| The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis Contributor(s): Creed, Barbara (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415052599 ISBN-13: 9780415052597 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $46.54 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 1993 Annotation: What is it about "Jaws, Alien, Little Shop of Horrors and Poltergeist" that plays on men's fear of women? And what is it that they fear most? "The Monstrous-Feminine" examines the role of women in horror films. The author argues that when a woman is constructed as monstrous, it is almost always in conjuction with reproduction and mothering functions. In this exploration, using detailed analysis of "Carrie, The Exorcist, Psycho" and "Alien" among others, Creed identifies the seven faces of female monstrosity--archaic mother; monstrous womb; vampire; witch; possessed monster; deadly "femme castratrice" and castrating mother. The argument then moves on to challenge the Freudian concept that a woman terrifies because she is castrated--Creed holds forth that the woman acting as castrat"or" is what creates horror for men. "The" "Monstrous-Feminine" goes on to discuss and analyze what these images mean for feminist film theory, as well as revealing important clues about masculinity. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Performing Arts | Film - General - Social Science | Gender Studies - Social Science | Media Studies |
| Dewey: 791.436 |
| LCCN: 93000445 |
| Series: Popular Fictions |
| Physical Information: 0.61" H x 6.18" W x 9.26" (0.78 lbs) 216 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In almost all critical writings on the horror film, woman is conceptualised only as victim. In The Monstrous-Feminine Barbara Creed challenges this patriarchal view by arguing that the prototype of all definitions of the monstrous is the female reproductive body. |