The Stepford Wives Free
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
THESIS ANXIETIES and ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING the POP CULTURE GYNOID Submitted by Carly Fabian Department of Communicati
THESIS ANXIETIES AND ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING THE POP CULTURE GYNOID Submitted by Carly Fabian Department of Communication Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Fall 2018 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Katie L. Gibson Kit Hughes Kristina Quynn Copyright by Carly Leilani Fabian 2018 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT ANXIETIES AND ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING THE POP CULTURE GYNOID This thesis analyzes the cultural meanings of the feminine-presenting robot, or gynoid, in three popular sci-fi texts: The Stepford Wives (1975), Ex Machina (2013), and Westworld (2017). Centralizing a critical feminist rhetorical approach, this thesis outlines the symbolic meaning of gynoids as representing cultural anxieties about women and technology historically and in each case study. This thesis draws from rhetorical analyses of media, sci-fi studies, and previously articulated meanings of the gynoid in order to discern how each text interacts with the gendered and technological concerns it presents. The author assesses how the text equips—or fails to equip—the public audience with motives for addressing those concerns. Prior to analysis, each chapter synthesizes popular and scholarly criticisms of the film or series and interacts with their temporal contexts. Each chapter unearths a unique interaction with the meanings of gynoid: The Stepford Wives performs necrophilic fetishism to alleviate anxieties about the Women’s Liberation Movement; Ex Machina redirects technological anxieties towards the surveilling practices of tech industries, simultaneously punishing exploitive masculine fantasies; Westworld utilizes fantasies and anxieties cyclically in order to maximize its serial potential and appeal to impulses of its viewership, ultimately prescribing a rhetorical placebo. -
“Something Strange Is Happening in the Town of Stepford”
“Something Strange is Happening in the Town of Stepford” A Thesis on Portrayal of Women in The Stepford Wives (1975, 2004) By Kristina Dahl A Thesis Submitted to The Department of Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages UNIVERSITETET I OSLO In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MA degree February 2014 II “Something Strange is Happening in the Town of Stepford” A Thesis on Portrayal of Women in The Stepford Wives (1975, 2004) By Kristina Dahl A Thesis Submitted to The Department of Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages UNIVERSITETET I OSLO In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MA degree February 2014 III © Kristina Dahl 2014 “Something Strange is Happening in the Town of Stepford”*: A Thesis on Portrayal of Women in The Stepford Wives (1975, 2004) *Tagline retrieved from www.IMDB.com. Kristina Dahl http://www.duo.uio.no/ Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo. Picture on the Previous Page: Paramount Pictures’ cover photo for The Stepford Wives (2004) DVD. Application for permission to use has been submitted. IV Abstract The thesis presented works from the assumption that films produced in Hollywood are important historical documents that can provide interesting comments on changes in U.S society and culture. Through a comparative analysis of The Stepford Wives film from 1975 and its 2004 remake, this thesis aims to examine how changes in genre, plot and overall narrative from the original to the remake reflect public understandings of feminism, and what the lead characters in both movies can reveal about the changing roles of women in American society. -
Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Bc. Kateřina Martináková Women of American Suburbia through Cinematic Reflection Master‟s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr. 2012 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Kateřina Martináková Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr., for his guidance and patience. Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………….1 1. Women and Suburbia………………………………………………………….4 1.1. Occupation: a Housewife………………………………………………………..4 1.2. The Problem That Has No Name……………………………………………..5 1.3. Green Widows……………………………………………………………………….8 1.4. The Institution of Family……………………………………………………….10 1.5. Family and gender in suburbia……………………………………………….13 2. The Stepford Wives and the Quest for Perfection…………………….17 2.1. Welcome to Stepford…………………………………………………………….17 2.2. The Feminist Perspective…………………………………………………..….18 2.3. The Notion of a Housewife…………………………………………………….23 2.4. Cinematic Approach of The Stepford Wives...............................28 2.5. Concept of Uniformity and Perfection in American Suburban Space …………………………………………………………………………………………………….34 3. The Virgin Suicides and Teenage Oppression………………………….44 3.1. The Story of Lisbon Girls……………………………………………………...45 3.2. Teenagers and Suburbia……………………………………………………….46 3.3. The Lisbon Girls and Symbolism ……………………………………………50 3.4. -
