ‘pir involving & numberof reple rom silret sober of sae). The rat ‘cinatve Englah dtozive in autor ike Dorothy Sayer, Agatha Chstc f [Ngaio Marah, invstantes ees by examining cvs questioning witeses and ‘et using intent powers of sgh and dedaction to aiveat the oton, “The harboileddetestive investigates trough movement and eacoumter: be cok Iidewith he web of conspiracy unt be asexposed is outlines. The crime saved byte ratiocmative detectives usually that osm nv. Wath ds ad ‘kas mane and motive or the ciminal ae atonal esablsed fe ean be tured overt the la fr prosecution. Bu the hbo detective eacounersa Inked eri of eriminal aes and responses he discovers not ingle gully individual bat corapt soit in which wealthy and espectable eopear linked svi sangre an crooked poicans, Because sis sacety and ot usta singe Incividal which sconup, the oficial machinery fw enforcement s unable © bring the pitt justice The hard-boiled detective mst cde for himsel what Kind of juice can be ascomplisbed ia the ambiguous urban work! of modert ‘Amaica, and be ms n man instances, uderake wo se hiss throu imac. There have aay been to diferent tendencies within the har-boied ‘yth Some writer ike Mickey Spillane an his many current followers ate thei emphasis on the hero a pivateiplate avenger. Ther tre ima mith the er laying the ol of executioners wel as detective and jade. More om Den and aise writer, ike Hammet, Chander and Ross Macdonal, deviog Instead the theme of the hero's own retinship to the mytial oe of van ‘ute law. Their versions of thestory rel ead withthe etective'sexesition tthe criminal thy prefer insted either to sage fr the criminal sees ‘ona in Chandlers Farewell My Lovaly or simpy to bring about the risa ‘xponue and confeson, aria The Malev Falcon Bhs ae end, thought {au proiued greater erature, i perhaps best understood asa humane avoidance (CHINATOWW AND GENERIC TRANSFORMATION INRECENTILMS. S01 ofthe true thrust ofthe myth which thik, seal tad the marginal bro becoming riahteous judge and executioner, caltur-here fra society which has profoundly ambious cones in chosing Between ss comatetYepalty nd itslef tha only individual actonsreukimately moral and jus. (One further element f the hard Bled mh neds ob particularly noted the ‘ole ofthe eminine antagonist. In almost every cs, the ha id er encoun {era beau sod dangerous woman inthe course of his nvesiatios aad he Ss himsel very mach drawn toward her, evento the pint of fling i ove Sometimes the woman his en, sometimes a figure in the conspiracy In or sing numba aes (The Maltese Felon The Big Slee, Farenel My Loves, 4. The Jur: and many oes) the woman tras ou to Be the murders, abd is Spill a es. is Kiedy her Gevectivelover. This murky treatment of the “romance” betwen detective and dangerous feral i osionally rele hap pln he Boga Bacall rations atte end ofthe fm version of The Big ‘Stein the noel this romanticealmiation doesnt tak lace). However, such anouicome irae, Even the beaatfl woman doesnot tan out ob mute "the dete usualy separates fom her a he end fo ern to he magi station, baal unchanged by what es happened to him and vad to perform ‘more actsf size when the occasion arses. \Weeanses rom ths tril resumé ofthe and bole formlahow love a resem- bance Cinownbearsto Bt the fm devitesineesing rm tbe mst el, by the end ofthe oy, the ls arevs at amending almost coaary wo that ofthe myth nse of bringing justice to a orapt sce, the detect’ ations eave thebasi soure of cmrptonantoache. Intend of potting the innocent, is investigation leads tothe death fone vt and the dpe nora destruction of ‘another Instead of srmountng the neh of conspiracy mith hon and neity Inc. the detective i overelredby what has happened thin, ‘True the acon of Chinatown increasingly departs fo th raion ade oie formula atthe sory progress However, hee are, fom the very being, ‘anumber of sgrifeane dears ro the stan pate. The chic of 4k Nichekion and Faye Dunaway aseadingactorssageod instance of his Nishokon and Dunaway have cera physical and sls esemblancso Bogut and Baal and these are obvious pled up though costume, makeup ad peste Inded, there isons cry ene ina estauran between therm which almost ely rem sent ofthe famous hore racing interchange between Bogart and Bastin he Big See. But uch a they echo the archetypal barbed di na superticil way, Nicolson and Dunaway oly characters which ae vey fret. Dunaway has euros agi, an undring quality of esperton which becomes eves more apparent s her ire situation is revealed. Se never generate he sense of Independence and courage tt Bacal brought oh bade sles her ah iss of wit and sorisoton tho characters wich made Baal sch an ‘sopropae romance partner forthe har-ale deteiv—are quik seen tbe ‘veneer covenng depts oangush anda, Nihoion la potas tet tary on, character who is