Cronenberg goes humane: A filmmaker who did much to

break down the division between high and low art is a

striking example of a characteristically Canadian interest
in the Fall of Man: [National Edition]
Elder, Bruce j £ j . N a t i o n a l P o s t [Don Mills, Ont] 08 Sep 2001: B8.

Abstract
One can generate f r o m [Julia Kristeva]'s idea of a b j e c t a set of o p p o s i t i o n s : m i n d / b o d y ; s e l f / o t h e r ; t h e
b o u n d e d / t h e u n b o u n d e d ; m a l e / f e m a l e ; s e n s o r y e x c e s s / l a n g u a g e ; s t r u c t u r e / flow. [William Beard] analyzes
[DAVID CRONENBERG]'s oeuvre in t e r m s of t h e s e dualities, and t h e y f i t it very well. Kristeva's ideas are very m u c h
in v o g u e right now, and there is a t e n d e n c y a m o n g c r i t i c s to t r e a t t h e idea of a b j e c t i o n as if it c o u l d be r e d u c e d to a
c o m m o n s t o c k o f i m a g e s . T h o u g h Beard nicely a v o i d s d o i n g t h a t , I w i s h h e had dealt w i t h t h e c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n
Kristeva's ideas of t h e abject and M e l a n i e Klein's ideas a b o u t t h e g o o d and bad breast and her view t h a t i n f a n t i l e
s a d i s m is d i r e c t e d first t o w a r d t h e f r u s t r a t i n g (bad) breast, and later t o w a r d t h e inside of t h e m o t h e r ' s body.

Beard e x a m i n e s recurrent t h e m e s , m o t i f s and f o r m s i n Cronenberg's oeuvre, d e m o n s t r a t i n g h o w t h e s e have

c h a n g e d i n t h e c o u r s e o f his career. Beard s h o w s h o w Cronenberg's f i l m o g r a p h y h a s b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y
d i s t r e s s e d by t h e p o w e r of s e x u a l i t y - a n d t h e body in general - to t h r e a t e n t h e s e l f - c o n t a i n e d s u b j e c t .

There is an a s p e c t of m y t h o l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r a l i s m to Beard's analysis, t h o u g h it is u n a c k n o w l e d g e d , p e r h a p s

u n c o n s c i o u s . He d o e s not d i s c u s s t h e recurrence of a narrative s t r u c t u r e in Cronenberg's f i l m s , f o r w h i c h
C a n a d i a n s s e e m t o have a n affinity: t h e m y t h o f t h e Fall. Beard d o e s analyze m a n y o f Cronenberg's f i l m s i n t e r m s
of a fall into guilt, i s o l a t i o n and even abject horror, t h o u g h t h i s m y t h i c s t r u c t u r e is never n a m e d . The s c i e n t i s t s in
Cronenberg's early f i l m s are p r e s e n t e d a s t h o u g h t h e y s o u g h t f o r b i d d e n k n o w l e d g e , and t h e y pay f o r t h a t
defiance.

Full Text
B r u c e Elder is a f i l m m a k e r w h o t e a c h e s in t h e Ryerson-York j o i n t g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m in C o m m u n i c a t i o n and
Culture.

THE ARTIST AS MONSTER: THE CINEMA OF DAVID CRONENBERG

By W i l l i a m Beard University of T o r o n t o Press 4 6 9 pp., $50

T i m e w a s w h e n t h e a d v o c a t e s of Canadian c u l t u r e h o p e d a Canadian c i n e m a w o u l d s o o n appear - one b a s e d on

t h e m o d e l of t h e European art f i l m (Godard, Fellini, Resnais a n d A n t o n i o n i ) . So t h e y w e r e s h o c k e d in 1975, w h e n a

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Cronenberg goes humane: A filmmaker who did much to break down the. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/doeview/329848145/.

Canadian director released a g r o t e s q u e s t o r y of a parasite d e s i g n e d to help ailing h u m a n o r g a n s t h a t goes

h i d e o u s l y out of control.

T i m e s c h a n g e . The d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n "high" and "low" art has f a l l e n into d o u b t ; c o m m e n t a t o r s argue t h e latter

r e i n v i g o r a t e s t h e f o r m e r w i t h its vitality, its u n a b a s h e d interest in t h e body and in sexuality, and a f o r m a l d a r i n g
t h a t is u n c o n s t r i c t e d by n o r m s of t a s t e . The e n t h u s i a s m f o r t h e w r i t i n g s of Artaud, Bataille and Sade and f o r Cindy
Sherman's p h o t o g r a p h s t e s t i f i e s t o a n o p e n n e s s t o " e x c r e m e n t a l c u l t u r e "

In W i l l i a m Beard's m e t i c u l o u s study, The A r t i s t as Monster, he d e f e n d s David Cronenberg's f i l m s , s h o w i n g t h e y are

a s f o r m a l l y i n t r i c a t e and c o n c e p t u a l l y rich a s t h e h i g h - m o d e r n i s t f i l m s o f t h e 1960s.

