A conversation in a discord between @follows-the-bees @dinosaurs-and-lavender and @celluloidbroomcloset got me thinking a little more about the characterisation of the French Aristocrats in 105.
Aspects of ‘the grotesque’ can be found within this episode. We see the distorted laughing faces of the aristos through the manipulation of the camera lens, not to mention the use of make up and costume. The whiting up to the point of caricature is extreme and sinister in presenting concepts of European superiority.
The grotesque as an artistic and literary movement gained prominence in the 18th century. One of its facets is to blur and challenge distinctions between what is defined as beauty and what obscene. The ambiguity of expectations of normalcy are at the heart of it. Make no mistake the French think they uphold all standards of normal peoples and behaviours, whilst Ed, an indigenous man of colour, is their understanding of the grotesque. They play with him, delight in perceived savagery and exoticism, then discard him. Ed himself leans into their perceptions, playing along with having eaten human flesh, a further example of the grotesque. We also see Siegfried’s wonder at how ‘the grotesque’ - Frenchie and Olu - can present itself with such cleanliness and bearing.
The idea of the grotesque explores often the role of the outsider, and whether the individual or society itself is monstrous. Frankenstein is a good example of this. To the French, people of colour act as the monster to their civility. Yet from the viewers’ perspective of 105, it is the Europeans who possess the physical and behavioural attributes of the grotesque, whilst Ed is, to use Stede’s appraisal, ‘very sophisticated’ when he isn’t manipulated into leaning into stereotypes by fear and want of approval. As with Frankenstein, the question as to where lies the identity of the story’s monster is subverted from original (Eurocentric) presumptions and expectations.
Another aspect of the grotesque is estrangement. Ed initially feels quite at home on the French ship. He tells Stede ‘These people are great’ as Stede warns Ed they’re a ‘fickle crowd’. Ed thinks he has found belonging. At the dinner table though Ed’s estrangement from this world becomes apparent. He was never part of it. The distorted camera work reinforces Ed’s realisation at his estrangement. He disassociates as the familiar becomes suddenly unfamiliar and ominous.
Another literary and artistic movement linked often with the grotesque is the absurd . The entire French experience in this episode could fall within this definition, but I think the con played by Frenchie and Olu, in particular, explores this best.
Aspects such as the irrational and illogical are demonstrated throughout. The aristos form a very long queue in which they, each individually and alone, think are going to succeed with whatever secret transaction is going on inside. Their own individual sense of superiority and arrogance, even over each other, mean they believe they will come out the winner. They never once question who the true winners are here, and it’s none of them.
Futility is also part of the absurd, and the aristos get exactly that in their little scraps of paper, declaring they are all owners of half a pyramid. The triumphant, satirical cry of ‘Now they are truly worthless’ as the papers are burned reinforces the meaninglessness of the existence of these people. They would rather destroy themselves than see someone else succeed where they do not. The burning down of the ship takes the absurd to its natural conclusion. These people’s lives have no depth, purpose, or meaning, and they self-annihilate, almost as a form of enjoyment.
The moonlight scene and Ed’s red silk reinforces opposing ideas and forces. If the aristos encompass the grotesque and the absurd, then Ed and Stede symbolise beauty and aestheticism, and some aspects of the sublime. Ed’s silk is monetarily worthless, but there is nothing absurd about it in the same way as the pyramid receipts. It is imbued with beauty and emotional meaning before Stede even gets his hands to it. Stede elevates the silk to another level in an example of the sublime, transcending its meaning from a maternal keepsake, but also of a world out of reach, into a recognition of worth and personhood, bestowed via a lover’s kiss*.
*DJenks called the pocket square tuck a kiss in Behind Our Flag
