From: DHHunter-AT-aol.com
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 22:35:25 EDT
Subject: Re:  deconstruction and horror


Eric wrote,

>I recently read a review of this fall's Halloween H20, in which the author
>refered to the recent trend in contemporary horror film (i.e. Scream,
>Scream 2, Halloween 2) of _deconstructing_ the genre of horror. 

You asked for random thoughts so here's one:  Isn't there a big difference
between self-reflexivity and deconstruction?  The self conscience posing of a
film like Scream 2 seems to me to be less representative of a deconstructive
operation than it is of the more cynical side of postmodern pop culture.  If
the goal is to understand the consequences of such an act (what ever it is to
be called) I think one important starting place is to question if the
operations in the films mentioned actually have the charaecteristics of
deconstruction.  If they do then a starting place might be to re-examine the
tentsion between Lacan and Derrida.  Not that this should define the process
but, if I remember correctly, Lacan had an investment in not being described
as a deconstructor. 

just a thought no biggie
-Douglas


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