Saying that you only need to watch three movies to comprehend the evolution of the silver screen sounds like a stretch. But before we go into details, let’s set the terms first. First of all, this does not apply to world cinema, since it’s focused on Hollywood productions. Second, this is based on the heroic figure and his/her allies. And lastly, this is backed by Jesús González Requena’s theory, in which he integrates the principles of Freud, Propp, and Tomachevski to explain his conclusions.
We should start by learning and understanding the concepts of contribution and deficiency. The former refers to the different tasks the protagonist or hero will be given, these are ruled by good (human principle) or evil (inhuman principle). An easier way to understand this can be seen in Pan’s Labyrinth, when a mystic tests Ofelia.
The latter concept, deficiency, relates to the object and objects that the protagonist does not possess yet desires. Most romantic films develop under this structure. The main character is lonely. Once they find an attractive person they turn them into the object of their desire. From then on, this other person becomes their motivation to act.
González Requena analyzes Hollywood Cinema to name three fundamental cinematic moments: Classical, Mannerist, and Postclassical. To further exemplify these three, we must delve in to the films: Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939), Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958), and Seven (David Fincher, 1995).
Cinematic analysis starts with Stagecoach, one of the most acclaimed westerns of its time. The plot is simple: a coach leaves an Arizonan town heading to Lordsburg, New Mexico. Each passenger has a purpose for their travel so great that they must risk being killed by the Indian people who hunt Americans. Shortly after starting their journey they meet Ringo Kid, a bandit who has just escaped from jail to exact vengeance for the murder of his family in Lordsburg.
Despite Ringo being a bandit, he embodies the heroic figure due to his motivation being ruled by good. He’s brave, strong, and a daring man. He faces the Indians honorably and wins. He’s fearless which makes him accomplish his mission. John Ford’s film is the classic Hollywood story.
Now it’s Hitchcock’s turn with Vertigo. The tale presents a confusing and dubious hero. Scottie Ferguson is a detective with a fear of heights. This phobia made him lose his first confrontation with evil, and has led him to hide behind his friend Midge. He’s about to retire from law enforcement when he gets a call from his friend Gavin Ester who says there’s a job for him. Gavin’s call is Scottie’s call to adventure, however unlike the typical story, this call proves to be a trap. A mannerist film’s main quality is that there’s always a hidden ruse.
This hero is not brave, strong, or daring. On the contrary, he’s full of doubt. The call to adventure does not guide the hero to the light, but instead leads him down the path to darkness, into chilling ambiguity. Is it possible that the concept of good has disappeared from society that there’s a need to show this in cinema?
Then there’s the final era, which we’re currently submerged in: Postclassical cinema. “These are powerful stories, like the classics, yet empty of their symbolic order. They have become spectacular machines destined to urgently drive the spectators view towards paradox.·”
Filmmakers systematically deconstruct symbolic order through a dark reversal of the call to adventure. According to Felicísimo Valbuena de la Fuente, the devices of suspense can no longer represent emotion when they’re part of the hero’s actions. Instead, they lead the spectator to experience the destruction of perception.
David Fincher’s Seven, turns structure on its head by presenting a city engulfed in evil, with a villain who has risen above the law. “The viewer does not find the protagonist as a convincing hero but dismisses him for being naïve and flat. However the viewer has full trust in the villain’s pure evil and psychopathic danger.” This phenomenon can be observed in other films such as Blue Velvet (1986), Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Fight Club (1999).
González Requena proposes an emergence of the sinister. As Schiller said, what must remain hidden eventually comes out into the light. If Classical film valued justice, honor, and respect as a representation of the natural order of reality; then Mannerist deconstructs in order to reach a complete break during the Postclassical. Gustavo García, film critic, says that “film is the reflection of every society”. So we could say that our current society is controlled by evil.
Translated by María Suárez
