장르 영화의 이데올로기는 이제 과감한 컴퓨터그래픽과 화려한 스펙터클 그리고 입체라는 새로운 기술전략으로 관객에게 승부를 걸고 있다. 하지만 그럼에도 불구하고 이데올로기에 봉합되지 않고 예술로서 영화의 책무를 끊임없이 보여주려는 노력 또한 여전히 존재한다. 그러한 노력은 폭로와 전복의 미학을 통해 가능한 것이다. 디지털은 바로 이러한 면에 있어서 이율배반적 기능을 수행하게 된다. 관객에게 거칠고 날카로운 그들의 삶을 여과 없이 보여주기 위해 디지털은 자기의 모든 장식적 껍질을 벗어버리게 되는 것이다. 디지털 0과 1의 픽셀미학은 이미지의 아방가르드적 현존을 가능하게 하며 관객의 능동적 참여를 이끌어 내게 한다. ‘국내 디지털 아방가르드 영화 <자본당 선언, 만국의 노동자여 축적하라>는 바로 이러한 진화의 한 축을 이루는 진보적인 국내 실험영화 중 하나이다. 이에 본 연구는 국내 디지털 아방가르드 영화<자본당 선언, 만국의 노동자여 축적하라>의 숭고미학에 있어서 탈이데올로기적 특징을 리오타르의 이론을 통하여 고찰해 볼 것이다.

The movement of vanguard film has positioned itself as a new aesthetic foothold at the edge of practice areas in modern film. In other words, it has taken the transformation of resistance to more practical coordinates through actively participating in and even subverting the reality suppressed as a criterion for good image aesthetics, instead of ontologically pursuing into the nature of film simply as an art form. By showing the attitudes of subversion instead of conformity to the norm, and by playing with symbols that defy being signified the vanguard cinema in Korea has continuously suggested democratic interplays between the audience and the presenter in construing meanings. Nevertheless, the general perceptions are that vanguard cinema is not what is an alternative to the mainstream yet, but only an interesting deviation from the regular genre. Although this is somewhat understandable given the presence of excessive levels of practice variation by some directors intending to express their distorted political views or use it as a self-display strategy, the apathy and disparagement towards the pure Korean vanguard film sector are severely prevalent among the public audience despite the sector's relentless efforts to promote the practical aesthetics of subversion armed with the new technology of digital recording since the end of the nineties, which has brought about an entire eradication of the stream of spirits that may stimulate satiric reflection and make a viable challenge or critique possible. If it is admitted that challenge to ideological extremes constitutes the basic virtue of vanguard film, progress acquired from a constructive breakup is worth reevaluating as its valuable contribution in that the vanguard film movement opened a new horizon in discovering formal aesthetics of digital movies. Against these current settings, this study tries to shed new light on the traditional view of the characteristic nature of progressive formal aesthetics found in the films of the leading indie camp in Korea, Goksa, building on Leotard's theory of sublime aesthetics, and based on that, seeks a new gateway into the healthy future of the camp of vanguard and independent film in Korea.

• 현승훈(목원대학교 영화영상학부 교수) | Seung Hoon Hyun