The reading by Barbara Creed titled “Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection”, is an in-depth examination on the role of women in horror films. Creed challenges the commanding patriarchal view, which frequently puts the woman in the position of the helpless victim. She argues that when the feminine is constructed as monstrous, it is frequently done in conjunction with its mothering role and function. Creed’s main thesis supports that the prototype of all cinematic definitions of monstrosity related to the feminine is linked to the woman’s reproductive body. Creed elects to use the term “monstrous feminine” instead of female monster, because for Creed it is the “femininity itself that is monstrous” (41). It has been unfairly …show more content…
According to Creed, there are seven possible faces of female monstrosity in the cinematic language: archaic mother, monstrous womb, vampire, witch possessed monster, deadly femme castrator, and the castrating mother. These elements of the female form in cinema help Creed’s definition of the female body as alien and an oppressive realm that provokes feelings of disgust. Creed states that “Horror emerges from the fact that woman has broken with her proper feminine role as she has ‘made a spectacle of herself’ and put her unsocialized body on display” (46). She goes on to relate this to the film The Exorcist (1973) and the young girl’s gradual possession, “with its emphasis on filthy utterances and depraved acts, seems so shocking… mockery of all established forms of propriety, of the clean and proper body and of the law itself define her as abject.Yet, despite her monstrous appearance and shocking utterances, she remains a strongly ambiguous figure.” (46). Creed also makes another fascinating point that highlights the films use of male and female characters. Besides the mother and daughter in the film The Exorcist all law enforcement, doctors, healers, archaologists, and priests are …show more content…
While trying to figure whats going on with his wife and protecting his young daughter, the male protagonist is caught in difficult situation as series of brutal murders happen all around him. We find out that these murders are the product of the wife’s ability to give birth to mutant children through a psychoplasmically-induced external womb. These mutants or “broods” are born out of the mother’s rage for certain people. This film hits on many of Creed’s theories including the abject mother, monstrous womb, and femme castrator. We see that the female character can give birth to these children that do her bidding without the act of sexual intercourse, which can symbolize a castration of the male figure. This relates back to Creed’s notion and idea of castration introduced by Freud. They male character is undoubtedly threatened by the female character and in many ways is stripped of his masculinity. So the female form does become a symbol of castration and in this way exemplifies evil. example in The birth of one of the broods at the end of the film also supports Creed’s point of the female “womb” being a source of evil. As the film is literally centered around the womb being the source of all evil and
Too many horror films provide scares and screams throughout their respective cinemas. Not many viewers follow what kind of model the films follow to appease their viewers. However, after reading film theorist Carol Clover’s novel, watching one of the films she associates in the novel “Halloween”, and also watching the movie “Nightmare on Elm Street” I say almost every “slasher” or horror film follows a model similar to Clover’s. The model is a female is featured as a primary character and that females tend to always overcome a situation at some point throughout the film.
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
The female characters in Young Frankenstein and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest are, stereotypically, satiric and parodic renditions of oppressed or emotionally unstable feminine personalities. The theme of the treatment of women is not only played out in the external relationships the women interact within but also in the basic mentality and roles they embody within their personality. The women of Young Frankenstein add a comical element to the film which a direct contrast to the insignificance of the female in Mary Shelley’s novel. The women of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest are either almost terrifying when thinking of the potential evil lurking just beneath the surface or effectual props in the healing of those who need it.
Moers, Ellen. "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother." Reprinted in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Norton Critical Edition. 1976; New York: W. W. Norton, 1996. 214-224.
Picture a child sitting in front of a television watching the Wizard of Oz. To them, it is an assortment of magical beings, a land filled with wonderful places, with varieties of different colors. They do not picture it as something with far more meaning than just a plain fairytale. On the other hand, gender/feminist critics have been able to analyze the Wizard of Oz as well as Wicked, in order to find a more elaborate meaning behind the story itself. They have discussed what lies behind the story when it comes to the issue of sexism and masculinity towards the book itself as well as the characters. There are many concepts as well that help to further explain feminism and gender criticism. The four concepts that will be discussed later on are gender, feminist writings, patriarchal society, and gynocriticism. These concepts will then be reviewed as to how they play a part in the book Wicked.
