Citation

Finnemore, Daniel (2024) Breaking the Cult of Masculinity –The Other Lamb, Midsommarand Empowerment on Screen. International Journal of Creative Multimedia, 5 (1). pp. 1-11. ISSN 2716-6333

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Abstract

It is not only cult cinema but also the representation of the ‘cult’ on screen that can provide vital opportunities to de-centre destructive masculinity and ask questions about wider gender power struggles. Female characters that are at the centre of cult cinema, driving the narrative and breaking the rules of masculine control are not a new phenomenon. From Pam Grier’s ferocity in films such as Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown(1974) to Kurt Russell’s brutal takedown in Tarantino’s Death Proof (2007), cult film has long been a platform for destabilising the notion of traditional gender hierarchies. The notion of the ‘cult’ itself, however, has long been thought of and (represented on screen) as an all-male power trip with disastrous consequences for those that believe. As far back as The Seventh Victim (1943) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968), there have been many manifestations of cult violence towards woman on screen but there is also a cannon of films that use cinematic representations of the cult to change the narrative and bring wider gender politics to the surface. Two such contemporary examples of this are Małgorzata Szumowska’s The Other Lamb (2020) and Ari Aster’s Midsommar (2019). Both films offer nightmarish manifestations of cult mechanisms and control that at first seem to once again place men and masculinity in pole position. This paper will examine how the narrative, character and cinematic language of both films offer a more complex and subversive discourse linked to female empowerment. They use the medium to offer cautionary, and often shocking, on-screen representations that attempt to disrupt traditional, male led power structures and can also be read as a commentary on wider society and not simply the cults that they portray.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Cult cinema, Masculinity, Empowerment, Narrative
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures
Divisions:	Others
Depositing User:	Mr. MUHAMMAD AZRUL MOSRI
Date Deposited:	06 Sep 2024 07:27
Last Modified:	06 Sep 2024 07:27
URII:	http://shdl.mmu.edu.my/id/eprint/12974

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