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A shimmering movement : Ali Abbasi’s Border as a trans* posthumanist post-celluloid adaptation

Mrozewicz, Anna LU (2021) In Journal of Scandinavian Cinema 11(1). p.11-30
Abstract
Gräns (Border) (2018) is an adaptation of a short story by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist (2006). The film retains large parts of the literary plot as well as its focalization through the troll-protagonist Tina/Reva. At the same time, Border introduces significant modifications. I argue that by expanding the plot to include a number of new elements and amplifying Lindqvist’s strategy of ‘a shimmering movement’, including the experience of transness and identity as change, Abbasi’s film disrupts more forcefully our ideas about the human/nonhuman divide, sex and gender dualism, aesthetics, ethics and other normative regimes regulating our social and human lives. By examining the film as a post-celluloid adapta- tion, I show how Border... (More)
Gräns (Border) (2018) is an adaptation of a short story by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist (2006). The film retains large parts of the literary plot as well as its focalization through the troll-protagonist Tina/Reva. At the same time, Border introduces significant modifications. I argue that by expanding the plot to include a number of new elements and amplifying Lindqvist’s strategy of ‘a shimmering movement’, including the experience of transness and identity as change, Abbasi’s film disrupts more forcefully our ideas about the human/nonhuman divide, sex and gender dualism, aesthetics, ethics and other normative regimes regulating our social and human lives. By examining the film as a post-celluloid adapta- tion, I show how Border incorporates Lindqvist’s critique of technology while also embracing the imaginative and affective possibilities of digital cinema to interro- gate the responsibilities of humanity from a posthumanist perspective. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
adaptation studies, digital cinema, camera aesthetics, technology critique, posthumanism, post-gender, transgender film studies, myth of creation
in
Journal of Scandinavian Cinema
volume
11
issue
1
pages
20 pages
publisher
Intellect Ltd.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85111061411
ISSN
2042-7891
DOI
10.1386/jsca_00035_1
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
c098f0fc-e864-4829-a82d-4bc21a1c1f54
date added to LUP
2023-09-05 13:06:19
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:05:03
@article{c098f0fc-e864-4829-a82d-4bc21a1c1f54,
  abstract     = {{Gräns (Border) (2018) is an adaptation of a short story by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist (2006). The film retains large parts of the literary plot as well as its focalization through the troll-protagonist Tina/Reva. At the same time, Border introduces significant modifications. I argue that by expanding the plot to include a number of new elements and amplifying Lindqvist’s strategy of ‘a shimmering movement’, including the experience of transness and identity as change, Abbasi’s film disrupts more forcefully our ideas about the human/nonhuman divide, sex and gender dualism, aesthetics, ethics and other normative regimes regulating our social and human lives. By examining the film as a post-celluloid adapta- tion, I show how Border incorporates Lindqvist’s critique of technology while also embracing the imaginative and affective possibilities of digital cinema to interro- gate the responsibilities of humanity from a posthumanist perspective.}},
  author       = {{Mrozewicz, Anna}},
  issn         = {{2042-7891}},
  keywords     = {{adaptation studies; digital cinema; camera aesthetics; technology critique; posthumanism; post-gender; transgender film studies; myth of creation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{11--30}},
  publisher    = {{Intellect Ltd.}},
  series       = {{Journal of Scandinavian Cinema}},
  title        = {{A shimmering movement : Ali Abbasi’s Border as a trans* posthumanist post-celluloid adaptation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/jsca_00035_1}},
  doi          = {{10.1386/jsca_00035_1}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}