Possession of the Pubescent Female as Represented in The Exorcist - Research Paper Example

Possession of the Pubescent Female as Represented in The Exorcist (1973) Anyone who has spent time with girls between the ages of ten and fifteen can relate to the portrayal of a 12 year old girl who is possessed by a demon as in the plot of the film The Exorcist (1973). Through the invasion of a demon into the body of the character Regan, a discourse begins about the shocking and often inappropriate behavior that accompanies puberty. The adults look on in horror as the child, through this possession, is transformed into an unrecognizable state. As well, the possession represents frustrations and angers that an adult cannot express, thus are unleashed through the demon that takes over the girl’s body. The film represents an ‘otherness’ through its monster, the possessing demon representing the development of adolescence and female sexuality explored combined with a sense of social alienation and the exploration of the female position within the issue of divorce. Sexuality is often represented in films through the appearance of a monster. The alien feelings that accompany human sexuality create a separation within the individual between what one understands of them and what biology imposes on that understanding. According to Kearney, monsters often represent fears about the natural carnality of the human species. He states that “It stems also from a deeper fear that nature itself may be reduced to the out of control and invasive control of biotechnology” (50). The fears that one’s own body will become something unrecognizable, that within the developments that one experiences there is no self control, are externalized and represented through the concept of the monster. The invasive context in which the monster in The Exorcist (1973) has manifested represents the ways in which biological changes occur without the will of an individual. Regan is not under her own control, but is controlled by forces within her body that she cannot escape. No one can control what is happening to her. The priest, a representation of the male dominant gender, has no true power over the changes that are occurring within the little girl. He is flummoxed by the changes and is impotent in stopping what is happening to her. However, the male figure is still charged with saving the girl from her own spill of identity, the demon representing the psychological and physical changes that she cannot control and will set her life on a new course in which she must navigate the newness. According to Davies, human beings are fascinated by monsters because they most often have elements of explanation that real life does not often provide. As well, the ’paradox of horror’ can be explained in terms of the ’disowned self’, the parts of the mind that a person may not want to own or acknowledge. The monster represents “the struggle between oppressive social norms and our repressed desires”, creating a tangible link between the parts of the self that cannot be expressed and the parts of the biological development that cannot be denied (330). The identity is often complicated by physical changes and manifestations of mental desires that are beyond the direct control of the self. Even more so, the female sexual identity is often the target of horror films as they are most often associated with misogynist aesthetics that are filled with the sense of mystery and fear that is associated with female sexual development. According to Davies; “Horror films sexualize violence, celebrate graphic and sadistic violence against women, and punish female sexuality” (329). Women are objectified to the point that their pain, right to life, and right to express them is reduced to the gory rendering of their physical body without regard to their humanity. The extension of this objectification culminates until it results in “rendering men as active agents who control and dominate women as passive victims subject to male power” (Davies 330). The monster and the female both represent a sense of the ’other’; therefore they must be controlled and dominated because they both represent a threat to the male heterosexual sense of normalcy (Davies 330). Monsters can take on the form of either a fusion figure or a fission figure. The fission figure is exemplified by a character that travels in and out of a state of being a monster, exampled by the werewolf or the alien creature found in The Thing (1982). The fusion figure, on the other hand, will “combine contradictory elements in an unambiguous identity”, embodying the self and the ‘other’ in one entity (Pinedo 21). In The Exorcist (1973), the identity of the little girl is fused with the demon that has possessed her. She becomes socially inappropriate, committing acts that are blatantly associated with sexuality, but are considered foul and well outside of ’polite’ behavior. Her identity is fused into the being that has taken over her body, her actions not familiar with the girl that is known to her mother as Regan. The links between the feminine and monstrosity is further explored as Regan is an extension of her mother’s own feelings of frustration. According to Magistrale, “Regan’s demonic possession embodies all of the profane rage that the mother feels towards the absent husband-father (7). Beyond the exploration of the sexuality of the changes that occur in puberty, the possession represents social alienation, religious skepticism, and marital divorce. The rage that is expressed through the angered and inappropriate displays that afflict Regan are reflective of those feelings that her mother has experienced through her experiences of divorce. What she, as an adult female who is suppose to be in possession of her social, psychological, and physiological self cannot express, her daughter then represents within the extreme expressions through her possessed self. In discussing the role of female sexuality within the film, it is also important to address the roles of the male priests within the movie. The male priests represent the heroes, the would be princes who have come to protect the virtue of the virginal princess. Unlike other heroes of this nature, the priests are not in competition to claim the sexuality of the girl for themselves. The ‘monster’ that they are saving her from is representative of her own premature sexuality, an infection that has been induced by the devil (Hirschman 114). According to Hirschman; “This springs from the very ancient association of femaleness