The m o s t f r u i t f u l w a y t o s t u d y a genre has been t h e s t r u c t u r a l i s t one, w h i c h a n a l y z e s t h e s y s t e m o f o p p o s i t i o n s

t h a t o r g a n i z e t h e genre's s y n t a x . Beard varies t h a t a p p r o a c h , u s i n g "auteur- structuralism," w h i c h analyzes t h e
e v o l u t i o n of c o m m o n t h e m e s , i m a g e s and narrative p a t t e r n s in a f i l m m a k e r ' s b o d y of w o r k .

Beard d r a w s u p o n a set of o p p o s i t i o n s derived m a i n l y f r o m J u l i a Kristeva, a literary t h e o r i s t . She p r o p o s e d t h e idea

of "the a b j e c t " - of feces, blood, spittle. T h e s e "abjected" s u b s t a n c e s are expelled f r o m t h e h u m a n body and seen
a s d i s g u s t i n g , a l m o s t u n r e p r e s e n t a b l e t o t h e c u l t u r a l p s y c h e . T h e a p p a r a t u s o f h u m a n r e p r o d u c t i o n , and t h e
f e m a l e body generally, are perceived as abject; so, above all, are h u m a n c o r p s e s .

Beard s h o w s t h a t Cronenberg's ideas a b o u t a r t - m a k i n g arise f r o m t h e r e p u d i a t i o n o f t h e abject: The artist v e n t u r e s

into areas t h a t are p s y c h i c a l l y d a n g e r o u s , and f o r t h i s is rewarded w i t h c o n t e m p t .

T h e a b j e c t d i s t u r b s identity, s y s t e m , order; t h e in-between, t h e a m b i g u o u s , t h e c o m p o s i t e are abject. The abject

e m e r g e s w h e n t h e b o u n d a r i e s b e t w e e n s u b j e c t and o b j e c t and b e t w e e n inside and o u t s i d e b e c o m e u n c e r t a i n .
T h u s t h e o p p o s i t e of t h e abject is "one's o w n clean and proper body," as d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e insides of other people's
bodies. This results in a c o n c e r n w i t h t h e c o n t r o l l i n g b o u n d a r i e s of t h e body, and t h i s c o n c e r n is m i r r o r e d in t h e
realm of p r o h i b i t i o n s and laws.

The a b j e c t c h a l l e n g e s t h e narrative order. But w h e n narrative is not entirely repudiated, its m a k e u p c h a n g e s . Its
linearity is shattered, it p r o c e e d s by f l a s h e s , e n i g m a s , s h o r t c u t s , i n c o m p l e t i o n - w h i c h is not a bad f i r s t - c u t
d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e narratives o f Cronenberg's later f i l m s .

One can generate f r o m Kristeva's idea of abject a set of o p p o s i t i o n s : m i n d / b o d y ; s e l f / o t h e r ; t h e b o u n d e d / t h e

u n b o u n d e d ; m a l e / f e m a l e ; s e n s o r y e x c e s s / l a n g u a g e ; s t r u c t u r e / flow. Beard a n a l y z e s Cronenberg's oeuvre i n t e r m s
of t h e s e dualities, and they fit it very well. Kristeva's ideas are very m u c h in v o g u e right now, and there is a
t e n d e n c y a m o n g c r i t i c s to t r e a t t h e idea of a b j e c t i o n as if it c o u l d be r e d u c e d to a c o m m o n s t o c k of i m a g e s .
T h o u g h Beard nicely a v o i d s d o i n g t h a t , I w i s h he had dealt w i t h t h e c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n Kristeva's ideas of t h e
abject and M e l a n i e Klein's ideas a b o u t t h e g o o d a n d bad breast a n d her view t h a t i n f a n t i l e s a d i s m is d i r e c t e d first
t o w a r d t h e f r u s t r a t i n g (bad) breast, and later t o w a r d t h e inside of t h e m o t h e r ' s body.

