This serious study of a genre, one which has generally been regarded as something almost anti-intellectual, attempts to shine a light on the shapes that lurk in the darkness, and the way that the introduction of the Monster disrupts society. In a series of essays, Wood examined the ways in which horror films reflect the surplus repression in contemporary society. Benshoff recognizes Hellraiser for some of its visual characteristics, but comes to the conclusion that “too often the representation of Barker’s monster queers seems similar to those produced by right-wing ideologues.” 3īenshoff’s book bases itself on the theories put forward by Robin Wood in the late 1970s. Benshoff’s somewhat exhaustive study Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film Barker remains a somewhat marginal figure. As Richard Dyer points out in The Culture of Queers, “We will miss much lesbian and gay cultural production if we restrict ourselves to what fits in with our own codes and conventions of lesbian/gay culture.” 2Ĭlive Barker is an openly gay author, painter and film director, but while elements of his novels are celebrated for their queerness, it often seems that his films are regarded not as queer they are simply films that happen to be made by a gay man. Clive Barker’s debut feature Hellraiser (1987) is viewed by many as a landmark feature in the horror genre, but is seldom included in the canon of queer cinema.
What is it that makes a film queer? Is it the overall content, that degree of camp in the actor’s portrayals, the sexual orientation of the director, or the message that it carries? Sometimes a film is unabashedly and undeniably queer, and other times it may take a more rigorous study to find the elements that identify it as such. Revealing the Hellbound Heart of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser "Demons to some, angels to others"īy Colin Arason Volume 18, Issues 6-7 / July 2014 14 minutes (3385 words)įor some of us, monsters are welcome opportunities to be different, to act in anti-normal ways, hideous and beautiful at the same time…
0 kommentar(er)
