Screening the Marquis de Sade

Since their publication, the works of the Marquis de Sade have challenged the reading public with a philosophy of relentless physical transgression. This is the first book-length academic study by a single author that applies the philosophy of the Marquis de Sade to the analysis of a wide array of film texts. By employing Sade’s controversial body-oriented philosophy within film analysis, this book provides a new understanding of notions of pain, pleasure, and the representation of the transgressive body in film. Whereas many analyses have used theory to excuse and thus dilute the power of sexual and violent images, the author has here sought to examine cinematic representations of human relations as unflinchingly as Sade did in his novels.

Lindsay Anne Hallam teaches screen arts at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. She has published numerous articles in journals, is the director of a short documentary The Hydey, and has produced short films and a music video.

Lindsay Anne Hallam
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 219
Bibliographic Info: 18 photos, filmography, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6296-4
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8837-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Preface      1
Introduction: The Philosophy of the Marquis de Sade      5

Part One: The Monster in Horror      17
1. Vampires      19
2. Zombies      37
3. Werewolves      50

Part Two: Monstrous Humans      63
4. Serial Killers      64
5. Cannibals      77
6. The Transhuman      92

Part Three: Victims      111
7. Women      114
8. Adolescents      128

Part Four: Sexual Transgressors      147
9. Sadists      149
10. Masochists      168

Conclusion      188
Filmography      191
Chapter Notes      195
Bibliography      205
Index      209