Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
CronembergCinema PDF
CronembergCinema PDF
SETEMBRO
Realizao
DE 2011
CORPO,
IMAGEM E
11 WSET: Fazendo o Cinema Pulsar
12 As entranhas do cinema: abrindo Cronenberg, Tadeu Capistrano
15 Entrevista com David Cronenberg
18 Bioscopia
23 Filmes
TECNO-
43 David Cronenberg - Corpo, Imagem e Tecnologia
Ensaios
Copyright 2011, 44 O bio-horror de David Cronenberg, Laura Canpa
Tadeu Capistrano
49 David Cronenberg e o cinema bio-tecnolgico, Ivana Bentes
LOGIA
Todos os direitos 53 Voce no voc: corpo e identidade nos filmes
reservados de David Cronenberg, Fbio Fernandes
WSET Multimdia
Rua Voluntrios da 60 A Teratologia de David Cronenberg ou passeando entre
Ptria, 98/1114-D monstros e seus criadores: squilo, Goya, Mary
Botafogo - Rio de
Janeiro - RJ - Brasil
Shelley e Cronenberg, Ieda Tucherman
55 21 25397016 65 Sobre mdicos, monstros e tecnologias: angstias
www.wsetfilms.com contemporneas, Lilian Krakowski
Capa e Projeto Grfico 68 O cinema como negativo (duplo) da psicanlise,
www.carneviva.com
Mariana Mansur e Adalberto Mller
Bernardo Oliveira 71 O Olho e o crebro: o cinema psquico
Foto Cortesia de / de David Cronenberg, Erick Felinto
Photo courtesy 77 O Cinema Maqunico de David Cronenberg,
Caitlin Cronenberg
Maria Cristina Franco Ferraz
Reviso 81 As engrenagens lubrificadas: Cronenberg, automveis e
Tadeu Capistrano corpos super-excitados, Guillermo Giucci
Traduo 85 Comutaes, contatos: cenas de violncia segundo
Pedro Gouva David Cronenberg, Evando Nascimento
88 Da Des-Organicidade: devires
cinematogrfico-pictricos, Eliska Altmann
93 Subjetividade virtual em nova carne: o fim do
tempo, espao e corpo orgnico no sujeito recriado,
Joo Luiz Vieira e Luiz Antonio L. Coelho
99 O Corpo estranho: orgnico, demasiadamente orgnico,
Paula Sibilia
ISBN: 978-85-63357-00-7
WSET Multimdia
10 | DAVID CRONENBERG
A emoo mais forte e mais antiga do homem o medo, e a espcie mais forte e realidade virtual e telepresena: a ultrapassagem das restries decorrentes da natureza orgnica
erticas cujo gozo est prximo morte. somente nessa via-limite que os personagens de Crash
homens e mquinas no centro de seus acontecimentos. Ou, se no houver um centro, tm prazeres radicais. A ultrapassagem de normas e interditos, que regem tanto condutas sexuais
em algum lugar sintomtico e de (im)precisa inciso. como leis de trnsito, o que mobiliza todo o trfego narrativo do filme. Porm esses desvios
O corpo e a tecnologia so protagonistas desse teatro contemporneo que procura parecem no chegar a lugar algum. Acompanhamos o vai e vem de subjetividades apticas,
transcender oblivianamente a velha carne. Em filmes como Videodrome e eXistenZ, mergulhadas numa mecnica cotidiana e procura de uma super-excitao engrenada pelas dores
por exemplo, Cronenberg descortina uma inquietante tendncia ligada aos sistemas de e delcias que um carro pode oferecer - at chegarem bem prximas de um orgasmo aniquilador.
Nessa perspectiva, possvel vislumbrar em Crash, e em grande parte da cinematografia Muitos cineastas que, como voc, conseguiram superar as expectativas das
15 | DAVID CRONENBERG
onde realizou tese sobre cinema, tecnologia e percepo com o apoio do CNPq e da Columbia
University. Existe uma lgica subjacente exposio de platias violncia ou a momentos
de grande desconforto?
A arte sempre envolveu sexo e violncia. Eu at gostaria de poder dizer que fui o
primeiro a colocar os dois juntos num filme, mas ns temos quatro mil anos de criaes
artsticas que envolvem sexo e violncia. Porque somente nos revelamos quando somos
levados aos extremos do que somos e do que fazemos. Ento baixamos a nossa guarda e o de repente esse talvez tenha sido o primeiro e nem eu mesmo sei ao certo se ainda gosto ou no,
Alm disso, rodou um polmico comercial para a empresa Nike, e um curta-metragem, Cmera, para
O outro protagonista encarnado pelo ator Jude Law, no papel de um segurana novato que
comemorar o 25o aniversrio do Festival Internacional de Toronto.
se envolve na trama. Complementam o elenco Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Don
Esse ltimo foi, alis, o primeiro a homenagear o diretor com uma retrospectiva realizada
McKellar e Callum Keith Rennie, na pele de vrios heris e viles que entram e saem do jogo.
em 1983. Alm disso, a Academia Canadense de Cinema publicou o livro intitulado The Shape
eXistenZ obteve um Urso de Prata no Festival Internacional de Berlim, em 1999, pela
of Rage: the Films of David Cronenberg, uma abrangente antologia de ensaios crticos sobre o
melhor contribuio artstica, e um prmio Genie pela edio, alm de ganhar o Urso de
seu trabalho, que foi atualizada em 1990 pela Cinemateca de Quebec para a sua distribuio
na Europa. Mais recentemente, em 2001, a editora da Universidade de Toronto publicou
CRIMES DO
atravs de uma cirurgia cerebral efetuada pelo Sistema de Computao Orgnica Dialtica da
mencionada academia. Com base nas teorias parapsicolgicas do Dr. Luther Stringfelllow, os
FUTURO
escolhidos acabam perdendo sua capacidade de falar devido atrofia das cordas vocais, mas em
compensao desenvolvem outro cdigo de comunicao bioprocessual graas reformatao
da rede eletroqumica de seus crebros. Isolados no cenrio frio e assptico do laboratrio,
(CRIMES OF THE FUTURE, 1970)
os sujeitos da experincia caminham livremente e interagem entre si por meio da telepatia.
Ento, afrodisacos sintticos so introduzidos nas suas dietas, visando ao desenvolvimento de Canad, 70 min.
relaes sexuais telepticas. Porm, a experincia culminar num resultado inesperado e, de Direo: David Cronenberg
fato, bastante perturbador. Aps a realizao de seus curtas-metragens Transfer (1966) e From Roteiro: David Cronenberg
Empresa Produtora: Emergent Films Ltd.
the Drain (1967), este filme de David Cronenberg pode ser considerado uma espcie de clula-
Elenco: Ronald Mlodzik, Jon Lidolt,
tronco de sua cinematografia. Neste seu primeiro longa-metragem, anunciam-se vrias de suas Tania Zolty
obsesses temticas e estticas: os riscos da manipulao tecnocientfica do corpo humano, as
potncias da sexualidade e os limites da percepo, alm de sua cpula predileta entre sexo
e violncia. Sob forte influncia das experimentaes do cinema underground americano
dos anos sessenta, Stereo foi um filme muito bem acolhido pela crtica, sobretudo devido
originalidade na explorao do espao, bela fotografia e ao uso da voz em off que articula a
narrativa como uma intrusa na mente do espectador.
Num futuro indefinido, milhes de mulheres morrem afetadas pelo mal de Rouge, uma
doena causada pelo uso de cosmticos e descoberta por um dermatologista insano chamado
Antoine Rouge. Aps o misterioso desaparecimento do mdico, possivelmente como mais uma
vtima da estranha epidemia, sua luxuosa clnica dermatolgica chamada The House of Skin ou
a casa da pele, passa a ser administrada por seu discpulo, Adrian Tripod. O mal continua a se
alastrar descontroladamente, contagiando tambm os corpos masculinos at dizimar a maioria
da populao planetria. Na busca de possveis solues, o Dr. Tripod entra em contato com
outros centros de pesquisas mdicas e, nesse percurso, conhece o sinistro lder de um grupo
conspiratrio integrado por pedfilos, quem solicita sua colaborao num projeto perturbador:
o plano de manuteno da espcie humana. Como todas as mulheres adultas do planeta
morreram em decorrncia da doena fatal, restam apenas algumas meninas virgens que ainda
no usaram cosmticos, mas que j podem ser engravidadas. Assim como aconteceu com seu
filme anterior, esta produo experimental de David Cronenberg lhe rendeu boas crticas por ter
explorado um espao desolado com recursos inovadores: planos estticos, cmera lenta, rudos
estranhos e graves silncios, um conjunto de detalhes que confere s imagens uma singular
atmosfera clnica. Essa esttica gera uma impresso de estranheza no espectador, acentuada pela
glida narrativa ps-apocalptica que encena uma humanidade prestes a ser aniquilada, onde
24 | DAVID CRONENBERG
Rose a protagonista desta histria, interpretada por uma ex-estrela de filmes porn chamada
Marilyn Chambers. Logo no incio do enredo, a personagem sofre um acidente de motocicleta
junto com seu namorado e, para sua sorte ou desgraa, o desastre acontece perto da clnica
Keloid. A moa submetida a uma cirurgia plstica de emergncia pelo diretor dessa instituio
CALAFRIOS
mdica, o Dr. Dan Keloid, que aproveita a interveno para extrair alguns tecidos do corpo da
paciente e transform-los numa nova substncia orgnica, morfologicamente neutra, capaz
de assumir as caractersticas de qualquer outro tecido do corpo. Assim, aps a cirurgia e com
(SHIVERS, 1975) o intestino j recuperado, Rose descobre que sua nica fonte de vida passou a ser o sangue
Canad, 87 min humano, alimento que pode ser extrado dos corpos atravs de um tentculo proveniente de
Direo: David Cronenberg sua prpria axila. Como fruto dessa trgica transformao, a protagonista se converte numa
Roteiro: David Cronenberg espcie de vampiro, um ser dotado de uma fome libidinosa acompanhada por severos e
Empresa Produtora: Canadian Film contagiantes impulsos homicidas. Este filme se tornou um dos primeiros sucessos da carreira
Development Corporation (CFDC) de David Cronenberg, e tambm foi alvo das polmicas iniciais da sua trajetria, pois o diretor
Elenco: Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry
foi acusado de misgino pelas militantes feministas. Mas o cineasta canadense, que em seguida
passou a ser considerado o progenitor de um novo gnero cinematogrfico conhecido como
Neste filme com esprito libertrio, realizado sob a vibrao das reivindicaes contraculturais horror biolgico, defendeu esta sua cria de 1976 reivindicando uma outra sexualidade para
dos anos sessenta, um cientista com inclinaes pedfilas responsvel pela criao de uma a clebre mutante, com seu irresistvel gosto por homens, mulheres, velhos, adultos e crianas.
parasita capaz de substituir qualquer rgo do corpo humano. No entanto, a verdadeira funo
dessa ubqua criatura livrar a humanidade da ultra-racionalidade que a domina cada vez
mais, liberando nos corpos humanos seus instintos sexuais e sua natural agressividade. Assim, a
experincia do Dr. Emil Hobbes comea com a introduo da criao biotecnolgica no corpo
de uma prostituta, que estripada num luxuoso condomnio localizado numa ilha perto de
Montreal. O produto criado pelo mdico, que combina os ingredientes ativos de uma doena
venrea e vrias substncias qumicas afrodisacas, sexualmente transmissvel e passa a se
alastrar por vrios corpos, semeando uma verdadeira orgia de ataques sexuais. Nesse inslito
enredo, onde os vrus invadem os organismos humanos para liberar a sexualidade neles contida,
provocando uma epidemia dos mais bizarros bacanais, aparece o germe de outra obsesso de
David Cronenberg: a perda da racionalidade, asfixiada sob a fora incontrolvel dos instintos.
Ao exibir esses corpos despersonalizados que se contaminam com sua libido desgovernada no
ambiente improvvel de um prdio de luxo, Calafrios zomba dos valores burgueses tradicionais,
tais como o individualismo, a propriedade e o decoro, conferindo um tom anrquico e irnico
a esta narrativa escatolgica que contagia o espectador com seus humores e seu frenesi.
26 | DAVID CRONENBERG
THE BROOD:
Um dos filmes mais conhecidos de David Cronenberg e um dos preferidos de seus fs, The Brood
rene vrios dos componentes que integram a frmula explosiva do laboratrio cronenberguiano.
Comparecem, aqui, as ambies desmedidas da cincia, um mdico alucinado que manipula
e modifica as entranhas de uma mulher, e a conseqente produo de monstruosidades
mutantes acompanhadas de foras nefastas, que escapam ao controle da razo humana e inibem
qualquer plano lgico de ao. O Dr. Hal Raglan comanda o Instituto Somafree e autor de
um livro intitulado The Shape of Rage ou A forma da raiva. Todas suas energias se concentram
na tentativa de aperfeioar seu peculiar mtodo teraputico intitulado psychoplasmics. Por meio
desse procedimento, o especialista tenta tratar os srios distrbios psquicos de seus pacientes,
fazendo com que esses conflitos mentais se manifestem fisicamente em seus corpos. Afloram,
assim, toda sorte de pstulas, feridas, ndulos, cistos e tumores. Uma das pacientes confinadas
na clnica Nola Carveth, uma mulher que tenta superar o profundo dio que nutre por seus
pais e por seu marido. Cada vez mais adentrada no perigoso mtodo catrtico inventado pelo
FAST COMPANY
famoso psiquiatra, a moa consegue extravasar toda sua fria e passa a somatizar seus fantasmas
(1979) interiores. Sua poderosa clera psicofsica se plasma, assim, numa ninhada de monstruosidades
que protagonizam este violento thriller de horror psicodramtico, prenhe de cenas antolgicas e
Canad, 91 min
considerado um dos filmes mais sombrios e reverenciados da obra de Cronenberg.
Direo: David Cronenberg
Roteiro: Phil Savath, Courtney Smith e
David Cronenberg
Empresa Produtora: Canadian Film
Development Corporation (CFDC)
Elenco: William Smith, Claudia Jennings, Joh Saxon
Este curioso filme de David Cronenberg bem atpico no conjunto da sua filmografia,
embora o diretor tenha revelado sua paixo por carros e corridas automobilsticas em vrias
ocasies. Fast Company narra a frentica histria do piloto Lonnie Johnson, mais conhecido
como Lucky Man, que corre na categoria Funny Car com o patrocnio da empresa de
combustvel FastCo. Quando o personagem consegue escapar com vida de um grave acidente,
sua relao com a firma patrocinadora entra em crise, pois se evidencia que o interesse exclusivo
da companhia consiste em utilizar a imagem da equipe do piloto para fazer a publicidade de
seus produtos. Assim, aps atacar a empresa num programa de televiso, Lonnie Johnson e
sua equipe se envolvem numa perigosa disputa de poder, cujas engrenagens so movimentadas
por vinganas, sabotagens e muitas perseguies a toda velocidade. Cronenberg converte este
peculiar relato de automveis e pilotos numa verdadeira pista de corrida audiovisual, onde tanto
28 | DAVID CRONENBERG
os corpos motorizados como suas mquinas aceleradas esto em constante ameaa de exploso.
SCANNERS: VIDEODROME: A SNDROME
Desde crianas, os gmeos Beverly e Elliot Mantle compartilham seus interesses por sexo Baseado no romance homnimo de William Burroughs, Naked Lunch ou O almoo nu,
e cincia. Ambos so intrigados, sobretudo, pela anatomia da genitlia feminina e pelos tornou-se um dos filmes mais cultuados de David Cronenberg. Como o prprio romancista
mistrios do tero. Apesar de terem personalidades muito diferentes, o aspecto dos irmos que, alis, matou sua prpria esposa acidentalmente com um tiro na cabea, o protagonista
idntico e, alm disso, eles so inseparveis. Escolheram at a mesma profisso: ginecologistas. desta fico se envolve em um assassinato e logo se v absorvido por um mundo de alucinaes.
E ambos se tornaram renomados especialistas na rea. Alm de trabalharem e viverem juntos, Um universo povoado de substncias narcticas e criaturas fantsticas. Ambientado na cidade
os gmeos compartilham tudo. Inclusive seus casos amorosos e seus relacionamentos sexuais, de Nova York em 1953, o filme narra as desventuras de um personagem que tenta ser escritor,
aproveitando a semelhana fsica para se embarcarem no perigoso jogo da troca de identidades. mas precisa trabalhar como exterminador de insetos para pagar suas contas. E ainda corre o
Esse simbitico equilbrio no relacionamento fraterno, porm, comea a ser abalado quando risco de perder o emprego, porque seu estoque de inseticida se esgota rapidamente ao ter que
ambos conhecem a paciente Claire Niveu, uma famosa atriz que no consegue engravidar abastecer as vontades de sua esposa, que viciada no barato do p venenoso. Quando o
por possuir um tero de trs entradas que a torna uma espcie de mutante. Depois de prprio protagonista resolve experimentar a perigosa substncia, porm, ingressa num vrtice
dividir Claire com o irmo, como era de hbito com suas parceiras sexuais at ento, Beverly de percepes dissociativas rumo a uma zona onde as mquinas de escrever se transformam em
embarca em um estado depressivo que envolve paixo, vcio e loucura. Nessa viagem guiado gigantescos insetos falantes, entre outras metamorfoses igualmente inquietantes. Envolto numa
por diversos psicotrpicos, introduzidos pela atriz em sua convulsiva relao com os irmos belssima atmosfera noir, este inslito filme invoca a cultura beat e o universo kafkiano, tudo no
Mantle. Considerado por muitos crticos como a obra-prima de David Cronenberg, este compasso das dissonantes improvisaes jazzsticas de Ornette Coleman. Alm de metaforizar
filme fez muito sucesso com uma receita que combina vrios ingredientes extraordinrios: a as potncias da imagem e da linguagem como um vrus ou como uma substncia alucingena,
34 | DAVID CRONENBERG
atuao impressionante de Jeremy Irons encarnando os gmeos, a majestosa fotografia, a bela o peculiar universo deste escritor tambm serviu de inspirao para o clebre ensaio do filsofo
trilha sonora e os perturbadores instrumentos inventados pelos protagonistas para perscrutar o Gilles Deleuze sobre as sociedades de controle, um dos retratos mais sagazes dos mecanismos
interior dos corpos femininos: pinas, frceps e ganchos do mais frio metal. de poder no mundo contemporneo.
CRASH, ESTRANHOS PRAZERES
M. BUTTERFLY (1993)
novas configuraes fsicas e abrindo seus corpos para exploraes sexuais inditas. Se, por um
lado, o filme coloca em cena as tpicas aceleraes das mquinas nas pistas, por outro lado, a trama
tambm inclui uma srie de desaceleraes que suspendem o fluxo do enredo e congestionam
USA, 101 min
Direo: David Cronenberg os corpos das personagens que trafegam nas mais diversas posies sexuais. Assim se v reforada
Roteiro: David Henry Hwang a clebre atmosfera patolgica ou doentia deste inslito filme. Os personagens que se cruzam
Empresa Produtora: Geffen Pictures nas perigosas vias de Crash procuram um estranho prazer, conformado tanto pelas dores como
Elenco: Jeremy Irons, John Lone, Barbara Sukowa pelas delcias que os automveis infringem na carne humana ao colidirem e se esmagarem.
M. Butterfly uma adaptao da pea de teatro do mesmo nome, que fez muito sucesso na
Broadway e, por sua vez, retoma a histria real vivida por um diplomata francs na Pequim dos
anos sessenta. Ren Gallimard o protagonista, encarnado com muita sensibilidade pelo ator
Jeremy Irons, que se apaixona pela diva chinesa Song Ling aps assisti-la cantando uma ria
da pera Madame Butterfly, de Giacomo Puccini. Mergulhado nesse extico relacionamento
amoroso ao longo de vrios anos, o enigmtico funcionrio europeu se deixa envolver pelos
mistrios de sua musa oriental, que sempre se recusa a ficar completamente nua em sua presena.
Revigorado pelas delcias do intenso relacionamento com sua bela gueixa, porm, o personagem
abandona paulatinamente seu carter introvertido para se transformar num homem cada vez
mais confiante e ativo. No trabalho, inclusive, chega at a alcanar a nomeao de vice-cnsul
da Frana na China. Contudo, essa charmosa histria ainda se deparar com muitas surpresas,
que incluem acusaes de espionagem e, aps duas dcadas de vvida paixo, a descoberta das
intrincadas essncias da cantora. A atmosfera ambgua e obscura um ingrediente fundamental
deste belo filme, no qual o corpo, a sexualidade e a poltica permeiam fortemente sua temtica
principal: a capacidade que as identidades tm de se transformarem em nome do desejo
mesmo que as conseqncias sejam fatais.
36 | DAVID CRONENBERG
CMERA
eXistenZ
veterano est sentado na sala de uma casa,
diante da cmera, dando um longo e sentido
(1999) depoimento sobre sua relao com o cinema:
Canad/UK, 97 min. os filmes espelham a vida, cristalizam os
Direo: David Cronenberg sonhos e a passagem do tempo, e de repente
Roteiro: David Cronenberg tudo o que valioso parece ter ficado no passado
Empresa Produtora: ou j ter sido feito. Enquanto o ator profere
Alliance Atlantis Communications seu monlogo em tons grisalhos, porm, um
Elenco: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm grupo de crianas parece brincar ao seu redor,
correndo pelos diversos cmodos da casa e
se preparando com empolgao para filmar.
Assim, mobilizam todos os equipamentos
Um ambicioso filme de fico-cientfica, existencial e originalssimo, que coloca em questo
necessrios para transformar aquele recinto
os ambguos limites entre mundo real e realidades virtuais, indagando nos riscos que implicam
em um set de filmagem, e o ator no
certos sonhos de poca. Trata-se de um jogo de imerso interativa, que funciona perigosamente
protagonista que ser projetado na tela. A
plugado aos corpos e crebros dos jogadores e vende a atraente promessa de transcender as
entrada da cmera transfigura magicamente
limitaes do organismo humano para experimentar sensaes e emoes extra-corpreas.
o espao, dando um novo incio ao filme
Lanado no ltimo ano do sculo XX, o filme despeja na tela do cinema toda uma mitologia
dentro do filme, que o espectador passa a
tecnocientfica que inflama o imaginrio contemporneo. No se trata apenas das audazes
assistir incorporando o olhar revigorado de
interfaces neurais que conectam as mquinas informticas ao sistema nervoso, mas tambm das
uma nova gerao de cineastas: essas crianas
biotecnologias que permitem criar seres geneticamente modificados para alimentar o mercado
que, daqui a outro quarto de sculo, sero os
dos entretenimentos, com rgos sintticos, anfbios quimricos e consoles de DNA. Outros
realizadores e os espectadores dos filmes do
fantasmas de poca tambm so convocados, como o terrorismo internacional e a violncia
futuro.
conspirativa que envolve o af de lucro das grandes corporaes, os fanatismos religiosos e os
mais confusos interesses polticos. Tudo num clima onrico que no se sabe direito se sonho
ou pesadelo, se alguma coisa terrvel est de fato acontecendo ou se estamos diante de um
mero obstculo ldico que, ao ser ultrapassado, nos dar acesso ao prximo nvel do jogo.
Como habitual nos filmes de David Cronenberg, as escolhas estticas merecem destaque,
pois em que pese a temtica claramente futurista do filme, foi evitada a opo obvia de saturar
os olhos do espectador com a parafernlia computacional da prxima gerao. Ao contrrio,
nestes ambientes de um futuro duvidoso, respingam sujeiras por toda parte e h um excesso de
38 | DAVID CRONENBERG
O pacfico Tom Stall vive com sua esposa Edie e seus dois filhos pequenos numa
cidadezinha chamada Milbrook, no ambiente rural do interior do Estado de Indiana, num
quadro que aparenta replicar a verso mais idlica do sonho americano. Um dia qualquer,
porm, o personagem reage de forma inesperadamente brutal a uma tentativa de assalto
no restaurante onde trabalha, matando os ladres com extrema eficcia e salvando tanto
sua famlia como os clientes do bar. O surpreendente fato ganha grande repercusso na
mdia, transformando esse marido exemplar e tranqilo pai de famlia numa espcie de
heri nacional. Porm, essa repentina notoriedade vai acabar revelando, contra a vontade do
prprio protagonista mas sem que ele nada possa fazer para impedi-lo , uma outra face
Nesta trama de crimes e castigos que se desenvolve na Inglaterra contempornea, Ana uma
parteira que se apega a um beb cuja me, Tatiana, morreu no parto. Na tentativa de salvar
a criana, a enfermeira decide procurar a famlia da jovem morta, tendo como nica pista a
quieta mudez de seu dirio escrito em russo. Na medida em que os segredos contidos nessas
pginas vo se revelando, Ana comea a adentrar numa zona sombria da cidade de Londres, um
territrio conflitante e cheio de contradies, que abriga o universo da mfia russa e o trfico
de mulheres para abastecer o mercado global da prostituio. Dispara-se, assim, uma narrativa
de violncia sexual numa trama que envolve assassinatos, espionagem e intrigas internacionais.
Como ocorre nas duas realizaes imediatamente anteriores do diretor canadense, neste ltimo
expoente da filmografia de David Cronenberg tambm aparece a memria como o personagem
principal do enredo. As lembranas se inscrevem tanto nos caracteres misteriosos das pginas de
um dirio ntimo como nas marcas que cinzelam os corpos violentados pelo prprio passado.
Assim, em sua obra mais recente se renovam as antigas obsesses do diretor, focalizando um
corpo humano que ao mesmo tempo se entrega e luta contra as tenses das redes de poder que
constantemente os pressionam e dilaceram. Corpos que desdobram seus impulsos reativos, suas
metamorfoses e desmembramentos, seus traumas e suas resistncias.
42 | DAVID CRONENBERG
O bio-horror de palavras: por mais brutal que a fico de horror nos possa parecer, creio que h, nela,
David Cronenbeg
particulares da nossa situao bio-existencial (Ibid, 04). Para o autor, ento, esse tipo
de fico emana diretamente das agonias e exigncias de nossa vida fsica: no horror,
nossos medos psicolgicos, diz ele, realizam-se em termos bastante concretos (Ibid,
de maneira mais direta para uma viso do corpo da mulher como mais sujeito
como a gravidez e o parto, o sonho e o pesadelo, a morte e a doena, a fome e a defecao etc, manipulao e ao descontrole, algo que ser relativizado em suas obras ao longo da
estaria, segundo ele, na fonte primria em que bebe a fico de horror. dcada seguinte.
Seguindo em seu raciocnio, Morgan nos lembra de que o sangue exposto, a dor e o Em Enraivecida, uma dupla de mdicos trapalhes, ironicamente chamados de
desmembramento, por exemplo, so fatos do cotidiano de nossa vida fsica, ao mesmo tempo Dr. Keloid (referncia aos quelides, tipos indesejveis de cicatrizes ps-operatrias) e
em que podem constituir-se como verdadeiros fantasmas em nossa imaginao. Em suas Dr. Cypher (referncia s cifras financeiras) provocam um imenso estrago ao tentar
salvar Rose (interpretada pela atriz estadunidense Marilyn Chambers, ento uma das maiores obtendo retorno significativo fora do circuito de exploitation.
Produzido ainda com apoio do CFDC, Os filhos do medo teve um oramento mais robusto Porm, como descreve Judith Hallberstan (1995, p. 3), uma diferena crucial entre o
e maiores ambies artsticas, aproveitando a fama internacional j obtida pelo diretor, a ponto horror romntico do sculo XIX e o horror que se desenvolveu ao longo do sculo XX, que o
de seu nome aparecer em primeiro lugar nos crditos iniciais Na verdade, a obra adaptava as primeiro funcionava, retoricamente, como uma metfora da ambgua subjetividade moderna,
questes desenvolvidas anteriormente por Cronenberg ao modelo do horror mais tradicional, e desequilibrando os lados de dentro e de fora do ser humano, seus aspectos masculinos e
possivelmente essa adequao aos cnones do gnero tambm se deu por motivos comerciais, j femininos, as dicotomias entre o corpo e o esprito, o nativo e o forasteiro, o burgus e o
que os produtores lanaram o filme em mais de quatrocentas salas somente nos Estados Unidos, aristocrtico, etc, fazendo uso de excessos ornamentais e de uma variedade de significados
que o transformaram em uma fonte inesgotvel de novas
David Cronenberg e o
cinema bio-tecnolgico
XX, segundo a autora (Ibid, p. 4) pode ser identificado
como uma espcie de frenesi do visvel, no se tratando
mais de um recurso retrico da modernidade, mas de uma
experincia cada vez mais sensorial e tambm pautada
na nova subjetividade da vida moderna urbana, com seu por Ivana Bentes
estmulos, acidentes e automatismos.
E aqui que se percebe a diferena de Cronenberg em
relao s preocupaes mais freqentes no romantismo O projeto esttico de uma nova sexualidade nos filmes de Cronenberg em especial em Crash e eXistenZ.
analisado por Morgan. O canadense raramente parece Erotizao e fetichizao do maqunico. Corpo, Cinema e prteses tecnolgicas. O Cinema biotecnolgico.
interessado em discutir em profundidade os sentimentos
de seus personagens, ao contrrio do que percebe em A relao do cinema contemporneo com as novas tecnologia e esse superinvestimento do corpo
obras romnticas como Frankenstein. H, em seus filmes, indissocivel de um quadro cientfico e cultural que passa pelos mais diferentes saberes: informtica,
uma racionalidade quase cientifica e uma entrega s neurocincias, ciberntica, design, com uma valorizao das cincias do vivo, com metforas e imagens
circunstncias que acaba por centralizar o horror fsico de vindas da biologia, da indstria e da informtica.
maneira muito mais intensa do que Morgan atribui fico A biologia como campo de problematizao do vivo traz conceitos decisivos, como os de auto-
gtica/romntica. Pois o horror, para Cronenberg, est organizao, morfognese (gnese da forma), o modelo das redes neurais. Estes conceitos, trabalhados
precisamente na percepo dos corpos como o verdadeiro no campo da arte e do cinema, produzem novos efeitos e discursos.
espao do mistrio. E ele vai mais adiante: em seus filmes, Podemos falar da apario, nos anos 90, de ready mades biolgicos, objetos/seres hbridos
o horror no est apenas na vulnerabilidade dos corpos produzidos por uma arte evolucionria que toma a evoluo biolgica e as proposies da bio-
mortais representados, mas tambm nas conseqncias tecnologia como questes a serem trabalhadas pelo cinema, na produo no apenas de novas imagens
horrorficas de uma cultura organizada em torno da e imaginrios, mais ainda de novas estticas. A prpria imagem digital ganha hoje caractersticas do
separao entre corpo e mente, que parece dar aos seres ser vivo, com a produo da imagem por metamorfoses, anamorfoses, com programas capazes de se
humanos uma falsa impresso de controle impresso esta auto-organizar, evoluir e se individualizar, produzindo imagens vivas.
que, pelo menos na viso trazida por suas obras, no pode Se, hoje, podemos falar de um desenvolvimento ps-biolgico do vivo (clones, prteses,
acabar bem. implantes), que co-evolui com a tecnologia, podemos falar tambm de uma co-evoluo da arte com
as tecnologias emergentes na produo de uma bio-esttica, uma estetizao do vivo.
Referncias A problematizao do maqunico e do vivo pela arte contempornea sintomtica de uma
CARROLL, Nel. A Filosofia do Horror ou Paradoxos do passagem do modelo industrial e mecnico para os modelos biotecnolgicos. Evolutionary Art
Corao. Campinas: Papirus Editora, 1999. Imaginaire, de Steven Rook, cria, por exemplo, uma rvore genealgica de uma imagem digital.
HALLBERSTAN, Judith. Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Imagens que so criadas, nascem, crescem, se reproduzem (por clonagem ou mutaes), envelhecem
Technology of Monsters. Durham:
e morrem segundo uma lgica gentica e o mapa de seu DNA. Um darwinismo esttico que comea
Duke Univesrtity Press, 1995.
MORGAN, Jack. The Biology of Horror: Gothic Literature and
numa sopa primordial feita de equaes matemticas que daro origem a diferentes padres de formas
Film. Southern Illinoys Press, 2002. e cores. A imagem ganha caractersticas do vivo da mesma forma que o vivo torna-se objeto esttico.
RODLEY, Chris. Cronenberg on Cronenberg. Londres: Faber Algo de similar acontece hoje quando o corpo-prtese torna-se o suporte da arte ou persongem
& Faber, 2005. do cinema, quando se faz uma utilizao tcnica e esttica das suas funes (movimentos dos olhos,
batimentos cardacos, pulso dos orgos, presso arterial, fluxos) ou quando o corpo torna-se um
Laura Cnepa doutora em Multimeios pela Unicamp objeto hbrido, como nos filmes de David Cronenberg (Videodrome, A Mosca, Gmeos, Crash e
(2008), mestre em Cincias da Comunicao pela eXistenZ ) afetado por implantes, funcionando com componetes sintticos, prteses, quando a
ECA-USP e graduada em Jornalismo pela URFGS .
tecnologia implantada na carne, produzindo um corpo amplificado (upgradado pela tecnologia).
Atualmente, professora do Mestrado em Comunicao
da Universidade Anhembi Morumbi e membro do Conselho O que a biotecnologia coloca em questo a prpria definio do que humano.
Deliberativo da SOCINE. Tem vrios artigos publicados Em Crash, de David Cronenberg, essa nova interface do cinema, est relacionada com a
sobre filmes de horror e mantm o blog Medo de Qu? possibilidade de experimentar uma nova sexualidade e subjetividade, maqunica, atravessada pelo
(http://www.horrorbrasileiro.blogspot.com), com dados de trgico e pelo fetiche.
sua pesquisa sobre o horror no cinema brasileiro. No filme, a busca dos personagens por um novo erotismo e uma erotizao da cidade e das
mquinas, passa pela modificao e moldagem dos corpos e do olhar. Crash explora a pulso escpica
48 | DAVID CRONENBERG
e a erotizao do olho, que se deleita passeando pela superfcie metlica de carros (novos e usados,
sados da loja ou destrudos em acidentes que expem suas ferragens e engrenagens).
Explora tambm a superfcie perfurada, costurada, lisa e estriada dos corpos: cicatrizes mdicas,
tatuagens, perfuraes, aberturas genitais em contraste com os corpos lisos e as superfcies sedosas e
reluzentes da pele jovem ou de mquinas e prteses metlicas.
A relao entre sangue, ao e sexo (corpos contorcidos entre ferragens, corpos sustentados por
prteses, longas cenas de sexo dentro de carros e entre cenrios mdicos e automobilsticos ) atravessa erotismo fcil ou grotesco e diz que, por mais domesticada que possa ser, ha algo na sexualidade que
dirigido. Apagamento dos limites entre a natureza e a cultura, o humano e o inumano, o consciente realidade: a da experimentao no aqui- agora.
e o inconsciente. Mesmo em Madame Buterfly, filme de Cronenberg onde o imaginrio tecnolgico no
Se a imaginao fetichista trabalharia para preencher um vazio, uma ausncia, uma falta, tematizado, o desejo pela alteridade o eixo principal: um ocidental se apaixona por uma cantora
Cronenberg trabalha para construir uma nova sexualidade, cambiante e ambgua. Crash uma dessas japonesa (alteridade absoluta, promessa de novos prazeres) que ao final se revela um homem travestido,
mise-en-scene do desejo. Onde o cinema surge como lugar que produz e desencadeia no consumidor- produzido, enfaixado, maquiado, mquina imaginria, artificialmente e culturalmente forjado para
espectador seu prprio discurso sobre o desejo. O filme tambm vai na contra-corrente de qualquer capturar, encarnar e realizar seus mais ardentes desejos.
Toda a obra de Cronenberg aponta para esse lugar difcil da experincia contempornea, numa
Voc no voc:
J nas primeiras cenas de Stereo, ficamos sabendo que um grupo exclusivo de telepatas foi
isolado para uma experincia. Atravs de uma narrativa que mais se assemelha a leitura de
pronturios mdicos ou de um paper acadmico, ficamos sabendo que a experincia no foi
um sucesso completo, e que os telepatas tiveram uma srie de problemas devido justamente ao
perigo de dissoluo do ego que acompanha a telepatia. Entretanto, mais do que um cautionary
tale sobre os perigos de tais experincias, Stereo celebra o experimentalismo dos anos 60 e (talvez
como o ttulo d a entender) a dualidade mente/corpo e a possibilidade de mentes se separarem
de seus corpos e se mixarem com outras (vale ressaltar a metfora de edio de som como
metfora do ego, ou daquilo que compe a identidade, rodando em uma trilha, enquanto o
corpo roda em outra, ou seja, ambos podem rodar diferentemente).
52 | DAVID CRONENBERG
pessoas em carros de metr e shoppings). normal, a norma, o normativo. (E ele vai mais alm em seu discurso: diz claramente namorada
Mas Rose, apesar de passar mal em diversos momentos do filme, acaba reagindo fisicamente que no se trata de penetrao sexual, mas sim da penetrao alm do vu da carne.)
bem mutao. A pergunta que fica no ar para os espectadores : se os infectados tivessem Em O Normal e o Patolgico, Georges Canguilhem faz a seguinte observao:
recebido implantes do mesmo modo que Rose, teramos tido tanto pnico e morte?
Essa questo perpassa praticamente toda a filmografia de Cronenberg. Em Videodrome, ela Definir a anormalidade a partir da inadaptao social aceitar mais ou menos a idia de que o
sai do corporal, puramente mdico, para entrar no domnio da tcnica. Estamos em 1982, o indivduo deve aderir maneira de ser de determinada sociedade, e, portanto, adaptar-se a ela como
a uma realidade que seria, ao mesmo tempo, um bem.(CANGUILHEM, 2006, p. 244) escrever para redigir seus relatrios, pois faz-lo a mo no profissional.
responde: Mas quem disse que Joan mulher? Na verdade, quem disse que ela humana? isso o deslocamento menos importante ou perigoso enquanto uma possvel psicopatologia.
Bill no tem chance de descobrir. Por um acidente que nunca fica bem explicado, ele mata Os filmes mais marcantes a tratar do deslocamento so Dead Ringers (Gmeos Mrbida
Joan, e ao fugir para um bar vagabundo abordado por um homossexual, que o apresenta a uma Semelhana) e eXistenZ. O primeiro, de 1988, baseada em um caso real: a morte de dois
criatura chamada mugwump (aliengena? Mutante? Isso jamais nos revelado). O mugwump, ginecologistas gmeos e homossexuais incestuosos por overdose em Nova York. Cronenberg se
j ciente da morte de Joan, entrega a Bill uma passagem para Interzone, o nico lugar onde ele baseou numa notcia de jornal e num livro escrito anos depois chamado Twins, por sua vez uma
estar seguro, segundo a criatura. E Bill vai para l, no sem antes adquirir uma mquina de verso bastante romanceada dos eventos que levaram morte dos mdicos.
Cronenberg, como autor mais do que adaptador, inventaria mais situaes, concentrando- de volta? De volta para onde, diga-se de passagem? O ponto de partida era mesmo o ponto de
Gibson) feita pelo sistema nervoso no caso do filme, via um plugue no cccix. Dentro do
primeiro jogo, eles descobrem que precisam entrar em outro jogo, onde seus avatares possuem
outros tipos de bioports e conectores totalmente diferentes (embora as regras sejam semelhantes:
a maneira como Allegra conduz Ted por esse universo familiar para qualquer gamer amador).
Assim como em Gmeos, h um momento em que provavelmente Ted e Allegra no sabem
mais onde esto e certamente o espectador no faz mais idia de onde esteja. Haver caminho
A teratologia Os monstros de Cronenberg apontam para uma nova situao, realizando dela uma curiosa
cronenberguiana ou
surgem de todos os lugares: do cinema, das histrias em quadrinhos, das exposies de artes
plsticas, dos brinquedos e video-games, etc. Talvez o mais interessante seja o fato de que, alm
Cronenberg por Ieda Tucherman e guerra; onde eles se assemelham no fato de serem ambos, as figuras de Goya e os monstros
biotecnolgicos, fruto no de desvarios, mas de uma razo belicosa e arrogante.
Pois as criaturas de Cronenberg chegam de laboratrios em dois sentidos: o primeiro, que
exploraremos adiante, o laboratrio dos dois cientistas, tanto o de Calafrios, que pretende
O sonho da razo produz monstros gerar um parasita que facilite a possibilidade de transplantes, quanto a do Dr. Seth Brundle,
Goya, Caprichos da Guerra que sonha com a possibilidade de tele transportar humanos, desintegrando-os num telepod
e fazendo-os reintegrar-se num segundo telepod. O outro sentido o do prprio cinema, ele
Seria correto, mas no seria exato, lembrarmos a fascinao atemporal que sentimos na tambm e especialmente, uma linguagem que a mistura de arte e indstria, tecnologias de
presena real ou imaginada dos monstros; seria tambm til recordarmos a funo de herdeiro visualizao, sonorizao e reproduo combinada com a mais delirante imaginao.
dos freak-shows vitorianos que o cinema pretende exercer para comearmos a anlise da sua Esta condio do cinema nos permite encontrar sua vocao para a expresso dos hibridismos
presena na extensa filmografia de Cronenberg, especialmente nos dois filmes que devemos que caracterizam nossa atualidade e que fazem da fico-cientfica uma espcie de estilo
comentar: Shivers ou Calafrios (1975) e The Fly ou A mosca (1986). narrativo dos nossos tempos. Basta ver na prpria nomeao a mistura na qual estamos cada
Certamente tanto a exacerbao dos nossos sentidos, medo, horror, atrao, quanto a funo vez mais mergulhados, j que neste oxmoro, fico-cientfica, ns encontramos a associao
de espetculo so muito bem explorados nos dois filmes, mesmo considerando que no primeiro, da noo de liberdade da fico, da sua possibilidade de delrio, com o rigor e a referncia
Shivers, que foi a inicial investida de Cronenberg na stima arte, algumas cenas e outros detalhes realidade da cincia.
teriam sido mal resolvidos, se usssemos uma crtica mais apurada. Neste caso, a inventividade Ora, se hoje a cincia se faz por simulao, a qual sempre se associou mentira ou
do roteiro e a originalidade da premissa resolvem a precariedade da experincia. Em A mosca fico, mais do que por observao ou experimentao, se ela passeia no caminho que sempre
os efeitos especiais e toda a lgica tcnica esto dominados, como diria um funk carioca, a tal foi a senda da fantasia, ou seja, a explorao de outros possveis, onde efetivamente elas se
ponto de terem sido reconhecidos e reverenciados por Hollywood. distanciam? Parece curioso, mas talvez seja no bom-senso da fico, que se angustia com a
Entretanto, o que a monstrologia de Cronenberg tem de mais interessante, ultrapassa em acelerao da perda de referncias, versus a euforia descomprometida dos cientistas, que elas
longas lguas e infinitos bytes esta primeira apreenso. O que a encontramos um cido e se separem. Vivemos uma tenso entre duas sensibilidades, a humanstica e a cientfica, e esta
radical dilogo com a nossa atualidade, associado a uma aguda percepo da genealogia que tenso tem a ver diretamente com o tempo. Para o cientista a curva do tempo sempre positiva;
a tornou possvel. A pergunta que nosso diretor no deixa calar : at que ponto podemos a arte e o debate filosfico no podem se furtar de olhar para trs, ao mesmo tempo em que
modificar-nos e continuar sendo humanos? Qual o limite da nossa humanidade? Questo que giram numa permanente contemporaneidade. S para brincarmos, agora a Odissia de Homero
talvez envolva a mais grave das decises polticas que os novos procedimentos biotecnolgicos parece seguir-se, se assim o quisermos, ao Ulisses de Joyce.
(transplantes, clonagens, etc) tornaram iminente: somos o ltimo grau da seleo das espcies Certamente se compararmos os enunciados oriundos dos laboratrios e centros de
ou apenas um dos seus degraus, nem o ltimo nem o mais perfeito? pesquisa que anunciam a erradicao das doenas e o prolongamento da vida at nveis antes
Neste sentido, a primeira e imediata considerao sobre a vinculao de Cronenberg com inimaginveis, s produes da fico, entre elas a do cinema de Cronenberg, o que podemos
nosso tenso presente passa por duas constataes: o lugar do corpo e das cincias e tecnologias encontrar a uma angustiada reflexo: podemos ns, humanos, vivermos sem a dimenso
ligadas vida, sua administrao e transformao nos nossos dias, de um lado, e a influncia trgica?
das imagens mdicas nas imagens culturais do outro. Resumindo: os monstros de David Alis, retomando as taxionomias, ou seja, as classificaes que mencionamos terem, na
Cronenberg, ainda que presentes na sua fico cinematogrfica, so monstros biotecnolgicos. modernidade, lanado monstros, deformados, freaks, loucos, doentes e outros alternativos
Significa dizer que no so criaturas irreais nascidas nos nossos antigos mitos, embora no conjunto de anormais, o cinema de Cronenberg, muitas vezes situado sob a etiqueta
tenham com estes um parentesco bastante importante: na mitologia, os monstros eram do cinema de terror, cabe mal nesta modalidade. Tem certamente elementos que o fazem
figuras que misturavam elementos de diferentes naturezas, homens e animais (Minotauro), aproximar-se do gnero, mas tem tambm, e de maneira mais contundente, a vocao distpica
homens e deuses (Centauros), etc. Neste sentido, eram transgresses s regras da natureza,
60 | DAVID CRONENBERG
e tecnologias: angstias
SHAVIRO, Steven. The Cinematic Body.
Minneapolis: Minnesota U.P., 1994
STEINER, Georges. A cincia ter limites?
contemporneas
Lisboa: Fundao Calouste Glubenkian,
Gradiva, 2008.
TUCHERMAN, Ieda. Breve histria do corpo
apresentadas as emoes encorporadas (embodied) como as pstulas ou os ndulos linfticos, Sua tese examina a construo social do feto como pessoa, e foi publicada no livro Meio quilo
fazendo parte do corpo do sujeito que sofre ora elas esto completamente cindidas, quase de gente: Um estudo antropolgico sobre o ultra-som obsttrico (Ed. Fiocruz, 2007). Atualmente
independentes, externalizadas e corporificadas nas criaturas do The Brood. se dedica aos estudos sociais da cincia e da tecnologia, com foco na rea de sade e nas
As mortes, em The Brood, so sempre causadas por objetos a princpio incuos: um batedor tecnologias de imagem mdica.
de carne, pesos de papel, martelinhos de brinquedo de jardim-de-infncia. Seus agentes so
fruto de dios infantis, primitivos, corporificados. Talvez estejamos diante de uma referncia
O cinema como negativo por um nico ator, Jeremy Irons. Bem sucedidos profissionalmente, Elliot e Beverly (ou Beverly
(duplo) da psicanlise
mesmo tempo uma maneira de satisfazerem suas perverses teconolgicas e suas perverses
erticas que parecem derivar, ambas, de uma encoberta paixo homoafetiva. Assim, usam
de seus conhecimentos mdicos para explorar o corpo de uma me ausente ou morta (suas
por Adalberto Mller pacientes) no duplo sentido: como mdicos e como amantes. A temida ciso dos gmeos
psicologicamente siameses ocorre quando comeam a se relacionar com uma atriz (Claire)
que provoca em Beverly uma paixo desenfreada. Para tentar conter a angstia de optar entre
O modo como a relao entre o cinema e a psicanlise assombra alguns filmes de David separar-se do irmo ou da amante, Beverly mergulha fundo nos psicotrpicos e em outras
Conenberg (particularmente no caso de Gmeos e Spider) nos faz lembrar que tal relao drogas, no que ser seguido por Elliot, que, como gmeo, sente necessidade de mimetizar o
constitui uma outra Histria do Cinema, aquela que pode ser entendida a partir do recalque irmo. As drogas e o cime terminaro por corroer todas as relaes (como ocorre em muitos
freudiano em relao ao cinema isto , a sua preferncia pela Literatura (incluindo-se a a filmes sobre drug addicts desde Easy rider) e provocar a loucura e a morte.
