The Dissection of A ‘Grisly Work of Art'

Abstract

This essay analyzes and explores Tobe Hooper’s film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) from a philosophical lense. The film confronts us with the grisly reality of our own human condition; we are nothing but meat and flesh. Contrasting images and dialogue that unveil our vulnerabilities, Hooper places the ugly and grotesque on display, propelling us to see nothing but the hideousness of these vulnerabilities. Hooper’s film functions as a representation of the ugliness our capitalist society forces us to conceal. The pervasion of capitalism within society  provides us the ability to commodify anything, including our own physicality. What Hooper demonstrates is that what is concealed through capitalist functions is ultimately revealed, exposing itself to be more terrifying and chaotic than what we formerly believed. Through an in-depth scene analysis, my essay discusses the “grisly work of art” Hooper’s horror film produces.

Discipline: Philosophy

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alain Beauclair