A estética da crueldade em Tomie : do mangá ao cinema

Abstract

This monograph explores the relationships between Junji Ito's work Tomie (1987) and concepts related to the aesthetics of cruelty, as well as its connection to the works of French playwright Antonin Artaud and the studies of philosopher Clément Rosset. First, it examines Artaud’s concept of cruelty, understanding it as a visceral force meant to confront the audience with intense and provocative experiences, revealing the unconscious and the raw, unsettling essence of human nature. The analysis continues with a comparative study between Ito’s visual language and Artaud’s principles, observing how both employ distortion and the grotesque to provoke instinctive reactions in the audience. Based on these concepts, the following question is discussed: how does the protagonist Tomie Kawakami embody the aesthetics of cruelty and its developments in Tomie? The study also investigates the film adaptations of Ito's works, highlighting how elements of direction, cinematography, and editing contribute to translating the aesthetics of cruelty and discomfort from manga into audiovisual language. Other theories are also used as the foundation for this analysis, such as The Principle of Cruelty (1989) by Clément Rosset and Literature and Cinema (2017) by Thais Flores Nogueira Diniz.