Mitologia grega) em detrimento de uma mdia que viria a ser chamada, no por acaso, de A relao entre Beverly e Elliot lembra muitos dos filmes e histrias de Doppelgnger: Beverly
div dos pobres, segundo a expresso de Flix Guattari. Como demonstra Friedrich Kittler trabalhador, honesto, retrado e frgil, ao passo que Elliot expansivo, sedutor, bon vivant.
no polmico ensaio Romantismo psicanlise cinema, o cinema realiza, na poca do Como nas histrias de duplo, vemos Beverly algumas vezes em sua escrivaninha trabalhando,
nascimento da psicanlise, a presentificao dos mecanismos do inconsciente, atravs de ao passo que Elliot parece estar quase sempre roubando aquilo de que Beverly se priva: as
procedimentos como o flash-back e o close-up (alm de todos os truques de Mlis & Cia. e mulheres, o luxo, a fama. Mas justamente por ser o mais fraco, Beverly (o sentimental) e no
dos efeitos de montagem). Mas Kittler tambm lembra que psicanlise e cinema so questes Elliot (o garanho) quem ganha o amor de Claire, provocando assim a ira fatal de Elliot.
internas da teoria do cinema que se desenvolve pouco anos depois do seu nascimento, Muito haveria a se dizer sobre a escolha primorosa dos figurinos (por Denise Cronenberg),
com a teoria da psicotecnologia de Hugo Mnstenberg (de 1916) e com o estudo do discpulo sobre a esmerada e sombria direo de arte; sobre o modo quase cnico com que Cronenberg
freudiano Otto Rank sobre o filme O estudante de Praga, de 1913 (a primeira verso do estudo nos desvela a vida ntima dos mdicos e os bastidores da cincia; sobre a atuao dupla e at
de Rank, Der Doppelgnger, ou o duplo, foi publicado na revista psicanaltica Imago, em qudrupla de Jeremy Irons (quando Beverly se disfara de Elliot e vice-versa); sobre a mostagem
1914). Entre ns, vale lembrar, Arlindo Machado, em Pr-cinema e Ps-cinemas, de 1997, j espelhada do plano-contraplano, etc. Esteticamente, Cronenberg , como sempre, impecvel, e
observou que o esquecimento de Freud em relao ao cinema tem razo de ser dentro de uma nesse filme, justamente, talvez tenha atingido o pice do domnio tanto da narrativa quanto da
viso de mundo que considera a palavra falada e a escuta como os instrumentos privilegiados tcnica cinematogrfica (se que uma coisa possa ser separada da outra). Mas h duas coisas,
de acesso aos distrbios do inconsciente - isso sem contar com os exemplos literrios de A dentre as diversas, que no podem deixar de ser ditas sobre esse filme angustiante.
interpretao dos sonhos e de outros ensaios de Freud. Uma a referncia aos irmos siameses Eng-Chang, que recontada no final do filme,
Quando escreve sobre O estudante de Praga, o freudiano Otto Rank passa de uma ligeira quando Elliot e Beverly passam a usar esses nomes. Trata-se de um dos casos mdicos e sociais
anlise do filme e do cinema (que ele elogia como capaz de mostrar a questo do duplo de mais curiosos do sculo XIX. Os irmos Eng-Chang, cujos corpos eram unidos por uma
maneira mais clara) para um exame de toda uma literatura romntico-gtica que trata da membrana na altura do peito, foram trazidos do Sio para os EUA em 1829, e tornaram-se
questo do duplo. Podemos considerar que a questo do duplo Doppelgnger em alemo, A objeto de discusses mdicas, filosficas e at polticas ao longo de mais de 50 anos na Europa e
questo em Gmeos, de Cronenberg, tal como ocorre nas obras de E.T.A. Hoffman (O reflexo nos EUA. Seu caso assombrava no apenas os fisiologistas, mas punha em cheque alguns ideais
perdido), Edgar A. Poe (William Wilson), Dostoivski (O duplo) e Guy de Maupassant da individualidade que forjaram a era industrial. Depois de uma vida de viagens, exposies,
(O Horla). Imagem primeira desse panorama no cinema, O estudante de Praga narra a histria fama e declnio, os irmos siameses morreram de forma misteriosa: supe-se que Eng tenha
de um tal Balduno, que v seu duplo sair de um espelho, e passa a ser atormentado por essa morrido de medo depois de constatar que tinha ao seu lado e consigo um cadver. Essa dvida
figura bizarra e medonha, at que decide mat-lo, o que acaba por provocar a sua prpria morte. ainda assombra os estudiosos do caso.
Como nas histrias gticas do duplo como em Gmeos , no filme silencioso alemo de 1913 A outra o carter eminentemente cinematogrfico que as histrias sobre o duplo tomaram
o duplo uma ameaa destrutiva (uma pulso de morte, Todestrieb, dir Rank, complemento a partir da inveno do cinema. O release de O estudante de Praga trazia uma advertncia que
do narcisismo). O fato de que seja considerado equivocadamente o precursor dos filmes de depois seria repetida por Otto Rank em seu estudo sobre o Doppelgnger: apenas no cinema a
horror pode ser usado de forma positiva para definir o cinema de Cronenberg, que deriva ao dupla figura do heri pode ser expressa de modo adequado, em contraste com o teatro, que
mesmo tempo do grotesco gtico (da um certo clima de horror, que no passa de um climax, devia mostrar dois atores diferentes. O prprio cinema, em sua constituio, pode ser entendido
o mais das vezes) e do arabesco psicanaltico. Tal como nos contos de Poe (que em ingls se tecnologicamente sob a tica do duplo. Pois o filme j nasce como duplo: positivo e negativo,
chamam Tales of the grotesque and arabesque), a atmosfera gtica se dissolve no arabesco racional o negativo desaparecendo para se transformar em positivo, como o foetus papyraceus nosso
e vice-versa, fazendo com que o cinema oscile entre o puro espetculo sensorial (tico-sonoro) provvel gmeo, segundo uma certa teoria ginecolgica, que matamos no tero desaparece, e
e um mergulho profundo e calculado na psiqu humana. Mas entra em Cronenberg um novo com ele o registro primal da luz que escreveu as imagens. Criado esse duplo chamado filme (o
elemento, que ultrapassa o par literrio-filosfico grotesco/arabesco: o elemento tecnolgico, positivo), ele pode replicar-se em mltiplas cpias de si mesmo.
ou o cinema mesmo, com todas as suas artimanhas. E, para alm (ou aqum, se preferirem) da Spider parece comear onde Gmeos termina, ou seja, j comea a partir da loucura, pois
questo propriamente psicanaltica (tanto em Gmeos quanto em Spider) est em jogo aqui a
68 | DAVID CRONENBERG
temos aqui algo que seria como se Beverly, anos depois de separar-se do irmo siams, voltasse
questo psiquitrica e mdica. encarnado na figura de Dennis Clegg, um personagem tomado pela esquizofrenia, que acaba
Salvo engano, a origem de Gmeos o caso dos irmos ginecologistas nova-iorquinos Cyril de deixar o hospital onde esteve internado por vinte anos. Na verdade, quando o filme se inicia,
e Stewart Marcus, que cometeram suicdio em 1975, e cuja histria trgica transformou-se no com uma cmera subjetiva bastante estranha (mostrando algo que essencialmente originrio
romance Twins, de Bari Wood e Jack Geasland (1977). No filme de Cronenberg, os gmeos em cinema, a chegada de um trem!), no sabemos muito bem quem Dennis Clegg ou o que
ginecologistas so os irmos Beverly e Elliot Mantle, vividos (como ocorre nos filmes de duplos) ele est fazendo. Estamos diante no da realidade (Cronenberg detesta a idia de que o cinema
representa a realidade), mas de algo que se parece mais a um ralo, um ralo por onde a realidade Referncias bibliogrficas:
de David Cronenberg
Miranda Richardson, que faz tambm o papel da prostituta com quem seu pai passa a ter
relaes, e que ser dentro da ptica do Spider o motivo do assassinato da me. Mas afinal,
quem a me, e quem a prostituta? No so, para Dennis Clegg, a mesma pessoa? E quem
Doppelgnger.
Se Freud tivesse vivido para ver Spider, talvez propusesse novas questes para a teoria Como afirma Steven Shaviro, os filmes do diretor sugerem que as novas tecnologias do
psicanaltica. Mas enfim, se considerarmos que o cinema e a psicanlise nascem como sintomas capitalismo tardio, longe de apagar nossa experincia do corpo, na verdade a ampliam, ao
do mal-estar da modernidade, devemos acreditar que cada um responde, ao seu modo, os investir esse corpo de formas novas e particularmente intensas. Mais que isso, porm, a obra de
belos e adormecidos segredos dos abismos da alma e do corpo humanos. Cronenberg nos oferece material para uma reflexo sobre a prpria experincia cinematogrfica
e seu lugar numa cultura na qual as tecnologias audiovisuais desempenham papel determinante.
Neste sentido, meu objetivo central ilustrar as potencialidades dessa reflexo atravs da anlise constantemente romper os limites da pele e da subjetividade dos personagens. Como afirma
trabalhado em Scanners. Alm das muitas vozes humanas que ecoam na mente de Cameron, o trama, sua complexidade e seus saltos narrativos, as singularidades no uso do som e da imagem
espectador submetido a uma srie de sonoridades estranhas, rudos eletrnicos e distores apontam para algo alm disso. Terror e fico-cientfica so convocados como universos de
sonoras (como na cena em que o telepata se conecta ao computador da Consec), sem falar no referncia, mas o filme os ultrapassa ao embaralhar suas categorias e confundir o espectador.
sombrio e dissonante acompanhamento musical de Howard Shore. Scanners , portanto, um possvel que uma de suas metforas mais ricas se encontre no personagem de Ben Pierce, scanner
filme que tematiza a penetrao do corpo pelos espectros sonoros da cultura tecnolgica. Ondas que aprende a controlar seus poderes atravs da arte. Em suas obras, que apresentam corpos
de rdio, sinais de satlite, microondas: so essas invisveis foras tecnocientficas que ameaam distorcidos, intervenes mdicas e monstruosidades, se expressa uma potica da abjeo.
Isolado do resto do mundo, vivendo como um ermito afastado da cidade, Pierce materializa o ao ponto de quase no mais sair de casa. Em algumas cenas do filme, tentador pensar num
estou morrendo por dentro, afirma ele a certa altura referindo-se aos transes. De fato, seu trgico, em benefcio da humanidade. Em situao anterior, na qual havia prevenido a morte
mdico alerta para o perigo desse ambguo dom, que a cada manifestao ameaa exaurir de um de seus alunos, Johnny percebera a existncia de uma regio vazia (a blank spot) em
por completo a energia vital de Johnny. Se antes do acidente, j era clara a fragilidade psquica suas vises. Esse ponto cego a zona morta do titulo do filme, aquela regio da temporalidade
do personagem, agora ela se manifesta em nvel fsico, atravs da leso que o faz mancar de que permite, a partir da precognio, alterar o futuro. A partir desse momento, a maldio de
uma perna. Confrontado com a repentina fama gerada por seus dons de precognio, Johnny seu poder converte-se efetivamente em dom, voltado no salvao pessoal de seu possuidor,
torna-se cada vez mais recluso, num processo em que suas tendncias repressivas acentuam-se mas dos outros.
No parece casual, portanto, que a cena final de A hora da zona morta se passe em um
O cinema maqunico
de David Cronenberg,
alterar os acontecimentos). Como o espectador cinematogrfico, com mobilidade limitada e
ateno dedicada s vises que se desenrolam na tela sua frente, o protagonista de Cronenberg
Mistrios e paixes
nos apresenta um percurso que vai da passividade ao. Atravs da identificao com as imagens
que v (a ponto de sentir-se dentro delas), esse espectador inicialmente distanciado comea a
interpretar e construir a teia narrativa. Em um cinema do futuro possivelmente participativo
(Naked Lunch)
e interativo , ele chegaria a definir materialmente os desdobramentos da trama. Desse modo,
no soa despropositado sugerir uma leitura cinematogrfica do filme de Cronenberg. Se A
hora da zona morta provavelmente a obra menos visceral e mais contida do diretor, a sugesto
final parece, contudo, ser a mesma do resto de sua filmografia: o corpo, a sensualidade e as
pulses so possivelmente fontes de foras destrutivas, mas tambm constituem as nicas
por Maria Cristina Franco Ferraz
instncias autnticas da potncia criativa.
Mistrios e paixes remete obra homnima de Williams Burroughs. O filme cita no incio a
O impulso final de Johnny, que o leva a uma ao impensvel para o personagem do incio
seguinte frase de Burroughs: Desafiadores do mundo, h uma Marca insupervel (unbeatable):
do filme, envolve um gesto de destruio e criao simultneas. Ali encontramos o pice de
a Marca interior. Essa interioridade pode, entretanto, nos extraviar, pois em Mistrios e paixes,
um processo em que o espectador se constitui em co-criador ativo. Johnny altera os rumos do
ela no diz respeito a uma instncia psquica ou psicolgica. Trata-se de uma interioridade
futuro, ainda que essa mudana exija um atitude de aniquilao. Os locais em que o protagonista
maqunica. O filme d pistas desse tratamento do inconsciente como maqunico, barrando a via
aparece inicialmente a escola, o hospital, sua pequena residncia de classe mdia constroem
a interpretaes psicologizantes. Por um lado, pela prpria presena de mquinas de datilografia
um contraste interessante com o ambiente da cena final, onde encontramos um espao amplo,
vivas e mutantes que falam e escrevem, no lugar dos escritores. Por outro, de modo ainda mais
com um pblico que assiste a um espetculo catrtico. Johnny o espectador que se liberou de
explcito, pela irnica frase do protagonista, William (Bill) Lee, dirigida mquina Clark-Nova,
sua imobilidade radical e assumiu as potncias perigosas, mas produtivas que costumava
quando esta lhe fala de culpa: Guarda a psicanlise para seus amigos gafanhotos!.
negar em sua busca de segurana e conforto. A hora da zona morta permite, assim, identificar
A outra referncia literria fortemente presente no filme Kafka. Quando Joan, mulher
a fora do cinema de Cronenberg mesmo por trs de uma de suas obras mais convencionais e
de Bill, se droga com veneno de barata, assim se refere a suas viagens kafkianas: A Kafka high:
mainstream. Uma fora que reside no poder criativo da viso e do engajamento do corpo com
you feel like a bug (uma viagem kafkiana: voc se sente como um inseto). No conhecido
as imagens.
texto de Kafka A metamorfose, em que Gregor Samsa acorda inseto, o termo empregado
Talvez o elemento que mais aproxime A hora da zona morta de Scanners seja aquilo que
Ungeziefer - no necessariamente uma barata, mas certamente um inseto com carapaa, tal
Steven Shaviro aponta como um trao fundamental da potica cronenberguiana: o colapso da
como a mquina datilogrfica Clark-Nova. Etimologicamente Ungeziefer alude a um ser to vil
oposio binria entre corpo e mente, pensamento e matria. Se o cinema se constitui, como
que nem pode se inserir na lgica do sacrifcio, o que remete figura do homo sacer (o banido
sugeria Hugo Mnsterberg, numa representao imagtica das emoes e faculdades mentais
insacrificvel), da vida nua, que Giorgio Agamben enfatizou para falar da total desumanizao
(por exemplo, a memria e a ateno), a obra de Cronenberg ilustra essa tese com perfeio.
inerente esfera do poltico. Banhado em uma luminosidade cor de mbar, o filme d ainda
Nesses filmes, o pensamento toma corpo um corpo, vale dizer, freqentemente monstruoso
outra pista de sua atmosfera kafkiana: em certo momento, refere-se ao mbar translcido dos
e indomado. E no se trata somente da corporificao das idias em imagens, mas tambm
sonhos, apontando para sua atmosfera alucinatria que, como na obra de Kafka, se esquiva do
da impregnao do corpo do espectador por tais imagens. Esse corpo, atravessado pelas
simblico e de interpretaes psicologizantes.
representaes do cinema, da televiso e dos outros meios audiovisuais, se manifesta como a
No filme, trs mquinas se entrelaam: a mquina literria, a mquina poltica, a mquina
matria moldvel de um psicossomatismo cinematogrfico. O tumor gerado pelas imagens
ertica. Sigamos, na brevidade deste texto, o rastro de cada uma delas.
em Videodrome, a exploso de membros por meio das emisses mentais em Scanners e as vises
tipicamente flmicas de Johnny em A hora da zona morta figuram todos um mesmo e idntico
1. A mquina literria ou escrever
impulso: o desejo de constituir um cinema no qual o espectador reencontra, de forma sempre
muito perigoso
surpreendente, seu corpo e sua imaginao.
Referncias Bibliogrficas:
Bill Lee est encrencado com a profisso de exterminador de insetos, pois sua mulher se
BEARD, William. The Artist as a Monster. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001. droga com o inseticida e este sempre se acaba antes que ele d conta do servio. Vai ento a um
BROWNING, Mark. David Cronenberg: Author or Film-maker?. Bristol: Intellect Books, 2007. bar e encontra amigos. Um deles lhe sugere que escreva pornografia, que d, garantidamente,
MNSTERBERG, Hugo. The Film: a Psychological Study. New York: Dover, 2004 (1 ed: 1916). dinheiro. Lembremos que o livro de Burroughs Almoo nu (Naked Lunch, publicado em 1959)
RODLEY, Chris (Org.). Cronenberg on Cronenberg. London: Faber & Faber, 1997. foi perseguido judicialmente, primeiro em Massachusetts, depois em outros estados americanos,
SHAVIRO, Steven. The Cinematic Body. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994. justamente por obscenidade. O caso judicial foi, em vrios sentidos, marcante, quanto mais no
seja por ter se tratado do ltimo caso deste tipo de processo com relao literatura escrita nos
Erick Felinto mestre em Comunicao e Cultura pela ECO/UFRJ e doutor em Literatura Estados Unidos. Na tica do filme, ser obsceno , antes, escrever sob a batuta do mercado: isto
76 | DAVID CRONENBERG
Comparada pela UERJ/University of California, Los Angeles. autor dos livros A Imagem que seria pornografia. Mistrios e Paixes articula ento, em vrios planos, censura (do prprio
Espectral: Comunicao, Cinema e Fantasmagoria Tecnolgica (Ateli Editorial, 2008), Silncio
de Deus, Silncio dos Homens: Babel e a Sobrevivncia do Sagrado na Literatura Moderna
escritor) e perseguio poltica, bloqueios e dificuldade de publicar.
(Sulina, 2008) e A Religio das Mquinas: Ensaios sobre o Imaginrio da Cibercultura (Sulina, A escrita em Naked Lunch (tanto no filme quanto no livro) no diz respeito a um suposto
2005). Atualmente professor da Ps-Graduao em Comunicao da UERJ e pesquisador do sujeito autor, mas a mquinas de certo modo autnomas. Cronenberg faz aqui uma referncia
CNPq, atuando nas reas de cinema e cibercultura. precisa a Burroughs, que desenvolveu o mtodo de edio (cut-up, por si s cinematogrfico),
anulando a funo escritor-autor, em favor de uma base mecnica para a criao literria. A trilha a Guerra Fria. Com efeito, nessa campanha radical direitista promovida nos Estados Unidos
tudo dizem que at a bombas atmicas - minando sempre numerosos por fendas, frestas, (que, como em Kafka, atravessa toda a obra) a ambigidade sexual; a mquina Clark-Nova diz
por detrs de mveis. No se pode perder de vista, nesse sentido, as marcas de local e data em uma cena para Lee: no seja mariquinhas: bata forte.
que abrem o filme - Nova York, 1953. A data coincide com as experincias de Burroughs em Significativamente, nos trpicos colonizados e empobrecidos que eclode a homossexualidade.
Tnger, quando escrevia, em um quarto alugado em um prostbulo homossexual, os textos Vejamos trs passagens encadeadas:
que chamava de Interzone. Estava-se na era do macarthismo, de uma infatigvel caa s bruxas a) Lee revela a Cloquet, suo e homossexual, seu horror e nojo homossexualidade, tomada
em meios literrios, artsticos, miditicos, em um contexto de histeria anti-comunista durante justamente como sub-humana. Narra ento seu encontro fundamental com um travesti que lhe
diz ser seu dever viver e suportar o fardo orgulhosamente, para todos verem. Conta a estria
As Engrenagens lubrificadas:
Cronenberg, automveis e
sua carcaa.
b) No carro com Kiki, garoto de programa, e Cloquet, William Lee conta tambm a cmica
corpos super-excitados
histria do cu falante que comea a exigir direitos iguais e deseja tomar o lugar da boca, para
conquistar o direito de ser beijado. Auto-suficiente (por falar, comer, cagar), o reivindicativo
nus termina selando a boca e tornando o crebro impotente para dar ordens, antes de elimin-
lo. Aqui, a homossexualidade assumida e vivida parece por fim tomar a palavra.
c) Na seqncia dessa cena, porm, j na casa de Cloquet, o homossexual que enraba o por Guillermo Giucci
garoto de programa revela-se uma imensa centopia canibal e vampiresca.
mquina homoertica associam-se, portanto: temores primordiais (ser literalmente Um aspecto do horror, e certamente dos meus filmes, a repulsa. Tenho que dizer
comido; explodir pelo nus), repugnncia e viscosidade, anulao do corpo do outro na relao s pessoas que algumas das coisas que elas acham em meus filmes so feitas para serem
anal, temor de ser invadido (por trs), morto e devorado, literalmente. Mas, ao mesmo tempo, repulsivas, sim, mas h um aspecto bonito nelas.
de modo mais leve e bem humorado, anuncia-se que um dia o anal vir a pblico exigir seus David Cronenberg
direitos, calando bocas e ordens ditadas pela razo e pelo crebro.
H ainda no filme outro elemento significativo da mquina ertica: a mquina de escrever Duas garotas pedem carona na beira de uma rodovia, com shortinhos bem ajustados e camisas
rabe que Joan dedilha, ttil, que, aos toques e carcias dos dedos da mulher, abre suas entranhas semi-abertas no calor do vero, quando passa um caminho-trailer e as recolhe. Elas entram no
e vsceras, respira, pe para fora seu membro viscoso e vigoroso, saltando sobre os corpos dos trailer, que est mobiliado como se fosse uma casa, e se entregam sem demoras ao prazer, nos
amantes, at ser chicoteada pela empregada em uma cena com toques (at no vesturio) sado- braos de um dos mecnicos da equipe FastCo de carros de corrida, enquanto o outro conduz o
masoquistas. A mquina ento se suicida atirando-se pela janela; ao se estilhaar no cho, volta caminho. Trata-se de uma cena de Fast Company, o filme que David Cronenberg realizou em 1979,
sua forma usual como mquina de datilografia. e que mostra a imagem da boa vida antes da apario do AIDS: sexo imediato, despreocupado e
Vimos ento como as trs mquinas - a mquina literria, a mquina poltica e a mquina livre entre jovens em movimento. O lado festivo, luminoso e efmero da sexualidade, com algo
ertica se mostram e se entrelaam. Repugnncia, abjeo, secrees, viscosidade, estranheza: da irnica alta velocidade dos encontros sexuais em A laranja mecnica, embora desprovido do
vsceras. Culpa, medos, censura, perseguies, polcia, drogas. Grande homenagem a William componente dramtico de O ltimo tango em Paris.
