Two Approaches to School Violence

Based on the 1989 massacre at Montreal's Polytechnique School (and its aftermath, which included the suicides of several of the school's students), Polytechnique (Denis Villeneuve, 2009) invites obvious comparison with Gus Van Sant's 2003 Elephant (widely interpreted as a meditation on the Columbine high school massacre). In fact Polytechnique shares several textual elements with the earlier film. (Among them the offering of scientific theory as an apparent metaphor for the coming massacre and the presentation of a sensitive, passive male who tries to prevent the approaching disaster). The obvious similarities between the two films seems practically to invite an intertextual reading and, while not coming to any conclusions about either film, I would like to attempt such a reading at this time. Both films seem to me to merit further critical attention, Polytechnique because it represents an admirable and comparatively straightforward and respectful (that is, neither opportunistic nor sensational) attempt to deal with the subject of mass murder and Elephant because it remains a film fascinating in its formal structure if perplexing in its intent. Parallels Between Killer and Victim Despite the diversity of Van Sant's student population, an underlying dichotomy seems to unite two students: Alex (Alex Frost), one of the killers, and Nathan (Nathan Tyson), one of his (presumed) victims. They are linked by, among other things, music, specifically Beethoven's Piano Sonata n[degrees] 2 (the Moonlight). The Beethoven is the musical accompaniment to Nathan's introduction as he plays football with fellow male students and it continues as he departs from the game and maneuvers, unobstructed, through a maze of student activity toward a rendezvous with his girlfriend, the music's dark romanticism characterizing him as the student body's dark-haired 'dream'. (As he walks, he is admired from afar by a trio of female students). It is this music that Alex is later heard practicing on piano when, during a difficult passage, he falters and instead turns his attention toward the online purchase of guns, a moment which further links the two scenes and thus the two young men: Alex's physical 'clumsiness' in performing the Beethoven contrasts with the physical ease and athleticism Nathan displays when introduced. Alex's flawed performance thus marks him as Nathan's dark-haired social opposite. (He is seemingly also identified as the 'elephant-in-the-room' to which the film's title apparently refers, Van Sant placing an elephant literally in his room via a drawing of an elephant, seen as the camera circles the room during this performance). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Polytechnique also establishes a dichotomy between characters, one based upon gender itself as well as gender norms (to which I will return). As in the actual massacre the film's assassin (Maxim Gaudette) is driven by a hatred of feminism and as a consequence he targets only female students (killing 14 women in the actual case). Appropriately then, the film juxtaposes his progress toward the killing spree with that of one of his future victims, a young female aeronautics student named Val (Karine Vanasse). Their parallel progressions are told in terms of both similarities (he shaves, she shaves) and differences (he shaves his face, she her legs), primarily the latter. The male/female schism will structure the entire film, continuing after the massacre when, surviving the attack, Val's actions are then juxtaposed with those of a surviving male student. Masculinity Patriarchal gender construction is one system implied as causing the massacre in Elephant and the film offers a detailed critique. The Nathan/Alex dichotomy is central here, with Nathan offered as the cultural ideal of masculinity (competitive, social, aggressive) and Alex his opposite (self-critical, asocial, passive/hyper-aggressive). …

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.