taut What hese Hisatempt to beh 06g, «nical, and humorous private yes Undeteu on al ses be emily inet a ‘wit, at his atimpt to el his asistantsthe Chinese Joke makes clea Nor he the«2 FILM GENRES ‘ough manna man of profesional onorepetndsto beat the begining act alpsheisasucossfl seal businestan who as madea pod thing oat ofexpat- igh more sordid needs flowmen,Oaeofthemest deeply smboicees ofthe tational arto formula the Per’ esa to do divorce busines, fn fet one ofthe pimar) functions ofthe private detective By thischove thet Adional privae-ee ofthe myth elblahod bot his personal sense of honor and histransendent vocation, dstngungMimslf om the typial pte eves tor However, tom thebeginning of Chinatown itscearthat the aceulation ‘of evidence of maa fet Jake Git’ pimary business. Hei, nde, ‘iawn into the ars of Noah Cro i auger, and er husband by acommis: Som 1o document a supposedly clandestine afi teteen the ater anda mach younger woman. The ame, J. Gite, which Polanski and Robert Towae, he reenter, cove for ther protagoast i god indian ofthis aspect of is ‘hacer. Think afte nmes ofthe traditonalharsried detectivew Sam Spade, ‘witht implication of arses and digging beneath the surface; Pip Marione ‘ith i rs of knives ad chiar, Law Ascor with ts myhical overons {Gites o “Gis” as Neah Crosson keeps pronouncing it connotes lish ‘essandarasping ad asia ation, akindofetnicecho very iferet rom the pure Ango of Spade, Marowe and Atcha "Yt quail and even “anther shes, Gites swept up int the wad ‘onl hard-boled action Hsia and decepivcbarpeinvolveshim in the inves tiation ofa murder, which incu lesdshimtocvidenc of agescale conspiracy Involving bi vine, pis, crime andthe whole uadeing socal and ev ronmental structure of Los Angels. Like the traditional hac-oled detecting, Gites Geis 4 mari! idicul, bt radally finds Riel” coming a ‘moral gen nth 2 mision. Atte same Une e becomes romantically inva sitha character deeply implied in the we of coaspay the mysterious Widow ofthe man wh hasbeen murdered. By the mide ofthe in Gites determined {espa the polite conspiracy which Be emes beneath te sre, and so 10 resoine the question ofthe uta aaacence ofthe Noman to whom he has bee strongly attracted. Thu fr, the station coal resembles hat of The Males $Fuzon and The Big Seep Iisat his poi, however. that te aton agin aes ‘ast departure fom thatthe ttn har-boled story. Instead of emonset- ing ir ality to expe and punish the gis, Gites seadiy nds himself com ‘Ponting a dep of evan chaos so ret tht he sunset con it. In ration to the social and personal depravity peste by Noch Cros ad the woe in ‘vnch he ea so Suess operate, the touges, moral concer, an peo Sona sil of Gites not nly sem nefectal but eto es that are the ve) ‘post ofthow intend At the ed ofthe fm, Nea ros eo continue Hsrapaious dpreatons on the an, te city andthe body a his own daughter sranddnvehe; athe one psson who righ ave efttvly brought Cros 10 Some form ofjetice his daughter mistresttas been destroy Cites’ confor {avon wih depth of depravity beyond the capacity ofthe hard-boiled ethos of inciidualsti juss thin, the een sriieance ofthe Chinatown met {nine tim. Chinatown tecomes asmbol of Hs deeper moral enigma, those Unintended comquoncef action that ate pes understanding ond contr itt (CHIWATOWN AND GENERIC TRANSFORMATIONIN RECENT FILMS. 503 tas been there before In anode case his attempts at individual moral action bad lestothe death ofa womans care for tsapparet this tagody tat motivated him toene the police force and et up sa pate investigator Now he has heen drawn back nto moral action, a itsagi, in Chinatowa, baths atempttolive ‘ut tho msth ofiadvualisic justice calidss wth the power fv and chance in the word The real ot eo onfontation an hetero asi, bt trai catastrophe and th detraction ofthe iaceat ‘Chinatown pass the hard-boiled detective sors with vew fhe word that ‘deeper and more catastrophic, moreenigmatinitseil more Suen dines plicable is outbreaks of neat chance. [athe end the image ofhetie, moral ction embed inthe tratonal pate eye myth tus ouo betta nae: ‘uate to overcome the desroctiv realities eval the couse of th sary. This ‘revelation of depts beaath deptsismade increasing eidem inthe fil’ sreen- lssemoverent tovard Chiatows, the sjmbolilocusof darks, strangeness apd {stastophe but alo sppessin be in’ manipulation ofaction and image. The ‘hemes water and drouph. which neve through te ation ot ely reveal the ‘cope of Noak Cros const) to dominate acy by manulating ts ater sop- ‘iy, bt create textoreof allusion which resonates withthe mytMcl meanings ‘rainaly associated with water and drought, Planks version of Ls Anales ‘nthe 1930s revels he anscendent nhc wor f the senile kingdom, the {ving king and te drowned man beneath tthe word or amp of lots Wasteland and befor that