Burroughs e farto banquete para aqueles que se dispem a se desnudar de suas carapaas para se Em Fast Company h dois tipos de carros de corrida: por um lado, os super-velozes que atingem
expor em sua condio real, honesta e primitiva. os quatrocentos quilmetros por hora em trinta segundos e freiam com pra-quedas. Mais do que
veculos automotores, parecem foguetes patinando numa pista reta e asfaltada no meio do deserto.
Maria Cristina Franco Ferraz professora titular da Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Por outro lado, esto os carros preparados, com motores muito possantes, sempre rugindo como
Doutora em Filosofia pela Universidade de Paris 1 Sorbonne e autora dos livros Nietzsche, o lees, chamados funny cars. Neste caso, funny no no sentido usual de divertido mas alude
bufo dos deuses (Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumar, 1994 e Paris: Harmattan: 1998), Plato: as
estranheza, aos prazeres estranhos.
artimanhas do fingimento (Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumar, 1999) e Nove variaes sobre temas
nietzschianos (Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumar, 2002). O que significa, porm, estranhos prazeres? De acordo com a interpretao psicanaltica,
estranheza significa algo de espantoso que afeta as coisas familiares desde pocas remotas.
Segundo Freud, o angustioso se transforma em sinistro quando complexos infantis reprimidos so
reanimados por uma impresso exterior. E, de todos os sentimentos que afetam os seres humanos
desde os tempos mais arcaicos, nenhum deles to importante como as nossas relaes com a
morte. Podemos entender, consequentemente, uma vertente do cinema como um meio tcnico
para provocar um estranho prazer: exibir imagens sinistras vinculadas com mutaes e mortes.
Quando o escritor ingls James Ballard publicou o romance Crash, em 1973, apresentou
uma fico distpica: a sociedade da parafilia (amor paralelo, amor outro). O controverso livro
aborda o problema de uma sociedade dominada pelo casamento entre a razo e o pesadelo, e
tematiza o dilema da disponibilidade da tecnologia moderna como um meio para extravasar
nossas psicopatologias. Rebelando-se contra as tcnicas e as perspectivas do romance tradicional
do sculo XIX, Ballard usou a figura do automvel como exemplo de um gigantesco desastre, e
pretendeu escrever o primeiro romance pornogrfico baseado na tecnologia. Ballard nos previne
contra esse mundo dominado pelas fices polticas e mercadolgicas: a funo principal de
Crash tem a ver com a cautela, como uma advertncia contra esse reino brutal, ertico e super-
iluminado que nos atrai de uma forma cada vez mais persuasiva rumo ao limite da paisagem
80 | DAVID CRONENBERG
tecnolgica.
No filme Crash, lanado por David Cronenberg em 1996 com base no romance de Ballard
inclusive, o personagem central do longa-metragem se chama James Ballard, interpretado pelo ator
James Spader - o automvel funciona justamente como a ferramenta cultural do choque. Vejamos
a sinopse de Crash: Aps se envolver num acidente de carro com uma mdica, publicitrio
comea a se relacionar com um grupo estranho de pessoas, que tm como fetiche a reproduo
de acidentes de carro e a relao dos mesmos com o sexo. Aos poucos, ele e a mulher comeam a literria devia reinar absoluta sobre toda forma de utilitarismo. A escrita da repetio e da
durante a execuo por parte de um guarda que desconhece os motivos da sentena. Mas o so locais sem lugar real. O trnsito seria, em Crash, uma modalidade da heterotopia cinema,
objetivo matar o condenado por meio da inscrio mecnica da sentena no seu corpo. Como a imagem ausente de uma possibilidade real. Em particular, refiro-me ao terceiro princpio da
acontece sempre com Kafka, podemos multiplicar as interpretaes alegricas sem nunca alcanar heterotopia, o poder de justapor num s lugar real mltiplos espaos, mltiplos locais que so
uma resposta definitiva. incompatveis. A heterotopia cinema (sala retangular muito curiosa, ao fundo da qual, sobre
Nos textos do excntrico aristocrata Raymond Roussel aparecem, igualmente, prisioneiros e uma tela bidimensional, v-se projetar um espao em trs dimenses) permite deslocar a busca de
suplcios. No entanto, para esse escritor, admirador de Jlio Verne e de Pierre Loti, a imaginao segurana no movimento mecnico em direo ao seu contrrio, a excitao do acidente.
claro que esse lugar desviado no pode existir de modo regular. De fato, nossa definio
Comutaes, contatos:
David Cronenberg
corpos super-excitados de Crash, o acidente significa primeiro a revelao e depois uma promessa
de felicidade que deve ser repetida at o fim. Digamos que h uma arte do suicdio que mvel
e cinematogrfica.
Podemos caracterizar esses caminhos do terror como no-lugares? De acordo com a reflexo
do antroplogo francs Marc Aug, a modernidade tardia produtora de no-lugares, ou seja, por Evando Nascimento
de espaos que no so em si lugares antropolgicos e que, contrariamente modernidade
baudeleriana, no integram os lugares antigos: estes, catalogados, classificados e promovidos
categoria de lugares de memria, ocupam a um lugar circunscrito e especfico. Os no-lugares H uma cena de Marcas da violncia, de 2005, que foi suprimida da edio final e que
seriam espaos desmemoriados, provisionais, de passagem, de trnsito contnuo, de interao se encontra reproduzida no making of do DVD. Segundo o prprio David Cronenberg,
efmera, uma nova configurao espacial tpica da modernidade tardia como aeroportos, grandes uma seqncia que tem a marca de seus outros filmes; a cena mostrada sem que se comente
redes de hotis, supermercados e rodovias. o porqu da estranha semelhana, que de algum modo se dissipa no resto da pelcula, ou
As auto-estradas constituem o melhor exemplo de no-lugares, so palimpsestos onde a seja, o filme tal como o vemos em sua verso oficial. Trata-se, na verdade, de um pesadelo do
individualidade solitria recompe as identidades e reconstitui as relaes. Os corpos super- protagonista Tom Stall, interpretado pelo ator Viggo Mortensen, quando se v perseguido por
excitados expressam seus desejos na via pblica, e esto sempre buscando seus outros semelhantes. estranhos que dizem reconhec-lo, mas com um outro nome (Joey Cusack) e com uma outra
Reconhecem-se pelas deformidades e velozmente fornicam, com uma apetncia inalcanvel para identidade. No mau sonho, retirado da verso final, o corpo do gngster Carl Fogarty, aparece
os casais tradicionais. com todas as suas vsceras, fumegando e de modo pouco realista, pois se precisou de todo um
claro que ningum teoriza sobre a mini-morte que se segue ao coito; tampouco sobre o truque de estdio para permitir que aquele abdmen fosse rasgado e plasticamente mostrado
enfraquecimento da experincia com o fim da aventura e a hegemonia do simulacro. No mundo em suas entranhas. diferena de outras obras do diretor, em Marcas da violncia o corpo no
dos seres excitados s vale a super-emoo. O sentimento da excitao confirma que existimos. est propriamente em cena, a no ser justamente quando atacado por foras que o decepam
Excito-me, logo existo. mais do que o instinto animal, uma mitologia da descoberta da ou dilaceram ao extremo.
essncia da vida. Impossvel vincular essa descoberta com categorias como heterossexualidade, A cinematografia de Cronenberg constitui um campo de foras em correlao. Trata-se de
homossexualidade ou lesbianismo. Quando chega o momento do encontro lubrificado pela um cinema da Figura no sentido que Deleuze deu a essa designao e no da Representao.
qumica do perigo, dissolvem-se as polaridades: homem com mulher; homem com homem; Tanto Senhores do crime, de 2007, quanto Marcas da violncia tm como fundo histrias da
mulher com mulher; mulher com homem e voyeur. mfia no primeiro caso, a mfia russa em Londres; no segundo, a mfia enraizada em territrio
Nesse sentido, antolgica a cena da relao sexual entre os personagens de Vaugham americano. Porm, nenhuma dessas histrias se rende ao sensacionalismo, pois a trama principal
e Catherine Ballard no lavadeiro de carros, enquanto o adltero e corno James Ballard est envolve questes que no dizem respeito simplesmente criminalidade organizada. Digamos
sentado ao volante e ajusta o espelho retrovisor, para ver melhor como sua esposa se entrega que essa violncia banal das grandes cidades fornece os clichs que o diretor canadense teve que
voluptuosamente ao prazer no assento traseiro. O sexo perigoso, e o desejo s acaba com a depurar para materializar enredos pautados pelo Ritmo figural. Em outras palavras, os crimes
morte violenta. No h cimes, mas busca de excitao. O marido persegue a esposa pelas ruas e da mfia esto l como o resduo estereotipado que preciso (des)tratar cinematograficamente,
a atropela, produzindo um grave acidente mas sem chegar a mat-la. Abraados como um casal para poder engendrar algo que no se limita simples tradio dos filmes de gnero. Chamar de
romntico no cho, copulando, as palavras finais do marido dizem tudo: Quem sabe da prxima policial esse cinema reduzi-lo ao que tem de menos intensivo e deslocador.
vez, querida, quem sabe. Marcas da violncia e Senhores do crime tm como fora-motriz a memria involuntria. Em
ambos, o passado retorna no por um ato voluntrio de rememorao, mas por algum elemento
Referncias bibliogrficas: externo que desencadeia novos eventos no presente. As foras dessa arte de Cronenberg
AUG, Marc. Los no lugares: Una antropologa de la sobremodernidad. Barcelona: Gedisa, 1996. lembram a pintura de Francis Bacon, pois so dotadas de invisibilidade, mas nem por isso
ELIAS, Norbert. El proceso de la civilizacin: Investigaciones sociogenticas y psicogenticas. Mxico: Fondo afiguram menos capazes de surtir efeitos no plano do visvel.
de Cultura Econmica, 1987. Em Marcas da violncia, dois facnoras chegam cidadezinha de Millbrook, Indiana,
FOUCAULT, Michel. Des espaces autres. Architecture, Mouvement, Continuit, n5, Outubro 1984, e resolvem praticar um assalto num caf; como se trata de um lugarejo, imaginam que ser
p. 46-49. brinquedo de criana. Mas o dono do bar reage com virulncia e acaba assassinando os dois
SLOTERDIJK, Peter. Esferas III. Espumas. Madrid: Siruela, 2006.
comparsas, tornando-se heri local e nacional. A faanha o ala de imediato condio de
celebridade, trazendo uma exposio na mdia que lhe ser at certo ponto fatal. O episdio
Guillermo Giucci fez doutorado em Letras na Universidade de Stanford, nos Estados Unidos, e
atualmente professor do Instituto de Letras da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). traz tona a memria de uma histria passada, que Tom Stall supunha esquecida, mas que
Publicou os livros Viajantes do maravilhoso: o Novo Mundo (Companhia das Letras, 1992); Sem volta com toda sua pelcula reativa de dio e violncia. O Sr. Stall, pacato pai de famlia, oculta
f, lei ou rei: Brasil 1500-1532 (Rocco, 1993); e A vida cultural do automvel (Civilizao Brasileira, a identidade de um outro personagem, Joey Cusack, outrora ligado mfia de Filadlfia. Logo
84 | DAVID CRONENBERG
2004); e, em co-autoria com Enrique Rodriguez Larreta, Gilberto Freyre. Uma biografia cultural ele ser procurado por um pequeno e perigoso bando, que se encarregar de reconduzi-lo s
(Civilizao Brasileira, 2007). malhas no da lei mas do crime visceral. O reencontro com seu irmo, este ainda vinculado ao
trabalho mafioso, ser marcado pela repetio sem diferena de um passado que no passou de
todo, pelo menos no para os antigos parceiros de Tom/Joey.
H um legado de Caim, muito bem desenvolvido em Amores brutos (do diretor mexicano
Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu), que se repete em territrio americano. O mais belo dessa cinema, calcado nas foras que catalisa e que o tornam potncia em ato. Citaria aqui Paul
filme meramente tnico, menos ainda preconceituoso em relao aos russos, mas to-somente
encena as possibilidades de continuar vivendo nas margens do centro, no caso, as fmbrias da
City londrina.
H sempre foras invisveis que so agenciadas nas artes, sobretudo no melhor cinema.
A comunidade das artes estaria em se constiturem como campo de foras em ao. nesse
sentido que se pode falar no carter performativo e performtico de toda arte, em especial do
Da des-organicidade: que cria um curto-circuito na lgica social da informao e da representao, incorporando
devires cinematogrfico-
imagem, mais viscerais que representacionais. O corpo ento passa a ser o locus comum de um
devir outro, onde a tcnica incide diretamente.
pictricos
Comentados aqui sem detalhamentos, os filmes de Cronenberg representam fbulas carnais
em que no existem limites ou tabus, mas fetiches pelo tecnolgico. Aqui, o heri doente.
Atacado por parasitas, monstruosidades psicossomticas, implantes malsucedidos, raios letais,
David Cronenberg vai ao encontro de mitos sociais profundos, uma vez que aquele corpo
e necessidade, tenso que impede qualquer possibilidade de determinao quanto ao real. representaria o continente negro do pensamento e da cultura contemporneos, escapando
Contrariamente unidade cartesiana, a induzir a uma logicizao do mundo, o sujeito de certos mecanismos de poder por uma singularidade: sua condio paradoxal que permite
desagregado de Cronenberg gera uma multiplicidade de interpretaes. a coexistncia entre subjetividade e sujeitamento. Lugar de conflito, o corpo cronenberguiano
Ao representar estranhamentos do eu, exposto por uma forte materialidade da carne, o se torna alvo de tecnologias biolgicas e dispositivos discursivos internos. Enquanto zona de
diretor se ope ao modo pelo qual o cinema dominante captura e regula o desejo, uma vez intensa receptividade, ele captura uma ampla gama de foras sociais e cdigos implcitos, que
vo desde o comportamento sexual s transaes financeiras de multinacionais aspectos na metamorfose. O corpo , portanto, fonte do movimento que se esfora para se transfigurar,
composta, feita de perceptos e de afectos, desterritorializa o sistema da opinio que reunia extrnseca nem atualmente interna, mas uma poro reprimida e projetada do prprio sujeito.
as percepes e afeces dominantes em um meio natural, histrico e social. Tal sensao Por esse motivo, no existe esperana de fuga nem de separao, tampouco de expulso ou de
proposta por Deleuze se comunica, por um lado, com o sistema nervoso do sujeito, seu instinto reconhecimento. Na narrativa cronenberguiana, o movimento do monstro-protagonista faz-se
e movimentos vitais, e, por outro, com o objeto, fato, lugar e acontecimento. Ela se atualiza na de volta a seu ponto de origem e, talvez por isso, o monstro no descoberto enquanto outro,
unio indissolvel das duas instncias, sendo o lugar onde o corpo se torna Figura, onde a carne mas como um enigma de si prprio. Esse sujeito abriga uma alteridade que se insinua dentro de
desencarna, gerando um acontecimento a vir tona justamente na tenso do que se transforma, si como uma nova e incontrolvel potencialidade do corpo. Um devir inesperado vivido por um
corpo passivamente investido por foras e poderes que ele prprio no pode regular.
Subjetividade virtual
em nova carne:
Bacon parecem testemunhar o nascimento de uma subjetividade cujo sujeito no tem posse
de si prprio, tampouco de seus rgos. Ele uma Figura que experimenta intensamente
e corpo orgnico no
Dessa forma, tais imostrveis dizem de uma natureza que nos escapa: aquela do interior, onde
habita o vrus humano. Nesse universo onde tudo verdadeiramente fabular, a narrativa
sujeito recriado
duplamente possvel e absurda, e a organicidade gerada pelo inorgnico. Nessa fbula em
que o eu no vem a ser apenas o outro, mas uma multiplicidade de outros possveis, o que
nos parece interessante perceber at que ponto o princpio socrtico conhece-te a ti mesmo
Referncias bibliogrficas: David Cronenberg um autor visionrio, enigmtico e dono de marcante coerncia
DELEUZE, Gilles. Imagem-tempo. So Paulo: Brasiliense, 1990. temtico-narrativa. Em eXistenZ, como em filmes anteriores, o diretor canadense trata dos
DELEUZE, Gilles. Francis Bacon: Logique de la sensation. Paris: dition de la Diffrence, 1984. pesadelos da alma e do imaginrio sobre o futuro humano, quase sempre perturbador. Mesmo
DELEUZE, Gilles; GUATTARI, Felix. O que a filosofia? Rio de Janeiro: Ed. 34, 1992. em filmes que parecem compor um panorama parte, como M. Butterfly ou Naked Lunch,
alucinaes e questes de conflitos de identidade e individualidade so uma constante. Mais
Eliska Altmann professora adjunta do Departamento de Letras e Cincias Sociais da recentemente, contudo, e falando da coerncia mencionada, o conjunto de seus filmes tem
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). Fez doutorado em Sociologia na
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Tem experincia na rea de Sociologia da
apontado para questes que dizem respeito posio do sujeito na era eletrnica, como a
Cultura, em dilogo com os campos da imagem, do cinema, da recepo de bens artsticos e das interface da tecnologia com o ser humano ou as novas formas ontolgicas que se apresentam
identidades culturais. ao indivduo atravs da tecnologia, redefinindo uma outra realidade repleta de seres e paisagens
virtuais. Nesse contexto, algumas perguntas bvias que surgem so: o que passa a significar
existir no mundo a que estvamos habituados? E em que mundo passamos a existir?
Pode-se dizer, que eXistenZ descendente direto de Videodrome, tanto na temtica quanto
em sua dimenso textual. Ambos, dirigidos e roteirizados por Cronenberg, so repletos de
diferentes nveis de referncias, loops narrativos, percepes, estados alterados e realidades
dentro de realidades. A questo central nesses dois filmes parece tratar do que o pesquisador
Scott Bukatman chama de identidade terminal: uma ansiedade contempornea que provm
de uma possibilidade palpvel do fim do sujeito e o surgimento de uma nova individualidade
construda na tela do computador, da televiso ou do videogame.
Videodrome e eXistenZ so filmes que se alinham j tradio crtica de uma realidade
gerada pela tecnologia a partir do ps-guerra e representada por autores como Lewis Mumford,
Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Joshua Meyrowitz, Jean Baudrillard, Donna Haraway, Theodore
Roszak, Rgis Debray ou Stephanie Mills. Particularmente em relao ao cinema, os filmes
em questo realam as transformaes geradas a partir de nossa relao com a biotecnologia e
a partir do discurso da mdia contempornea. Referem-se a um apagamento de fronteiras de
gnero e de suportes tecnolgicos de informao, ou entre cultura de elite e cultura popular;
entre o real e o imaginrio e, principalmente, entre formas hegemnicas e experimentais de
92 | DAVID CRONENBERG
representao audiovisual. Na era dos seres de proveta, cyborgs, clones, pele artificial, protena
animal aplicada em chips e realidade virtual, o cinema de Cronenberg dramatiza uma espcie de
espao de acomodao para uma nova existncia tecnolgica. Atravs de habilidosa combinao
de linguagem, iconografia e narrao, o choque do novo simultaneamente estetizado e
investigado. O espectador desse jogo acaba habitando e se habituando com um mundo
repleto de alteraes cognitivas e figuraes poticas, que refletem suas prprias configuraes necessidade de produo de sentido. O receptor tenta criar uma narrativa possvel e joga com
na fruio artstica, pressupe o jogo da criao tendo por base estmulos gerados pela obra de a frieza azulada que d o tom da fuga do casal principal pela estrada em meio floresta,
arte. No caso do filme narrativo de fico, ao entrarmos no cinema j nos condicionamos a esse reminiscncia da paisagem moderna e depressiva por onde circulavam as personagens de Julie
jogo alucinatrio. Christie e do bombeiro Oskar Werner no filme de Truffaut. Jean-Marie Lalanne relaciona tal
Na relao entre Videodrome e eXistenZ, Chris Rodley, fala que enquanto o primeiro enfoca luz que Tourneur emprega em Pendez-moi haut et court, Vandou, que apresenta um tom ao
a natureza da invaso do espectador passivo perpetrada pelo prprio cinema, o segundo trata mesmo tempo idlico e ameaador.
da invaso do cinema pelo espectador interativo. Essa interatividade configura-se a partir da A distncia entre a iconografia de eXistenZ, seus espaos de representao e o presente do
espectador, mnima ou quase imperceptvel. Ted Pikul, o suposto guarda-costas da tambm de nossos olhos um ponto de vista de quem? Quem narra o filme? Qual a realidade? Onde
que a penetrao executada pela personagem feminina no corpo do personagem masculino, celebra um sistema de imagens alucinatrio e visceral.
que aqui a parte virgem e passiva, demonstrando um visvel propsito de apagamento de O mundo de eXistenZ um mundo pr-figurado como simulacro, onde um novo sujeito
papis sexuais tradicionais. parece ter sido criado: um sujeito que situa o humano e o tecnolgico como coexistentes,
A transformao da matria orgnica, que implica uma alterao da subjetividade e da co-dependentes e que mutuamente se definem. Ele simultaneamente constitudo pela
objetividade, do espao e do tempo, vem acompanhada de uma desestruturao da voz do biotecnologia e pelas maquinaes do texto, produzido no ponto de interseo entre tecnologia
autor, uma das marcas do paradigma narrativo clssico. Afinal, o que est acontecendo ali diante e narrao onde um constri o outro, num crculo vicioso, ovo e galinha, interior e exterior.
Tanto Videodrome quanto eXistenZ trazem uma representao grfica da dissoluo da vida
O corpo estranho: orgnico,
demasiadamente orgnico
vrus. Os dois filmes literalizam essa equao na medida em que o corpo invadido, penetrado
pela imagem que, como um vrus, se espalha indefinidamente, num crebro de aparente
vida prpria que produz mais e novas seqncias de imagens. Corpo e imagem se fundem,
tornam-se uma nica (id)entidade, numa dissoluo completa entre o real e sua representao,
entre as fronteiras que delimitavam o interior do exterior. No h mais qualquer resqucio por Paula Sibilia
de proteo privada onde o prprio corpo no consegue mais encobrir a individualidade do
sujeito. Ele encontra-se ameaado por estruturas centralizadas de controle, pela biotecnologia Tanto aqueles filmes de David Cronenberg que se inscrevem sob os rtulos da fico-
que, simultaneamente, aliena e mascara a alienao pela percepo de sua prpria impotncia. cientfica, como os que se afiliam ao terror, revelam certas opes estticas e temticas que ao
Da o medo e a revolta que toma conta dos guerrilheiros do realismo que, mesmo enquanto mesmo tempo flertam e fogem dos clichs caractersticos desses gneros. O corpo humano
personagens virtuais, ainda tm fora para lutar e gritar morte ao videodrome! no filme de costuma ser o palco principal dessas estranhezas. Desdenhando recursos habitualmente
1983 ou morte a Alegra Geller! em eXistenZ. utilizados nesse tipo de obras cinematogrficas, como as peles plastificadas de silhuetas to
etreas que parecem feitas de luz ou as prteses informticas excessivamente limpas e eficazes
Referncias bibliogrficas ou, ento, o imaginrio gosmento dos monstros e aliengenas , nas realizaes deste
BUKATMAN, Scott. Terminal Identity: The virtual subject in cineasta se trata, sempre, de um corpo demasiadamente humano. Um corpo cheio de rgos e,
post-modern science fiction. Durham & London: Duke portanto, limitado em suas imperfeies terrenas.
University Press, 1994. Mas precisamente por isso que o corpo exposto na tela grande se torna estranho: por ser
BURDEAU, Emmanuel. La diffrence entre Cronenberg., Paris: carnal, biolgico, humano. No devido a uma artificializao ostensiva ou sua comunho
Cahiers du Cinma, 534, abril 1999, p. 66. perfeita com a tcnica, e nem interveno de algum misterioso agente extra-mundano, mas
JOYARD, Olivier; TESSON, Charles. Laventure intrieure. justamente por ser de carne e osso que ele se torna medonho. Porque um conjunto de vsceras
Entretien avec David Cronenberg. Paris:
que incrivelmente vivem, pensam e sentem.
