Technologically Advanced Modern World - Essay Example

?Introduction In today’s technologically advanced modern world, media plays a very powerful role in the lives of people. Especially, the visual mediahas a strong grip on people’s mind. It not only influences the lifestyle of people but also their choices and their decisions regarding different aspects of life. In fact, visual media has become so strong that it actually shapes the ‘thinking’ of the people. The influence of the media can be called positive only if it inculcates positive things in the society. However, it has been observed that visual media has been responsible in misrepresenting many elements of the society. One such element is the image of women in the media. The image of women is distorted and misrepresented in visual media and hence, it has become a matter of concern for the society. This fact has been brought in open by feminists. In her UNESCO-funded study, Margaret Gallagher (1979) has raised her concern regarding the distorted image of women in media, as according to her, “media are potentially powerful agents of socialization and social change-presenting models, conferring status, suggesting appropriate behaviors, encouraging stereotypes” etc (Byerly & Ross 17). Hence, by repeatedly representing women as weak, irrational and ‘object’ for sexual pleasure, the media has damaged their image. Also, as far as the image of women in movies is concerned, the most disturbing image is the image of ‘monstrous-feminine’ in the horror movies. Feminists have observed that in horror movies, it is not the ‘females’ who are represented as a ‘monsters,’ but it is their femininity and the sexuality which is shown as horrifying and hence, monstrous (Byerly & Ross 21). This shows that it is the ‘male mind’ which tries to degrade the femininity through monstrous representation of females in horror movies. However, the theory that best helps people in understanding the representation of femininity and female sexuality as monstrous, is the theory of psychoanalysis, as it not only reveals the social structure that leads to it, but also the roots of misrepresentation of femininity as monstrous, that lies deep in the unconscious of male human beings. Image of Women In Movies Although there have been many changes in the technology and media, the image of women in the media has remained quite unchanged. Women have always been represented in cinema as weaker sex. The reason behind no change in the image of women in cinema is the unconscious aspects of the male mind, and the ideological concept of cinema, which are usually dominated by ‘males’ in the society (Mulvey 58). The unconscious aspect of the male dominated society, which considers women as nothing but an ‘object’ of desire or a weaker sex, is reflected in the female characters in the movies. Hence, cinema has become a mirror of the patriarchal system in the society. According to British film theorist and feminist Laura Mulvey, Hollywood has maintained its entertainment value by manipulating the mage of the women in cinema to please men’s visual desire of seeing women as sex object (Mulvey 59). Sadly, women are not only shown as an object of visual pleasure, but are also portrayed as human beings who are dependent on men for their social and personal status. The character and the role of woman is usually designed in such a way that she not only satisfies the unconscious sexual desire of men but at the same time, fits into the order of male dominated society. The dominant patriarchal order is woven in the erotic representation of women in cinema (Mulvey 59). However, what is more disturbing than the image of women as weaker sex is the monstrous image of women shown in the movies. The reason behind this lies in the unconscious fears that are harboured by male human minds and hence, can be explained with the aid of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis Explains Monstrous-Feminine Since ancient times, women have suffered secondary status and inferior treatment at the hands of men in the societies. Men treat women in ill manner and also makes them to believe that they are not worthy of any status, respect or good treatment by others. However, deep down in their minds, male human beings have strong fear regarding the ‘feminine’ aspects of females. This fact is proved from the concept of ‘monstrous- feminine,’ which is prevalent in every society and culture throughout the world (Creed, 1996, 35). The concept of ‘monstrous-feminine’ is created from everything that males find “shocking, terrifying, horrific and abject” about females (Creed, 1996, 35). This concept of ‘monstrous female’ is born out of the fear of castration which is deeply rooted in the unconscious mind of males. According to Freud (1927), the sight of the female genitals gives a terrifying shock to almost all the male human beings as it threatens them with the idea of being castrated (Creed, 1996, 35). Freud has also mentioned that sight of Medusa, with her snake hair representing phallus, is equally horrifying as the sight of mother’s genitals as it is intimately linked with problem of castration and sexual differences, which are represented in the concept of ‘monstrous- feminine’ (Creed, 1996, 35). Hence, the concept of ‘monstrous-feminine’ is constructed within the society which is dominated by a patriarchal and phallocentric ideology (Creed, 1996, 35). Freud also indicates that Medusa’s head represents female genitals and hence, makes the spectator stiff with terror (Creed, 1996, 35). However, Freud compares the ‘stiffness’ of the spectator to erection and points out the fact that the monstrous females consoles the male spectator’s horror by reminding him of the possession of his penis by making him ‘stiff’ with horror (Creed, 1996, 35). According to Freud, monstrous-feminine is a desire of male mind, as it reassures him his maleness by removing the fear of castration in him. Hence, in cinema, when a woman is shown as strong, powerful or dominant being, she is usually portrayed as a monstrous being. The power and the strength of women are represented in a negative way. The major examples of monstrous representation of strong females are found in horror movies. Woman As Monstrous-Feminine Horror movies have a trend of showing women as monstrous. The practice of representation of monstrous-feminine in horror movies has arisen from the castration anxiety in males (Chaudhuri 100). The trend is consistent since long time and there has been no change in the monstrous-feminine image of females. In fact, with advancement in technology and graphics, the image of women as monstrous is growing gorier and more abhorrent. Some of the examples of horror movies, in which women are shown as monstrous and gory beings, are ‘Carrie,’ and ‘The Exorcist’. In these movies, the lead characters are women. They are shown as powerful and strong people. However, their power is represented as evil and hence, something that is undesirable. Hence, the monstrous representation of female characters in horror movies speaks a lot about the unconscious male intentions behind showing them as monsters. Carrie ‘Carrie’ tells a story of a teenage girl who has a gift of telekinetic powers (Carrie 1976). However, Carrie is raised by a mother who is mentally unstable and a Christian fundamentalist, and who raises her in a strict oppressive manner (Carrie). Carrie’s telekinetic powers are misunderstood by her mother as a possession by Satan and eventually, she tries to kill Carrie (Carrie). Carrie is a horror movie due to its relevance to supernatural and violence. However, instead of showing the content and the incidents as ‘horror,’ the movie has shown Carrie as a source of horror. That is, instead of focusing on the incidents and storyline as ‘horror,’ the movie has represented the teenage girl and her sexuality as ‘horror’ (Lindsey 280). The movie is an example of how the ‘feminine’ is represented as monstrous and horror in movies. There are many aspects of the movie which mirrors the unconscious desire of the male dominated society. ‘Carrie’ is a movie that represents the male fantasy which usually considers feminine as horrific (Lindsey 281). In the movie, the female adolescence is shown as constituting horror by imposing the supernatural on Carrie (Lindsey 281). Moreover, this representation is done with the aid of fantasy and eroticism by showing all the familiar aspects that takes place in an average teenage girl’s life, like girl’s high school, teasing, prom night, appearance of first menstrual period etc (Lindsey 281). However, what is interesting to note is that instead of showing these events as normal and natural, it has been given a shape of horror. The striking example of portraying feminine as horror is the way in which Carrie is shown having her first menstrual period. Carrie is shown screaming in panic when she sees blood suddenly appearing from between her legs, and flowing with the shower water (Lindsey 281). Instead of helping Carrie, her friends enjoy her situation, and are shown throwing tampons and sanitary napkins at her (Lindsey 281). The arrival of female sexuality, and Carrie’s transformation from pre-puberty stage into puberty, is shown as an arrival of violence and horror in her life (Lindsey 281). The blood of menstrual period is shown as a symbol of violence and horror. This gives the idea to the viewer that the occurrence of menstrual periods, which is a natural and biological phenomenon in every female’s life, is something horrific and violent. Also, by showing Carrie helpless and screaming in panic, it has been depicted on the minds of the audience that her body is the “site upon which monster and victim converge,” and that her female body is the residence of the monster (Lindsey 281). Moreover, by showing Carrie destroying the objects outside her body, which results from the association of violence, danger, panic and horror to her experience of menses, it has been drilled into the minds of the viewers that females pose a threat to the society if their powers are not checked, and if they are not kept under suppression (Lindsey 281). In this way, the feminine is represented as monstrous in the movie ‘Carrie.’ However, ‘Carrie’ is not the only movie in which the feminine is represented as monstrous. In fact, in other horror movies, the representation of female as monstrous is more grotesque and gory. The example of this is the movie ‘The Exorcist.’ The Exorcist ‘The Exorcist’ is one of the most famous horror movies. The protagonist of the movie is a 12-year old girl, Regan, who is possessed by the devil (The Exorcist 1973). The movie is a classic example of the concept of monstrous-feminine. The ugly and gory representation of feminine aspects of Regan shows the extent to which one can go to represent feminine as monstrous. Regan is shown having supernatural powers, with which she can rotate her head full circle on her neck, causes inanimate objects to fly, knocks men to the floor etc (Creed, 1993, 31). However, at the same time, she is also shown spewing green bile, uttering foul words, trying to have sexual intercourse with her mother, trying to castrate the priest and masturbating with a crucifix (Creed, 1993, 31). The grotesque nature in which Regan’s feminine desire is shown connected with her sexuality and abjection, makes one realize that the movie is not only trying to tell the story of demonic possession, but is also trying to fulfill the perverse fantasy of the male viewer (Creed, 1993, 31). The perversely appealing representation of woman who behaves abhorrently, is depraved, monstrous and abject, is legitimized by the act of demonic possession, where possession is used as an excuse for monstrous representation (Creed, 1993, 31). Moreover, the ugly graphic distortion of Regan’s face increases the horror of monstrous female (The Exorcist). Through the bleeding, contorted and disfigured body, the monstrous-feminine is displayed in passive way, showing the woman as helplessness and miserable being (Kuhn & Radstone 207). Also, the influence of patriarchal order and male mind is evident from the fact that in ‘The Exorcist,’ the devil is shown taking possession of a girl who is from a family in which the male is absent (Creed, 1993, 34). Regan is shown living with her mother (The Exorcist). This shows that the movie is trying to send a message that women who are independent minded and strong will be punished by the devil (Creed, 1993, 34). Sadly, ‘The Exorcist’ gave rise to many female monsters in future movies. The Role Of Patriarchal System After the box office success of ‘The Exorcist,’ many horror movies were made (e.g. ‘The Devil Within Her,’ ‘Cathy’s Curse’ etc.) in which the victim of the possession were always a girl or a woman (Creed, 1993, 31). These movies sent a wrong message that as female body is vulnerable and susceptible to the possession by the devil, it is weak (Creed, 1993, 34). This idea appealed to the male mind and encouraged the further distortion of image of women. It is important to note here that the practice of women being labeled as demonic and monstrous goes back to the ancient times. ‘The Malleus Maleficarum,’ the treatise on witches, declared women as “necessary evil, a desirable calamity, an evil of nature” that are painted with fair colours and hence, are threat to the men (Creed, 1993, 75). Also, the phallocentric and patriarchal order thinks of women as weaker but dangerous version of man, and hence, defines them as the ‘other’ (Creed, 1993, 75). According to psychoanalysis, the fear of castration at the hands of women has made men to develop extreme hatred for women (Creed, 1993, 75). The fear and hatred for women has continued to haunt the male minds despite of development and modernism of the society. The male mind is so poisoned by hatred for women that even if a woman is ‘good’ and displays her ‘womanliness’ in a positive way, men misunderstand it as some kind of mask and perceive it as dangerous (Riviere 220). Females having power are threatening and are considered bad in male dominated society (Berzsenyi 174). Hence, if woman has power, then it is considered as unnatural thing, and she is believed to be evil, dangerous and monstrous (Berzsenyi 174). Conclusion The discussion above reveals that the image of females as monsters, and the concept of monstrous-feminine, is the creation of a male mind. The patriarchal system uses the monstrous-feminine concept as a weapon to distort the image of women. Hence, if the distortion of image of females is to be stopped, then people working in movie business should take immediate and serious steps to change the way in which the women are portrayed in movies. However, it is the responsibility of a common man to free himself from the fear of castration, as it is this deep seated fear of males in the society which is mirrored in the movies. Hence, if the image of females is to be improved, then males in the society should understand that females are not the ‘incomplete’ aspect of males, but are complete and healthy beings in themselves. Bibliography Byerly, Carolyn & Karen Ross. Women and Media: A Critical Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Berzsenyi, Chrystine. ‘Evil, Beautiful, Deadly”: Publicity Posters Of Drive-In Horror’s Monstrous Women!’ In Gary Rhodes (ed.), Horror At The Drive-In: Essays In Popular Americana, North Carolina: Mcfarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2003. Chaudhuri, Shohini. Feminist Theorists: Laura Mulvey, Kaja Silverman, Teresa De Lauretis, Barbara Creed. Oxford: Routledge, 2006. Creed, Barbara. The monstrous feminine: film, feminism, psychoanalysis. London: Routledge, 1993. Creed, Barbara. ‘Horror And The Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection’, in Barry Grant (ed.), The Dread Of Difference: Gender And The Horror Film, Austin: University Of Texas Press, 1996. Lindsey, Shelley. ‘Horror, Femininity, and Carrie’s Monstrous Puberty’, in Barry Grant (ed.), The Dread Of Difference: Gender And The Horror Film, Austin: University Of Texas Press, 1996. Kuhn, Annette & Susannah Radstone (eds.), The Women’s Companion To International Film, Los Angeles: University Of California Press, 1999. Mulvey, Laura. ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,’ in Penley Constance (ed.), Feminism and Film Theory, New York: Routledge, 1988. Riviere, Joan. ‘Womanliness As A Masquerade’, in Hendrik Ruitenbeek (ed.), Psychoanalysis And Female Sexuality, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1966. Filmography Carrie, dir. De Plama, B., US, United Artists, 1976, [video cassette]. The Exorcist, dir. Friedkin, William, US, Warner Bros., 1973, [video cassette]. Read More