ABSTRACT

This article argues that Kathryn Bigelow is an auteur of new action realism, a distinct sub-genre within contemporary action cinema. Bigelow’s films entail unresolved narratives and an aesthetic characterised by claustrophobic immediacy and obscuration. Through discussion of theory, genre, narrative and style in The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, I argue that Bigelow problematises notions of film realism. Bigelow’s work brings the viewer into sometimes uncomfortable proximity with the violent action depicted onscreen, this proximity being a key feature of new action realism. The presentation is explicit and sudden, creating a discomforting nearness through immediacy. Such imagery, particularly evident in The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, echoes footage captured by military personnel, news reporters and civilians on portable cameras and smart phones, recalling news reports of 9/11 and similar reports of crisis. With this aesthetic of intimacy and immediacy, Bigelow’s new action realism hints at as much as it explicitly presents. This incomplete visual display imbues her films with a sense of confusion and hopelessness, presenting a world of fear and paranoia that is simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar, captured by and yet obscured by its medium.

摘要

本文认为凯瑟琳·毕格罗是新动作现实主义的导演，这是当代动作电影中的一个独特的子类型。Bigelow 的电影包含未解决的叙事和以幽闭恐惧症的即时性和模糊性为特征的美学。通过对《赫特洛克》和《零黑暗三十》中的理论、体裁、叙事和风格的讨论，我认为毕格罗对电影现实主义的概念提出了问题。Bigelow 的作品有时会让观众与屏幕上描绘的暴力动作产生不舒服的接近，这种接近是新动作现实主义的一个关键特征。呈现是明确而突然的，通过直接性创造了一种令人不安的接近感。这样的意象，在The Hurt Locker和Zero Dark 三十中尤为明显，与军事人员、新闻记者和平民在便携式相机和智能手机上拍摄的镜头相呼应，回顾了 9/11 的新闻报道和类似的危机报道。凭借这种亲密和直接的美学，毕格罗的新动作现实主义暗示了它明确呈现的内容。这种不完整的视觉展示给她的电影注入了一种混乱和绝望的感觉，呈现出一个既熟悉又陌生的恐惧和偏执的世界，被其媒介所捕捉，但又被其媒介所掩盖。