Body, Telephone, Voice: Black Christmas (1974) and Monstrous Cinema

Abstract

This article investigates the role of the telephone as both an engine of suspense and a metaphorical double of cinema in Black Christmas directed by Bob Clark (1974). Employing Michel Chion’s concept of acousmatic voice, the article first explores the role of the telephone in creating both narrative suspense and diegetic cohesion. It then investigates how the film implicitly establishes a pattern of resemblance between the telephonic and cinematic mediums centred on their capacities for diffusion and disembodiment. Finally, the article explores the meta-cinematic implications of its preceding findings, arguing that the fears and anxieties associated with the telephone in Black Christmas ultimately concern cinema itself and its possible cultural impact. Although it attempts to enforce certain categories of knowledge and identity, Black Christmas ultimately engages with cinema’s capacity for subverting rather than enforcing ideology.

Keywords

• black christmas
• slasher cinema
• telephone
• technology
• acousmatic voice