Page 90 - Alternative Europe Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945

at the workplace, paedophile practices of Catholic priests and Jesuit teachers at boarding schools,
judges caught up in sadomasochistic activities, and so on. Stories like these have always appeared in
press reports, but had never threatened the social order of Belgian culture. Now, with the impact of
the Affaire shedding a new perspective on the human body in crisis, these stories suddenly became
symptoms of a society in decay. Just as S.'s body becomes a threat to its attackers when its limits are
reached, so the Affaire turned these stories from innocent fait-divers into guilty pleasures. By serving
its viewers a voyeuristic look at the abject, female body being tested, and forcing them to face the
consequences when the limits of violation are reached, S. is a paradigmatic example of how Belgian
culture was offered the chance to see how its pleasures were never innocent.

CONCLUSION

Almost a decade after the Affaire, Belgian films still show a striking interest in the topic. Recently,
the 'militant edge' of the prison film Une part du ciel (A Piece of Sky, Bénédicte Liénard, 2002), using
real-life prisoners to create a sense of urgency and authenticity, brings the Affaire to mind. Similarly,
the Dardenne Brothers' Lefils (The Son, 2002) demonstrates a particular interest in the human body
as the final refuge in case of social conflict. The latter tells the story of a carpenter who trains a young
man released from a juvenile detention centre; the trainee having killed the carpenter's son. Here,
the Dardennes used a new lightweight camera to foreground the body of the main character/actor to
ensure the prominent place of the human body in the film. According to the pair, The Son is about 'a
human being in a situation of extreme pain', something they inextricably link to a social and cultural
context. 'One's whole life is expressed in the body,' they add. 1 4
S. predates these concerns. On several levels it offers a view on the relationship between culture and
the human body. On a first level it shows what happens to a woman's body in extreme situations, not
dissimilar to those particular to the Affaire Dutroux. On another level 5., according to the intentions
of the director, is a representation of the 'Belgian disease' of which the Affaire is the culmination. As
a representation it puts the context of the Affaire in a new light by addressing its connection to issues
involving the cultural function of the human body in crisis. On yet another, conceptual level S. links
the concept of abjection to the cultural presence of the human body and its place in (Belgian) culture.
Through the concept of abjection even the most radical and extreme actions in the film can be seen
as both victimisation and rebellion of the body in a cultural framework. The resistance of S. against
anyone who exploits her calls for respect of the human body as the last refuge in times of cultural
crisis, making it possible to see it as a solution for a situation in which it has become a pivotal social
issue. For S., her body is the only solution.
Given the situation in Belgium at the end of the 1990s, there is a possibility that this gives the film
an all too real connotation. To what extent this has been understood by critics and audiences remains
unclear. It is at least remarkable that literally no one picks up on it. Could it be that the sensitivity for
abjection and its relation to social order was too uncomfortable an issue (even in a metaphorical or
conceptual way) to address at the time? Perhaps ironically, the absence of references to abjection in the
discourse around S. seems to reinforce the suggestion that it is of crucial importance in making sense
of Belgian cultural identity of the time.

76