Grotesque as a Formative Method in the Drama of a Feature Film

Abstract

The article studies the phenomenon of the grotesque in the drama of a feature film as a formative element of the plot, conflict and twists in storylines. The text is divided into two blocks. The first block, where the diversification of the device is considered, analyses the difference between the grotesque and artistic tropes that provide a quantitative metamorphosis of the object or its complete formation in the proposed conditions, such as: metaphor, allegory, hyperbole and litotes. The example of Tim Burton's film “Beetlejuice” (1988) shows the dynamics of the use of the grotesque device, which allows for the play with plastic and meaning-forming modes, thus causing qualitative changes in the conflict through semantic inversion. The second section concentrates of the mechanics of the grotesque, which influence the emotional atmosphere of the film, focusing on the genres where the technique in question is used most often, and the formation of emotional components. Two films — “It” (2017) and “It-2” (2019) directed by Andres Musketti are analyzed, in which laughter is combined with frightening elements, escalating the conflict and emphasizing the grotesque ambivalence of the plot in the horror movies. This genre clearly demonstrates the “gluing” of semantic fields which ensure the diversity of plots and physicality, visuals and palpable forms. Thus, the technique in question allows to create a genre universe of horror films through a combination of the incongruous – the creepy and the comic. The article, which can benefit practicing screenwriters and art theorists, is based on the scientific heritage of M.M.Bakhtin, Y.V.Mann, Ben Woodard, M.V.Yampolsky, and S.E.Yurkov. It proves the existence of the subject of research, the grotesque, as a full-fledged formative method that qualitatively transforms the object of scientific research — the cinematic image — generated by the conflict created by the playwright. Thus, the mechanisms of the grotesque determine the genre and emotional specifics of the film, and the way the recipient perceives it.