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

这项研究借鉴了电影研究、社会学和文化史的领域，将恐怖片定位为一个镜头，通过这个镜头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，人们对家庭的流行概念发生了重大变化。从历史上看，激进的社会动荡时期会带来人们对不断变化的家庭单位的担忧。这项研究将探索为什么恐怖片被认定为一种威胁，以及对这一文化对象的制作和接受的详细审查如何有助于识别更深层次的社会焦虑。关于家庭的辩论将通过一系列来源进行绘制，特别是英国报纸《档案》，以探索对家庭的焦虑是如何与对这部恐怖片的焦虑联系在一起的。使用国家档案馆的材料，它还将考虑历届政府是如何试图塑造和保护这个家庭的。对政策和社会研究的分析，如FINER报告(1974)，可以在这项研究的范围内加以审查，以说明在这段时期内对家庭造成的危险是如何演变的。为了支持这项初步研究的发现，借鉴现有的社会学和历史文献将是至关重要的。这部作品将把对家庭的历史和社会学批评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，如恐怖片，允许仔细检查社会态度和文化形式之间的交流。作为屏幕道德的指定守门人，BBFC的文件将是展示哪些内容令人反感以及审查决定背后的影响所不可或缺的一部分，例如媒体压力、先前的决定或舆论的变化。位于东安格利亚大学的行业期刊《动画周刊》的档案将提供宝贵的见解，了解发行实践和票房报告，以确定围绕这部恐怖电影的观看文化。在BFI国家档案馆，这个项目可以从他们的特别收藏中获取关键材料，这些材料与电影制作人有关。从国家档案馆的文件来看，政府对电影的态度也将是至关重要的，这些报告包括惠尔委员会(Wheare Committee，1950)等报告的调查结果，该委员会调查了电影对儿童的影响。这项研究还将寻求通过立法来确定控制方法，如电影图片法(1952)和淫秽出版法(1959)，以探索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片的案例研究，目的是确定恐怖片的文化意义；为什么它经常引起争议，以及这与对家庭的担忧有何关系。将对每部电影进行文本分析，以说明恐怖类型中的家庭是如何被表现出来的。然后，将结合对全国特定档案馆现有材料的探索，以检查这一点是如何被解释的，评估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确定战后英国围绕家庭的焦虑，从而有助于讨论一个关键的社会学结构--家庭的演变。它还将通过对审查制度、媒体报道和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，以解决、对抗、遏制或中和它。

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.