Bodies in Pain: Emotion and the Cinema of Darren Aronofsky

195 Pages·2015·1.579 MB·English

by  Tarja Laine

BODIES IN PAIN

Bodies in Pain
Emotion and the Cinema of Darren Aronofsky
Tarja Laine
berghahn
N E W Y O R K • O X F O R D
www.berghahnbooks.com
Published in 2015 by
Berghahn Books
www.berghahnbooks.com
© 2015 Tarja Laine
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages
for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented,
without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Laine, Tarja.
 Bodies in pain : emotion and the cinema of Darren Aronofsky / Tarja Laine.
  pages cm
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 Includes filmography.
 ISBN 978-1-78238-575-2 (hardback : alk. paper) —
 ISBN 978-1-78238-576-9 (ebook)
 1. Aronofsky, Darren—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Emotions in
motion pictures. I. Title.
 PN1998.3.A7615L36 2015
 791.4302'33092—dc23
2014029569
British Library Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Printed on acid-free paper
ISBN: 978-1-78238-575-2 hardback
ISBN: 978-1-78238-576-9 ebook
Contents
List of Figures vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction. Aronofsky, Auteurship, Aesthetics 1
Chapter One. Noise: Pi 24
Migraine 26
Paranoia 33
Anxiety 35
Chapter Two. Rhythm: Requiem for a Dream 45
Rhythm, Emotion and Film Aesthetics 46
Artificial Rhythm 52
Dysphoric Rhythm 61
Chapter Three. Grief: The Fountain 74
Mind and Body 78
Science and Spirituality 83
Finitude and Infinitude 88
Working Through Grief 92
Chapter Four. Masochism: The Wrestler 100
Nostalgia in Denial 102
Masochism and Spectatorship 113
Chapter Five. The Uncanny Sublime: Black Swan 127
Aestheticized/Embodied Pain 131
Uncanny Personhood 137
Pain and Pleasure 146
Conclusion 158
vi CONTENTS
Appendix. Darren Aronofsky Filmography 163
Bibliography 169
Index 181
Figures
Figure 1.1. Migrainous nausea. Screen capture, Pi (1998). 33
Figure 1.2. White void or enlightenment? Screen capture, Pi (1998). 39
Figure 2.1. Split screen as a form of touch? Screen capture,
Requiem for a Dream (2000). 56
Figure 2.2. Sara’s warped world. Screen capture, Requiem for
a Dream (2000). 63
Figure 3.1. Pain preserved in ink. Screen capture, The Fountain (2006). 81
Figure 3.2. Buddhist symbolism in The Fountain. Screen capture,
The Fountain (2006). 88
Figure 4.1. Close-up as an instigator of pain. Screen capture,
The Wrestler (2008). 105
Figure 4.2. Painful proximity. Screen capture, The Wrestler (2008). 119
Figure 5.1. Film as an open wound. Screen capture, Black Swan (2010). 135
Figure 5.2. Touch without contact. Screen capture, Black Swan (2010). 152

Acknowledgements
Many friends and colleagues have contributed to this book in countless help-
ful ways. The idea to write a book about emotion and film aesthetics in the
cinema of Darren Aronofsky was proposed to me by Mark Stanton, then senior
editor at Berghahn Books. To him I extend my gratitude for having initiated the
project. Many thanks also to Adam Capitanio and Elizabeth Berg at Berghahn
Books, for all their support and assistance in preparing my manuscript for
publication. Among all the people who have offered useful comments, my
special thanks must go to Robert Sinnerbrink, not only for numerous inspir-
ing conversations, but also for reading the original book proposal as well as
parts of the manuscript. In addition, I am gratefully indebted for constructive
suggestions to Laura Copier, Tim Evans, Tina Kendall, Toni Mazel, Susanna
Paasonen, Patricia Pisters, Kathleen Scott and Jane Stadler. Many thanks also
to all those who commented on the various stages of my project in different
seminars and conferences. In particular, the editorial board of the journal Film-
Philosophy and their annual conference have been a crucial sounding board
for this project – thank you all. I am also extremely grateful to the anonymous
peer reviewers of this book for providing invaluable feedback, encouragement
and suggestions on how to complete the manuscript. But most personally and
affectionately I want to thank Charles France, who, for some years now, has
generously read, commented on and argued with the ideas presented in the
pages that follow. It is to him that I am most indebted for the existence of this
book, and it is therefore to him that this book is dedicated.