Paul Nanu
Eyes Without a Face and Bodies Without Limit. The Actuation of the Mad Scientist
Eyes Without a Face and Bodies Without Limit.
The Actuation of the Mad Scientist
Paul Nanu
University of Alba Iulia, Romania
Abstract
This article aims to analyze literary and visual resorts of the body as an object of pathology, of obsession and revenge as shown in the novels of Jean Redon and Thierry Jonquet and their counterpart in film, represented by Georges Franju and Pedro Almodóvar's creations. Their origins stem from the French noir novel, and as the films mentioned are rather scarcely received, this approach to contextualise the four creations is not necessarily an easy task. Moreover, as critics note, both novels and films have significant bizarre and shocking characters and are not to the liking of all mainstream cinema or literature lovers. We are envisaging a period of half a century, the last half, where the objectification of the body is no longer a novelty; however, the idea of using the (living) body as a source of spare parts or that of arbitrary forced sex change still raise eyebrows, if not even induces distress. The male and female bodies are delimited by an increasingly blurred line, be it cultivation and skin graft or transgender experiment. The selected corpus undoubtedly elicits critical thinking on recent major societal topics. We argue this to be not only an exercise de style but also a rather in depth and symptomatic approach to nowadays uncomfortable new aesthetics.
Keywords: horror, literature, French noir, plastic surgery, Franju
References
Burdeau, E. (2000) Les yeux sans visage. Dossier, BIFI (Bibliothèque du fim).
French, P. (2011) The Skin I Iive In – Review, in The Guardian, August 28th 2011, www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/28/skin-live-in-almodovar-review [May 14th 2024]
Jonquet, T. (2011) Mygale, Editions Gallimard, Folio Policier, Paris.
Pouy, J.-B. (2016) Une brève histoire du roman noir, Points Policier.
Redon, J. (1959) Les yeux sans visage, Editions du Fleuve noir, Collection „Angoisse”, Paris.
Schweighaeuser, J.-P. (1984) Le roman noir français, Presses Universitaires de France.
*** Les yeux sans visage (1960). Director: Georges Franju.
*** La piel que habito (2011). Director: Pedro Almodóvar.
Biodata
Paul Nanu is Associate Professor in French Studies at the University of Alba Iulia, Romania, docent of the University of Turku, Finland, and PhD supervisor. He holds a doctorate in Philology (Reception of Finnish literature) and a Master’s degree of French Studies. He has published works in the field of cultural reception, the interdisciplinary study of the human body, francophone studies and translation studies.
