Monday, October 12, 2009

Aesthetic vs. Social Subversion

One of the interesting things that underlies everything discussed in these two articles is that aesthetic subversion and social subversion, while linked, are not necessarily dependent on each other. Slasher films, according to Trencanski, may challenge social norms such as the patriarchal leadership and presents an idea of a strong feminine lead, but it still falls right in line with many of the aesthetic stereotypes that are associated with horror in general. We can see this again, and someone kinda pointed this out earlier, in District 9, which is basically an anti-racism film disguised as an alien movie.
This may be a way to, not really trick the audience into watching the film, but rather just naturally spread subversive ideas. As is presented in the Wright piece, genre films are the ones that sell the most, and make the audience the most comfortable. If a film maker is trying to get his ideas to the biggest audience possible (not to mention make the most money out of the project, a different discussion entirely), he or she would naturally conform to the aesthetic styles that are familiar to the population as a whole. Sure, most people come out of those types of movies saying things akin to, "Did you see that explosion?!?! Siiiiiiiiick" or "That part where the alien killed that dude was awesome," but maybe a little bit of the intended message seeped through.

and now, a .gif of the best new band EVER ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, Attack Attack

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