Cahiers du Cinma, 534, abril 1999, p. 67-73.
LALANNE, Jean-Marie. Ceci nest pas lexistence. Paris: Cahiers Por isso, os filmes de Cronenberg vo na contramo daqueles ambientes asspticos e da
du Cinma, 534, abril 1999, p. 64-65. pureza minimalista dos corpos que costumam protagonizar os relatos de fico-cientfica,
LANGER, Susanne. K. Feeling and Form. New York: Charles sobretudo em seu formato audiovisual e nas suas verses mais recentes. Bem mais alinhados
Scribners Sons, 1953. na tradio de um Frankenstein oitocentista do que, por exemplo, na esteira da reluzente saga
METZ, Christian. O filme de fico e seu espectador. In: de Matrix, os corpos cronenbergianos so entidades que suam, sangram, suturam, transam,
METZ, Christian, KRISTEVA, Julia, GUATARI, Flix; expelem, sugam, cospem, penetram e lambem. Corpos que so at mesmo capazes de mutar,
BARTHES, Roland. Psicanlise e cinema. seguindo a lgica implacvel e, no fundo, tambm inexplicvel da natureza. Porque a
So Paulo: Global, 1980, p. 127-187. anatomia no uma cincia exata.
RODLEY, Chris. Game Boy, Sight and Sound, London: British Nas primeiras cenas de The Brood, por exemplo, o olhar do espectador surpreendido pela
Film Institute, abril 1999, vol. N9, issue 4, p. 8-10.
viso de pequenas feridas e erupes nos ombros de um homem e, logo em seguida, observa-se
uma reao bioqumica semelhante nas costas de uma criana que est sendo ensaboada em
Joo Luiz Vieira professor do Departamento de Cinema e
Vdeo e do Programa de Ps-Graduao em Comunicao sua banheira. Apesar da estranheza, em princpio no se trata de nada sobrenatural ou extra-
da Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). Fez ps- humano, e nem de algo excessivamente viscoso ou com aparncia de irreal. So apenas uma
doutoramento no Department of Film and Television srie de feridas, cistos e espinhos, do tipo que os corpos humanos em toda sua estranheza
Studies da Universidade de Warwick, Inglaterra (1997) orgnica e vital costumam supurar. tudo trivialmente carnal: cicatrizes, raspagens, tumores,
e foi professor visitante do Departamento de Media Arts dilaceraes, coitos, partos.
da University of New Mexico (1996) e do Departamento
Algo semelhante pode ser constatado em filmes como Videodrome, Crash, Scanners
de Cinema e Literatura Comparada da University of Iowa
(2002). autor de inmeros textos, crticas, ensaios e livros e eXistenZ, nos quais a juno entre a matria orgnica do corpo humano e os dispositivos
sobre cinema, publicados tanto no Brasil como no exterior. tecnolgicos nunca perfeita e indolor seja um tradicional revlver ou um automvel, ou
ento um computador, um videocassete ou o plug de um avanadssimo videogame. Nesses
Luiz Antonio L. Coelho professor do Departamento de casos, ao contrrio do que costumam mostrar outros filmes do gnero, o acoplamento homem-
Artes da Pontifcia Universidade Catlica do Rio de Janeiro mquina sempre problemtico no nvel mais bsico e supostamente banal: a carne que
(PUC-Rio). Tambm foi docente de Cinema na Universidade violentada pelos objetos tcnicos reage com infeces, supuraes e sofrimentos que no podem
Federal Fluminense (UFF). Fez ps-doutoramento nas
ser anestesiados.
Reading University e Birmingham University, na Inglaterra
(1997). pesquisador do CNPq, e membro do Conselho O instrumental cirrgico do qual se utiliza o mdico de Gmeos, por outro lado, no difere
muito dos aparelhos normalmente empregados pelos ginecologistas, e logo nessa semelhana
98 | DAVID CRONENBERG
uma forma biolgica adequada, afirma outro representante dessa vertente de pensamento, o so sempre as travessuras daquela louca da casa que habita os nossos corpos desde pocas
artista australiano Stelarc. Ele no pode dar conta da quantidade, complexidade e qualidade imemoriais, como uma sorte de espectro que impregna essa velha maquinaria feita de clulas e
de informaes que acumulou; intimado pela preciso, pela velocidade e pelo poder da molculas de carbono.
tecnologia e est biologicamente mal-equipado para se defrontar com seu novo ambiente. O Uma mente fatalmente encarnada e que, dependendo de diversos fatores ou mesmo do
corpo humano, tal como ele ainda teima em ser, uma estrutura nem muito eficiente, nem acaso, esse onipresente impondervel que tece a filigrana de toda humana existncia, ora
muito durvel; com freqncia, ele funciona mal, prossegue Stelarc, para concluir da seguinte pode operar como uma priso do corpo ou, ao contrrio, como sua vlvula descompressora
capaz de projet-lo para fora do seu prprio alm. Ou, ento como, alis, acontece de forma
Referncias bibliogrficas
KURTZWEIL, Ray. Ser humano verso 2.0. Folha de So Paulo, Caderno Mais!, 23/03/2003; p. 4-9.
STELARC. Das estratgias psicolgicas s ciberestratgias: a prottica, a robtica e a existncia remota.
In: DOMINGUES, Diana (Org.). A arte no sculo XXI: A humanizao das tecnologias. So Paulo:
UNESP, 1997. p. 52-62.
SIBILIA, Paula. O homem ps-orgnico: Corpo, subjetividade e tecnologias digitais. Rio de Janeiro: Ed.
Relume Dumar, 2002.
WSET Multimdia
104 | DAVID CRONENBERG
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and from the organic nature of the body. In this tendency the desire for continuity beyond the
of his stories. Or, if a center is not present, it is somewhere symptomatic and of (im) pleasures. The overcoming of the norms and regulations that govern sex and traffic conducts
precise incision. the films entire narrative. These transgressions, however, dont seem to have a purpose. We
The body and technology are the protagonists of this contemporary theater that see the in-and-out of apathetic subjectivities immersed in an everyday mechanism searching
intends to transcend obliviously the old flesh. In films such as Videodrome and for over-excitement geared by the pains and delices a car can offer to the point of being
eXistenZ, for example, Cronenberg unveils an unsettling tendency connected to close to an annihilating orgasm. From this perspective, it is possible to see in Crash, and in
systems of virtual reality and telepresence: the overcoming of the restrictions derived great part of Cronenbergs filmography, a body that is reshaped in its extensions so that its
extremities and limitations repressed and limited by the ordinary shape are conquered. A silver tray is set before me by a man wearing a uniform of all white gloves included.
Tadeu Capistrano is professor at the Department of History of Art and in the Graduate Program want there to be any hint of aristocracy. Of course this is after the French revolution so to be a
on Visual Arts at UFRJ, where he researches on the theory of image and related subjects such
as cinema, photography, and video. He has a doctoral degree in Comparative Literature by
knight, to be called sir, that would be bad, and its not part of being in the Legion of Honour.
UERJ, where he wrote a thesis on cinema, technology, and perception supported by CNPq and
Columbia University. And so, I dont call you Sir Cronenberg from this point on.
You do not. You can call me mister.
Many filmmakers whove managed, as you have, to push peoples expectations and present painting or the novel do.
an incredible psychic violence thats revealed, as in the plays of Harold Pinter just to take a recent Once again, its a question of evolution. I mean, if you keep just doing the same old thing you
example of a wonderful artist that weve lost. There is violence of many kinds, not just physical. bore yourself, and then you become boring to the audience. And so theres always a desire to ...
But when you think of movies, physical violence is a very cozy fit with movies, and maybe too its more than a desire, its a natural thing, as your life changes your interest in things changes, your
cozy sometimes. But its because of the nature of film and of editing and montage and sophisticated perspective on things changes. Bob Dylan said he cannot imagine writing the songs that he wrote,
camerawork and the use of the human body. When youre a filmmaker, most of what youre the ones that made him famous. He doesnt know where they came from and he could not do them
photographing is the human body and so it lends itself to exploration of violence, in a way that now. Hes telling the absolute truth, and we all have in our own way that experience. Youre forced to
think about it and to contemplate it when somebody says, We want you to do a remake of Shivers, Director David Cronenbergs reputation as an authentic auteur has been firmly
And if he saw the last two films that you made, hed be very happy. involving violence, sexuality and biological horror, all by now familiar Cronenberg
He would have felt that I had finally after all this time realized the potential that he saw in me, themes.
yes, he probably would. The Dead Zone followed in 1984, based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King.
Financed by Dino de Laurentiis, released by Paramount and starring Christopher
Thom Ernst is a Toronto-based film writer and critic and the producer/interviewer of TVOs long-running Walken, Brooke Adams and Martin Sheen, the film is an allegorical good-vs-evil story
movie program, Saturday Night at the Movies. revolving around the fate of a man cursed with power to see into the future of those he
touches. The most mainstream of Cronenbergs films, The Dead Zonestill retains the directors a novice security guard who links into Leighs world. Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, Sarah Polley,
Best Sound Editing. In addition it won the Golden Reel Award for the Canadian film with the International Film Festival.
highest Canadian box-office gross. The Toronto International Film Festival was the first to honour Cronenberg with a
In 1995, Cronenberg wrote eXistenZ, inspired by an interview with author Salman Rushdie retrospective in 1983. Simultaneously the Academy of Canadian Cinema published The
which triggered the idea of an artist who suddenly finds him/herself on a hit list and forced to Shape of Rage - the Films of David Cronenberg, a comprehensive anthology of critical essays
flee into hiding. He made the hero a game designer thinking that game design could possibly about his work which was updated in 1990 by the Quebec Cinematheque for distribution
ascend to the level of art. Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as the game designer opposite Jude Law as in Europe. Most recently, the University of Toronto press published the 2001 edition of The
Artist as Monster: The Cinema of David Cronenberg, by William Beard, and Les Cahiers
du Cinmas published a collection of interviews in 2000. UK documentary filmmaker Chris
Rodley edited the 1991 edition of Cronenberg on Cronenberg, published by Faber and Faber of
London, England. The second edition was updated and published in 1993 upon the release
of M. Butterfly. Rodley also made two films on Cronenberg: Long Live the New Flesh and the
making of Naked Lunch.
The most comprehensive retrospective of Cronenbergs work was mounted in Japan in
March, 1993. Sponsored by Tokyos Seibu department store, the governments of Ontario and
Canada and Torontos Cinematheque of Ontario/International Film Festival, the two week
event included screenings of all Cronenbergs motion pictures, television films and commercials.
Accompanying the films was an exhibition of 300 artifacts, props, stills and posters and special
effects puppets including 16 mugwumps and the sex blob from Naked Lunch. In May, 1998,
New Yorks Thread Waxing Space Gallery hosted a two-month exhibition entitled Spectacular
Optical, featuring a group of visual artists who share thematic affinities and were influenced
by various phases of the artistic production of David Cronenbergs films. The exhibit included
film elements, props and drawings from Cronenbergs work.
Recent retrospectives were held in Paris by The Festival dAutomne and the Canadian
Cultural Center in 2000 and in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the 2001 Carlton Arts Festival. New Yorks
Museum of the Moving Image held a retrospective of Cronenbergs films to coincide with the
release Naked Lunch in early l992. Other retrospectives have been held at the Fantastic Film
Festival in St. Malo, France; Romes Fourth International Exhibition of Fantasy and Science
Fiction; the Edinburgh Festival, Frances Metz Film Festival; the Cinematheque Francaise and
the Fantasporto Film Festival in Portugal.
During the past several years, Cronenberg has acted in a number of other films. When Im
being a writer, I start to feel disconnected from the set, as if its just a sort of weird fantasy that
Im actually a director. Acting is an easy way to reconnect with being on a film set. He had a
cameo role as a Mafia hitman in Gus Van Sants To Die For; played a moonshiner in Moonshine
Highway for Andy Armstrong, appeared in Trial by Jury with Armand De Sante and in John
Landis The Stupids. He appeared in the Canadian films Henry and Verlin, Blood and Donuts
and most recently, Don McKellars Last Night after playing the lead in McKellars short film
Blue. He also appeared in Russell Mulcahys Resurrection, Mick Garris The Judge and James
Isaacs Jason X. In 2003, Cronenberg appeared on J.J. Abrams acclaimed television show Alias
as experimental memory scientist Dr. Brezzel.
116 | DAVID CRONENBERG
119 | CINEMA EM CARNE VIVA
Storylines
men, women, adults as well as children. acclaimed movies of Cronenbergs career. left to the imperatives of connection and
telepresence.
123 | CINEMA EM CARNE VIVA
Videodrome (1982) The Dead Zone (1983) The Fly (1986) Dead Ringers (1988)
This movie presents a complex and In a small New England town, after Seth Bundle is an eccentric scientist that Since they were children, twins Beverly
dense narrative, a wild plot in which the suffering a terrible accident and staying in a seeks the creation of a teleportation device and Elliot shared their interest in sex and
visions become flesh, uncontrollable flesh coma for five years, a Literature teacher finds consisting of two cabins or teleports that science. Both are intrigued, above all, by the
according to the description of one of the out that he has clairvoyance powers. This transport matter from one place to another anatomy of the female genitals and by the
main characters. In this acclaimed David peculiar ability that consists in seeing scenes through a process of disintegration and mysteries of the uterus. Despite having very
Cronenberg feature echoes the tradition of from the past and foreseeing the future reintegration of the objects involved in the different personalities their looks are identical
thought from another eminent Canadian, makes the character a media attraction. It also experiment. The device seems to work well, and, even more so, they are inseparable. They
Marshall McLuhan, with respect to both the makes him a valuable instrument for the local at least until the moment when the scientist even chose the same profession: gynecologists.
communication media as extensions of Man police in its search for a serial killer whose decides to experiment with living beings, And both became renowned specialists in the
and his prophecies about the constitution horrific crimes terrorize the population. including himself. All this happens under the field. Besides working and living together, the
of a global village due to the propagation However, the main character finds out that he increasingly frightened eyes of his girlfriend, twin brothers share everything. That includes
of telecommunication networks. The has not only the gift of seeing scenes from the a journalist specialized in the publishing of love affairs and sexual partners, in which they
character Max Renn runs a cable TV station past and the future but of also experiencing scientific matters. This famous tragedy by take advantage of their physical resemblance
specialized in violence and pornography. But them unpleasantly, becoming an involuntary David Cronenberg, recently made an opera to engage in the dangerous games of identity
he is displeased with its current lineup and witness of many tragic and disconcerting by the director himself, is the third version switching. This symbiotic balance in the
starts looking for something more exciting events. So, involved by this dangerous extra- of a classic horror movie of the same name, brothers relationship to each other, however,
to satisfy his eager audience. Then one day, sensorial atmosphere, the teacher discovers a directed by Kurt Newman in 1958 and starts being shaken when both meet patient
one of Renns employees presents him with a dead zone of his own perception - which with the great Vincent Price in the cast. Claire Niveu, a famous actress who cannot get
mysterious show called Videodrome a kind could even change the fate of mankind. Based Cronenbergs version introduces several pregnant for having a trifurcate uterus which
of snuff-movie with scenes that are brutally on Stephen Kings novel with the same title, modifications on the original screenplay, makes her a sort of mutant. After sharing
real, mixing crime, torture and eroticism. this movie revives the directors fascination providing a visceral tone to the tragic love Claire with his brother, as it was usual of all
Growing increasingly fascinated by this for extra-sensorial perceptions, present in his story that touches the unbounded ambitions his sex partners, Beverly sinks in a depressive
underworld, the main character dives into previous movies such as Stereo, Crimes of the of genetic engineering and its possible state that involves passion, drug abuse and
the hallucinating universe of Videodrome Future and Scanners. Once again, this feature deadly consequences. The movie received delusions. He is guided in this journey by
and into the disturbing backstage plots of deals with the manipulation of the human Academy awards for its special effects many psychotropic substances introduced by
this new kind of show, full of abject scenes body by the wonders of techno-science and and its excellent makeup, drawing great the actress in her convulsive relationship with
like the tumors caused by the virtual reality, by the control tools triggered by institutions attention to the director. One of the most the Mantle brothers. Considered by many
sadomasochistic relations and corporate of power such as Medicine and the Police. praised aspects of the movie was its way of critics as David Cronenbergs masterpiece,
conspiracies. This is an environment full of Besides, this movie presents a visionary dealing with the monstrosities that techno- the movie was made famous by the recipe
the strangest characters, like the electronic narrative with a strong political connotation, scientific rationality is able to produce in a that combines several extraordinary
Brian OBlivion, who proclaims the rise of a once it discusses the political history of the time when apocalyptical visions of a future ingredients: Jeremy Irons impressive acting
new flesh and reads one of the most famous United States by mentioning the murder of a with mutant bodies, contamination by new as both brothers, the splendid photography,
lines of the movie: The television screen famous President of the past while foretelling viruses, bacteria, tumors, radiation and the beautiful soundtrack and the disturbing
122 | DAVID CRONENBERG
is the retina of the minds eye. Therefore, the arrival of a new one. The latter would other frightening threats were starting to instruments invented by the main characters
the television screen is part of the physical have psychotic tendencies and by holding proliferate. to look inside female bodies: pincers, forceps,
structure of the brain. the control of the American nation would and hooks of the coldest metals.
jeopardize world peace or even the future of
all mankind.
125 | CINEMA EM CARNE VIVA
Naked Lunch (1991) M. Butterfly (1992) Crash (1996) eXistenZ (1999)
Based on William Burroughss novel of M. Butterfly is an adaptation of the play Based on the James Ballards novel of This is an ambitious science-fiction movie,
the same name, Naked Lunch became one of of the same name, which was extremely the same name, this movie is an icon of existential and of great originality that questions
David Cronenbergs most acclaimed movies. successful on Broadway, it enacts the real story cyberpunk science-fiction and became one the ambiguous boundaries between the real
Just as with the author who by the way lived by a French diplomat in Beijing in the of Cronenbergs most scandalous motion and virtual realities with all the implications
accidentally killed his wife with a shot in 60s. Ren Gallimard is the main character - pictures. Among other accolades, this feature and risks from certain dreams of a generation.
the head the main character of this story beautifully played by actor Jeremy Irons who received the Special Jury prize from the It is about interactive immersion which works
gets involved in a murder and is drawn into falls in love with the Chinese diva Song Ling Cannes Film Festival for its audacity and dangerously plugged to the bodies and brains
a world of hallucinations: a universe filled after seeing her sing an aria from the opera originality. James and his wife Catherine, the of the players and sells the attractive promise
with narcotic substances e fantastic creatures. Madame Butterfly, by Giacomo Puccini. leading couple of Crash, compulsively engage of transcending the limitations of being human
Taking place in New York City in 1953, the Immersed in this exotic relationship for in sexual adventures with strangers and share while experiencing incorporeal sensations
movie tells the misadventures of a character many years, the enigmatic European official their different stories with each other. After and emotions. Released in the last year of the
who tries to be a writer but needs to work is enveloped by the mysteries of his eastern a car crash, James gets involved with Helen, 20th century, this movie pours on the screen
as a bug exterminator to pay his bills. And muse, who refuses to be completely naked a victim of the accident which killed her the techno-scientific mythology that inflames
he even risks losing this job since his supply in his presence. Refreshed by the delight of husband. Through Helen the character gets todays imagery. It is not only about the daring
of poison runs out quickly for having to feed his intense relationship with his beautiful to know a group of sadomasochists whose neural interfaces that connect machines to the
his wifes addiction to the high it gives her. diva, the character little by little abandons leader is the obscure Vaugham, an ex-scientist nervous system but also about biotechnologies
However, when the main character decides his introverted personality to become an obsessed with car crashes and the changes that allow us to create genetically modified
to try the poison himself, he gets into a ever more confident and active man. At undergone on the human body when beings to supply the entertainment market with
vortex of dissociative perceptions towards work, for instance, he manages to become affected by the debris of crushed cars. Scars, synthetic organs, chimerical amphibians and
a zone where typewriters become gigantic Frances vice-consul for China. However, prostheses, fissures, and mutilation redefine DNA consoles. Other ghosts of the time are
talking bugs among other equally unsettling this charming story is still to present many the looks of those in the accidents, taking also invoked, such as international terrorism and
metamorphoses. Amid a beautiful noir surprises, including accusations of espionage them to new physical configurations and conspiratorial violence that involves the greed
atmosphere, this unusual movie brings up and, after two decades of vivid passion, the opening their bodies to new forms of sexual for profit of large corporations, but also religious
the beat culture and the kafkian universe at discovery of the singers intricate essence. interaction. If by the one hand the movie fanaticism and the most intricate political
the compass of Ornette Colemans dissonant Its ambiguous and obscure atmosphere is displays the typical acceleration of machines interests. All this happens in a fantastic climate
jazz improvisation. Besides metaphorizing a fundamental ingredient in this beautiful on the road, by the other hand it also includes in which one cannot tell whether it is a dream
the power of image and language as a movie, in which the body, sexuality and a series of decelerations that interrupt the or a nightmare, whether something terrible is in
virus or a hallucinogenic substance, the politics strongly permeate its main theme: flow of the plot and jam the characters fact happening or it is just another obstacle to
peculiar universe of this writer also served the capacity of identity to change in the name bodies moving in many different sexual be conquered in the game so that one can go to
of inspiration for the philosopher Gilles of desire even when the consequences are positions. All this gives further emphasis to the next level. As it is usual in all Cronenbergs
Deleuzes famous essay on the societies of fatal. the sick or pathological atmosphere present pictures, the aesthetic choices deserve to be noted
control, one of the sharpest mechanisms of in this unusual movie. The characters that for even though the movie is clearly futuristic
power in todays world. intersect on the dangerous roads of Crash the obvious choice of an overflow of state-of-
124 | DAVID CRONENBERG
seek a strange pleasure given by both the pain the-art computational effects was avoided. These
and the delight cars inflict on the human scenes from a dubious future, dirt and organic
flesh when crashing and getting smashed. material splash everywhere subtly pointing to
the navet of clean set that is usually present in
this kind of movie.
