本研究以德波式的悲觀主義出發，旨在為暴力影像的批判力辯護，認為暴力影像的弔詭性可以是重思影像道德及其政治性的關鍵。論文分為三個部分，第一章聚焦於《黑暗騎士：黎明昇起》其內容、形式與好萊塢體系的弔詭與矛盾，以此理解商業暴力電影的力量與危機。

第二章處理《班尼的錄影帶》中關於凝視暴力的弔詭，藉此探討導演與觀眾的道德兩難。進一步探究漢內克呈現暴力的極端策略以及恐怖對觀眾的吸引力可發現，《班尼的錄影帶》展演出一種創傷式的觀看位置與隨之而來的「不愉快的愉悅感」，並以這兩個特點作為對主流暴力電影的抵抗。

第三章則以《大快人心》中的遊戲性重思導演、觀眾、影像之間的位階關係，認為漢內克的遊戲使影像與觀眾的權力關係產生不穩定性，而兩者的互動也使暴力影像政治的激進特質產生更多可能。

總結來說，暴力影像不應僅限於娛樂性質的呈現。當暴力成為影像的基調時，其先天的弔詭便揭序了觀者的反思與行動。暴力影像作為影像與觀者間的創傷性相遇，不僅顯露出社會問題，隨之產生的驚嚇與撞擊也使觀眾進一步發展自己的詮釋，並且對真實世界的認知有所改變因而「感動」，意即對暴力有所感而行動。在這層意義上，暴力影像無論是在電影工業層面抑或是現實層面上皆有可能作為對資本壓迫的抵抗。

For a long time violence has been considered sinful and something that should be rejected. However, violence can also be a powerful and positive trigger under certain situation. Taking Debordian pessimism on media image as a point of departure, this thesis aims to justify the critical power of violent image, arguing that the paradox of violence may be the key to rethink ethics and politics of cruel image. The thesis is divided into three chapters, in which I cope with violent image itself, and tried to look into the institution behind it. In chapter one, we discuss capitalistic structure, in chapter two with viewing ethics, and relations between director and the audience in chapter three.

The first chapter focuses on the paradoxes and ambivalence of content, form and Hollywood industry in The Dark Knight Rises in order to see the power and dangers of commercial violent movies. By blurring the boundary between good and evil, hero and villain, the movie prompts the audience to review the complex implications of justice and law. Nevertheless, there are ambivalence and dangers which are embodied in character setting and Hollywood structure.

The second chapter deals with the paradoxes of gazing violence, which explores ethical dilemma of both the director and the audience in Benny’s Video, and considers that the film resists mainstream violent movies by means of traumatic looking and “displeasurable pleasure.” The audience in this film is alienated. In view of Haneke, alienation does not detach the viewers from being affected, but in fact it strengthens the viewers’ awareness. While seeing the crime from a distance and recognizing their scopophilia, the audience is traumatized by ethical dilemma.

The third chapter reconsiders the hierarchical relations among director, spectator and image through the gameness in Funny Games, arguing that Hanekian games destabilize the power relation between image and spectators, in which the interaction brings possibilities of politically radical engagement. Being a parody of Hollywood thrillers, the film mocks on its conventions. By way of emphasizing the absurdity and de-emphasizing the ambiguity, violence is no longer pleasurable in the games between Paul and the family or Haneke and the audience. Instead, violence becomes a provocation through the agency of Paul’s winks, gazes and questions. In this sense, the audience seems to be the victimized masochist under Haneke’s sadistic authority. However, as Paul imposes his power over spectators, audiences are also staring at him. As a result, the power relations change by the audience’s potential resistance. As viewers dare to look at the violence, they start to reconsider their relations with it and then reconfigure their position according to their own understanding. In this case, at the moment we indicate a director to be a sadist, the counterforce of the audience is simultaneously implied.

To sum up, violent image is more than an entertaining presentation. With the paradoxical nature, violence-as-image manifests itself as the beginning of reflections and actions. It is the traumatic encounters that reveal social problems for the audience to develop their own interpretations and take actions. In this sense, violent image may work as a resistance to capitalistic oppressions in both dimensions of cinema and reality.

Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................1

Chapter One: Paradox of Capitalism in The Dark Knight Rises....................................................19
From Superhero to Supervillain...........................21
The Re-institution of Imperial Capitalism................27
Ambivalent Hollywood in The Dark Knight Rises............32
A. Ambiguity of Hollywood Framing..................................................32
B. Two-facedness of Hollywood Politics.................................................35

Chapter Two: Paradox of Gazes in Benny’s Video...........39
Distance, Alienation and Apathy..........................40
Hanekian Suspense and Ethics.............................45
Violence as Shock Therapy................................53
Paradox of Gazes: The Re-institution of Trauma...........56

Chapter Three: Paradox of Sadomasochism in Funny Games...62
Haneke’s Parody of Hollywood Thrillers...................64
Effects of Parody: Funny Games versus Seven..............66
Haneke’s Gameness........................................72
A. Principle of Emphasis and Absurdity................................................72
B. Principle of De-emphasis and Ambiguity................................................77
Games of Violence: Inside and Outside the Diegesis.......80
Ambivalence in the Re-institution of Sadomasochism.......84

Conclusion...............................................89

Works Cited..............................................95

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