Science Fiction Films of the 1950S Bonnie Noonan Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2003 "Science in skirts": representations of women in science in the "B" science fiction films of the 1950s Bonnie Noonan Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Noonan, Bonnie, ""Science in skirts": representations of women in science in the "B" science fiction films of the 1950s" (2003). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3653. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3653 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. “SCIENCE IN SKIRTS”: REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN IN SCIENCE IN THE “B” SCIENCE FICTION FILMS OF THE 1950S A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of English By Bonnie Noonan B.G.S., University of New Orleans, 1984 M.A., University of New Orleans, 1991 May 2003 Copyright 2003 Bonnie Noonan All rights reserved ii This dissertation is “one small step” for my cousin Timm Madden iii Acknowledgements Thank you to my dissertation director Elsie Michie, who was as demanding as she was supportive. Thank you to my brilliant committee: Carl Freedman, John May, Gerilyn Tandberg, and Sharon Weltman. -
Press Release
BOHO THEATRE P.O. Box 409267, Chicago, IL, 60640 Office: (773) 791-2393 [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kaela Altman, Executive Director August 19, 2013 [email protected] BOHO THEATRE DELIVERS CHILLING 10TH SEASON OPENER WITH VERONICA’S ROOM CHICAGO—BoHo Theatre kicks off its milestone 10th season with Ira Levin’s horror thriller Veronica’s Room at the Heartland Studio in Rogers Park. Running September 27th through October 27th, the play is a rarely-produced work from the acclaimed author of the novels Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, and A Kiss Before Dying, as well as Deathtrap, which holds the record for Broadway’s longest running mystery play. Veronica’s Room represents the Bohemian Pillar of Freedom in BoHo’s 2013/2014 Season. THE PLAY “[Ira Levin] is the Swiss watchmaker of the suspense novel… he makes what the rest of us do look like those five-dollar watches you can buy in the discount drugstores.” -Stephen King, Danse Macabre This intimate thriller explores the thin line between fantasy and reality, and the lengths one is willing to go to find absolution. Students Susan and Larry find themselves enticed to an old New England mansion by its elderly caretakers in order to meet Cissie, the sole surviving member of the mansion’s family. They insist that Susan bears a striking resemblance to Cissie’s long-dead sister, Veronica. If Susan will agree to briefly impersonate Veronica, they believe it will comfort the dementia-afflicted Cissie and allow her to die in peace. But what begins as a simple errand of mercy quickly spirals into a nightmare cycle of guilt, sacrifice, and murder. -
Cyborg Cinema and Contemporary Subjectivity
Cyborg Cinema and Contemporary Subjectivity Sue Short Cyborg Cinema and Contemporary Subjectivity This page intentionally left blank Cyborg Cinema and Contemporary Subjectivity Sue Short Faculty of Continuing Education Birkbeck College, University of London, UK © Sue Short 2005 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 1–4039–2178–4 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. -
Unseen Horrors: the Unmade Films of Hammer
Unseen Horrors: The Unmade Films of Hammer Thesis submitted by Kieran Foster In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy De Montfort University, March 2019 Abstract This doctoral thesis is an industrial study of Hammer Film Productions, focusing specifically on the period of 1955-2000, and foregrounding the company’s unmade projects as primary case studies throughout. It represents a significant academic intervention by being the first sustained industry study to primarily utilise unmade projects. The study uses these projects to examine the evolving production strategies of Hammer throughout this period, and to demonstrate the methodological benefits of utilising unmade case studies in production histories. Chapter 1 introduces the study, and sets out the scope, context and structure of the work. Chapter 2 reviews the relevant literature, considering unmade films relation to studies in adaptation, screenwriting, directing and producing, as well as existing works on Hammer Films. Chapter 3 begins the chronological study of Hammer, with the company attempting to capitalise on recent successes in the mid-1950s with three ambitious projects that ultimately failed to make it into production – Milton Subotsky’s Frankenstein, the would-be television series Tales of Frankenstein and Richard Matheson’s The Night Creatures. Chapter 4 examines Hammer’s attempt to revitalise one of its most reliable franchises – Dracula, in response to declining American interest in the company. Notably, with a project entitled Kali Devil Bride of Dracula. Chapter 5 examines the unmade project Nessie, and how it demonstrates Hammer’s shift in production strategy in the late 1970s, as it moved away from a reliance on American finance and towards a more internationalised, piece-meal approach to funding. -
