Border - In Human
Thoughts On: Border (Gräns, 2018)
A border officer with an acute sense of smell and chromosomal deformations discovers the truth concerning who she really is and can be.
Seeing Border on nothing but a whim left me in a whirr of incomprehension and, dare I say, pain. I would encourage any and all to see this film without looking at posters, trailers, reviews--any material that will give you any incite into what this is. That said, for those who do not care for such advice or have already seen this film, let us delve into it with some spoilers.
Very much so a film about existence on the boundaries of social being, Border's title says more than enough. The beauty of seeing this film blindly is that you are allowed to slowly fall through and establish boundaries as our main character does. Ugliness then plays a pivotal role in this narrative. Harsh though it may be to emphasise, the presence of an 'Other', an ugly Other, sits at the centre of the dramaturgy. Throughout the first half of this film, I found myself attempting to reconcile with the fact our main character, Tina, is so ugly, so alien, yet still human. The fact that she is revealed to be a troll came as a relief to me; suddenly the intimate and sexual expressions of her character became palatable. Disquieting this may be for some to hear said--or maybe even to feel themselves. But, this fascinates me most about Border. Whilst this is very much so a transgressive film, generically and characterlogically speaking, its perturbing qualities - the presentation of an ugly other, of sexuality, the alien and raw, intimate nature - settle into an archetype (the troll) that is, with the conclusion of the narrative, humanised - is complexified with photogénie.
It can then be said that there are three major phases of characterisation in this film. Tina emerges onto the screen as an Other we attempt to familiarise ourselves with, attempt (possibly) to see as ourselves. We sit, then, for an hour or more in tyrannous discomfort. What could this be, however, in comparison to the decades Tina herself has lived through? The central theme explored in the first phase of the narrative concerns silent suffering and complacency. Our main character accepts her lot in life; she is a deformity and anomaly; her pain is an inevitability of her reality. We perceive her as a source of horror, yet sense moral misdemeanour on our own part. This counterpoint foreshadows the succession of events that lead towards a key transformation. That is to say, our sense that we do some kind of wrong in perceiving Tina's pain with disgust aligns with the narrative's affirmation that she suffers unduly. It is when we and Tina together realise that she is a troll that a place in the world (and in our psychic composition) opens up.
This is a process, a step or jump, that is incredibly intriguing. We are told Tina is a troll and so suddenly can accept her being; she makes sense. This phenomena seems to be something that psychoanalysts have focused on. Often, people struggle during their psychological development when they are confronted with the fact that their emotional, libidinal and existential reach is incredibly limited--that they cannot control or possess others and, indeed, that others are just as much of an independent being as they themselves are. This conflict arises when there is a positive association between an individual and another. For instance, a baby becomes attached to their mother. There comes a point in every child's life in which they must (to some degree or another) let go of mother's hand and, eventually, see her as just as much of a human as they are. This is difficult for many, impossible for some, and so (again, to some degree or another) someone's mother always remains a mother--never again just human in their child's perception. Presented with a negative association as we are in Border - a forced attachment to an ugly other - it becomes incredibly hard to seek and perceive their individuality. This is because the relationship in question does not allow the initial identification process seen in the example of the mother, child relation. A child sees the mother as an extension of themself. It is this installation of the mother into the self of the child that allows for the successful extraction of the whole and individual human once called 'mother' as it seems that, whilst the mother germinates in the centre of the child's identity or psyched, they are given autonomy and individuality. This remains when the child realises that their mother is not them, is not theirs. Therefore, as mother is extracted from the child's psyche she takes a pre-installed individuality with her. This does not necessarily happen in Border - it can't.
If we can never identify with Tina - which is to say - install her into our psyche and see her as ourself, then we can't prescribe to her individuality (something we primarily understand through the isolated perception of our own existence). She remains anomalous then. Until, at least, something triggers the opening of a space in our psyche: Tina is associated with an archetype of the collective unconscious: the troll. The troll is an archetype that represents hybridity. It exists on a spectrum with chimeras, fauns, centaurs, minotaurs and other such creatures that are constructed of animal and human in varying compositions. The troll is relatively far from the likes of a werewolf or mermaid as the animal that they are composed of appears near-human. Like the ape-man - a Bigfoot, a yeti - the troll is a hybrid of the human and proto-human; something estimating a Neanderthal maybe. Nonetheless, what we see the troll fulfil is a psychological tendency and predilection to identify and categorise creatures that are near-human and almost 'us'. And such stages meaningful mimetic exploration.