T h a t m i g h t have p r o d u c e d a m o r e d y n a m i c v i e w of t h e s o u r c e s of Cronenberg's i m a g e s , and m i t i g a t e d Beard's

t e n d e n c y (not a p r o n o u n c e d one) to fail to t r e a t abject f a n t a s i e s as o v e r d e t e r m i n e d (as s t r u c t u r e d by a n u m b e r of
d i f f e r e n t w i s h e s ) , and as i c o n i c rather t h a n i n d e x i c a l (related to w h a t t h e y represent not as a p i c t u r e is to its m o d e l
but as an effect).

Beard e x a m i n e s recurrent t h e m e s , m o t i f s and f o r m s i n Cronenberg's oeuvre, d e m o n s t r a t i n g h o w t h e s e have

c h a n g e d in t h e c o u r s e of his career. Beard s h o w s h o w Cronenberg's f i l m o g r a p h y h a s b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y
d i s t r e s s e d by t h e p o w e r of s e x u a l i t y - a n d t h e body in general - to t h r e a t e n t h e s e l f - c o n t a i n e d s u b j e c t .

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 The p r i n c i p a l d e v e l o p m e n t Beard t r a c e s is o n e of an i n c r e a s i n g l y h u m a n e vision, w h i c h he relates to a basic
c h a n g e in t h e c h a r a c t e r w h o is i d e n t i f i e d w i t h a b j e c t i o n . The narratives of t h e earlier f i l m s - before V i d e o d r o m e -
w e r e i m p e l l e d by t h e sexuality of a m o n s t r o u s f e m a l e . But t h e later f i l m s l o c a t e sexual t r a n s g r e s s i o n in m a l e
p r o t a g o n i s t s , and t h i s t r a n s g r e s s i o n i s clearly labelled a s s a d i s t i c . T h e earlier f i l m s a s s o c i a t e d t r a n s g r e s s i o n w i t h
s c i e n t i f i c k n o w l e d g e . The later o n e s link it i n s t e a d w i t h a r t i s t i c creation, w i t h t h e c o u r a g e of a r t i s t s in k n o w i n g
themselves to be sadistic.

But Beard also s h o w s h o w t h e p r o t a g o n i s t s i n c r e a s i n g l y value restraint, sensitivity, c o m p a s s i o n and f e l l o w - f e e l i n g .

T h e y are d e c e n t h u m a n s - but their s e x u a l i t y o p e n s t h e m to a c a t a c l y s m i c power. T h o u g h Beard d o e s not q u i t e
put it t h i s way, his c o m m e n t a r y s u g g e s t s Cronenberg has a t r a g i c vision. The p r o t a g o n i s t is c a u g h t b e t w e e n t w o
f o r c e s : t h e desire to m a i n t a i n one's restraint and c o m p a s s i o n , w h i c h c a n be realized o n l y at t h e c o s t of i s o l a t i o n
f r o m t h e p o w e r f u l f o r c e s t h a t reveal t h e o p e r a t i o n s o f s o m e t h i n g larger t h a n h u m a n beings; and, t h e desire t o have
i n t i m a t e k n o w l e d g e of t h e s e greater f o r c e s , w h i c h c o m e s at t h e c o s t of being s u b m e r g e d in a dark e l e m e n t .
Neither a l t e r n a t i v e is s a t i s f a c t o r y ; nor is any s y n t h e s i s of t h e t w o . We are t o r n by t h e c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n
u n s a t i s f a c t o r y alternatives, and our life is t r a g i c .

There is an a s p e c t of m y t h o l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r a l i s m to Beard's analysis, t h o u g h it is u n a c k n o w l e d g e d , p e r h a p s

u n c o n s c i o u s . He d o e s n o t d i s c u s s t h e recurrence of a narrative s t r u c t u r e in Cronenberg's f i l m s , f o r w h i c h
C a n a d i a n s s e e m t o have a n affinity: t h e m y t h o f t h e Fall. Beard d o e s analyze m a n y o f Cronenberg's f i l m s i n t e r m s
of a fall into guilt, i s o l a t i o n and even abject horror, t h o u g h t h i s m y t h i c s t r u c t u r e is never n a m e d . The s c i e n t i s t s in
Cronenberg's early f i l m s are p r e s e n t e d a s t h o u g h t h e y s o u g h t f o r b i d d e n k n o w l e d g e , and they pay for t h a t
defiance.

Illustration
Black & W h i t e Photo: David Cronenberg on t h e set of Naked Lunch, an a m b i t i o u s p a r a n o i d f a n t a s y f i l m b a s e d on
t h e c o n t r o v e r s i a l novel by W i l l i a m B u r r o u g h s . ;

Word count: 1030

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