BOOK REVIEW of STEPFORD WIVES WRITTEN by IRA LEVIN Adelia Wulandari ABSTRACT Novel Adalah Salah Satu Bentuk Refleksi Atau Pencer
BOOK REVIEW OF STEPFORD WIVES WRITTEN BY IRA LEVIN Adelia Wulandari ABSTRACT Novel adalah salah satu bentuk refleksi atau pencerminan dari kebudayaan manusia dalam pergaulan sosial masyarakat. Novel identik dengan sebuah karya sastra yang berbentuk prosa, cukup panjang, dan cerita serta tokoh-tokoh di dalamnya mayoritas adalah fiktif atau tidak nyata. Sebuah novel yang telah beredar di pasaran dan dibaca oleh masyarakat pasti akan mendapatkan penilaian dari anggota masyarakat tersebut. Novel yang penulis ulas pada final project ini berjudul The Stepford Wives karangan penulis novel dari Amerika Serikat, Ira Levin. Ira Levin telah menulis tujuh novel dan salah satunya adalah novel The Stepford Wives. Novel ini berkisah tentang perjuangan seorang wanita bernama Joanna Eberhart yang berusaha mengubah pola pikir istri-istri Stepford ke pola pikir yang lebih modern dan lebih luas dengan membentuk suatu organisasi perempuan. Pada book review ini, penulis membahas mengenai alur, cerita dan keberhasilan serta bahasa dari novel. Melalui book review novel The Stepford Wives, penulis berharap agar novel ini dapat dibaca oleh banyak pembaca dan para pembaca merasa tertarik dengan novel ini. Simpulannya, dengan alur yang mudah dipahami dan cerita yang menarik untuk dibaca. 1. INTRODUCTION Introduction consists of background of the writing, purposes of the writing, and short biography of Ira Levin and his books. 1.1 Background of the writing In 1960, the world of American women was limited in almost every respect, from family life to the workplace. American women who worked in 1960 were largely limited to jobs as teacher, nurse, or secretary. Women were generally unwelcome in professional fields (http://www.workforce.com/articles/the- women-s-movement-in-the-70s-today-you-ve-come-a-long-way-but accessed on 15 November 2013). -
The Novels of Ira Levin
The Novels of Ira Levin Markéta Šťovíčková Bachelor Thesis 2013 ABSTRAKT Tato práce se zabývá analýzou témat vyskytujících se v románech Iry Levina. Jmenovitě jde o díla: Polib mne a zemřeš (A Kiss Before Dying, 1952), Rosemary má děťátko (Rosemary’s Baby, 1967), Ten báječný den (This Perfect Day, 1970), Stepfordské paničky (The Stepford Wives, 1972), Hoši z Brazílie (The Boys from Brazil, 1976), Někdo se dívá (Sliver, 1991) a Rosemary a její syn (Son of Rosemary, 1997). Sestává se ze čtyř částí, ve kterých je postupně představen Ira Levin, jeho díla, témata, kterými se daná díla zabývají, a na závěr je provedeno výsledné shrnutí. Klíčová slova: Americká literatura, Ira Levin, analýza díla, fikce, feminismus, technologie, dystopie. ABSTRACT This thesis analyses themes occurring in the works of Ira Levin. It deals with novels: A Kiss Before Dying (1952), Rosemary’s Baby (1967), This Perfect Day (1970), The Stepford Wives (1972), The Boys from Brazil (1976), Sliver (1991) and Son of Rosemary (1997). The paper consists of four parts in which will be introduced Ira Levin, his work, the themes of his novels and the final summary of the findings. Keywords: American literature, Ira Levin, novels analysis, fiction, feminism, technology, dystopia. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The biggest acknowledgement belongs to Mgr. Roman Trušník, Ph.D., the supervisor of my thesis, for his patience and number of important advices he gave me. I would also like to thank to Christer Mathiesen, who has been a great mental support of mine. Finally, I would like to thank to Barbora Kadlčková, who had proven to be a great supplier of equipment necessary in order to finish my thesis. -
14. Broken Time, Continued Evolution
