Abstract
ITALIAN ABSTRACT: Young Frankenstein (1974) di Mel Brooks è un’accurata parodia della trilogia Universal di film degli anni ’30, adattata dal popolare romanzo di Mary Shelley. Il dialogo intertestuale implicito nella pratica parodica permette di mettere esplicitamente in luce lo spettatore nel suo ruolo centrale di costruzione del significato. Young Frankenstein si rivela un caso di studio estremamente interessante perché mostra un rapporto molto stretto con i suoi obiettivi. Inoltre, rivela che generi apparentemente lontani come la commedia e l’horror gotico possono incontrarsi su un terreno comune, ovvero il tema della corporeità. Questo articolo si propone di esplorare come l’esperienza dello spettatore del genere gotico viene modificata attraverso la pratica parodica. Riferendomi al concetto di negazione di Iser e a parte della teoria di Bachtin, sosterrò che sconvolgendo le aspettative dello spettatore attraverso un’insistenza
sulla dimensione fisica, la categoria fissa e astratta del genere gothic horror viene spostata nella dimensione materiale, goffa e instabile di corporeità.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Young Frankenstein (1974) is an accurate parody of Universal trilogy of films from the ’30s, adapted from Mary Shelley’s popular novel. The intertextual dialogue implied by the parodic practice allows to explicitly shed light on the viewer in her/his central role of meaning construction. Young Frankenstein proves to be an extremely interesting case of study because it shows a very close relationship with its targets. Moreover, it reveals that apparently distant genres as comedy and gothic horror can meet on a common ground, i.e. the topic of corporeality. This paper aims to explore how the viewer’s experience of the gothic genre is modified through the parodic practice. By referring to Iser’s concept of negation and part of Bakhtin’s theory, I will argue that by disrupting the spectator’s expectations through an insistence on the physical dimension, the fixed and abstract category of gothic horror genre is displaced into the material, clumsy and unstable dimension of corporeality.
sulla dimensione fisica, la categoria fissa e astratta del genere gothic horror viene spostata nella dimensione materiale, goffa e instabile di corporeità.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Young Frankenstein (1974) is an accurate parody of Universal trilogy of films from the ’30s, adapted from Mary Shelley’s popular novel. The intertextual dialogue implied by the parodic practice allows to explicitly shed light on the viewer in her/his central role of meaning construction. Young Frankenstein proves to be an extremely interesting case of study because it shows a very close relationship with its targets. Moreover, it reveals that apparently distant genres as comedy and gothic horror can meet on a common ground, i.e. the topic of corporeality. This paper aims to explore how the viewer’s experience of the gothic genre is modified through the parodic practice. By referring to Iser’s concept of negation and part of Bakhtin’s theory, I will argue that by disrupting the spectator’s expectations through an insistence on the physical dimension, the fixed and abstract category of gothic horror genre is displaced into the material, clumsy and unstable dimension of corporeality.
Translated title of the contribution | « Need a hand ? » « No thanks, have one ». From spectator centrality to spectator corporeality in Young Frankenstein |
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Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
Pages (from-to) | 121-134 |
Journal | Contemporanea. Rivista di studi sulla letteratura e sulla comunicazione |
Volume | 20 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 3 Jan 2022 |
Keywords
- Young Frankenstein
- Gothic
- Parody
- Negation
- Corporeality
Research Centres
- Research Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies