From: Russell Pearson <r.pearson-AT-art.derby.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 16:44:33 +0100
Subject: M-TH: Fly-paper


A well known Film Theorist writes:

>LM is mutating rapidly. Their recent TV show would be analogous to the
>scene in "The Fly" when Jeff Goldblum starts walking on the ceiling.

Louis prowess at Film Analysis is causing great amusement on the Film
Theory list, especially from some friends of mine who specialise in
political economic history of the industry, sorry 'capitalist' industry.
What's more, his attempts to provide a noddy-marx interpretation of Hong
Kong cinema has led to him being dubbed 'St. Louis the Obscure' by those
who unwittingly recognise his Idealist origins and who certainly know a
touch more about the movies than he.

And now he moves to sci-fi. Let us examine his analogy in a little more
detail. In Cronenburg's _The Fly_ Seth Brundle (Goldblum) attempts to
transmit objects via a matter transporter. His success is tempered when a
fly ends up in the ointment causing a genetic mutation to occur- Goldblum
initially believes he is a Promethean figure only to realise his hubris
when the mutation starts to go horribly wrong. Much has been written about
the Body Horror angle of this and other Cronenburg's films, but note that
the initial mutation here is into a Super-human figure and at least on one
level represents the triumph of Science over the Body. This triumph is of
course short-lived: 'nature' quickly undermines him in the form of the fly.
Thus, his own creation, a Nietzschean self-creation, returns to haunt him
as an alien force: the spectre of cross species mutation in the form of
bodily degneration.
The simplistic message of this is that we tamper with nature at our peril-
those who play Prometheus end up getting their livers pecked out, we really
ought to know our place in the world and shouldn't take reckless risks. All
standard green fodder. Note, BTW, that Cronenburg's second Fly film, the
bad guy is an archetypal Greedy Capitalist, that populist demon of many
'80s sci fi, and once agin a bete noire of those of a greenish twinge
amongst others. (see also Goldblum as green Jeremiah in _Jurrassic Park_)
Strange then, that the Critic, should pick this particular green fairy tale
to compare LM with. Another example of his penchant for projection maybe?
Casting aside such psycho-theory (for the time being), perhaps a more
telling analogy for Louis would be with Neumann's original 1958 version of
_The Fly_. Recall here that Delambre (Vincent Price) eventually
metamorphoses into a wretched little figure: an archetypal Victim no less!
Price ends with the worthless cry of all victims: 'Help Me! Help Me'....

			*

Once it was human -- even as you and I!
The fly with the head of a man...! And the man with the head of a fly!

			*
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
HALF MAN, HALF INSECT...TOTAL TERROR!
			*
It's St. Louis Bluebottle!








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