The Aesthetics of The Abject

Aesthetics and Theory

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Abject art rejects conventional art aesthetics, and challenges what “should” be admired, replicated, presented, and upheld as art. The word “Abjection” in itself means without pride or dignity.  It is the concept of leaning into the despicable, vile, and all together reprehensible. Negative associations with different visuals, sounds, colors, and textures are combined to trigger feelings of discomfort, unease, dread, and nausea. It often relates to the body and bodily functions such as defecation/urination, vomit, pregnancy, bleeding/scabs, and so on. It aims to get a reaction out of the viewer by tossing aside the conventional and the pristine.

Julia Kristeva, a philosopher and literature critic, is known for her feminist theory and writing about the abject in art. Her work focuses on the connection between the mind and body, and how an object can become a subject in art.

Kristeva's Powers of Horror [1] delves into the concept of the abject, and how “[...]the human reaction (horror, vomit) to a threatened breakdown in meaning caused by the loss of the distinction between subject and object or between self and other” is the heart of what makes the abject so effective. In film, the abject is used to lean into and embrace facets of abjection to elicit a visceral reaction from the audience. Human empathy falls prey to the abject, and the pain on screen[2] translates to the viewers as if it's their own.

Examples of Abject In Film

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Horror, physiological, thriller, and drama films tend to use the abject more than other genres, but it doesn't exclusively exist within those bounds.

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Un Chien Andalou [3], by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, is an example of a film using abject themes in tandem with surrealist art to create visceral discomfort. The deconstructed, dreamlike style that the film opens the gateway for the object and the subject to become one. The film also captures post-war trauma, and how experiences like war impact the psyche. Metaphors for mortality, pain, death, and trauma are abundant throughout Un Chien Andalou, and the utilization of the abject furthers the impact of the film on viewers.

Scenes containing uncanny visuals like slicing a woman's eye open with a razor (shown on screen with the woman's eye being replaced with a goat's), ants crawling out of a hole in a hand sculpture, and a woman poking at a severed hand in the street break the boundaries of what is "real" and "rational". It warps the viewer's perception of reality and leaves them vulnerable to the process of an object becoming the subject and vice versa.

Abject aesthetics benefit from break the separation between object and subject. When implementing the abject in film, it is important to create a space within the film that allows space for the viewer to become absorbed in the grotesque. Otherwise, the purpose falls flat and loses its meaning.

Body Horror and Pregnancy

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Body horror is one of the better known forms of abject in film. Kristeva writes that abjection is frequently tethered to maternity and pregnancy, and in it's own way pregnancy is a form of body horror [4]. Tokophobia, or the fear of pregnancy, is something that is often be used in the realm of body horror. Pregnancy in and of itself alters the human body drastically, and can often lead to physical and psychological trauma. People who can get pregnant have always been subject to the reality of losing bodily autonomy once pregnant, and even those who may want a child are faced with the onslaught of real life horror stories about pregnancy.

Children of Men by Alfonso Cuarón translates the abject of body horror and pregnancy through the loss of control and ability to have agency over one's body. A large part of the story centers around a young, refugee mother and her pregnancy. She has to give birth on a dirty, disgusting mattress without proper medical care or any way to keep a sterile and sanitized environment. There are constant parallels consistently drawn between the characters and christianity (specifically Mother Mary the birth of Christ). The film also heavily references the real life experiences of refugees being forced into unfit living situations, abuse, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and violence against civilians.

Children of Men's usage of abject aesthetics is heightened by being paired with long, handheld takes. It aids in immersing the viewer into the story. Gentle, easily digestible scenes are snuggled in between graphic violence and depictions of filth. Affect, another emotion based aesthetic, serves as a comforter and a way to "soften up" the viewers for the next onslaught of discomfort.

The Senses

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Film is a visual medium, so senses play a vital role in conveying abject aesthetics on screen. Visuals and sound are combined to heighten feelings and encourage strong reactions from the audience. When conveying the abject, visuals and sound are combined to enhance a texture or sensation that's especially grotesque. It’s especially effective if the audience can equate what’s being shown on screen to a familiar experience. The sensations on the screen become ingrained in the viewer's mind, and their discomfort forces them to reflect on their abjection to the contents of the film.

Below are a few examples of the abject in relation to different senses. These are by no means an exhaustive list, and many of the examples below can overlap into different senses. A fun exercise is to make your own abject sensory list either based on films you've viewed or common discomforts you've encountered in your day to day life.

Visual

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blood dandruff degloving
dirty dissection table flies maggots
needles/injection/shots needles stabbing an eye pus
rotting/rotten food snot spiders/spider eggs
the soft spot on a baby's head urine vomit

Auditory

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beeping/low battery fire alarm buzzing of insects crackling
crunching dentistry tools on teeth electrical whine
gagging nails on chalkboard popping
sharpening of knives silverware scraping against dishes snapping
splattering squelching tv static

Touch and Texture

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dry microfiber cloth against cracked skin dry pills stuck to the back of your throat fecal matter
gritty soups picking at scabs sandpaper on skin
sewage water sharp object stuck under fingernail(s) sharp rocks in your shoes
slug/snail slime squishy old fruit stagnant water
swallowing teeth/beads/marbles torn off fingernail(s) wet food in the sink

Pain and Nausea

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bites broken bones bullet wounds
childbirth crushed limbs cuts from rusty metal
dislocated joints glass in skin infected skin
popping pimples rashes rope burn
second-degree burns stings surgery

References

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  1. [1] Powers of Horror
  2. [2]Pain In Film
  3. "Un Chien Andalou"(1929) - Full Movie, retrieved 2023-12-13
  4. [3]‘Abjection’ as a springboard for maternal subjectivity