1960년대식 애정표현의 에피스테메: 영화 <초연>(1966)의 애정 화행(speech act)을 중심으로

Abstract

Unlike literature, a phenomenological approach to the perception process of production and reception is essential for objectifying the existence of dramas. Melodramas which were popular in those days have been devaluated for the lack of refinedness. However, the gap between the senses of contemporary and present-day audiences deserves a careful study. This article takes a pragmatic and phenomenological approach to examine the reason why affectional speech acts in 1960s melodrama films feel unfamiliar to the audience, and how it could operate as a fantasy for the contemporary audience.

First Love(Choeyon, 1966), the first film which embodies free love of university students in earnest, uses unusual and unfamiliar verbal expressions to mystify characters lives and arouse the sense of distance between them and the audience. In this film, affectional speech acts work as a figure not a ground, so that they excess and prevail over visual images. Originally, expressing love depends on actions rather than words for it lacks performativity. Verbal expressions for two-way intentionality between lovers are limited, and it makes representation of love itself difficult. Nonetheless, affectional speech acts are attempted continuously in everyday lives, and especially while screening a film in a public place, characters display of affection becomes a target of shared perception.

In 1960s, expressing affection was still an unaccustomed thing for the audience and also restricted to their private areas. In melodramas of 1960s including First Love, the network surrounding privileged characters in a public place functions as an object of desire and fantasy, and the audience regard characters unusual expressions as special ones beyond their capacity.