with human and animal sexuality, and earthly (materialistic) pleasure, in opposition with the association of maleness with ethereal, ascetic religion, which denies the cravings of the flesh” (114). The exploration of the male figure in contrast to the female objectified image of sexuality is an example of the misogynistic nature of horror films, the exploration of female ‘otherness’ made tangible and rendered under control of the male gender. The many aspects of the female is explored for her rage against the male position within society. Regan becomes the embodiment of the oppressions that are imposed upon the female gender and the consequences of her inability to control her environment. The male figures of the priests not only represent the male ability to control, save, and protect, they represent the judgment with which society has deemed appropriate towards women. It is the female sense of righteousness and virtue that is under attack and only through male intervention can it be rendered harmless. The story of The Exorcist was written from a real life account of a 1949 possession in Mount Rainier. While the family wanted nothing to do with publicizing the events, William Peter Blatty pursued the Catholic Church in looking for help in writing the truth about the incidents. At the time he was writing the book, only three possessions had ever been sanctioned for exorcism by the Catholic Church within the United States: one in 1928, the one in 1949, and one in 1962 (McCabe 21). The thematic elements, however, were devised through the male point of view on the nature of the pubescent experience of a girl. The possession, though based on a true story, expresses the ’otherness’ that is associated with female sexuality rather than an ’otherness’ developed around a sense of the reality of a demon. The drive to have a perfected performance of the demonic possession put a heavy burden on the actress Linda Blair in performing the stunts that were required. She was forced to create instances of inappropriate behavior that ranged from vomiting up pea soup, jamming a crucifix into her vagina, to speaking in foul language that would embarrass a truck driver. Linda Blair was thirteen at the time that the filming was done for the movie. According to Skal, over 500 little girls auditioned for the role of Regan. After the film was in the theaters, one has to wonder how many mothers of those little girls were thankful that it wasn’t their child who had to endure the nature of the film (295). The foul occurrences within the film were done through movie special effects, but still the thirteen year old actress had to deal with vomiting up pea soup through the special effects tube. The words that came out of her mouth had to be spoken by her, despite the voice over that was done to create a more demonic sound to her voice. As well, most of the stunts were conducted upon her body in order to create a sense of continuity in order not to break the realism or to make it seem like a farce (Head). When put into perspective, millions of viewers over the years have watched as Linda Blair verbally expressed inappropriate language and mutilated her sexual genitalia with a religious symbol, all when she was thirteen years of age. The viewing audience has participated in the deconstruction of her sexual identity through the devices of entertaining special effects that were designed for the movie. The demonic possession of a pubescent girl is the central plot of the story within The Exorcist (1972). The way in which that possession is portrayed reveals the sense of ‘otherness’ that is common within the horror genre, but is more specifically defined to represent female sexuality through the use of the imagery of a young girl doing terrible things. The possession can be representative of pregnancy, another common theme within the horror genre, in the sense that two entities occupy the same space. The little girl Regan and the demon Legend, both exist within her body, thus creating an instant sense of duality from which all other discourse on the nature of the duality of sexual identity in conflict with virtuous intent is examined. Regan is an objectification of the female situation within society. She is changing into a woman, her body raging against itself and turning her into another creature that she could never have anticipated. She is the male point of view on the stereotype of this creature, hormonal and outside of her own control, lacking grace and lacking beauty. Her virtue has been invaded, her natural state no longer recognizable. She also represents the frustrations and anger that her mother has felt, also lacking grace and beauty, locked into an imprisonment of the social situation of divorce and unable to break free of the stigma that is attached to this state. The introduction of the virtuous males in the story creates a contrast between the steadied male voice against the hormonal and out of control female, both in judgment of her and in attempts to save her from her own body. In order to save her, he must be sacrificed, his own judgment and his virtue cast into oblivion in order to keep her safe. As the priest destroys himself in order to protect Regan, he is suggesting that he is not strong enough to resist her sexuality either, but that he has the power to destroy its control only by sacrificing himself. The basic theme of the film in regard to the development of the monster is centered on the female being unable to assert control. Works Cited Davies, Stephen. A Companion to Aesthetics. Blackwell companions to philosophy, 3. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print. Head, Steve. Interview with Linda Blair. IGN Entertainment. 17 September 2000. Web. 25 November 2010. Hirschman, Elizabeth C. Heroes, Monsters & Messiahs: Movies and Television Shows As the Mythology of American Culture. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel, 2000. Print. Kearney, Richard. Strangers, Gods, and Monsters: Interpreting Otherness. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press, 2003. Magistrale, Tony. Abject Terrors: Surveying the Modern and Postmodern Horror Film. New York: Peter Lang, 2005. Print. McCabe, Bob. The Exorcist: Out of the Shadows, the Full Story of the Film. London: Omnibus, 1999. Print. Pinedo, Isabel C. Recreational Terror: Women and the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1997. Print. Skal, David J. The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror. New York: Faber and Faber, 1993. Print Read More