- Title
- Diegetic wounds : the representation of individual and collective trauma in found footage horror films
- Creator
- Hubber, Duncan
- Date
- 2021
- Type
- Text; Thesis; PhD
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/179533
- Identifier
- vital:15619
- Abstract
- The type of horror film known as “found footage” was prominent in the 2000s and early 2010s. The term refers to films that aim to scare their audience, and which are primarily shot diegetically, with handheld and surveillance cameras that exist within the world of the film. The thesis identifies conceptual, aesthetic, and thematic links between found footage horror films and psychological trauma theory. For example, in each film the premise of the characters and viewers finding footage of a frightening event evokes the victim’s belated recollection of a traumatic experience. Additionally, the often-frantic cinematography and ambiguous formulation of the monster evokes the shocked and disoriented cognition of the trauma victim in the wake of their experience. Finally, the experience and effect of trauma on society is a recurring theme of found footage horror films. By examining 14 films, this thesis aims to answer the question: how do found footage horror films represent the relationship between individual and collective trauma? It theorises that individual trauma is conveyed through the films’ point-of-view (POV) aesthetic, while collective trauma is conveyed through their narrative themes. The thesis groups the films into four categories, each of which addresses a different aspect of trauma theory. Firstly, Remote found footage horror films, such as The Blair Witch Project (Myrick and Sánchez 1999), are examined as depictions of national historical traumas. Secondly, Urban found footage horror films, such as Cloverfield (Reeves 2008), are read as depictions of contemporary global traumas. Thirdly, Domestic found footage horror films, such as Paranormal Activity (Peli 2009), are framed as depictions of systemic domestic trauma. Fourthly, Perpetrator found footage horror films, such as Man Bites Dog (Belvaux, Bonzel and Poelvoorde 1992), are examined as depictions of perpetrator trauma. The thesis disputes the claim made by numerous critics and theorists that found footage horror films do not constitute a subgenre, but merely a cinematographic style or marketing gimmick. By demonstrating their aesthetic and thematic consistency, and the manifold ways that found footage horror can be read as representing trauma, the thesis argues that the films constitute a specific subgenre of horror cinema. The thesis makes significant contributions to knowledge by identifying, testing and demonstrating links between horror film theory, genre theory, spectator theory, and psychological and collective trauma theory. It conducts a broad survey of a recent subgenre of horror films that has, thus far, only received sporadic and insubstantial academic attention. It also presents an original theory that explains the psychological and sociological subtext of the subgenre, and the cultural insights that the films provide.; Doctor of Philosophy
- Publisher
- Federation University Australia
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- Copyright Duncan Hubber
- Rights
- Restricted access by author to only show up to Page 94 [End of Chapter 1]
- Subject
- Found footage; Horror film; Trauma; Post-traumatic stress disorder; PTSD; Historical trauma; Perpetrator trauma; Cathy Caruth; Judith Herman
- Full Text
- Thesis Supervisor
- Speed, Lesley
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