With Tina positioned in our psyche (associated with an archetype), the function of the hybrid concept produces its meaning. Let us question here why humans, wolves, deer, horses, snakes, fish and many other creatures are often composited in the tales human tell. With a literalist, anthropological perspective, one might be lead to argue that creatures such as the centaur or mermaid emerge from certain cultures coming into contact with either an alien 'other' or engaging in alien contact. It has then been argued that the myth of the mermaid, for example, emerges from sightings of the Dugong - a manatee. To provide another example, Robert Graves has attempted to reduce all of Greek mythology to Grecian culture historicising, abstractly, the transition between a mysterious matriarchal society to a patriarchy. Many gods and creatures in Greek myths then come to represent cultures alien to what became the dominant, hegemonic powers of Ancient Greece. This means of analysis often proves highly problematic and refutable (as in the case of Graves' work), and it furthermore diminishes the significance of narrative; for instance, though it may be argued that the origins of the mermaid rest in sightings of the Dugong, this does not do much in the way of explaining the prevalence of mermaid myths and folklore. Narrative is more than entertaining exposition; gods and mythic creatures, one may argue, do not just naively and crudely explain away the world's mysteries. They seemingly serve this function in some respects, but only because of their capacity to embody values; myths surrounding gods do not just then explain the world's mysteries away, but give meaning to the mystery itself, meaning that provides guidance and cultural values. Does Tina manage to do this?
The final phase of Tina's characterisation sees her move from an archetype to something estimating a character with irrefutable subjectivity. She is solidified as an 'other', a troll, and so we accept her alien nature. However, her self-discovery is catalysed by another troll she comes into contact with; a troll who turns out to be morally corrupt. An avenger of a falling group of oppressed people, this troll deals in child pornography and paedophilic sex trafficking believing that he is facilitating and nurturing human evil. Tina comes to learn of this through helping the police in her own investigations as a border officer. She uses her developed sense of smell (she can smell emotion) and understanding of nature to track down and prevent the human evil that the troll she befriends nurtures. It is despite the fact that the 'male' troll (gender is a difficulty in this film) nourishes Tina's troll side and introduces her to her true nature that she eventually betrays him. She overlooks her biological, phylogenetic connection to her friend, allowing morality to transcend discovery and self-development. Indeed, the only true means of development is moral--this is what Border fundamentally asserts. And it is through this that the hybrid archetype speaks. Tina, the troll, the hybrid, embodies a human ideal despite her physical inhumanity; she, in effect, teach us how to be human. This seems to be the function of the hybrid archetype and such encapsulates the meaning produced by its projection here.
Far more could be said about Border, but having said much already, I leave things with you. What do you think of this film?
Previous post:
Gully Boy - Impressive
Next post:
Phantom Anthem: Album Review
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
A border officer with an acute sense of smell and chromosomal deformations discovers the truth concerning who she really is and can be.
Seeing Border on nothing but a whim left me in a whirr of incomprehension and, dare I say, pain. I would encourage any and all to see this film without looking at posters, trailers, reviews--any material that will give you any incite into what this is. That said, for those who do not care for such advice or have already seen this film, let us delve into it with some spoilers.
Very much so a film about existence on the boundaries of social being, Border's title says more than enough. The beauty of seeing this film blindly is that you are allowed to slowly fall through and establish boundaries as our main character does. Ugliness then plays a pivotal role in this narrative. Harsh though it may be to emphasise, the presence of an 'Other', an ugly Other, sits at the centre of the dramaturgy. Throughout the first half of this film, I found myself attempting to reconcile with the fact our main character, Tina, is so ugly, so alien, yet still human. The fact that she is revealed to be a troll came as a relief to me; suddenly the intimate and sexual expressions of her character became palatable. Disquieting this may be for some to hear said--or maybe even to feel themselves. But, this fascinates me most about Border. Whilst this is very much so a transgressive film, generically and characterlogically speaking, its perturbing qualities - the presentation of an ugly other, of sexuality, the alien and raw, intimate nature - settle into an archetype (the troll) that is, with the conclusion of the narrative, humanised - is complexified with photogénie.
It can then be said that there are three major phases of characterisation in this film. Tina emerges onto the screen as an Other we attempt to familiarise ourselves with, attempt (possibly) to see as ourselves. We sit, then, for an hour or more in tyrannous discomfort. What could this be, however, in comparison to the decades Tina herself has lived through? The central theme explored in the first phase of the narrative concerns silent suffering and complacency. Our main character accepts her lot in life; she is a deformity and anomaly; her pain is an inevitability of her reality. We perceive her as a source of horror, yet sense moral misdemeanour on our own part. This counterpoint foreshadows the succession of events that lead towards a key transformation. That is to say, our sense that we do some kind of wrong in perceiving Tina's pain with disgust aligns with the narrative's affirmation that she suffers unduly. It is when we and Tina together realise that she is a troll that a place in the world (and in our psychic composition) opens up.
