{"title":"Mama: An exploration of gender and motherhood in contemporary Spanish horror film","authors":"Irene Baena-Cuder","doi":"10.14198/fem.2023.41.11","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From El Orfanato/ The Orphanage or Los Otros/ The Others to, more recently, Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi/ Witching and Bitching or Musarañas/ Shrew’s Nest, to mention but a few, their narratives are based on the figure of the (Good/Bad) mother. Their struggles and choices in mothering move the action forward and bring horror to the story, ultimately depicting them as «the problem to be solved» (Davies, 2011, p. 82). Using Mama (Muschietti, 2013) as a case study, this article seeks to explore how motherhood is constructed in contemporary Spanish horror film and how this might respond to the specificities of the Spanish social and historical context. For this purpose, the research will particularly focus on the journey that the main female character undergoes throughout the narrative, from the reluctant mother and rock star to the «all-nurturing and self-abnegating Angel of the House» (Kaplan, 2000, p. 468). However, the outcome of the research highlights that this transition is strongly based on patriarchal principles that shape the ideal of good motherhood. The problematic narrative also conceives maternity as a woman’s ultimate goal and fulfilment vehicle and assumes maternal instincts exist and are innate to women. Moreover, the study has also uncovered how the confrontation between the good and the bad mother functions as a reinforcement of a very specific maternal style that is highly influenced by Franco’s ideology in relation to family, gender roles and female identity. Thus, although the film depicts the struggles of motherhood from a female point of view, it also portrays the horror and terrible consequences of challenging the patriarchal order, therefore promoting an outdated and patriarchal notion of good mothering.","PeriodicalId":32557,"journal":{"name":"Feminismos","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Feminismos","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.14198/fem.2023.41.11","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"WOMENS STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Motherhood can be argued to be a central theme in many recent Spanish horror films. From El Orfanato/ The Orphanage or Los Otros/ The Others to, more recently, Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi/ Witching and Bitching or Musarañas/ Shrew’s Nest, to mention but a few, their narratives are based on the figure of the (Good/Bad) mother. Their struggles and choices in mothering move the action forward and bring horror to the story, ultimately depicting them as «the problem to be solved» (Davies, 2011, p. 82). Using Mama (Muschietti, 2013) as a case study, this article seeks to explore how motherhood is constructed in contemporary Spanish horror film and how this might respond to the specificities of the Spanish social and historical context. For this purpose, the research will particularly focus on the journey that the main female character undergoes throughout the narrative, from the reluctant mother and rock star to the «all-nurturing and self-abnegating Angel of the House» (Kaplan, 2000, p. 468). However, the outcome of the research highlights that this transition is strongly based on patriarchal principles that shape the ideal of good motherhood. The problematic narrative also conceives maternity as a woman’s ultimate goal and fulfilment vehicle and assumes maternal instincts exist and are innate to women. Moreover, the study has also uncovered how the confrontation between the good and the bad mother functions as a reinforcement of a very specific maternal style that is highly influenced by Franco’s ideology in relation to family, gender roles and female identity. Thus, although the film depicts the struggles of motherhood from a female point of view, it also portrays the horror and terrible consequences of challenging the patriarchal order, therefore promoting an outdated and patriarchal notion of good mothering.
母性可以说是最近许多西班牙恐怖电影的中心主题。从El Orfanato/ The Orphanage或Los Otros/ The Others到最近的Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi/ witch and Bitching或Musarañas/ Shrew 's Nest,仅举几例,它们的叙事都是基于(好/坏)母亲的形象。她们在养育孩子方面的挣扎和选择推动了故事的发展,并给故事带来了恐怖,最终将她们描述为“需要解决的问题”(Davies, 2011, p. 82)。本文以《妈妈》(Muschietti, 2013)为例,探讨当代西班牙恐怖电影中母性是如何建构的,以及这可能如何回应西班牙社会和历史背景的特殊性。为此,本研究将特别关注主要女性角色在整个叙事过程中所经历的旅程,从不情愿的母亲和摇滚明星到“家中养育一切和自我克制的天使”(卡普兰,2000,第468页)。然而,研究结果强调,这种转变强烈地建立在塑造好母亲理想的父权原则的基础上。有问题的叙述还将母性视为女性的最终目标和实现工具,并假设母性本能存在并且是女性与生俱来的。此外,该研究还揭示了好母亲和坏母亲之间的对抗是如何强化一种非常特殊的母亲风格的,这种风格深受佛朗哥在家庭、性别角色和女性身份方面的意识形态的影响。因此,虽然这部电影从女性的角度描绘了母性的斗争,但它也描绘了挑战父权秩序的恐怖和可怕的后果,从而促进了一种过时的父权制的好母亲观念。