Return of the Witch
The Scapegoating of the Unredeemable Woman in Modern American Cinema
Lieferzeit: Print on Demand - Lieferbar innerhalb von 3-5 Werktagen I
ISBN-13:
9783639152388
Seiten:
260
Autor:
Carol Meaney Halperin
Format:
22.00x15.00x1.50 cm
Sprache:
Englisch
Beschreibung:
During the decades of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s,
American movie audiences witnessed a cultural
phenomenon. With increased frequency and vehemence,
Hollywood screenwriters and directors depicted female
film characters as dangerously mentally ill and
violent to the point that films featuring such
characters became their own distinct genre. Whereas
the earlier Hollywood anti-heroine was still feminine
and dependent while being evil and calculating, the
new image that emerged in the latter part of the
century had lost all dignity and become so
monstrously pathological that the intent could only
be to evoke not only fear in audiences, but shame for
women.This cinematic trend was in part a reaction to
the modern feminist movement and the increasing power
and independence of working women. Moreover, these
films were a reflection of a troubled society
confounded by rapid change, upheaval, and loosening
moral standards.These characters serve to both reveal
cultural tension, and act as scapegoats to relieve
it, much like the 17th century witch of Puritan New
England.
American movie audiences witnessed a cultural
phenomenon. With increased frequency and vehemence,
Hollywood screenwriters and directors depicted female
film characters as dangerously mentally ill and
violent to the point that films featuring such
characters became their own distinct genre. Whereas
the earlier Hollywood anti-heroine was still feminine
and dependent while being evil and calculating, the
new image that emerged in the latter part of the
century had lost all dignity and become so
monstrously pathological that the intent could only
be to evoke not only fear in audiences, but shame for
women.This cinematic trend was in part a reaction to
the modern feminist movement and the increasing power
and independence of working women. Moreover, these
films were a reflection of a troubled society
confounded by rapid change, upheaval, and loosening
moral standards.These characters serve to both reveal
cultural tension, and act as scapegoats to relieve
it, much like the 17th century witch of Puritan New
England.