127 | CINEMA EM CARNE VIVA
Camera (2000) Spider (2002) A History of Violence Eastern Promises (2007)
(2005)
This short, a little less than seven minutes This is a deep and anguishing clinical In this story full of crime and punishment
long, was made by David Cronenberg drama based on Patrick McGraths novel of The quiet Tom Stall lives with his wife Edie that takes place in todays England, Ana is a
for the celebration of the 25 years of the the same name. After leaving an asylum where and their two little children in a town called midwife who gets attached to a baby whose
Toronto Film Festival. In its tribute to the he had been for years, the tormented Dennis Milbrook, in the rural setting of the state of mother Tatiana died in labor. In an
seventh art the short exhibits a bitter and Cleg finds shelter in a house for mental Indiana, in a picture that seems to portray the attempt to save the child, the nurse decides
melancholic atmosphere; at the same time, patients run by the strict Mrs. Wilkinson. most perfect version of the American dream. to look for the deceased womans family
however, this movie is poetic and hopeful. A Back to the city where he was born and in One day, however, the character reacts in an having as only clue the mute pages of a
senior actor is sitting in a room in his house in which he lived as a child, the main character unexpectedly brutal way to robbery attempt journal written in Russian. As the contents
front of the camera, giving a long and earnest in this movie is trying to rebuild the in the restaurant where he works, killing of those pages unfolds, Ana starts going into
testimonial about his relationship with the memories from the pleasant life he shared the robbers and saving his family and his a dark section of London a place full of
Cinema: movies mirror life, embody dreams with his parents. He especially remembers the customer with extreme skill. The surprising conflict and contradictions that witnesses
and the passage of time; but suddenly all that fascinating stories about the life of spiders that event gets a great deal of media attention the universe of the Russian mob and the
is valuable seems to be in the past or already his mother used to tell him in his childhood. making this example of husband and father trafficking of women to supply the global
done before. But while the actor performs It was not by accident that in those distant a national hero. This unexpected notoriety, prostitution market. A narrative full of
his monologue in grayish tones, a group and apparently happy days he was given the however, reveals another aspect of this sexual violence in a plot that brings together
of children seems to playing around him, nickname Spider. But suddenly all these seemingly inexplicable violence against murders, espionage and international
running in the house and excitedly preparing nice memories are mixed with a series of the characters wishes and with nothing he conspiracy then develops. Just as in the
to film. In this way they assemble all the spasms and recollections of terrible events could do to stop it. A darker and heavier side movies that preceded it, Eastern Promises
necessary equipment to turn that room into that ruined the family harmony and led to emerges opening the doors to a story riddled also has the memory as its main character.
a movie set and the actor into the character insanity the little spider man. In that way with scars and suffocation. That is how Toms Memories are interwoven in the mysterious
that is going to be projected onscreen. The a chaotic chain of perverse revelations build past is exposed on the screen, with all its traits Russian characters from the journal and
arrival of the camera magically transforms up on the screen, challenging the characters of cruelty and all the wounds that resurface also in the marks on the bodies victimized
the space, giving a new start to the movie troubled psyche and casting some wild in outbursts of rage and desire for vengeance. by their own past. Also present in his latest
during the movie itself, which the audience questions to the eyes of the audience. Who Based on a graphic novel written by John feature are all the directors old obsessions,
begins watching through the eyes of this new watches the traps of these fragile threads that Wagner and illustrated by Vince Locke, A focusing on the human body in its struggle
generation of moviemakers: these children knit Dennis Clegs memory is soon caught in History of Violence is a dark reflection about against the oppressive chains of power that
who 25 years from now will be the makers a web of psychological horror, in which the the impossibility of renouncing to ones own are constantly pressing and tearing it apart.
and the audience of tomorrows movies. characters are transformed in the desperate past and its indelible traces. Memory may Bodies that reveal their reactive impulses,
and delusional eyes of a schizophrenic; become the most violent force controlling metamorphoses and their dismemberment
someone who becomes incapable of untying the actions of a man who - despite everything with all their traumas and resistance
the complex knots that held his personality wishes to reconstruct himself somewhere
together and fastened the sequence of life allegedly quiet so that he can run away from
intertwined by tragic memories.
126 | DAVID CRONENBERG
Bio-Horror
His perspective probably does not encompass all the multiplicity of issues that involve artistic
horror, but it certainly relates to the kind of horror created by Cronenberg. After all, his films are
clearly about bodies that suddenly become strange and impose desires and behaviors that make
por Laura Canpa people helpless victims of their own bodies, subject to the whims and the violence of a new nature
that, even when it is not caused by external intervention, irreversibly imposes its will oftentimes
cruelly desirable.
For its complexity as much as for its thematic variety, David Cronenbergs films Let us think, for example, about the first three horror films written and directed by Cronenberg
can be discussed from different perspectives spanning from psychoanalysis to cultural mentioned above. In the three films, respectively, a worm is created in a laboratory, a mutation is
studies, and also from issues relating to arts in post-modernity to their representation caused by the improper use of stem cells, and a form of psychotherapy brings violent thoughts to
of medical and communication technologies. The objective of this article is to present life (literally), placing entire human communities under the threat of ordinary individuals whose
just one of these perspectives, pointing to what is considered as one of the main issues bodies are invested with new powers. Horror ensues for those who discover a new nature within
in the Canadian directors work. Therefore, in a specific context within the study of the and for those attacked by this new nature, in a strange communion of fear, revulsion and wonder
history of international genre Cinema, we want to suggest that horror not necessarily feelings that, according to Noel Carroll in The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the Heart
understood as a narrative genre but as extreme sensorial experience built by audiovisual (2000), precisely compose the structure of artistic horror.
resources can be seen as an organizing power of Cronenbergs work. In this sense, Cronenbergs worries definitely relate his work to horror, for his stories about
We surely understand that not all his films belong to horror as a narrative genre. the violence that frightens both monsters and victims were soon perceived as a powerful revival of
On the other hand it is certain that the feeling of horror is present in all of them, one this genre, by admirers as well as producers. Be it because he was already interested in the genre,
way or the other. And perhaps one of the reasons that might be able to explain this be it because he had no other option, the fact is that his relationship with Cinepix (Canadian
recurrence takes us back to the beginning of his career especially to three of his first exploitation producer) in the beginning of his career, which produced Shivers and Rabid, defined
four feature-films that somehow might have set the stage for later works (also from a paths that set a very special connection between the development of a film genre and a very
commercial standpoint): Shivers (1976), Rabid (1977), The Brood (1979). Successful with particular work of film authorship.
the audience in Canada and with critics abroad, these films made Cronenberg a famous For the films made with Cinepix, besides bringing Cronenbergs main theme of threats that
name worldwide, both as a creator (possibly one of the last) within horror and as an are simultaneously external and internal to bodies, also brought other specific issues that would be
original auteur concerned with the place of the human body in present times. revisited in many versions throughout his work, such as the presence of characters connected to the
Obviously, the fact that horror is with pornography one of the genres that are world of science and/or researching; the invasive scientific experiments that make profound and
most directly concerned with the experience of the body might help us understand irreversible modifications to the body; mysterious corporations with obscure motives; the world
Cronenbergs double position as a representative of genre filmmaking as well as someone dominated by medical and communication technologies; the aggressive and very little emotional
having an authorial project discussing individual differentiation by the representation of sexuality; the threat contained in female characters, the ones who often trigger instability.
the body as a privileged locus for addressing a deep crisis regarding the human experience. Particularly regarding the threat of the feminine, emblematic examples are Rabid and The Brood
Since we here intend to explore issues concerning horror in Cronenbergs work, (already made outside Cinepix), discussing themes later revisited by Cronenberg in the 1980s in
it seems appropriate to start with some contemporary discussions about this genre films acclaimed worldwide such as Videodrome (1982), The Fly (1986), and Dead Ringers (1988).
inasmuch as they certainly shed light on the Canadian directors work. Among the However, in his 1970s films, the centrality of horror in the female body and the directness of the
different approaches and conceptions of the so-called artistic horror that prevailed over metaphors point to the female body as being subject to manipulation and outbursts, something
the last 30 years period in which many expressions of this genre had the attention of that will be softened over the next decade.
academic studies around the world researcher Jack Morgans The Biology of Horror In Rabid, two doctors, ironically called Dr. Keloid (the undesired kind of surgical scars) and
Gothic Literature and Film (2002) presents an interpretation that seems to directly refer to Dr. Cypher (a reference to financial ciphers) cause a terrible mess when trying to save Rose (played
Cronenbergs perspective, even though his work is not specifically analyzed in the study. by the American actress Marilyn Chambers, then one of the biggest stars in pornographic films),
For Morgan, horror fiction is connected to an aspect of our mental life in which suffers terrible mutilations after a motorcycle accident. When operating on her, he uses a kind of
our physiological constitution is more markedly felt, which would make horror a bio- genetic intervention that was still experimental, which creates a mutation consisting of a vagina in
horror, actually (2002, p.3). According to him, horror derives from our awareness of the womans armpit, from where a type of syringe comes out to suck her victims blood, spreading
the body as a living organism whose existence does not depend, up to certain point, on a rabies epidemic among the population. The bizarre plot and the presence of a pornstar allowed
our minds designs. This independent existence of the body, related to extreme and no mistake: this was an exploitation film, one of those whose theme is enough to attract big
unavoidable experiences such as pregnancy and labor, dream and nightmare, death and audiences as in fact it did. It is said the film had the biggest box office collection in the history
disease, hunger and defecation etc. would be, according to him, the primary source of of Cinepix and governmental co-producer Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC),
horror fiction. with over seven million viewers throughout the world (RODLEY, 2005, xvii).
Following his line of reasoning, Morgan reminds us that exposed blood, pain and But this was not just a film designed to attract an audience thirsty for blood and sex. We
dismemberment are, for instance, everyday events in our physical life as well as they apprehensively follow the spread of the disease among dozens of characters, something that
might become ghosts in our imagination. In his own words However crude any given reminds us of zombie films; we also see the sad surrender of the victim/villain to her new
occurrence of horror literature might seem, I think there is much to indicate that condition. There are no moral judgments, only the downfall of new bodies carrying irresistible
the horror mythos emerges from the dark backward and abysm of time and reflects homicidal urges. The film escapes the easy moralism usual in exploitation films (generally used to
particular aspects of our bio-existential situation (2002, p.4). For him, therefore, this justify a scandalous production with false redemption messages or sensationalist warnings), but it
also avoids explaining its metaphors too much or deepening its psychological analyses. It is as if This second aspect, by the way, reveals a very specific element of Cronenbergs work: his association
but also internal threats were already present in the problematization of insanity we can see in Laura Cnepa has a doctoral degree in Multimedia by Unicamp (2008), a masters degree in
many of the psychological horror stories from the end of the 19th throughout the 20th century. Communication Sciences by ECA-USP, and has graduated in Journalism at UFRGS. She is
However, in Cronenbergs films here mentioned, psychology seems overridden by the mutating currently professor at Anhembi Morumbi Universitys Masters Program in Communication and a
body, and that will be an essential key to understand most of his future films. member of SOCINEs board of directors. She has several published articles on horror films and
edits the blog Medo de Qu? [Scared of What?] (http://www.horrorbrasileiro.blogspot.com), which
His ideas are clearly discussing modern medicine and its genetic engineering and cloning
contains data on her research on horror in Brazilian cinema.
techniques, as well as the worries that involve communication technologies such as virtual reality.
David Cronenberg and the of a young skin or of machines and metallic prostheses.
biotechnological Cinema
supported by prostheses, long sex scenes inside cars and in medical or driving settings) is found
throughout the entire film, as in an experiment.
Cronenberg has always been fascinated by the medical and scientific imaginary (Videodrome,
by Ivana Bentes Rabid, The Fly, Dead Ringers) and, in Crash, he adds sexual desire aroused by death and danger
to this imaginary. The film has as leitmotif the fetish for death through the re-enactment of
movies stars car crashes (James Deans, Jany Mansfields deaths etc.), in which danger, desire,
The aesthetics of a new sexuality in David Cronenbergs films, especially Crash and eXistenZ. chance, and fatality are at play.
Eroticization and fetishization of the machinic. Body, Cinema, and technological prostheses. The Creating the equivalent of the desired and spectacularized danger in bull-fighting,
biotechnological Cinema. Cronenberg builds a new kind of fetish, intimately related to American culture: death and
desire, the rediscovery of sexuality, among and inside cars that are part of, or stop, the flow of
The relationship between contemporary Cinema and the new technologies (and their over- the city and of desire.
investing of the body) cannot be separated from a scientific and cultural setting that spans over The eroticized eye is awoken by the high dose of violence and eroticism connected to the
many different fields of knowledge: computer science, neurosciences, cybernetics, and design. scene of a car crash. But beyond the scopic, every desire will be made the radical experience
This is made clear by the growing importance of the sciences of life, with metaphors and images of sexuality, carefully and rationally planned and following the rules of a driving game (cars,
originated in biology, industry, and computing. sex, film directing).
Biology as a field of problematization of life brings decisive concepts, such as self- The rules and conditions created by Vaughan to exercise his desire, place his mise-en-scene
organization, morphogenesis, or the neural network model. These ideas, when developed in at the level of an artists or a filmmakers, driving the scene. The character, hyper-sexualized,
the fields of Art and Cinema, produce new effects and discourses. has almost complete control over the conditions of his pleasure, but lets chance (in accidents
We can speak of the emergence, in the 90s, of biological ready-mades, hybrid objects/ that are planned, induced, provoked, or simply enjoyed) act in his favor.
beings created by a revolutionary art that takes biological evolution and the propositions of Desire is never entirely fulfilled and the characters can only repeat, re-enact scenes and
biotechnology as issues to be discussed by Cinema, not only in the production of new images experiences that might be conducive to the exercise of such desire. Maybe next time say
and imaginaries but also of new aesthetics. Digital image itself today acquires features of a living the characters at the end.
being through the production of images by metamorphoses, anamorphoses, with programs The camera in the film is cold, distant, and hyper-realistic. Camera that both slides across
capable of self-organization, evolution, and individualization, producing living images. and caresses surfaces, wounds, tattoos, wreckages, or shiny hoods. A metallic sensuality that
If today we can speak of a post-biological development of life (clones, prostheses, implants) marks the images.
that co-evolves with technology, we can also speak of a co-evolution of Art with the technologies The film works with a series of senses: hearing, as in the sex scene when the woman arouses
resulting from certain bio-aesthetics, an aestheticization of life. her partner describing an imaginary sex scene between Vaughan and him. Or when she describes
The problematization of the machinic and of life by contemporary Art is symptomatic his scars and the smell of sperm in his car seat. Pleasure is also connected to pain, to danger,
of the passage from the industrial and mechanical model to biotechnological models. Steven to the suffering of a body that was made machine or dehumanized. The beauty of a used and
Rooks Evolutionary Art Imaginaire creates, for instance, a family tree of the digital image. marked body, a hybrid of flesh and metal drives the film away from any glamorous fetishization
Images that are created, that are born, grow up, reproduce (through cloning or mutations), of the grotesque or of sado-masochism.
grow old and die according to a genetic logic and its DNA sequence. A Darwinian aesthetics The impact of the technological over the characters bodies through probes, technical
that starts in a primeval soup made of mathematical equations that give rise to different shapes objects, visual and movement devices, scalpels and instruments that cut into the flesh point
and colors. Image takes on characteristics of living forms the same way the living become an to a Cinema in which the artificial and the intervention, the framing and the modeling are
aesthetic object. incorporated as biotechnology, as extensions of the senses.
Something similar happens today when the body-prosthesis becomes the support of Art or a Sex is mediated by objects and machines that are not there to help pleasure but to,
character in a film, when a technical and aesthetic use of its functions is made (eye movements, paradoxically, create a new obstacle to the exercise of desire. New use of pleasures. Crash
heart beats, organs pulses, blood pressure, fluids) or when the body becomes a hybrid object was accused of being pornographic, but its images are not of easy digestion, even though
as in David Cronenbergs films (Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Crash, and eXistenZ), being Cronenberg actively tried to excite or touch the audience in an unusual way.
affected by implants, working with synthetic components, prostheses when technology is Its character cannot be ethically condemned for they only put their own bodies at risk. They
implanted into the flesh, producing an amplified body, upgraded. What bio-technology are searching for extreme experiences and interfusion and hybridization between the human
questions is the very definition of what is human. body and other interfaces (cars, devices, instruments). Interfusion and extremes Cronenberg
In David Cronenbergs Crash, this new interface of Cinema is related to the possibility of portrayed in films like Dead Ringers (interfusion of two brothers), M. Butterfly (fusion man-
experiencing a new form of sexuality and subjectivity: machinic, pierced by tragedy and fetish. woman), and Videodrome (fusion man-TV). His characters then become hybrids and extensions
In the film, the characters quest for a new eroticism and certain eroticization of the city of machines, invested of affection and desire.
132 | DAVID CRONENBERG
and of machines goes through the modification and reshaping of bodies and of sight. Crash Cronenberg portrays this fascination with transgressive adventures, the presupposed content
explores the scopic drive and the eroticization of the eye that enjoys seeing the metallic surface of eroticism is the conquering of limits: ecstasy, vertigo, excess, everything according to rules
of cars (new and used, in dealerships or destroyed in accidents that expose the wreckage of their and directed. The end of the frontiers between nature and culture, human and unhuman, the
structures and gears). conscious and the unconscious.
It also explores the bodys pierced, sewn, smooth and rugged surface: surgical scars, tattoos, If the fetishist imagination works to fill some emptiness, some absence, something missing,
punctures, genital openings in contrast with smooth bodies and the silky and sparkling surface Cronenberg works to build a new sexuality, changing and ambiguous. Crash is one these mise-
en-scenes of desire. Here Cinema emerges as a perspective that produces and arouses in the Even in M. Butterfly, Cronenbergs film in which the technological imaginary is not
The idea of a shared virtual reality, being real for being experienced collectively, is in
eXistenZ. Here, the possibility of uploading data directly into the brain, changing the reference
to an external imposing reality, and the possibility of sharing this second reality (mental
experiences that affect the body) in an indiscernible way: real/fiction, real/virtual, everything
is mixed in a way in which the real and the virtual become one single reality: the experience
of here and now.
You are not yourself:
this film, which he considers his first one, that Cronenberg presents us for the first time the
future when women are not shown (are they extinct?) and men still perform experiments of mutation. The question that remains for the audience is: if the infected had received implants
dermatological character (an excuse to make patients feminine by putting make-up on him and the same way Rose did, would we have seen so much panic and death?
painting his fingernails, trying to make him a surrogate woman from the androgynous being This question pervades almost all of Cronenbergs filmography. In Videodrome, it is not
he already is?). corporeal, it is purely medical: it enters the realm of technique. We are in 1982, the start of
But it will be in Shivers his most daring expedition to the domains of the body. It is in the so-called video clip era and the moment in which emerge, in music, the second punk-
rock generation and, in literature, the cyberpunks, all having essentially the same influences
(Williams Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch, which Cronenberg would adapt years later, was themselves are carved out by them, centered on them. In this sense the organism is not thrown into
an organic form and a hostile environment. Unlike this approach, which he defines as physical or psychic nature that he might have with homosexuality for the good of the cause.
mechanicist, Canguilhem argues that, if we consider the organism-environment relationship as He comes out of one closet to get into another, the secret agents: changed identities, slowly
the consequence of a truly biological activity, dissolved, lost in a game of spies.
In Crash, perhaps Cronenbergs most technological film, the fetish for the machine is taken
as the search for a situation in which the living being receives, instead of submits to, influences to its last consequence sex and death are again intertwined explicitly, without theorizations,
and qualities which meet its demands, then the environments in which the living beings find with images both explicit and stylized. Masturbations and copulations abound in Crash, even
though genitals are not exposed (not male ones, anyway female pubic hairs are timidly shown narrative gradually makes it harder to distinguish one brother from the other, as we can see after
he seems not to notice it, as in the quick dialogue after an award ceremony: Cronenberg does not work with the gore characteristic of his first productions anymore; it
is as if less and less the need to externalize the visual contents of a possible dream is felt but
Elliot: You should have been there! issues of identity are still present.
Beverly (smiling): But I was. Just like in Spider, in which a man who spent half his life confined in a prison for the
mentally ill, accused of killing his own mother, still insists with his incoherent speech that the
What seems only a remark said with irony slowly becomes something bigger. The films one responsible for the crime is actually his father (Freud once again takes the stage: is this true
or is this the son trying to kill his father, perhaps symbolically, after having already killed his
The Cronenberguian
Teratology: or Walking
most radical form in the absolute denial of a mans past in crime and in the construction of an
entirely new personality: a peaceful shopkeeper and a model husband and father.
References
BROWNING, Mark. David Cronenberg: Author or Filmmaker? Bristol: Intellect, 2007.
CRONENBERG, David. Interviews with Serge Grnberg. Londres: Plexus, 2006.
and Cronenberg
FREELAND, Cynthia.Penetrating Keanu: New Holes, but the Same Old Shit. In: The Matrix and
Philosophy. (ed. William Irwin). Illinois: Carus Publishing Company, 2002. by Ieda Tucherman
Fbio Fernandes is professor in the Department of Computer Science and in the Graduate The sleep of reason produces monsters, Goya
Program in Intelligence Technologies and Digital Design (TIDD) at PUC-SP and also of Letters
and Social Sciences at Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). He is a Doctor in It would be correct, but not exact, to remember the timeless fascination we feel with the
Communication and Semiotics by PUC-SP and in currently a post-doctoral fellow at ECA-USP on real or imaginary presence of monsters; it would also be useful to remember Cinema as an heir
language on Twitter. He has translated about one hundred books among which are A Clockwork
of the old Victorian freak-shows so that we can begin discussing the presence of monsters
Orange, by Anthony Burgess, Neuromancer, by William Gibson, and the Books of Blood, by Clive
Barker. He is the author of Interface com o Vampiro (2000) A Construo do Imaginrio Cyber in Cronenbergs extensive filmography, especially in the films we are about to discuss: Shivers
(2006), A Construo do Imaginrio Ciborgue (upcoming) e Fragmentos Sobre o Twitter (2011). (1975) and The Fly (1986).
Certainly the potentialization of our senses, fear, horror, attraction, as well as the spectacles
function are very well explored in both films, even if with we consider that the first, Shivers,
which was Cronenbergs first attempt at the seventh art, have certain details and scenes that
could have been better developed if we were to adopt a more critical approach. In this case,
the originality of the screenplay and of the plot makes up for the lack of the experience. In The
Fly, the special effects and the entire technical logic are mastered to such a degree that they are
acknowledged and reverenced by Hollywood.
However, what is most interesting about Cronenbergs monstrology surpasses to a great
extent this first impression. What we find there an acid and radical dialogue with our times,
associated to an acute perception of the genealogy that made it possible. The questions our
director cant stop asking are: to what extent can we modify ourselves and still be human?
What is the limit of our humanity? Questions that perhaps involve the most serious political
decisions the bio-technological procedures (transplants, cloning etc.) entail: are we the last
step in the evolution of all species or just one of its steps, not the last and not even the most
perfect one?
In this sense, the first and most immediate consideration regarding Cronenbergs relation
to our present lies in two issues: the place of the body and of science with its life-related
technologies, its conduction and altering of our everyday life, on one hand, and the influence
of medical images on cultural ones, on the other. In short: David Cronenbergs monsters, even
if only present in his filmic fiction, are biotechnological ones.
That is to say that they are not unreal creatures born in our old myths, even though they are
associated with them in an important way: in mythology, monsters were creatures that mixed
elements from different natures, men and animals (Minotaur), men and gods (Centaurs) etc.
142 | DAVID CRONENBERG
In this sense, they were transgressions to the rules of nature, as much as they would later be
transgression of the rules of classification, being simply labeled abnormal. Transgression by
the way explained in the myths as the desire to created the inexistent, to steal from the gods,
from divine origin, the ability to create. Prometheuss stealing of fire, sung by Aeschylus, shows
the Titans gesture of giving us the transformative fire as well as his punishment for doing so.
Cronenbergs monsters indicate a new scenario, making it a curious synthesis. We live in what in fact happens and that is where Mary Shelley makes an extraordinary reference to the
Dream. Well, this horror story has also become the first sci-fi work, the first narrative in which insignificant accident; the scientist himself, Seth Brundle, is altered by his experiments. He,
dead or inert matter is brought to life through hypotheses and procedures related to scientific when testing his teleporting machine capable of de-materializing something in one telepod
logic. And so the text shows, and associates, the issues the issues that still reflect over the and re-materializing it in another starts suffering irreparable genetic mutations. He then
relationship between humans and unhumans, automatons or post-humans. And they would becomes Brundlefly, a monstrous hybrid being, product of an unlikely mistake, a single,
be: the ex-nihilo creation of life and the panic that such radical transgression might lead undesired, and unreproducible event: a manfly. As Georges Steiner reminded in a conference
humanity to its ruin; the terrifying suspicion that the creature might turn against its creator in Lisbon, in July 2008: The incomparable, the undecyphered, the undetermined are not
On Doctors, Monsters,
historical accidents to be overcome. They are in the heart of scientific endeavor; they are
and Technologies:
At first, Seth does not understand what is happening to him; only when the computer that
organizes the experiment detects the presence of two distinct genetic codes and its interfusion
he understands what happened: the odds! As a scientist he can observe flies, but he had
never lived like one of them. Actually, one the films strongest features are the scenes of Seth
Brundle becoming Brundlefly, being actor Jeff Goldblum perfect in the role and the makeup,
horrendously stupendous.
contemporary anxieties
There is also a love affair, as it is usually convenient in any story, between the scientist and
an ambitious journalist interested in a great article, who just came from an affair with her
by Lilian Krakowski
chief-editor. The emotional entanglement affects the scientist: Seth decides to test teporting An artists distinctive mark is his ability to capture usually unconsciously and creatively
on himself experiment previously conducted on a baboon yet to be examined after re- change the great issues of his time. This change or creation acquires reflexive effects on the
materializing an impulse caused by jealousy. Those are proper circumstances to show the same culture that made them possible and that, as a result, is continuously changing. A process
ideas of secrecy and spectacle involving the scientists experiment, journalists and peoples similar to the one observed in science. It does not happen by accident and its progress is not
lives. deterministic, pre-established by an idea of progress derived from its essence. Science, just like
The journalist records and tapes Seths experiments and path, except the one to which he art, responds to the anxieties and issues of the time and, in a dialectical movement, produces
subjects himself for having thrown her out in a fight; but even then he uses her equipment to new inflections, reflections and issues. For this reason it is impossible to dissociate culture,
record and tape what he is doing. This reminds us, in a re-interpreted way, of Ishmael in Moby society, art, and science. All theses instances are intertwined and constantly reflect one another.
