Tras el cristal: Reflejos, reflexiones, refracciones de lo perverso
Subject Area
Film and Literary Studies
Abstract
Villaronga's 1986 film, Tras el cristal, epitomizes the horror genre in its abject cruelty and perversion. It details the experiments of a Nazi doctor who immigrates to Spain after World War II and continues to abuse young boys there. One of his former victims presents himself to work as a personal nurse after the doctor is confined to an iron lung when his suicide attempt fails. This study will analyze the inversion of roles as the torturer becomes the tortured and vice versa. I will use Derrida’s notions of deconstruction to interpret the film as a reflection of learned habits, a reflection on one’s actions, and a refraction of images that distort reality.
Brief Bio Note
William O. Deaver, Jr. holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from Florida State University, a M.A. in Spanish from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia. He coordinates the undergraduate degree program in Spanish at Armstrong State University.
Keywords
Fascism, Villaronga, Perversion, Pedophilia
Location
Room 210
Presentation Year
2017
Start Date
3-24-2017 2:30 PM
Embargo
11-16-2016
Recommended Citation
Deaver, William O. Jr., "Tras el cristal: Reflejos, reflexiones, refracciones de lo perverso" (2017). South East Coastal Conference on Languages & Literatures (SECCLL). 53.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/seccll/2017/2017/53
Tras el cristal: Reflejos, reflexiones, refracciones de lo perverso
Room 210
Villaronga's 1986 film, Tras el cristal, epitomizes the horror genre in its abject cruelty and perversion. It details the experiments of a Nazi doctor who immigrates to Spain after World War II and continues to abuse young boys there. One of his former victims presents himself to work as a personal nurse after the doctor is confined to an iron lung when his suicide attempt fails. This study will analyze the inversion of roles as the torturer becomes the tortured and vice versa. I will use Derrida’s notions of deconstruction to interpret the film as a reflection of learned habits, a reflection on one’s actions, and a refraction of images that distort reality.
