The Horror Film and the Family: Evolving Dangers in post-war Britain 1950-1979

恐怖电影与家庭：1950-1979 年战后英国不断演变的危险

• 批准号: 2113174
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Queen's University Belfast
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2113174
• 关键词: Horror; Film; Family; Evolving; Dangers

Drawing on the fields of film studies, sociology and cultural history, this research will position the horror film as a lens through which the anxieties pertaining to family life in post-war Britain can be examined. From 1950-1980, popular conceptions of the family changed significantly with new legislative methods and shifts in traditional gender roles. Historically, periods of radical social upheaval have brought a rise in concerns for the changing family unit. This research will explore why the horror film was identified as a threat, and how detailed examination of production and reception of this cultural object can help identify deeper social anxieties. The debate about the family will be mapped through a range of sources, specifically, the British Newspaper Archives to explore how anxieties about the family became connected with anxieties about the horror film. Using material from the National Archives, it will also consider how successive governments attempted to shape and protect the family. Analysis of policies and social studies such as the Finer Report (1974), can be examined within the context of this research to illustrate how the perceived dangers to the family evolved over the period. In order to support findings from this primary research, drawing upon existing sociological and historical literature will be vital. This work will place historical and sociological critiques of the family alongside anxieties expressed about the role of culture in threatening the family, thus connecting cultural anxieties with social anxieties.The importance of culture in shaping attitudes cannot be underestimated and exploring a series of problematic texts, such as horror films, allows for a careful examination of the exchange between social attitudes and cultural forms. As the designated gatekeepers of on-screen morality, the files at the BBFC, will be integral in demonstrating what was found objectionable and the influences behind the decision to censor, such as media pressure, earlier decisions or shifts in public opinion. The archives of trade journal Kinematograph Weekly located at the University of East Anglia will provide invaluable insight into the distribution practices and box office reports to identify the viewing culture surrounding the horror film. Whilst at the BFI National Archive this project can access key materials from their Special Collections which are concerned with those making the films. From the National Archive papers, government attitudes towards the cinema contained in the findings of reports like the Wheare Committee (1950), which investigated the effects of cinema on children, will also be crucial. This research will also look to determine the methods of control through legislation such as the Cinematograph Act (1952) and the Obscene Publications Act (1959), to explore how anxieties about film and cinema were shifting to address the challenges of the new medium.Building cases studies of specific British horror films, the intention is to determine the cultural significance of the horror film; why it so often courted controversy and how this relates to concerns about the family. Textual analysis of each film will be deployed in order to illustrate how the family was represented in the in the horror genre. This will then be brought together with exploration of the materials available at specific archives across the country in order to examine how this was interpreted, assessed Bringing these areas of study together will enable this research to contribute to discussions on the evolution of a key sociological construct, the family, by identifying the anxieties surrounding it in post-war Britain through the cultural form of the horror film. It will also offer a fresh perspective on British horror cinema through critical evaluation of the censorship, media coverage andlegislative methods taken to address, counter, contain or neutralize it.

这项研究借鉴电影研究、社会学和文化史等领域，将恐怖电影定位为一个镜头，通过它可以审视战后英国家庭生活的焦虑。从1950年到1980年，随着新的立法方法和传统性别角色的转变，流行的家庭观念发生了显着变化。从历史上看，激进的社会动荡时期引起了人们对不断变化的家庭单位的担忧。这项研究将探讨为什么恐怖电影被认定为威胁，以及对这种文化物品的生产和接受的详细检查如何帮助识别更深层次的社会焦虑。关于家庭的争论将通过一系列来源进行映射，特别是英国报纸档案馆，以探讨对家庭的焦虑如何与对恐怖电影的焦虑联系起来。利用国家档案馆的材料，它还将考虑历届政府如何试图塑造和保护家庭。对政策和社会研究的分析，例如《Finer Report》（1974），可以在本研究的背景下进行审查，以说明在此期间对家庭的感知危险是如何演变的。为了支持这项初步研究的结果，利用现有的社会学和历史文献至关重要。这项工作将对家庭的历史和社会学批判与对文化在威胁家庭中的作用所表达的焦虑放在一起，从而将文化焦虑与社会焦虑联系起来。文化在塑造态度方面的重要性不可低估，探索一系列有问题的文本，例如恐怖电影，可以仔细审视社会态度与文化形式之间的交流。作为银幕道德的指定守门人，BBFC 的文件将成为展示令人反感的内容以及审查决定背后的影响（例如媒体压力、早期决定或公众舆论的转变）不可或缺的一部分。位于东安格利亚大学的行业杂志《Kinematograph Weekly》的档案将为发行实践和票房报告提供宝贵的见解，以识别围绕恐怖电影的观看文化。在 BFI 国家档案馆期间，该项目可以从他们的特别收藏中获取与电影制作人员有关的关键材料。从国家档案馆的文件来看，Wheare 委员会（1950 年）等报告调查结果中所包含的政府对电影的态度也至关重要，该委员会调查了电影对儿童的影响。本研究还将着眼于通过《电影摄影法》（1952年）和《淫秽出版法》（1959年）等立法来确定控制方法，探讨人们对电影和电影的焦虑如何转变以应对新媒体的挑战。通过对特定英国恐怖电影进行案例研究，目的是确定恐怖电影的文化意义；为什么它经常引起争议以及这与对家庭的担忧有何关系。我们将对每部电影进行文本分析，以说明家庭在恐怖类型中的表现。然后将这些研究与对全国各地特定档案馆现有材料的探索结合起来，以研究如何解释和评估这一点。将这些研究领域结合在一起将使这项研究能够通过恐怖电影的文化形式识别战后英国围绕家庭这一关键社会学结构的焦虑，从而有助于讨论家庭这一关键社会学结构的演变。它还将通过对审查制度、媒体报道以及解决、反制、遏制或消除恐怖电影所采取的立法方法的批判性评估，为英国恐怖电影提供一个新的视角。