Dick, Melvilles extraordinary novel, the last to board the whale boat and the only one left to One of the features of a work of art is the multiplicity of reflections and perspectives that it
tell the story. But in her case, she is not the only one left: there is a baby being conceived, Seths brings us. The Brood is a film pregnant with and without the pun with possibilities of this
child, and we cannot be sure whether it was conceived before or after the interfusion of genetic kind. The reflections in this article do not intend to exhaust them, contemplating just a few of
codes. Seth seems to believe it was conceived after, and at certain point talks of a new family the many aspects it presents. Rabid, which chronologically precedes it without strictly being
that would also start a new species. a great film when contrasted and compared with The Brood makes the development of some
Cronenberg does not answer the question: will she have the abortion Seth previously other ideas possible.
stopped or not? If the baby is born, is it human or hybrid? These are very important questions Themes of hybridization of body-science-technology are present throughout Cronenbergs
because if in the crime stories characteristic of our modernity the question is always who is work who, as an artist, captured one of the greatest anxieties of our time regarding the possible
the criminal? for science fiction what matters is: to what species does it belong? manipulations of nature, if one may use the term nature to human beings. I assume here that
Pointing to Steven Shaviros text, one of Cronenbergs enthusiasts, the miseries and the the human phenomenon always and necessarily implies the existence of a culture, and that
sufferings of Cronenbergs protagonists cannot be defined in terms of lack () they do perish any culture produces its technologies and techniques on many different levels. Techniques or
from ungratified desire, but from bodily fulfillment even to excess. technologies are not necessarily machines.
In conclusion, Cronenberg makes us think about the proximity of the laboratory to myths So, just like other auteur works, both Rabid and The Brood have some common aspects: the
and madness as well as about the relevant issues for todays critical thinking, the question first has as starting point creations that get out of their creators control doctors inventing new
Michel Serres has already asked: is our knowledge on a par with our powers? techniques and ultimately control them. The second interesting aspect is that, even though
doctors powers are questioned, the director does not demonize doctors themselves. They are
References: looking for the solution of certain mental or physical conditions; it is true that they are seeking
BRAGANA DE MIRANDA, Jos. Corpo e imagem. Lisboa: Editora Veja, 2008.
profit and power but they are not portrayed as villains. In a non-Manichean way with their
FOUCAULT, Michel. Les anormaux. Paris, Gallimard- Le Seuil, 2001.
MICHAUD, Yves. O corpo e as artes visuais. In: CORBIN, Alain; VIGARELLO, Georges. (Orgs). patients, subjects, and experiments they are trapped by their own creations. The common
Histria do corpo, volume III. Petrpolis: Editora Vozes, 2008. aspect regards different concrete presentations of aggressive behavior. In Rabid it is epidemic,
MOULIN, Anne Marie. O corpo diante da medicina. In: CORBIN, Alain; VIGARELLO, Georges. organically contagious, similar to rabies, animal. The first stage of its manifestation reminds us
(Orgs). Histria do corpo, volume III. Petrpolis: Editora Vozes, 2008. of vampirism more than rabies, and not sexual desire. Even though transmission happens by
SERRES, Michel, claircissements, entretiens avec Bruno Latour. Paris: Flammarion, 1992. attacking others, the symptoms do not suggest anger or hatred. In The Brood, on the other
SHAVIRO, Steven. The Cinematic Body. Minneapolis: Minnesota U.P., 1994. hand, hatred is materialized corporeally or in the creation of bizarre beings.
STEINER, Georges. A cincia ter limites? Lisboa: Fundao Calouste Glubenkian, Gradiva, 2008. Another common aspect bringing both films together is certain perception of the woman as
TUCHERMAN, Ieda. Breve histria do corpo e de seus monstros. Lisboa: Editora Veja, 1999. a potentially dangerous entity. More specifically, the danger is in some feminine aspects related
TUCHERMAN, Ieda. Novas subjetividades: Conexes intempestivas. In: Revista de Comunicao e to sexual elements or to displaced and transformed genitals, always in a bizarre way. In Rabid
Linguagens. Lisboa: Ed, Relgio dgua, 2001.
there is the combination of a vagina with teeth dislocated to the armpit and a deadly and
TUCHERMAN, Ieda. Notes for a future anthropotechnology. Rio de Janeiro: UNESCO, ISSC,
EDUCAM, 2003.
contagious phallus, the embodiment of what would correspond in psychoanalytic terms to
146 | DAVID CRONENBERG
the childhood fantasy of a combined parental figure or to the fantasy of parents in sadistic
Ieda Tucherman is professor for the Research and Graduate Studies Program in the intercourse. In The Brood we have an external uterus not requiring the procreation act to
Communication School at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. She has a post-doctoral create monsters, a setting in which the organ is capable of autonomous life and parthenogenesis
degree by IRCAM, Paris, France. She is researcher for CNPq and author of Breve histria do triggered by hatred.
corpo e de seus monstros (Lisboa, Editora Veja, segunda edio 2004), and of several essays on Both characters commit suicide, having themselves voluntarily killed using an Other, from
the technological imaginary, new corporealities, and other subjectivities.
this standpoint a passive agent for exercise of this job. One may wonder if that is another instance verbal thoughts? for having a rigid tongue. Hatred does not allow compromise, soothing or
Negative (Doppelganger)
simultaneously satisfy their technological and erotic perversions which seem to derive, both,
from a concealed homosexual passion. So they use their medical knowledge to explore the
body of an absent or dead mother (their patients) in both senses: as doctor and as lovers.
by Adalberto Mller The feared separation of the psychologically Siamese twins happens when they start having
a relationship with an actress (Claire), who sparks in Beverly an unstoppable passion. To try
and contain the anguish of choosing between separating from his brother or from his lover,
The way in which the relationship between Cinema and Psychoanalysis haunts some Beverly goes deep into psychotropics and other drugs, in which he is followed by Elliot, who,
of David Cronenbergs films (especially Dead Ringers and Spider) reminds us that such as a twin, fells the need to mimic his brother. Drugs and jealousy will end up corroding all their
relationship constitutes another History of Cinema, one that can be understood from the relationships (as it happens in many films about drug addicts since Easy Rider) and will cause
Freudian repression in relation to Cinema i.e., his preference for Literature (including here madness and death.
Greek Mythology) in detriment of a media that would be called, not accidentally, the couch The relationship between Beverly and Elliot reminds us of many Doppelganger films and
of the poor, according to Felix Guattaris expression. As Friedrich Kittler demonstrates in stories.
his controversial essay Romanticism Psychoanalysis Cinema, Cinema effects, at the Beverly is hard-working, honest, shy, and fragile; Elliot is expansive, seducing, a bon vivant.
time of Psychoanalysis advent, the presentification of the mechanisms of the unconscious, Just like in other stories of doubles, we sometimes see Beverly working at his desk while Elliot
through procedures such as the flash-back and the close-up (besides all the tricks of Mlis seems to be almost stealing what Beverly refrains from: women, luxury, and fame. But
& Co., and editing effects). But Kittler also reminds us that Psychoanalysis and Cinema precisely for being the weakest one, it is Beverly (the sentimental) and not Elliot (the stud) who
are internal issues of the theory of Cinema that is developed shortly after its birth, with wins Claires love, causing Elliots fatal wrath.
Hugo Mnstenbergs theory of psychotechnology (of 1916) and with Freudian disciple Otto Much could be said about the exquisite choice of costume (by Denise Cronenberg), about
Ranks study over the film The Student of Prague (1913). The first version of Ranks study, Der the careful and dark art direction; about the almost cynical way with which Cronenberg
Doppelgnger, or the double, was published in Psychoanalysis magazine Imago in 1914. reveals the doctors private lives and the backstage of science; about Jeremy Irons double or
In Brazil, it is worth mentioning, Arlindo Machado, in Prcinema e Ps-cinemas (1997), even quadruple acting (when Beverly disguises as Elliot and vice-versa); about the mirrored
has also noted that Freuds forgetting of Cinema is right, when one considers a perspective construction of fore and backgrounds etc. Aesthetically, Cronenberg is, as usual, impeccable,
in which the spoken word and hearing as the privileged instruments to access the disorders of and perhaps in this film, he reached the peak of his mastery over narrative and filmic technique
the unconscious and that without saying a word about the literary examples in Freuds The (if one thing can be separated from the other). But there are two things, among many others,
interpretation of Dreams and other essays. that cannot be left unsaid about this distressful film.
When he writes about The Student of Prague, Freudian Otto Rank goes from a brief analysis One is the reference to Siamese brothers Eng-Chang, narrated at the end of the film when
of the film and of Cinema which he congratulates as being capable of showing the issue of Elliot and Beverly start using those names. This is one of the most curious medical and social
the doppelganger in a clearer way to a discussion of all the Romantic-Gothic literature cases of the 19th century. The brothers Eng-Chang, whose bodies where united by a membrane
regarding the issue of the double. We may consider the double, Doppelgnger in German, at chest height, were brought from Siam to the United States in 1829, and became object of
as the issue in Cronenbergs Dead Ringers; as in E.T.A. Hoffmans The Lost Reflection; Edgar medical, philosophical or even political debates for more than 50 years both in the US and
Allan Poes William Wilson; Dostoyevskys The Double; and Guy de Maupassants The Europe. Their case caused perplexity not only in physiologists, but questioned some ideals of
Horla. A first glance at this panorama of Cinema, The Student of Prague tells the story of a individuality that were part of the Industrial Era. After a life of traveling, exhibitions, fame
man who sees his double get out of the mirror, being tormented by this bizarre and frightful and decline, the Siamese brothers died mysteriously: it is believed that Eng died terrified after
creature until he decides to kill it, which results in his own death. As is the Gothic stories realizing that he had, by his side and within, a dead body. This doubt still intrigues people
of doppelgangers and in Dead Ringers in the 1913 German silent film the double is a studying the case.
destructive threat (a death drive, Todestrieb, defines Rank, complement of narcissism). The The other is the predominantly filmic character the stories about doubles took after the
fact that it is erroneously considered a precursor of horror films can be used in a positive way to invention of Cinema. The release of The Student of Prague contained a warning that would
define Cronenbergs Cinema, which simultaneously derives from the gothic grotesque (hence be repeated by Otto Rank in his study of the Doppelganger: only in Cinema can the heros
certain horror atmosphere, which is oftentimes just a climax) and from psychoanalytical doppelganger be adequately portrayed, in contrast to Theater which had to show two
arabesque. different actors. Cinema itself, in its constitution, can be technologically understood from the
Such as in Poes stories, called Tales of the grotesque and arabesque, the gothic atmosphere perspective of the double. Because the film is born as double: positive and negative, the negative
is dissolved into rational arabesque and vice-versa, making Cinema range from a pure disappearing to become positive, just like the foetus papyraceus our probable twin, according
sensorial spectacle (visual-sound) to a deep and calculated dive into the human psyche. But in to certain gynecological theory, that we kill in the uterus disappears, and with it the primal
Cronenberg there is a new element, which transcends the pair literary/philosophic, grotesque/ record of the light that wrote the images. After this double film (the positive) is created, it can
arabesque: the technological element, or Cinema itself, with all its tricks. And, besides the be replicated into numerous copies of itself.
150 | DAVID CRONENBERG
psychoanalytical issue itself (in Dead Ringers as well as Spider), what is there presented are Spider seems to begin where Dead Ringers ends, i.e., in madness; it is as if Beverly, years
psychiatric and medical issues. after separating from his Siamese brother, came back as Dennis Clegg, a character who has
If I am not mistaken, the origin of Twins is the story of gynecologist brothers Cyril and schizophrenia and has just left the hospital where he had been for the last 20 years. Actually,
Stewart Marcus, from New York, who both committed suicide in 1975, and whose story when the film begins, with a very odd subjective camera (showing something essentially
became the novel Twins, by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland (1977). In Cronenbergs film, the ordinary in Cinema, the arrival of a train!), it is unclear who Dennis Clegg is or what he is
gynecologist twins are Beverly and Elliot Mantle, played (as it is always the case in films with doing. We are facing not reality (Cronenberg hates the idea that Cinema represent reality) but
something that looks like a drain, a drain through which reality escapes us at every moment. I MACHADO, Arlindo. Pr-cinema e Ps-cinemas: Campinas: Papirus, 1997
symptoms of our civilizations discontent, we must believe that each one of us answers, in investing this body of new and particularly intense forms. Moreover, Cronenbergs work offers
our own way, the beautiful and sleeping secrets of the abyss of the soul and of the human body. us material to think about the filmic experience itself and its role in a culture pervaded by
audiovisual technologies. In this sense, my main objective in this article is to illustrate the
References potentiality of the discussion present in his work through the analysis of two films that are close
KITTLER, Friedrich. Romanticism Psychoanalysis Film. In: Literature, Media, Information Systems. not only in a temporal dimension, but also for their adoption of genre and narrative models
Amsterdam: F+B Arts: 1997. characteristically associated with mass Cinema. In Scanners and The Dead Zone we can find
some of Cronenbergs central themes, there represented in visual and narrative forms that are, as repulsive but also extremely beautiful. The clash of extreme and opposing forces (the horrific
betrays a fascination with transgressive mental invasion: the appetite for invading and the fear the body of its consumer. In its visual and sound emissions, it scans us as it is scanned by us.
of being invaded. Its images penetrate us, impregnating our minds and establishing an almost direct connection
Such panic, just like an invisible force that acts from the inside out, is explicitly figured by with our nervous system a connection such as sci-fi fantasies suggest to exhaustion as to a
the many violent scenes of bodies blowing up. In one of the films most striking moments, the hyper-technological future (and such as Cronenberg himself suggests in eXistenZ). With its
scanner Darryl Revok penetrates the mind of a Consec employee making his skull blow up an disturbing images, its effects and illusions, Scanners stages the subversive powers of Cinema. It
effect created by Chris Walas from Lucasfilm, and defined by Cronenberg himself as incredibly is, above all, a sensorial film, penetrating our minds and bodies without escapes of any kind.
In The Dead Zone, on the other hand, the theme of the technological transformation of one, a possible dilation of sight, whereas in the other, a lengthening of hearing.
in its highest level but in which Johnny is still essentially an observer and motionless, as in the search for safety and comfort. The Dead Zone hence allows us to see the greatness of
the traditional audience of a filmic experience. It is in this sense, as has already been said, Cronenbergs work, even from a more conventional and mainstream standpoint. Power that
that we can compare The Dead Zone to Scanners: if in the first we have a telepath tortured by resides in the creative powers of sight, and in the involvement of the body with images.
visions that tell him dark futures, in the second we have a paranormal man tortured by his Perhaps what most brings The Dead Zone and Scanners together is what Steven Shaviro
continuous (involuntary) hearing of other peoples thoughts. In both films, in which psychic points out as an essential trait in Cronenbergs poetry: the collapse of the duality of body
powers constitute a central theme, we find a reflection on the extension of human senses: in and mind, thought and matter. If Cinema is made, as suggested by Hugo Mnsberg, of the
representation through images of emotions and mental faculties (e.g. memory and attention), insect-like creature (the word he uses is Ungeziefer not necessarily a cockroach but certainly
David Cronenbergs
Martinelli typewriter, belonging to the other in the plot, found in Northern Africa. In any
case, the one who writes is dehumanized whatever the typewriter and whatever the mechanism
Machinic Cinema
at play: censorship, blocks, or even, as Fernando Pessoa would say, the being-others that certain
forms of writing make possible.
Still regarding writing and, more specifically, language games, there is in the film a very
elucidating scene: Lee talks to another writer at a market in Northern Africa. We can then see
by Maria Cristina Franco Ferraz a disjunction between what is said and what is not, between what is being said and what one
really means. What is actually being said here is telepathically perceived, read on the lips;
Naked Lunch takes us to Williams Burroughs novel of the same name. The film quotes something very well done in the film when the sound of the voice gets out of sync with the
at the beginning Burroughs following words: Hustlers of the world, there is one Mark you images of the characters lips. This is what the voice, after or before the lips move, say: love
cannot beat: the Mark inside However, such interiority can lead us off the track, for Naked affairs are usually mingled with cruelty, murder, and cannibalism, which is by the way the case
Lunch is not about a psychic or psychological instance. It is about a machinic interiority. The of some species of insects. The writer is telepathically telling Bill and the audience that his
film suggests the treatment of the unconscious as machinic, not allowing psychologizing relationship with a woman (the same Joan) is a constant nibbling away at her self-esteem and
interpretations. On the one hand, by the presence of live and mutating typewriters that can sanity. But we need to know how hear that (and see it in the film). More importantly, she is
speak and write, replacing writers. On the other, even more explicitly still, through character also a writer and the only one who writes by hand because, she claims, machines intimidate her.
158 | DAVID CRONENBERG
William (Bill) Lees ironic line, directed to the Clark-Nova typewriter (when it talks to him There is still a key scene on the literary machine: a talk between some friends and Lee
about guilt): Save the psychoanalysis for your grasshopper friends! in a bar. In this talk, the film weaves the threads of this interpretation. What is in debate
Another important literary reference in the film is Kafka. When Joan, Bills wife, drugs among them is: the sense in endlessly rewriting a text as an expression of the desire to have
herself with his insecticide, she comments on her Kafkian highs: a Kafka high: you feel like control and balance. For one of them, this action is seen as sin or guilt because it hinders the
a bug. In Kafkas famous The Metamorphosis, in which Gregor Samsa wakes up as an emergence of your most honest, primitive, real thoughts. Therefore rewriting would be
the same as cheating. The film pays tribute to Burroughs, proposing writing that escapes the
control of consciousness, of rationality. Only then we would be outside the socially shared writers gets intermingled with the persecution of homosexuals hence giving rise to our third
giving yourself over to being a writer. deuses (Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumar, 1994 and Paris: Harmattan: 1998), Plato: as
We must also note that Jews, homosexuals, gypsies and resistance members is general were artimanhas do fingimento (Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumar, 1999) and Nove variaes sobre
eliminated in concentration camps during World War II by means of an insecticide (Ziklon B) temas nietzschianos (Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumar, 2002).
memory still flesh in 1953, year in which the film happens materializing the implacable logic
of their equivalence to bugs. There are at least two characters from Interzone with German
accents (Hans and Fedela, Dr. Benways disguise). The political persecution of obscene
The Lubricated Gears:
cooperation during traffic, and it symbolizes the uterus that envelops and protects us. However,
Cronenberg, Cars, and of desire and the fluid of jealousy and also alethotop inasmuch as it is through the accident
that truth is revealed. Besides being a space that contains a container the car is a prosthetic
Super-excited Bodies
extension that magnifies the mediation, in which the entanglement between body and technical
structure makes the driver a cyborg.
I emphasize the erotop. We know there a popular attraction for the idea of sex in movement,
by Guillermo Giucci especially for young people, due to the mobility and privacy inside the car. This is available for
trips, picnics, parties, and bars, lengthening the reach of love conquest. Even though inside the
vehicle freedom of movement is restrained: it is difficult to avoid frictions and contacts. American
An aspect of horror, and certainly my films, is revulsion. I have to tell people that some of the things filmmaking portrayed such combination of mobility and sexuality in films like Saturday Night
they think are repulsive in my films are meant to be repulsive, yes, but theres a beautiful aspect to them Fever, with quick couplings, and Titanic, in which the heroine loses her virginity inside a car in
as well. David Cronenberg the luxurious transatlantics garage.
Crash takes the combination of mobility, sexuality and death to extremes. From the balcony
Two girls hitch-hike on the side of a road, wearing tight shorts and semi-open shirts in of the main characters apartment can only be seen highways and cars, and inside the house
summertime, when a trailer-truck passes and picks them up. They get in trailer, furnished like a all that is discussed is cars, accidents, and sex. The crashes sought for are the adrenaline of an
home, and give themselves away to pleasure in the arms of one of FastCos racing cars mechanics overprotected society. Crashing is like penetrating and coming. The moment of the oceanic
while another one drives. This is a scene in Fast Company, a film produced by David Cronenberg feeling happens when machines and over-stimulated bodies collide. Bodies deformed by car
in 1979, showing how the good life before the advent of AIDS: instant, carefree sex between crashes have lubricated sex, with fast penetration and orgasmic release. More than beauty, what
young people in movement. The party-like, luminous, and ephemeral side of sexuality, with excite the characters are physical stigmas, danger, voyeurism, and release from violent death.
something of the ironic speed of sex encounters in A Clockwork Orange, even though devoid of Much could be said about the scars, as symbolically important as the one that marks Ulysses
the element of drama found in The Last Tango in Paris. body in Homers Odyssey. It is enough to mention that, in Crash, the scar works as a form of sexual
In Fast Company there are two types of racing cars: the super-fast cars that reach 400km/h in attraction. Not only does it remind of what happened the crash experienced but also celebrates
30 seconds and are stopped by parachutes; more than automobiles, they look like rockets sliding it as a way of life. We can then easily notice that we are far from the elegant or perfect crime, or
on a straight paved road in the middle of the desert. And also the tuned cars with powerful from the elaborate strategy of Hitchcocks Dial M for Murder. Life also cannot be understood as
engines, roaring like lions, called funny cars. In this case, funny does not have its usual playful slow process of dying in good health, as in a long stay in a hospital, as the preservation of being at
sense but alludes to strangeness, strange pleasures. any cost: the body is the home of excitement and release.
But what does strange pleasures mean? According to psychoanalysis, strangeness means Our dearest conceptions the sanctity of life, love, the bourgeois family, and protection against
something somewhat surprising that affects things familiar since immemorial times. According to physical and moral suffering are ruthlessly questioned in this film. There is a certain familiarity
Freud, the discomforting becomes the sinister when childhood repressed complexes are brought for the directors of the unpleasant: Crash is the Canadian, American version of Pasolinis Sal.
out by an external impression. And, of all the feelings that affect human beings since remote times Who says this is Cronenberg himself: an aspect of horror, and certainly my films, is revulsion.
none is more important than our relationship with death. We can understand, consequently, this I have to tell people that some of the things they think are repulsive in my films are meant to be
aspect of Cinema capable of causing such strange pleasure: the showing of dark images related to repulsive, yes, but theres a beautiful aspect to them as well.
mutations and deaths. Cinema shows what writers such as Raymond Roussel and Franz Kafka present in literary
When English writer James Ballard published his novel Crash, in 1973, he presented a dystopic fiction: surreal, dismembered, useless machines. These authors turn the ordinary reality of
fiction: society in paraphilia (parallel, alternative love). The controversial book talks about the machines into extravagant situations, explained by a lexicon of sophisticated and delirious
problem of a society dominated by the marriage of reason and nightmare, and explores the rationalism. Kafkas murderous punishment machine introduced as an example from a perverse
dilemma of the availability of modern technology as a means to spill out our psychopathologies. time in his short story In The Penal Colony (1914) is composed of three parts and is operated
Rebelling against the techniques and perspectives of traditional 19th century novels, Ballard during the execution by a guard who is not aware of the reasons of the sentence. But the objective
used the image of the car as an example of a gigantic disaster, and intended it to be the first is to kill the convict by means of a mechanical inscription of the sentence in his body. As it is usual
pornographic novel based on technology. Ballard warns us against this world dominated by in Kafka, we can multiply the allegoric interpretations without ever reaching a definitive answer.
political and market-oriented fiction: the ultimate role of Crash is cautionary, a warning against In the eccentric aristocrat Raymond Roussels texts prisoners and torments are equally present.
that brutal, erotic and overlit realm that beckons more and more persuasively to us from the However, for this writer, admirer of Jules Verne and Pierro Loti, literary imagination should
margins of the technological landscape. reign absolute over every form of utilitarianism. Roussels writing of repetition and difference,
In Crash, released by Cronenberg in 1996 based on Ballards novel the films main character presented with unquestionable evidence and in minute detail, takes us back to what has been
is even called James Ballard, played by James Spader the car works exactly as the cultural termed articulation of the impossible.
