재난서사에 대항하기― 쓰촨대지진 이후 중국영화의 재난서사

Abstract

The disaster narrative is a competitive arena between theauthoritative interpretation and the counter interpretations of adisaster incident. The disaster narrative is paradoxical in the waythat the opposing narratives end up consolidating the authoritativenarrative. This paradox indicates the disaster narrative’s limit andhighlights the significance of the counter-disaster-narrative. For a theoretical establishment of the counter-disaster-narrative,this article refers to Frankenstein as oppositional Arctic writing inimperial English society. While the mainstream Polar writingsintend to transform the disaster during Arctic expeditions intofanatical applause for national heroes, Frankenstein chooses to facethe fear and anxiety that permeates English society. Here, theoutline of the counter-disaster-narrative emerges. By transformingfrom a social tragedy into a hopeful drama, disaster narrativesconsolidate the existing social structure rather than questioning it. In this context, Frankenstein’s coping mechanism for social anxietyand fear provides a useful theoretical basis for the counter-disaster narrative. Based on this framework, this article analyses Chinese disasternarratives after the Sichuan Earthquake focusing on Aftershock(2010) and Back to 1942 (2012), both of which are directed by FengXiaogang. These two movies provide a stark contrast in theirdepictions of disasters. While Aftershock transforms the nationaltrauma of the Tangshan Earthquake into a drama of hope andprosperity, Back to 1942 cuts off the channel to hope with anunrelenting portrait of a dystopia after the Henan Famine. Back to1942 leads us a fundamental question of what disaster narrativesshould be. The disaster narrative is more about humans andsociety than nature. As Frankenstein explains that fear about themonster is actually rooted in our deep-seated fear about thebrutality of the “civilized” human beings, Back to 1942 connotes ananxiety lurking deep down in a contemporary Chinese society thathas been rushing toward becoming a global power.