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Demonic Possession and Fractured Patriarchies in Contemporary Fundamentalist Horror

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Demonic Possession and Fractured Patriarchies in Contemporary Fundamentalist Horror Demonic Possession and Fractured Patriarchies in Contemporary Fundamentalist Horror A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Humanities By LINDSEY SLANKER B.A., Wright State University, 2013 2017 Wright State University WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL April 18, 2017 I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Lindsey Slanker ENTITLED Demonic Possession and Fractured Patriarchies in Contemporary Fundamentalist Horror BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF HUMANITIES. Hope Jennings, Ph.D. Thesis Director Valerie Stoker, Ph.D. Committee on Final Examination: Director, Master of Humanities Program Hope Jennings, Ph.D. Christine Junker, Ph.D. Andrea Harris, M.A. Robert E. W. Fyffe, Ph.D. Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School ABSTRACT Slanker, Lindsey. M.Hum., Department of Religion, Philosophy, and Classics, Wright State University, 2017. Demonic Possession and Fractured Patriarchies in Contemporary Fundamentalist Horror. This thesis is a survey of contemporary horror films from the perspective of fundamentalist American audiences. Using Judith Butler’s work on gender performativity and religious studies scholarship as framework, I investigate how five visual texts perpetuate patriarchal family structures. The five texts I explore are The Last Exorcism (2010), The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016), The Witch: A New England Folk Tale (2015), and The Exorcist television series (2016). In each chapter, I analyze a key family member per patriarchal norms, and how violations of these norms contribute to the family’s supernatural crisis. The figures I analyze for each text is The Weak Father, The Bad Mother, and The Unstable Daughter. The texts’ shared, repetitious message implies that societal order can be (re)established once individuals adhere to fundamentalist patriarchal standards, reinforcing many scholars’ conclusions that fundamentalist Christianity continues to be a pervasive, dominant force in American culture. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: THE WEAK FATHER ...............................................................................19 Louis Sweetzer and Cotton Marcus in The Last Exorcism ............................................28 Roger Perron and Ed Warren in The Conjuring .............................................................35 Ed Warren in The Conjuring 2 .......................................................................................39 William in The Witch .....................................................................................................44 Henry Rance in The Exorcist .........................................................................................51 CHAPTER 2: THE BAD MOTHER .................................................................................56 Mrs. Sweetzer in The Last Exorcism ..............................................................................68 Carolyn Perron, Lorraine Warren, and Bathsheba in The Conjuring .............................69 Peggy Hodgson and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring 2 ............................................77 Katherine and The Witch in the Woods in The Witch ....................................................79 Angela Rance in The Exorcist ........................................................................................91 CHAPTER 3: THE UNSTABLE DAUGHTER................................................................99 Nell Sweetzer in The Last Exorcism ............................................................................107 Andrea Perron in The Conjuring ..................................................................................110 Margaret and Janet Hodgson in The Conjuring 2 ........................................................111 Thomasin in The Witch ................................................................................................113 Casey and Kat Rance in The Exorcist ..........................................................................126 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................134 WORKS CITED ..............................................................................................................141 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Louis Sweetzer aims at his daughter (The Last Exorcism). ------------------------------ 32 Figure 2: Carolyn Perron leans in, listening fascinatedly to the Warrens' insights to the Perron family’s haunting. In contrast, her husband Roger distances himself, maintaining a skeptic mentality (The Conjuring). --------------------------------------------------------------- 35 Figure 3: Ed serenades the Hodgsons, simultaneously performing the role of pseudo-father and preacher (The Conjuring 2). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 Figure 4: William leads his family to their new homestead and leads the family in blessing the land. The camera frames the vast woods that surround them while playing ominous music, indicating that William has led his family to their doom because his pride (The Witch). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 46 Figure 5: Young, inexperienced Caleb braves the menacing woods so he can provide food for his starving family (The Witch). ------------------------------------------------------------------- 50 Figure 6: In the final episode, a recuperated Henry is in control of his family, restoring patriarchal order (The Exorcist). ------------------------------------------------------------------ 53 Figure 7: Lorraine uses her steadfast faith to assist her husband in Carolyn's exorcism (The Conjuring). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 69 Figure 8: Bathsheba vomits rotting blood into Carolyn's mouth, an act of forced cannibalism of abject waste (The Conjuring). --------------------------------------------------------------------- 74 Figure 9: Katherine's grief is amplified when Caleb dies; as with Sam, her grief overwhelms her good sense. Here, she climbs into Caleb's grave to hold him. She would rather enter death's symbolic realm, a grave, than leave her dead child (The Witch). ------------------- 82 Figure 10: Katherine "breastfeeds" the witch’s familiar, a crow. This is an abject version of an intimate motherhood ritual, and the result of her welcoming the ghosts of her dead sons— that is to say, inviting death into her home (The Witch). -------------------------------------- 84 Figure 11: The Witch "consumes" Caleb through a passionate, invasive kiss, simultaneously revealing her abject form to the audience (The Witch). ---------------------------------------- 88 Figure 12: Angela allows Pazuzu to possess her instead of her daughter, Casey. Her sacrifice shows her willingness to fully commit to the Good Mother role the patriarchy demands of mothers (The Exorcist). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 94 Figure 13: In a reversal of patriarchal gender roles, Angela is the head of the Rance household (The Exorcist). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95 Figure 14: When Pazuzu possesses her, Angela demonstrates the abject, becoming more violent and embracing bloody confrontations (The Exorcist). -------------------------------- 97 Figure 15: Nell's suggestive behavior, including leering and opening her legs, represents the inappropriate sexual behavior that the patriarchy fears young women will practice (The Last Exorcism). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 108 Figure 16: Peggy Hodgson scolds her girls for utilizing spirit boards, blaming it for their fear and unsettled behavior (The Conjuring 2). ---------------------------------------------------- 113 Figure 17: Despite his protestations, Thomasin holds Caleb close to her bosom. For the audience, this is an uncomfortable moment because they witnessed Caleb staring at his v sister's cleavage. The implication is that she should be more aware of her changing body and its effects on her brother (The Witch). ----------------------------------------------------- 118 Figure 18: Thomasin flies naked into the night in the final scene. Critics have interpreted her exultation over her new life as a feminist celebration of a life without fundamentalist patriarchal control (The Witch). ----------------------------------------------------------------- 122 Figure 19: Though her new freedom is a triumph for the character, fundamentalist audiences consider this scene the most terrifying of all, since the young woman has foregone her piety and modesty for a satanic lifestyle. Moreover, she symbolizes the patriarhal society’s impending doom, should other daughters like Thomasin also opt for “living deliciously” (The Witch). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 125 Figure 20: A possessed Casey makes inappropriate sexual advances toward her father, horrifying Henry and sowing discord (The Exorcist). --------------------------------------- 129 Figure 21: Kat becomes religiously observant, attending Mass with her parents, a contrast to her pervious absences (The Exorcist). ----------------------------------------------------------
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