Two assigned film essay.
andy1971
WitchesDiscussion.pptxCINE 325 | American Women Directors
The Monstrous-Feminine
Witches were originally introduced in cinema in the work of Georges Melies as a perfect figure to showcase his special effects and illusions.
First figuration of witch as evil was in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
The 1960s and 1970s introduced witchsploitation subgenre.
1972
Monstrous mothers in Carrie
The “Glamour Witch”
THE LOVE WITCH (2016)
Dir. Anna Biller
CARRIE (2013)
Dir. Kimberly Peirce
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
The Love Witch deals with a supernatural figure that gain power over mental faculties - emotions, etc. How does this type of power differ from representations of the violent monstrous-feminine we saw yesterday?
“Polarity” seems to be a key theme in The Love Witch - good/evil, men/women, feeding/expelling, love/hate. What do we make of this?
Carrie presents a classic example of the monstrous mother, as well as the monstrosity of puberty and womanhood itself. How are the figures of the monstrous mother and monstrous witch intertwined in this film?
Jennifer’s Body, The Love Witch, and Carrie all tie their monstrous figures to elements of puberty, hormones, and/or menstruation - how is this functioning in the texts?
“Hell is a teenage girl” - Jennifer’s Body
What power lies in monstrosity, in the monstrous?