ofthe ec mythsof traditional eure. Anober of ‘the f's mou its revelation ofthe ape incest which Noah Crow ha fathered 4 daupher on his own daughcer and is appre intending 19 continue this tmehod ef etablishing a progeny through the agency of is daugher-randaueh- {sh i anather ofthe ways im hich the Aaron st ato depths ‘eyod sel Though waiionaly anerocaly potent gure the rate eye's salty seems getty uel when Coaftonted wih the potent pervesy embodied inthe ure of Noah Coss, Cros reminiscent ofthe pial father imagined by Feed in Tem and Taboo but against his overpoweringseual, pelitcl and eo- nomic power, out heo-Oadpusin the frm of. J. Gites proves to be apealy Inpotent an impotence sybolzed eer in th im by the using oS Rose and the large comic anda he wears throughout much ofthe action, a is manipulaon of traditional Amencanpopul myth ad the revelation ‘ofthe wage inadaguacy ofthis myth waen cols witha univers thats deeper land more enigmatisin seit and destructive ce, Chinlownsoneo teres ‘snd mos arstialy powerful instances of type of fm of which we have seen ‘many stoking ineances inthe at dade te tcl fo know as ht a thistype off. On one eve creates the tradona itary mode abuse bor predy in which a wal eabsd set of conventions ora yee ubjcted to Some orf ionic or humerous expotation.Indeod, any ofthe mos sing ted succes fils ofthe pio have Benoa out Burksqus of ional Popular genes such a¢ Me Brooks Bizzing Saddles (westarsy, Young Frat Sein (ie Frankenstein horor ele and ik nity Hicheoe's psschoepal ‘Suspense fm. However, bureue nd parody embody a basal humorous ‘teas al many ofthe mos poesel gna sitions ofthe lst decade orsfimstike Bonne and Ch, The Wild Bunch The Godlike and Nasile—tend ‘more tard uagedy than comedy inthe over stretres. I sem 088 to speak ‘of atape par ora doomed burlesque. Therefore one isa is empted toon ‘ude that te connection between lasing Sada: and The Wid Buh, ot The “ack Bind and The Long Goadbye ix only sopra Yeti cles hati may ‘ofthese fms tee between comedy and tragedy snot simply raven, What, forerample ofthe etbordnay combination of Ketone Cope case scenes and tei carige i Ronni ad Che or he interweaving osoptomoac high ks dere ioleac in Aluas's MASI Ths puzaing combination of humorous brrlesue and bigh eriousnos som to bea mode of egession chances of fur period, ne only in le, but ther ray frat lsat the root of mich {hats commonly desribed a he Hteratre of he abr, or fsa “Back humor," and ca wel, chatacters ofthe ese of major contemporary novelist like Thomas Pychon. By adopting this mode, American movies have ina sess, becomes more nigral tof the maitsream of poueseri erature, jas though har fsquent allsion tothe rave conventions Americ mon temporary novels and dramates have crested @ new kindof reltonship tetween themsclres and the ations of popular ule “The linkage betwen these many dierent kad of contemporary teary, ‘matic and cinematic xprsonisthsir use of the convention of traditional pop ar gars. Basal, they doin difeent as what Polanski doesn Chinatown Selthelementsof conventional popular enrelnan lee context theres male ‘nn space thee tratonal forms and images ina new wa [taper to me ‘hat we can cls the various reatonships between trtional genen elements tated contexte four major mace, Fist thers the burlesque pope. nhs mode, clement f conventional fr lao ye te stunt inconere co nconguousor eager that he cele Tougher. Thee ae many brent was in wb his am be done. The frmue ‘lematscan beacte atin so extreme a fashion tht they come ito contr with ‘ou sens fret fring us to se thse pets of lt and character a fs ‘onuvanoes A good example fh the Brew image ofthe guafightr in Cat Bali. this fim wearesbown how, by puting isgunhter costume apres: ‘hatinvoleesraping hie iat a corst wihin which can arly ove an od Arun can become ihe ene o tet pss. Or in a chy rata ype fared omex situation ht we are rary aecustore! to seeing i athe oman ‘ned tem canbe sudden inverted ith seni fealty, This ishow the amos ‘apie scene in Blazing Saddler operates The cova around Hazing camp fr tng, a cee in which we are acasome to esrng mourn ad coos bala erormedty sch groups asthe Sons te Proves Instead eae ‘reared to an eating Farrage ofatulence Anyone who knows the usual eft of anne wlerness fiz iely to be deipted atts sudden expose ofthe share Involved the wational weer campéie scene. San Pekin’ ie he High Coury cers ancter isa ofthe userous eect oa susden penetration of rely int fants when one of i aging eben to Spas gcealito thee ands suddenly ale by a ving of rheumatism, Roy Jn Jo Huon theses ck Nichole naan fom Chinon (18) ‘lis oui te sual stag or heli conent—ir Came sens he tal ad an he pane Bsn Sade (1072) "Many of he tot Skog an ees fis the pero av tena and! baeaner of tinal pep rsa at ‘Mu obs tin Sedlr"(CAWELTL age 3