Left Field Cinema

WARNING: Contains Spoilers

In December 1996 Scream, a film written by Kevin Williamson, and directed by Wes Craven was released for its American audience to see. The film had a unique element, which distinguished it from other horror movies that proceeded it. It was aware of the existence of other horror films. The film follows a group of teenagers in a small Californian town as they are killed one by one by a serial killer. The central characters all watch horror movies, and constantly draw ironic reference from their experiences or what they’re doing to what has happened in the horror movies they’ve already seen. Scream has been referred to as many things, a parody is one of the most common. Critics such as Kim Newman and Barry Norman have described it as a parody, but is this a correct application of the word. Is Scream a parody of previous horror films? The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms defines a parody as: “A mocking imitation…ridiculing the stylistic habits of an author…by exaggerated mimicry.” (Baldick, 2001, 185) This definition gives very specific criteria for a parody, and not all of these criteria are met in Scream. It does mock horror movies, which have preceded it and ridicules the conventions that their authors have created. “They’re all the same, some stupid killer stalking some big breasted girl who can’t act who’s always running up the stairs when she should be going out the front door, it’s insulting.” (Williamson, 1996) But as the above quote illustrates the film mostly mocks through the characters references to the horror films, not through imitation. The imitation is done in the film as seriously as the horror films it imitates. It is not exaggerated either, if anything the imitation of films from the Halloween series or the Friday the 13th series is scaled down in comparison, and made more realistic. Both these series of films feature the invincible killers Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees who can be shot, decapitated, blown up, fall from great heights and still come back for more. The killers in Scream are grounded in reality because of their own mortality. The body count reaches ten including the killers. This is substantially lower than most slasher horror movies. Friday 13th Part VII The New Blood gets up to twenty three by its conclusion. It is also approximately thirty minutes longer than the average slasher horror film giving the plot line longer to develop. “Unlike most horror movies, Scream was made on a decent budget and stars people you’ve heard of.” (Hicks, 1997)

“Before Scream is done the casualties will number at least ten, but this movie is much more tame than the movies it offers up for parody. There are no nude scenes or graphic violence, probably because they’re not needed as crutches here. Scream is a good horror movie on its own but it’s probably the best anti-horror movies ever made.” (Hicks, 1997)

Horror parodies like Scary Movies, or Student Bodies follow the definition above, and are truer members of the horror parody genre. Scream is not part of this genre because it is what it mocks, and it doesn’t exaggerate any of the elements. Some reviewers see the film as a parody despite its lack of exaggeration, and its fragmented inconsistency of style.

“Scream succeeds because it confidently walks the dangerous line between parodying a particular form of idiot cinema and becoming what it parodies.” (DeSalvo, 1997)

Scream is more of a pastiche than a parody. The term can be derogatory, indicating a lack of originality, but in this case it’s a pastiche because it uses moments from other films as a form of flattery. According to Kevin Williamson his favourite film is Halloween, which is used primarily through out the whole film, and has the most direct parallels to. There are small moments, for instance where Casey’s father in the opening scene says “Go down the street to the MacKenzies’ house. Call the police.” Which is a direct lift from Halloween. Also Donald Pleasance’s character in Halloween is named Dr Loomis, which is also the sir name of Billy who is one of the killers in Scream. To the larger moments where the movie is playing in the background throughout the end sequence and the Halloween score runs in conjunction with the action. Another small example is where Casey answers a question that the killer asks, she answers in the same pace and tone of voice of the character Rachel in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers: “It’s Michael… Michael Myers.” The characters sit in the living room eagerly watching Halloween waiting for the “obligatory tit shot” or the next big scare and all enjoy it. Latter on the character of Randy still watching the film and telling Jamie Lee Curtis to turn around as she backs into a dead body. The whole time the killer is stood behind him, ready to kill him, and the audience find themselves saying exactly the same thing to Randy.

“The constant references to Halloween in particular are more hamfisted homage than plot device, and while the movie is smart as a whip about the conventions of horror movies, it’s conspicuously silent on the subject of what drives them or why we enjoy them.” (Frazer, 1996)

The above quote is one example of how a pastiche can be viewed in a negative way. Other negative reviews have centered around the motives for the continual references to other horror films. For example it can be interpreted that all the jokes about genre clichés and intertextual references are simply to cover Craven’s back from criticism – as if he wanted to make a slasher movie but didn’t want to face the film being denounced as a substandard horror. However the filmmakers extensive knowledge of the generic traditions and horror genre trivia (There are over fifty references to other horror films) leads the audience to believe that it is more of a tribute to the films it draws parallels from. However Scream can not in any way be interpreted as a pastiche of every film it references, as so many of the references are negative. When asked about the Nightmare on Elm Street films Casey responds “The first one was good the rest sucked.” In general the films comments on the horror genre is how they are all wrapped up in their own world of clichés, started by the founders and then emulated by its followers and sequels.