The overall purpose of Carol Clover’s essay “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film” is to illustrate the repetitive, predictable aspect that Slasher
In both Robert Burns’s Tam O’Shanter and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, A Modern Prometheus, the authors use gender as an underlying theme throughout the narrative, a common thread present in the characters’ goals and motivations. In the case of Tam O’Shanter, Tam’s midnight adventure is against the advice of his wife and nearly ends with his death due to his inability to control himself when faced with a sultry witch. Frankenstein, though less blatant in its gendered imagery, follows the monster as he searches for a woman to play the role of his mother, wife, or daughter, demonstrating his need for female companionship in the light of Victor’s failure to be a father to him. The gender role that Victor himself plays is also debated, as he
These movies allowed female characters to embody all the contradictions that could make them a woman. They were portrayed as the “femme fatale” and also “mother,” the “seductress” and at the same time the “saint,” (Newsom, 2011). Female characters were multi-faceted during this time and had much more complexity and interesting qualities than in the movies we watch today. Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is one of sexualization and dependence rather than complexity (Newsom, 2011).
In her critical essay, Anne K. Mellor is arguing that the deaths of the women in the text and the birth of the creature all represent Frankenstein’s desire to create a male dominated society while completely destroying the need for women. As Mellor states, “by stealing the female’s control over reproduction, Frankenstein has eliminated the female’s primary biological function and source of cultural power” (355). If Frankenstein were able to construct men from pieces of random corpses successfully, he would obliterate the woman’s primary function in society: to birth babies. Mellor states that Frankenstein’s primary motivation for his horrific actions is fueled by his fear of female sexuality. The treatment of females in this text is a reflection of the repression of sexual desire in the 18th century.
Although Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is not technically a feminist novel, Shelley ever so subtly makes a strong case for the plight of women in a patriarchal society. Speaking from the male point of view, Shelley is able to depict everything that is wrong with society from subservient stereotypes, interpretation of procreation and the demeaning treatment of women as objects. While staying true to the gender roles in the time period, it becomes apparent that not only are men held to a different standard than women, but they are also undeserving. Rather than force her controversial observations down her readers' throats, she stealthily crafts the novel leaving one with a newfound respect and value of women and their role in society.
In Ridley Scott’s film Alien, I observed how the film for its time was unique, in the sense that it comprehensively dealt with gender and sexual politics in a direct manner through its content and text which in contemporary films still remains rare. One of the most obvious way Ridley Scott dealt with gender was by having a strong lead female character. Ellen Ripley, the protagonist of the film, who still currently stands out as a top action hero as her character refrains from falling under the cliched portrayal of women in horror films. Most classic Hollywood film often associate women as the secondary, weak and passive characters, who are often killed or rescued by the typical strong masculine lead. A common trope about female characters within Classic Hollywood horror film typically involve two endings which include either death as punishment or marriage to the masculine male protagonist as salvation. However, in Alien the roles have reversed, the character who makes active, wise decisions and survives the attack of the monster is a female,
Yousef, Nancy. "The monster in a dark room: Frankenstein, feminism, and philosophy." Modern Language Quarterly 63.2 (2002): 197+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Jan. 2012
From the beginning of time in history, women have always been portrayed as and seen as the submissive sex. Women especially during the time period of the 1800s were characterized as passive, disposable, and serving an utilitarian function. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example displaying the depiction of women. The women in Frankenstein represent the treatment of women in the early 1800’s. Shelley’s incorporation of suffering and death of her female characters portrays that in the 1800’s it was acceptable. The women in the novel are treated as property and have minimal rights in comparison to the male characters. The feminist critic would find that in Frankenstein the women characters are treated like second class citizens. The three brutal murders of the innocent women are gothic elements which illustrates that women are inferior in the novel. Mary Shelley, through her novel Frankenstein, was able to give the reader a good sense of women’s role as the submissive sex, through the characters experiences of horrific events including but not limited to brutal murder and degradation, which is illuminated by her personal life experiences and time period of romanticism.
For centuries, women have been forced to live life on the outskirts of a male-dominated society. During the 1800’s, the opportunities for women were extremely limited and Mary Shelly does an excellent job portraying this in her gothic novel, Frankenstein. Furthermore, in this novel, Mary Shelly shows how society considers women to be possessions rather than independent human beings. In addition, the female characters rely heavily on men for support and survival, thus proving their inability to do it on their own. Lastly, the female characters in this novel are in many ways victimized by the male characters.
Bartyzel, Monika. "Girls on Film: How Women Shaped Horror." AOL Moviefone.com. Aol, Web. 25 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.