This is a process, a step or jump, that is incredibly intriguing. We are told Tina is a troll and so suddenly can accept her being; she makes sense. This phenomena seems to be something that psychoanalysts have focused on. Often, people struggle during their psychological development when they are confronted with the fact that their emotional, libidinal and existential reach is incredibly limited--that they cannot control or possess others and, indeed, that others are just as much of an independent being as they themselves are. This conflict arises when there is a positive association between an individual and another. For instance, a baby becomes attached to their mother. There comes a point in every child's life in which they must (to some degree or another) let go of mother's hand and, eventually, see her as just as much of a human as they are. This is difficult for many, impossible for some, and so (again, to some degree or another) someone's mother always remains a mother--never again just human in their child's perception. Presented with a negative association as we are in Border - a forced attachment to an ugly other - it becomes incredibly hard to seek and perceive their individuality. This is because the relationship in question does not allow the initial identification process seen in the example of the mother, child relation. A child sees the mother as an extension of themself. It is this installation of the mother into the self of the child that allows for the successful extraction of the whole and individual human once called 'mother' as it seems that, whilst the mother germinates in the centre of the child's identity or psyched, they are given autonomy and individuality. This remains when the child realises that their mother is not them, is not theirs. Therefore, as mother is extracted from the child's psyche she takes a pre-installed individuality with her. This does not necessarily happen in Border - it can't.
If we can never identify with Tina - which is to say - install her into our psyche and see her as ourself, then we can't prescribe to her individuality (something we primarily understand through the isolated perception of our own existence). She remains anomalous then. Until, at least, something triggers the opening of a space in our psyche: Tina is associated with an archetype of the collective unconscious: the troll. The troll is an archetype that represents hybridity. It exists on a spectrum with chimeras, fauns, centaurs, minotaurs and other such creatures that are constructed of animal and human in varying compositions. The troll is relatively far from the likes of a werewolf or mermaid as the animal that they are composed of appears near-human. Like the ape-man - a Bigfoot, a yeti - the troll is a hybrid of the human and proto-human; something estimating a Neanderthal maybe. Nonetheless, what we see the troll fulfil is a psychological tendency and predilection to identify and categorise creatures that are near-human and almost 'us'. And such stages meaningful mimetic exploration.
With Tina positioned in our psyche (associated with an archetype), the function of the hybrid concept produces its meaning. Let us question here why humans, wolves, deer, horses, snakes, fish and many other creatures are often composited in the tales human tell. With a literalist, anthropological perspective, one might be lead to argue that creatures such as the centaur or mermaid emerge from certain cultures coming into contact with either an alien 'other' or engaging in alien contact. It has then been argued that the myth of the mermaid, for example, emerges from sightings of the Dugong - a manatee. To provide another example, Robert Graves has attempted to reduce all of Greek mythology to Grecian culture historicising, abstractly, the transition between a mysterious matriarchal society to a patriarchy. Many gods and creatures in Greek myths then come to represent cultures alien to what became the dominant, hegemonic powers of Ancient Greece. This means of analysis often proves highly problematic and refutable (as in the case of Graves' work), and it furthermore diminishes the significance of narrative; for instance, though it may be argued that the origins of the mermaid rest in sightings of the Dugong, this does not do much in the way of explaining the prevalence of mermaid myths and folklore. Narrative is more than entertaining exposition; gods and mythic creatures, one may argue, do not just naively and crudely explain away the world's mysteries. They seemingly serve this function in some respects, but only because of their capacity to embody values; myths surrounding gods do not just then explain the world's mysteries away, but give meaning to the mystery itself, meaning that provides guidance and cultural values. Does Tina manage to do this?
The final phase of Tina's characterisation sees her move from an archetype to something estimating a character with irrefutable subjectivity. She is solidified as an 'other', a troll, and so we accept her alien nature. However, her self-discovery is catalysed by another troll she comes into contact with; a troll who turns out to be morally corrupt. An avenger of a falling group of oppressed people, this troll deals in child pornography and paedophilic sex trafficking believing that he is facilitating and nurturing human evil. Tina comes to learn of this through helping the police in her own investigations as a border officer. She uses her developed sense of smell (she can smell emotion) and understanding of nature to track down and prevent the human evil that the troll she befriends nurtures. It is despite the fact that the 'male' troll (gender is a difficulty in this film) nourishes Tina's troll side and introduces her to her true nature that she eventually betrays him. She overlooks her biological, phylogenetic connection to her friend, allowing morality to transcend discovery and self-development. Indeed, the only true means of development is moral--this is what Border fundamentally asserts. And it is through this that the hybrid archetype speaks. Tina, the troll, the hybrid, embodies a human ideal despite her physical inhumanity; she, in effect, teach us how to be human. This seems to be the function of the hybrid archetype and such encapsulates the meaning produced by its projection here.
Far more could be said about Border, but having said much already, I leave things with you. What do you think of this film?
Previous post:
Gully Boy - Impressive
Next post:
Phantom Anthem: Album Review
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
