Malice in Locked Chambers: The Captivity, Escape, and Dominant Institution in Films of Confined Space
Date Issued
2015
Date
2015
Author(s)
Hsu, Pei-Lin
Abstract
Across movie genres, there has been a narrative structure based on confined spaces as main scenes; despite the contents and motifs are various, these films emphasize on characters being held against their wills. As the detention goes on, pressure accumulates, the characters gradually become aggressive and violent toward each other. This narrative structure has never been conceptualized as a research topic; hence, the purpose of this research is building a framework to depict common traits and to discover symbolic meanings among this sort of texts. Confined spaces on screen create suffocative situations for both protagonists and audiences, and in this research they are seen as visualized symbols of dominant institutions in reality. I aimed to prove the spatial elements in these films can refer to material entities such as prison, laboratory, or other systematic institutions, and to social ones as regulation, regime, class, stereotype, or other boundaries with qualities of restraint. Under this premise, the conflicts between roles can be examined from angles of power and alienation. The aggression among captives refers to mutual devouring among social disadvantages under living pressure caused by uneven structures. Different ways the roles react reflects diverse ideologies or political approaches in reality. The bystanders and rescuers have relatively more autonomy; therefore, the unequal power relationship could also impose some negative effects on captives. Furthermore, the culprits of imprisonment represent the vested interests benefit from exploitative systems. The analysis of captivity must lead to the topic of escape. Films of confined space are constructed on the antithesis between captivity and escape; themselves convey the dialectic of structure and agency. Confined space is the emblem of structure alienates and appropriates its members, and captives’ aggressive reactions are induced by the structure which intend to control and distract captives’ desire of escape. The concept of Scapegoat has been introduced in this situation. Instead of approaching exit or reason of captivity practically, group violence gives the captives a sense of delusion that survivability has increased, or the social order has been restored. In fact the forced sacrifice reinforces the confined system itself. There are common narrative patterns such as the culprit end up under captivity as well, or the perpetrator of group violence become victim in the end. These examples reveal everyone has a chance to be labeled as a target under social order fueled by Scapegoat mechanism; hence, the sole way to access real exit is being aware of one’s own role in the structure of accomplice.
Subjects
Confined Space
Captive
Dominant Institutions
Escape
Scapegoat
SDGs
Type
thesis
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