~
~-~
ebyDavid
Cronenberg,
starringJamesSpader,
Holly
Hunter
don,
Crash
wasaninstant
causecelebre.
Inmythicte~ins,thecarcrash-memorablydefinedinJacobKulowski's
CrashInjuries:TheIntegratedMedicalAspectsofAutomobileInjuriesandDeaths
as"aneHtremelycomplicatedphenomenonofauerybriefdurationendingindestruction"
-
isatonceaprecognitiuedreamofourfusionwithourmachinesandaritualizedenactmentofthemomentwhenwelosecontrolofthem.
.
InJ,G,Ballard's
Crash,
aproto-cyberpunknovelpartlyinspiredby
CrashInjuries,
andnowtranslatedtothescreenbyDavidCronenberg,
the
car-
crashattainsanightmaresublimity_Inthedetached,exactlanguageoftheforensicpathologistandtheengineer,Ballardshadowsforth"anewsexualitybornfromaperversetechnology":"Inhisvisionofacar.crashwiththeactress,Vaughanwasobsessedbymanywoundsandimpacts-bythedyingchromiumandcollapsingbulkheadsoftheirtwocarsmeetinghead-on...bythecompactfracturesoftheirthighsimpactedagainsttheirhandbrakemountings,andaboveallbythewoundstotheirgenitalia,heruteruspiercedbytheheraldicbeakofthemanufacturer'smedal.lion,hissemenemptyingacrosstheluminescentdialsthatregisteredforeverthelasttemperatureandfuellevelsoftheengine."Violentandpassionless,beyondegopsychologyorsocialmores,itisaposthumansexuality"withoutreferentialityandwithoutlimits,"asJean
Baudrillardputsitinhisessayon
Crash.
Alienatedfromabodythatseems,moreandmore,likeapre.industrialartifact,thisnewsexuality
fetishizesurbandesolation,televiseddisasters,celebritiesandcommodities(aboveall,theautomobile).
In
Crash,
sexhappensalmostentirelyincars:removedfromthatcontext,itlosesitsappeal.Thebodyiseroticonlywhenitintersectswithtech-
nologyorthebuiltenvironment,eitherliterally(puncturedbydoorhandles,impaledonsteeringcolumns)orfiguratively("Theuntouched,rectilinearvolumesofthisbuildingfusedinmymindwiththecontoursofhercalvesandthighspressedagainstthevinylseating").Ayoungwoman'sbodybearstestimonytoasevereautomobileaccident;-tothenarrator,whowashimselfinjuredinanaccidentthatimprintedhiscar'sinstrumentationonhiskneesandshins,shehasbeenreborn:"Thecrushedbodyofthesportscarhadturnedherintoacreatureoffreeandper.versesexuality,releasingwithinitstwistedbulkheadsandleakingenginecoolantallthedeviantpossibilitiesofhersex.Hercrippledthighsandwastedcalfmusclesweremodelsforfascinatingperversities."
Here,asinfilmssuchas
2001:
A
Space
Odyssey
and
B/adeRunner.
humansaredispassionatemannequinswhilethetechnologyaroundthemis
disconcertinglyanthropomorphic:The"grotesqueoverhangofaninstrumentpanelforcedontoadriver'scrotch"inanaccidentconjuresa"cali.bratedactofmachinefellatio,"whilethe"elegantaluminizedair.vents"inahospital"beckonasinvitinglyasthewarmestorganicorifice."lnthedepravedgeometryof
Crash,
semenandenginecoolant,crotchesandchromiuminstrumentheadsarecongruent."Ibelievethatorganicsex,bodyagainstbody,skinareaagainstskinarea,isbecomingnolongerpossible,"saidBallard,ina1970interview,"sim.plybecauseifanythingistohaveanymeaningforusitmusttakeplaceintermsofthevaluesandexperiencesofthemedialandscape."
Publishedin1973,
Crash
refractswhatMarshallMcLuhancalled"thewidelyoccurringclusterimageofsex,technologyanddeath"throughthe
splinteredlensofconsumerculture,withitsflattenedaffect,celebrityworship,obsessivedocumentationofeverylivedmoment,andpsychoticconfusionofsubjectiveexperienceandfilmicfictions.Improvisingonthesethemeswithagleefulviciousnessthatisequalpartssurrealism,Popartandpunk,Ballardportendstheirconvergenceintheterminalrealitywenowinhabit.
'Ii!iiI21.C41
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