Scream can be defined as either a pastiche or a parody. But can it be viewed as an example of a postmodernist film? Before this is answered though another question must be addressed – what does postmodernism mean?

“Postmodern theory and theories of postmodernism differ depending on what they understand the postmodern to be. For Jean-Francois Lyotard and Gianni Vattimo, postmodernism is a way of thinking. In The Postmodern Condition, Lyotard argues that postmodernism entails the failure of all master narratives, which might allow for a total and unified understanding of the world. In place of master narratives, Lyotard posits micronarratives.” (Fortier, 1997, 118)

There are different definitions of the term as it is applied, often falsely to the word postmodernism, generally because it is applied flippantly to numerous things. Scream wouldn’t fall under Lyotard’s definition of postmodernism, because it keeps its master narrative and doesn’t use many micronarratives, and those it does use are in some way connected to the master narrative.

“For Linda Hutcheon, the postmodern is much more an artistic style, recognisable by its self reflexivity and irony, especially in its relations to the practices and objects of the surrounding culture and the cultural past. Postmodern work often takes the form of parody, which has a highly divided and ambivalent relation to its object of imitation.” (Fortier, 1997, 118)

Linda Hutcheon’s definition fits Scream almost perfectly. Scream is extremely reflective, and ironic (Henry Winkler who previously played ‘The Fonz’ a symbol of teenage rebellion plays the school Principal the about its cultural past. The most interesting part of this definition is how the parody is part of the postmodern condition, indicating a cross over between the two, and indeed the work Scream parodies it is divided over, some of the work it criticises, some it pay’s a tribute to through its parodying.

“Postmodern theory tends to combine a certain emotional distance – often an ironic or ‘cool’ relation to contemporary culture – with a generalized pessimism about the possibility of social change and revolution.” (Fortier, 1997, 120)

Scream does not keep an emotional distance it keeps very close to characters, even if the characters with the exception of Sydney are very cold and emotionless. They joke about their fellow students who’ve been killed.

“Postmodernist writers respond to the problem of the fictionality of meaning by, inter alia, composing texts which mock, interrogate, and subvert the “classical” realist-empiricist assumption that language can reflect or render “things as they really are.” Their primary strategy is to use language in a self-reflective, as opposed to self-effacing, fashion in order to demonstrate the operation of narrative codes in the constitution of meaning. It is a strategy which often results in word games which work to parody reality.” (Maltby, 1991, 38)

“…And yet, there are also aspects of postmodern dance that do fit with postmodernist notions of pastiche, irony, playfulness… breakdowns of boundaries between art forms and between art and life…” (Docherty, 1993, 158)

Is it a postmodern thriller? There are many different definitions of postmodernism, and it doesn’t fit all of them. Yes, because it is critiquing the horror genre and at the same time is part of it. Not only this it also pushes the rules and changes the conventions it criticised. But as Williamson cleverly mocks those conventions. Craven performs the nifty trick of twisting them back into new frightening contortions. Opening scene Drew backs away from the camera, usually they back right into the killer but in this case she doesn’t. Sidney has sex, and lives. Randy gets drunk and lives. Gale say’s I’ll be right back and is right back. But then only for the horror to continue, this understanding of the genre it exists with in and the effacing of it, and manipulation of audience perspectives makes Scream an exercise in post modernism.

M.Dawson

Bibliography
Baldick, C / Concise Dictionary Literary Terms / 2001 /Oxford
Docherty, T / Postmodernism A Reader / 1993 / Harvester Wheatsheaf
Fortier, M / Theory Theatre /1997 / Routledge
Hill, J, and Gibson, P / Film Studies Critical Approaches / 2000 / Oxford
Kaye, N Postmodernism and Performance / 1994 / MacMillan
Maltby, P / Dissident Postmodernist / 1991 / University of Pennsylvania Press

News Group Reviews
Hicks, A / Scream (1996) / 1997 / Large
Frazer, B / Scream / 1996 / Deep Focus
DeSalvo, R / It’s a Scream / 1997 / Movieline Magazine Thomas, K / Scream / 1996 / Los Angeles Times