AB Pamphlet 14 April 2017 Literary Lab Broken Time, Continued Evolution: Anachronies in Contemporary Films Maria Kanatova Alexandra Milyakina Tatyana Pilipovec Artjom Shelya Oleg Sobchuk Peeter Tinits Pamphlets of the Stanford Literary Lab ISSN 2164-1757 (online version) Maria Kanatova Alexandra Milyakina Tatyana Pilipovec Artjom Shelya Oleg Sobchuk Peeter Tinits Broken Time, Continued Evolution: Anachronies in Contemporary Films1 In 1983, Brian Henderson published an article that examined various types of narrative structure in film, including flashbacks and flashforwards. After analyzing a whole spectrum of techniques capable of effecting a transition between past and present – blurs, fades, dis- solves, and so on – he concluded: “Our discussions indicate that cinema has not (yet) devel- oped the complexity of tense structures found in literary works”.2 His “yet” (in parentheses) was an instance of laudable caution, as very soon – in some ten–fifteen years – the situation would change drastically, and temporal twists would become a trademark of a new genre that has not (yet) acquired a standardized name: “modular narratives”, “puzzle films”, and “complex films” are among the labels used.3 Here is an example: Christopher Nolan’s Me- mento (2000) contains 85 anachronies (i.e. flashbacks or flashforwards) – something that would have been hard to imagine in 1983.4 Memento is probably an extreme case – the most puzzlingly complex of all complex films – but the tendency towards using more anachronies has become widespread, although in less extreme forms. From romantic comedies (500 1 This research was started in Tartu (Estonia) by a small group of graduate students interested in digital humanities and cultural evolution. -
Disturbia 1 the House Down the Street: the Suburban Gothic In
Notes Introduction: Welcome to Disturbia 1. Siddons, p.212. 2. Clapson, p.2. 3. Beuka, p.23. 4. Clapson, p.14. 5. Chafe, p.111. 6. Ibid., p.120. 7. Patterson, p.331. 8. Rome, p.16. 9. Patterson, pp.336–8. 10. Keats cited in Donaldson, p.7. 11. Keats, p.7. 12. Donaldson, p.122. 13. Donaldson, The Suburban Myth (1969). 14. Cited in Garreau, p.268. 15. Kenneth Jackson, 1985, pp.244–5. 16. Fiedler, p.144. 17. Matheson, Stir of Echoes, p.106. 18. Clapson; Beuka, p.1. 1 The House Down the Street: The Suburban Gothic in Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson 1. Joshi, p.63. Indeed, King’s 1979 novel Salem’s Lot – in which a European vampire invades small town Maine – vigorously and effectively dramatises this notion, as do many of his subsequent narratives. 2. Garreau, p.267. 3. Skal, p.201. 4. Dziemianowicz. 5. Cover notes, Richard Matheson, I Am Legend, (1954: 1999). 6. Jancovich, p.131. 7. Friedman, p.132. 8. Hereafter referred to as Road. 9. Friedman, p.132. 10. Hall, Joan Wylie, in Murphy, 2005, pp.23–34. 11. Ibid., p.236. 12. Oppenheimer, p.16. 13. Mumford, p.451. 14. Donaldson, p.24. 15. Clapson, p.1. 201 202 Notes 16. Ibid., p.22. 17. Shirley Jackson, The Road Through the Wall, p.5. 18. Friedman, p.79. 19. Shirley Jackson, Road, p.5. 20. Anti-Semitism in a suburban setting also plays a part in Anne Rivers Siddon’s The House Next Door and, possibly, in Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend (in which the notably Aryan hero fends off his vampiric next-door neighbour with a copy of the Torah). -
?2015~2016 English Buffet Movie Class – 2 the Stepford Wives (11
Movie Class – 2 The Stepford Wives (11:24 – 18:28) ________________________________________________________________________ Main Characters: 1. Joanna Eberhart (Nicole Kidman) is a successful reality TV producer 2. Walter Kresby (Matthew Broderick) is Joanna’s husband 3. Claire Wellington (Glenn Close) is the leading lady in Stepford 4. Mike Wellington (Christopher Walken) is a mysterious & respected man in Stepford 5. Bobbie Markowitz (Bette Midler) is a writer and Joanna’s neighbor 6. Roger Bannister (Roger Bart) is Joanna’s flamboyant gay neighbor ________________________________________________________________________ Scene 1: Joanna In The Hospital 1. nervous collapse: also called a mental or nervous breakdown; used to describe a serious and temporary condition where someone becomes so depressed because of stress that they are unable to function in society or perform daily activities; often happens when the situation gets too physically or emotionally hard for the person 2. quit the network: stopped working for the TV channel company 3. get away and start over, and get it right, our marriage: go to a new place and start a new life to finally become a happy family and married couple Scene 2: The Family Arrives In Stepford 4. kick back: relax and enjoy whatever is happening at the time 5. Stepford Realty: a company specialized in selling and buying land and buildings 6. so nice to meet you, in person: Claire and Walter already knew each other because they had spoken to each other on the phone and they finally meet face to face 7. the cutest little bug’s ear: you are very cute 8. sassy: has two meanings and Claire is using both to describe Kimberly; means someone is full of energy and confident—as a smart child should be—but also means one can be rude and disrespectful—as Kimberly is when she answers “bug’s don’t have ears” straight to Claire’s face 9.