觀看殭屍文本的道德判斷與角色情感傾向塑造--以《陰屍路》影集為例

Abstract

本研究以當紅的《陰屍路》影集為研究文本，目的在於了解《陰屍路》中道德議題的呈現與閱聽人的解讀。本研究首先以內容分析法分析第一季至第五季上半季58集劇情中的道德議題。其次以深度訪談法訪問27名受訪者，以了解閱聽人端對文本的接收與感知，以及對於文本中角色道德判斷和情感傾向之形塑。 內容分析法主要結果顯示，在正面與負面道德並存的道德爭議中，屬負面道德類別的傷害類和欺騙類多次出現，且最常與屬正面社群倫理類的忠誠類和權威類形成道德爭議。而深度訪談法結果則顯示受訪者喜歡《陰屍路》的理由來自於對文本的高感知真實，以及其作為非典型恐怖文本的奇特觀影感受。此外，受訪者對於影集中道德爭議解讀、角色道德判斷與情感傾向也有更複雜的詮釋和看法。 綜合兩個研究方法結果，本研究發現受到特殊情境設定影響，受訪者對於影集中角色道德行為詮釋與判斷過程中會產生道德疏離傾向，因此對角色善惡向性的有更複雜的判斷，打破過去情感傾向理論中角色的二元分類，而認為有第三種「灰色地帶角色」的存在。因此在複雜交錯的詮釋解讀下，受訪者雖然判斷角色行為為負面道德，但卻不一定會如先前情感傾向理論模式，將角色判定為反派角色。意即對於喜歡的角色也能理性判斷其行為負面之處，且仍保有情感傾向。

By using The Walking Dead as the example, this research mainly focuses on its moral issues and how audiences make these moral judgments. The research first uses content analysis to analyze the moral conflicts from 58 episodes including season one to the half of season five. Then, a 27-responsers’ in-depth interview is adopted to explore audiences’ viewing experience, especially their moral judgments of characters’ behaviors, and the following affective disposition toward the characters.

Main results from content analysis show that moral conflict situation is composed by negative and positive moralities, and most of the moral conflict situations are composed by harm and cheating, which are the most frequently negative moralities in the story, and loyalty and authority, which are contrary the most frequently positive moralities in the situation. Additionally, results from in-depth interview show that: 1) perceived reality and the uniqueness of context are attractive factors; 2) audiences’ moral judgment and affective disposition are much more complicated and delicate.

Putting two studies together, the research discovers that the zombie-apocalypse setting will cause audiences’ moral disengagement from characters’ negative behavior. Audiences recognize grey-zone characters, which break down the black-or-white judgment in traditional affective disposition theory. Audiences may make a negative moral judgment, but may not consider the character a bad guy. In other words, audiences can rationally point out negative moral behaviors from favored character.