162 | DAVID CRONENBERG
instrument of shock. Let us see Crashs plot summary: After a car crash with a doctor, James Let us see some examples of impossible machines. In Locus Solus (1914), in a country house
Ballard joins a strange group of people, who have as fetish the re-enactment of car crashes and near Paris where millionaire Martial Canterel dedicates his life to science, there is a huge container
their relation to sex. Little by little, Ballard and his wife are introduced to a world of strange carnal full of aqua-micans (sparkling water that, thanks to special oxygenation, allows terrestrial beings
pleasures, always related to sex and cars. to breathe effortlessly immersed in its waves, including the beautiful ballerina Faustine) and a
The car usually provides comfort with sound, it fosters rules and prohibitions that force the giant crystal cage where, thanks to vitalium and resurrectine injections, it is possible to overcome
the rigidity of corpses and give the dead artificial life.
In Crash, the car loses its glamour. This rolling machine-fetish, object of consumption desires on the discovery of lifes essence. It is impossible to associate this discovery with categories such
According to David
continuous transit, of ephemeral interaction: a new spatial configuration typical of late modernity
such as airports, big hotel chains, supermarkets and highways.
Highways are the best example of non-places, they are palimpsests where lonely individuality
recomposes identities and rebuilds relationships. The over-excited bodies express their desires on
public streets and are always looking for others of the same kind. They recognize one another Cronenberg by Evando Nascimento
164 | DAVID CRONENBERG
through their deformities and shortly after fornicate with a desire that is unattainable for
traditional couples. There is a scene in A History of Violence (2005) that was cut out the final editing but is in
It is clear that nobody theorizes over the small death that follows the copulation; or over the loss extras on the DVD version. According to Cronenberg, it is a sequence that has the mark of his
of intensity of the experience with the end of adventure and the predominance of simulacrum. In other films; the scene is shown without any comments on the reason for the strange similarity,
the world of over-excited beings, only super-emotions count. The feeling of excitement confirms but in no way absent in the rest of the film or the film as we find it in its official version. The
our existence. I get excited, therefore I am. This is more than animal instinct; it is a mythology
scene is a nightmare in which character Tom Stall, played by Viggo Mortensen, is followed by powers, assuring the survival of the protagonists. Evil is not a suprassensorial force, not even a
hearing etc. Rhythm appears as music, when it invests the hearing level; as painting, when Berlin. He is the author of Derrida e a literatura, ngulos: literatura & outras artes, Pensar a
it invests the visual level. A logic of sensation, Czanne would say, not cerebral, not desconstruo, among other books. In 2008 he published the fictional work Retrato desnatural
rational. (Record). He is currently professor at Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), and writes articles
and reviews for newpapers in Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo.
This kind of Cinema is not about simply producing fixed forms (genre clichs) but capturing
forces that give visibility to the powers that threaten life, to which life responds with other
Of Dis-Organicity: manipulations, he is driven away from the ordinary path of existence. In The Fly, for instance,
Filmic-Pictoric Becomings
role. And in Crash, the association between car, virility, and the seducing of a woman becomes
an extension of physical power. Videodrome expresses a technological anthropophagism in
which the flesh feeds on the machine to embody a new creature. The same technology, this time
by Eliska Altmann experimented on by Medicine, creates sort of a vampire-girl in Rabid. Shivers, in its turn, tells
the story of a parasite responsible for the transmission of a deadly aphrodisiac sexuality. And
The Brood, the story of a woman who gives birth to her innermost fears in the form of monsters.
For more than 30 years, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenbergs aesthetics has been marked Telepathic powers cause so much physical pain to the characters in Scanners that their heads
by certain kind of fetishism for the body under technological and superhuman interventions. blow up superhuman power that is also present in the ability to see the past, the present, and
While still in college, when he conducted filming experiments such as Stereo and Crimes of the future just by touching people in The Dead Zone. Dead Ringers and Naked Lunch equally
the Future, Cronenberg had already shown his preference for biotechnological concepts both focus on the super-human ability to control, through disfigured bodies, behavior and fate.
from its impact on imagination and its obsession with body-machine hybrids intermingling From such an unusual perspective, the subject seeks the truth not through rules but
sexuality and violence. Even though classified as horror or sci-fi, for exploring some sort of pathology. Under this influence, Cronenbergs images show alterity transfigured not by external
biological horror, Cronenbergs work negates these traditional genres inasmuch as it expresses elements but by the entrails of bodies manifesting potentialities that had been ignored until
a suspension of established codes. In this sense, neither the horror assimilates the ordinary then incipient and frightening possibilities from being part of the world. Forced to coexist
psychological causality nor is the narrative validated by recurring scientific experiments. with the strange that acquires colossal proportions within, Cronenbergs bodies experience a
When portraying a fabulous order, David Cronenberg departs from Hollywoods psychology new condition that through interfusion entails certain being-another of the man-machine,
as the audience does not possess realistic or naturalistic images but hallucinatory and ghostly man-fly, and man-monster. A new third-person or new-I does not emerge from this mixture
ones. Such departure is also seen in the fictional scientificism as it transcends cognizance methods as an absolute or harmonious entity. It is a mixture that does not properly mix, an incongruous
towards dream symbolism. The sentence nothing is true, everything is permitted said at the and irreconcilable hybrid sprung from two potentialities that compete for the same physical
beginning of Naked Lunch is emblematic of such style. There the director orders his narrative space: the I and the Other, the latter being stronger than myself . The hybrid in this case
suspicious of the truth contained in those images, in the characters, and in the narrative itself. becomes synonym of degeneration, locus of technological and organic aberrations that negate
His style subverts mechanisms such as established by mainstream filmmaking, since it cannot asepsis leading to certain excremental becoming, which body exudes bowels and organs affected
be defined from a conventional standpoint. Therefore it would not be imprudent to consider by the artificial. This new subjective setting experiences the helplessness of the body in the face
that Cronenbergs cinema defies established conventions inasmuch as it is, more often than not, of its never before known condition.
offensive to the average audience. One may consider that such experimentalism corresponds to the time-image conception
According to experimental and avant-guard perspectives, one could say that Cronenberg in French philosopher Gilles Deleuzes works. Brought to life by the contrast between classical
rejects bourgeois art even if only from a different political sense. For him, his job is to and contemporary perspectives in Cinema, this conception represents a process of growing
transcend bourgeois conceptions of morality and sexuality through an anti-rational language, complexity sometimes interpreted by Deleuze as Cinema of the body- in which all the
and a relationship with time capable of breaking our everyday perceptive conditioning, thence components of image regroup in the body, and in which a ceremony that invites the liquid
penetrating an ambiguous dimension in between reality and illusion. His experiments present and metallic forces in a body consecrated to horror or repulsion is staged. In such images all
certain duplicity in the characters going through unusual events since the moment they lose the weight of the past, all the tiredness in the world, and the modern neurosis are laid upon
touch with who they are. Swallowed by new corporeal entities, they try to live with another self the body. If, for Deleuze, the experimental Cinema taking part in the time-image is also
brought to life by the hybrid, experiencing a kind of I is Another. the Cinema of the body, one could say that Cronenbergs work is enclosed in this image,
Far from being fixed and determined, the existence as valued from this perspective is invariably ending on the apex of human experience: death or suicide.
part of a becoming. Every moment, infinite possibilities and offered to the I making its When creating the Cinema of a body that is fabulous and rebellious in its nature, David
alterity clearly visible. This way of building subjectivities presupposes rupture with the idea Cronenberg is in accordance with some deep-rooted social myths, inasmuch as that body
of modern man, whose identity is related to assurance certain stability. What happens then represents the dark territory of contemporary thought and culture, departing from certain
is the disowning and dis-identifying of oneself inasmuch as the stable becomes the abode of power mechanisms towards singularity: a paradoxical state that allows the coexistence of
the strange, sustaining an unadapted alterity. Such dis-identification entails tension between both subjectivity and subjection. Place of conflict, Cronenbergs body becomes the target of
the I and the Other, between fate and necessity; tension that hinders any possibility of biological technologies and internal discursive devices. As being a zone of intense receptivity,
determining what is real. Contrary to Cartesian unity which induces rationalization of the it captures a wide range of social forces and implicit codes of conduct spanning from sexual
world Cronenbergs fragmented subject creates multiple interpretations. behavior to multinational financial transactions, aspects that properly describe contemporary
When portraying the estrangements of the I, exposed by a deep materiality of the flesh, life. In this universe, subservience and domination are given new meanings in the form of pain
the director opposes the way in which mainstream filmmaking captures and regulates desire, and pleasure, fetish and sexuality, horror and perversion. Fantasy and materiality, affection and
since it creates a short-circuit in the social logic of information and representation, embodying technology, brain and financial circuits finally coincide. In this kind of ambivalence, however,
168 | DAVID CRONENBERG
an illogical status of physiology and affection as if to open it up to new orders of images behaviors and corporeal functions seem to be at the same time beyond social constructs for
more visceral than representational. The body then becomes the ordinary locus of another exceeding controls, inasmuch as they experience changes that are immanent drives. These,
becoming, where technique directly prevails. notwithstanding being intertwined with the forces of social power and domination, possess
Here commented without greater detail, Cronenbergs films represent carnal fables in which their own and superhuman potentialities.
there arent any limits or taboos but fetish of the technological. Here, the hero is sick. Attacked For feeling dissatisfaction with its own limits, the body in David Cronenbergs Cinema
by parasites, psychosomatic monstrosities, unsuccessful implants, lethal rays, drugs and genetic undergoes constant transcendent and scientific experiments. Such dissatisfaction, mirrored
in the need to incorporate technological devices to attain a higher subjectivity, can be seen and his becoming. In this image, the flesh is the state of the body that, far from being dead,
tries to escape from my body, it is my body that tries to escape itself. is generated by the inorganic. In this fable, in which the I is not only the Other but a
The event produced by Francis Bacons Figure shares of the sensation brought by David multiplicity of possible others, what is interesting is realizing how much the Socratic aphorism
Cronenbergs Cinema. For Deleuze, Bacon is not a painter of faces but of heads, since the face know thyself takes on new meanings. Far from being restricted to itself, the dissolved I
would be a structured spatial organization that covers the head, whereas the head is part of the comprises forces that are as much ours as they are not, in which everything that was previously
body. The spirit that is always present in Bacon is, therefore, its own body; mans animal spirit: considered as exterior experiences its own interiority. The tensional aspect of a broken identity
body-spirit, bull-spirit, dog-spirit. His painting constitutes a zone of indiscernibility of man causes a non-solution, whose identity is always a continuum of dis-identification. For this
reason the subject accepts that there is not an interiority to be related to an exteriority but One could say that eXistenZ is a direct descendant of Videodrome, as well in theme as in
Virtual Subjectivity in New in Cronenbergs films creates a complex metaphor inasmuch as the expression or the desire
of the body is spatialized and accosted by the power of spectacle in a dialectical game of pleasure
in the re-created subject by technology, becoming flexible in matter and made mere vessel for a subjectivity that is alien
to the individual. Such subjectivity is brought by technology just like a mediums body in a
possession.
by Joo Luiz Vieira and For Cronenberg technology may bring possibilities that range from the bizarre to the
ironic in the relationship between body and inorganic object. Something very different from
Luiz Antonio L. Coelho the cyborgs we got used to, which are made to the image of man and that try to reproduce
natures original forms. In Videodrome and eXistenZ body and object merge in a strange
and sometimes repulsive way, leaving aside the quest for the copy of the natural model. Here
Im organic-obsessed. Thats why my technology is all organic. My understanding of technology is the director seems to parody his fellow countryman and famous communication researcher
an extension of the human body. - David Cronenberg Marshall McLuhan, making literal the object as an organic extension, or the environments
prerogative of becoming meaningful in itself also giving the system its meaning. Biological and
David Cronenberg is a visionary auteur; enigmatic and holder of a well-defined theme- mental processes simultaneously acquire a space-time dimension. The topography of the mind
narrative coherence. In eXistenZ, as well as in previous films, the Canadian director talks about acquires a literal spatialization.
the nightmares of the soul and about what is thought as the future of mankind, something eXistenZ takes to its last consequence what Videodrome suggested: the reduction of the
frequently disturbing. Even in films that seem to possess a prospect of their own, such as human experience to certain symbiosis with the media. In his hallucination, the character
172 | DAVID CRONENBERG
M. Butterfly or Naked Lunch, hallucinations and identity or individuality struggles are always Max Renn from Videodrome sees himself as the VCR itself (the tape even comes out of his
present. More recently, however, given the coherence just mentioned, his films have been stomach). In this film, there is also the image of a giant mouth in close-up that seems to
pointing to issues regarding the individuals place in the electronic era: human-technology want to get out of the screen to swallow the character. The device acquires carnal texture and
interfaces or new ontological forms presented through technology redefining another reality materiality with veins and peristaltic movements. This is a relationship that treats the merging
full of virtual beings and landscapes. In this context, some obvious questions that arise are: what with electronic technologies in the most immediate and ambiguous way; certainly a lot less
does it mean to exist in the world we were used to? And what world do we now exist in? reliable than what we had before (movie theaters, television) for there was a physical distance
between the being and his environment. Also in Videodrome, Max Renn uses a gun that is an country surroundings and interiors composed of natural material such as wood, as we can see in
hypnotic messages, The Cathode Ray Mission, also looks like a religious temple or, still, in The matter. In The Fly we can see that the merging of organic matter is more harmonious, but from
Dead Zone when Christopher Walken exposes the presidential candidate. Cronenberg explains different species (animal and human). Following this trend, the merging of two organic matters
that he avoided in eXistenZ any surroundings or objects that are normally associated with sci-fi from different species seems even more integrated in eXistenZ.
movies such as laboratories, computer screens, high-tech and cold cities. Wearing tennis shoes, In Videodrome and eXistenZ, the redesigning of the body and the naturalizing of effects
watches and jewelry was forbidden. Clothing should be plain. He created a sci-fi model based are essential requisites so that the narratives may unfold. In eXistenZ, the new body is created
on subtraction and not on the use of objects codified by the genre. He looked for distance in from the need to build a bioport and plugging the UmbyCord. For Ted Pikul, identified with
the audience, building a bioport in his body happens in an atmosphere of discomfort and Cinema that builds an openly anti-rational discourse an attempt at exposing and ridiculing
the film apparently states our conquest of autonomy in relation to the control of our movement
in those worlds even just as characters there. eXistenZ seems to create a new subject capable
of building and experiencing narratives when associating perception to synesthesia, in a process
similar to the one described in Merleau-Pontys phenomenology, i.e., a process of physiognomic
perception that creates around the subject a world that speaks of the subject to the subject,
and hence situates his own thoughts in the world. But, contradictorily, it also seems like a
The Strange Body: It is of no use, however, to go on delirious accounts of the technical overcoming of this human
by Paula Sibilia selection mechanisms, no longer being able to keep up with the demands of such complex a world
as it is ours. Therefore, to adapt to the hyper-stimulating environment in the wake of the 21st
century, this body would require a fundamental re-engineering. The truly modern subject can
Both in films labeled sci-fi as in the ones labeled horror, Cronenbergs work reveals certain no longer depend on this increasingly obsolete biological equipment; instead, he should make use
aesthetic and thematic options that simultaneously flirt and escape the clichs that characterize of the prostheses and enhancements provided by state-of-the-art technology. In this way, as some
these genres. The human body is usually the stage for such strangeness. Not making use of effects prophets of this apocalypse in reverse say, the human being version 1.0 must be and in fact is
that are usually present in works of these kinds, such as plasticized skins of such ethereal contours being replaced by a shiny version 2.0.
looking as though made of light, or excessively clean and efficient mechanical prostheses or even According to this perspective and thanks to the spectacular progress of computing and the new
the imaginary gooey matter of monsters and aliens this filmmakers work is always about an all sciences of life, we are facing a kind of evolution not merely biological and natural but artificial
too human body. A body that is full of organs and, therefore limited in its earthly imperfections. and post-organic. If today we are still limited to hundreds of trillions of connections between
But this is precisely why the body shown onscreen becomes strange: for being carnal, biological, neurons, for instance, the near future heralds several possibilities of enlarging this basic biological
human. Not for being an ostensive artificialization or a perfect communion with technique, and apparatus. Such as installing small devices in the brain that would interact with the neurons so
not for the intervention of some mysterious extraterrestrial agent, but it is for simply being flesh that we are able to expand our memories and the overall ability to think, as explains one of these
and bones that it becomes frightful. Because it is a set of viscera that incredible live, think and feel. authors, the American Ray Kurtzweil. The same researcher suggests similar recipes to boost all the
For this reason, Cronenbergs films go against those aseptic places and the minimalist purity of other components of the rusty human body, substituting the old biological mechanisms with new
the bodies that in the heart of sci-fi stories, mainly in its audiovisual form and its recent versions. technical devices that would avoid the uncomfortable needs of swallowing, drinking, urinating,
They are more related to the Frankenstein of the 19th century than to the flashing Matrix saga, for and defecating, for example.
instance. Cronenbergs bodies sweat, bleed, are stitched, have sex, following natures implacable Sex is already greatly detached from its biological function, exemplifies Kurtzweil, since we
and deep down inexplicable course. Because anatomy is not an exact science. normally resort to these practices to get intimate and to get sensual pleasure, i.e., for reasons
In the first scenes of The Brood, for example, the audiences eyes are surprised when seeing other than the sacrosanct reproduction. In the same way, we have several methods to generate
small wounds and pustules on a mans shoulders and next a similar biochemical reaction on a babies without the physical act of sex, he explains. This gradual dissociation between sexuality
childs back being soaped in a bathtub. Despite being odd, at first there is nothing supernatural and its biological function has been easily adopted by our society, despite the initial resistance of
or extra-human going on, nor is there anything viscous or looking unreal. Those are just a series certain conservative groups, why not separate the purpose of biology from another activity that
of wounds, cists and protuberances of the kind the human body with all its vital and organic also gives us as much social intimacy as sensual pleasure, say, the act of eating?, the researcher
strangeness usually presents. Everything is trivially carnal: scars, scratches, tumors, lacerations, asks.
copulations, parturitions. But he is not the only one asking this kind of questions or looking for technical solutions
Something similar can also be seen in films such as Videodrome, Crash, Scanners, and eXistenZ, capable of implementing them, and also he is not the only one who ventured to turn these
in which the interfusing of organic matter in the human body and the technological devices is anxieties into several contemporary media and artistic forms. It is time to ask ourselves whether
never perfect or painless be it a simple pistol or a car, or computer, or VCR, or the plug of a very a biped body, that breaths, with binocular sight, and a brain of 1,400 cm3 is an appropriate
advanced videogame. In these cases, contrary to is usually shown in other films of similar kind, biological form, says another representative of this tendency, Australian artist Stelarc. It cant
the man-machine coupling is always problematic in the most basic and trivial level: the flesh that handle the amount, complexity, and quality of the information it has accumulated; its intimidated
suffers violence through technical objects reacts with infections, boils; and pain that cannot be by the precision, by the speed, and by the power of technology and it is biologically ill-equipped
softened. to face its new environment. The human body, such as it stubbornly is, is a structure that is
The surgical instruments that are used by the doctor in Dead Ringers, on the other hand, are not neither very efficient nor very durable; frequently it doesnt work well, Stelarc continues to finish
different from the instruments normally used by gynecologists, and this similarity is exactly what like this: now is the time to re-design human beings, to make them more compatible with their
is disturbing to the audience. After all, considering all the distress that bristles whoever is watching machines.
those disquieting scenes, the rituals performed by the characters in the doctors office are strangely None of that, however, seems to seduce the sharp perspective of this storyteller that is David
familiar. Everyone has had the opportunity to experience them as patients, simply because we Cronenberg, an acute observer of these human bodies that most of us (still?) are. A short true
have bodies today whose matter is (in)compatible with such instruments and rituals. And this story might shed some light on this perspective, which is both aesthetic as it is political, and so
should be enough to cause a feeling of strangeness regarding who we are: a de-naturalization of is full of ethical implications. His 1979 film, The Brood, was censored in Great Britain because
our corporeality in its brutal anatomic condition, pathetically finite and incomprehensible. of an emblematic scene: the one in which Nola delivers a mutant baby. Right after the delivery,
Somehow, it is as if David Cronenberg mocked the theories of the post-human and the the character does something that is part of the row of maternal instincts and that, therefore,
178 | DAVID CRONENBERG
post-biological, so popular nowadays, asserting the priority or even the exclusiveness of the is usually reproduced in the vastness of our planet by the greater part of the mammals here
organic for defining who we are. However, this is not about celebrating or lamenting such finding. inhabiting. In front of the Canadian directors cameras, the woman lovingly licks the newborn
This is only the way things are: we are made of flesh. The bowels are what constitute us, the trying to clean it of blood, placenta, and other substances secreted within herself to give it warmth
director seems to yell in the audiences ears, eyes, and stomachs, without the help of painkillers or and affection. But the impression on the other side of the screen, which made the sequence be
any kind of anesthesia. We are a set of viscera entangled in a temporarily alive and relatively stable censored for going too far in its boldness, was that the woman was eating the newborn creature.
structure. Fragile and strong at the same time, delicate and bestial, crude and full of mysteries. Something that any unhuman monster in any horror film could do, but never this all too human
animal that we so stubbornly are determined to be.
References
KURTZWEIL, Ray. Ser humano verso 2.0. Folha de So Paulo, Caderno Mais!, 23/03/2003; p. 4-9.
STELARC. Das estratgias psicolgicas s ciberestratgias: a prottica, a robtica e a existncia remota.
In: DOMINGUES, Diana (Org.). A arte no sculo XXI: A humanizao das tecnologias. So Paulo:
UNESP, 1997. p. 52-62.
SIBILIA, Paula. O homem ps-orgnico: Corpo, subjetividade e tecnologias digitais. Rio de Janeiro:
Ed. Relume Dumar, 2002.
Paula Sibilia is researcher for CNPq, professor in the Communication Graduate Program and in
180 | DAVID CRONENBERG
the Department of Media and Cultural Studies at Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). She
graduated in Communication and Anthropology at Universidade de Buenos Aires (UBA), has a
masters degree in Communication (UFF), a doctoral degree in Public Health (IMS-UERJ) and in
Communication and Culture (ECO-UFRJ). She is the author of O homem ps-orgnico: Corpo,
subjetividade e tecnologias digitais (Ed. Relume Dumar, 2002) and O show do eu: A intimidade
como espetculo (Ed. Nova Fronteira, 2008.
Patrocnio Banco do Brasil
Distribuio: Universal Pictures Procedncia da cpia: Playarte Sac 0800 729 0722
Procedncia da cpia: Library and Ouvidoria BB 0800 729 5678
Archives Canada Senhores do Crime (2007) 16 Deficientes Auditivos ou de Fala
35mm
0800 729 0088
Distribuio e Cpia: Playarte
184 | DAVID CRONENBERG