1. Part 3: Case Study Evolution of Frankenstein Films Week 14: Masculinities and Femininities in Frankenstein Films Draft by: Greg Thompson Edited: Dr. Kay Picart Design by: Michaela Densmore Edited by Dr. Kay Picart and Michaela Densmore ©2001

2. Objectives and Outline  Review the Parthenogenetic Question and Myths of Dionysus and Baubo in relation to the politics of gender from lecture 11A (30 minutes)  The House of Frankenstein (45minutes) OR  Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (45 minutes)  Discussion (15 minutes)

3. Masculine vs. Feminine  We can first look back to our myths of parthogenesis in order to begin the explo- ration of this question. The power struggle that exists between the male and female for the ability to birth humans (naturally possessed by women, but usurped by males and the myth is used to promote male hegemony) continues in these films. Continued on next slide

4. Masculine vs. Feminine(2)  It is the portrayals of women and their role or lack therefore that exhibit the most telling aspects of this male hegemony and the use of the medium of film to promote such hegemony.

5. Review the Myth  The three myths that are most predominant in this discussion are: 1.) the Promethean myth; 2.) the Dionysian myth and 3.) the lesser known Baubo myth.

6. Two Contrasting Stories of Birthing as Power  The myth of the birth of Dionysus is our first myth that indicates the connection between these myths and the male appropriation of childbearing.  This appropriation will play a large part in the mythic authorization of the hegemony of patriarchal society.

7. ParthenogenesisParthenogenesis  Parthenogenesis is the idea of male self- birthing.  Thus, parthenogenesis entails the appropria- tion of the female ability to give birth and allows the masculine figure to have this power.  Naturally, birth is a major powerful, miracu- lous event. In society, those who have this power are seen as fantastically powerful. This is true throughout cultures and histories.

8. House of Frankenstein  The idea of the father figure and the re- birthing to a “new man” (note the name Gustav Niemann) is a repetitive theme throughout the film.

9. Parthenogenesis - Everywhere!  Everybody wants their brain switched with somebody else so that they can be a better person.  Niemann wants to replace the monster’s brain.  He’s promised to give Daniel a new (hump- less) body. Continued on next slide

10. Parthenogenesis - Everywhere!  Niemann has promised to remove the brain of Talbot (the Wolf Man) to move it into the body of some “accursed” figure,  and he wishes to begin this process, in a revenge plot, by using the brains and bodies of the enemies who had originally sent him to the insane asylum.  Niemann is the one who “re-births” Dracula by removing the stake from the skeleton.

11. The Female as Monstrous  Rita  From the first moment that we see Rita, she is imposing her will on the other characters-- insisting that they are going to “the midnight show of the Horror Exhibit.” The grandfather and police inspector do not wish to go but she persists, literally putting the coat, scarf and hat on the Bürgermaster and virtually pushing them out the door... Continued on next slide

12. The Female as Monstrous  Ilonka  From the first moment we see her, she is a sexual being that must be contained by the men who surround her.  Ilonka’s doom is long foretold in this sequence.  Unlike Rita, her blatant sensual energy and flirtatiousness is untamed, and she distracts Daniel from his awe-filled worship of Niemann.

13. Rita and Carl  The relationship between Rita and Carl, however brief, is loaded with images of the sparring between the male and female wills to power. She insists on controlling what they go to see but along the way, the husband is verbally sparring with her about control and being lead around by such a willful woman. It is as though he must defend himself in the eyes of his other male compatriots. Continued on next slide

14. Rita and Carl - Round 2  Later at the show, the sparring continues with the image of the woman in the stockade. Carl makes the misogynistic joke of “where can I get one of those... to keep my wife under control.”  The male laughter at the joke, Picart notes, is an attempt to control or tame the forceful female. Continued on next slide

15. Rita and Carl - Round 2 (2)  This is a turn of the Baubo myth in that Baubo originally used laughter as giver of life and therefore control.  In this instance the Baubo-like character’s humor is usurped by the males in order to control her. Continued on next slide

16. IlonkaIlonka  Ilonka as the “feminine as monstrous” comes through in her bold sexuality.  From the moment she awakens, after Daniel has saved her, she becomes coquettish and teasing, until she discovers that Daniel is a hunchback. At this point, she rejects him totally and unabashedly—at least as a possible erotic interest. Continued on next slide

17. Ilonka (2)  Ilonka’s doom is long foretold in this sequence.  Unlike Rita, her blatant sensual energy and flirtatiousness is untamed, and she distracts Daniel from his awe-filled worship of Niemann. Continued on next slide

18. Ilonka (3)  Baubo’s untamed and scandalous ana- suromai sits well with Ilonka. Unlike Rita who can be domesticated because her sensuality is kept in tow (save for that dangerous close brush with Dracula), Ilonka exudes an untamed eroticism that marks her as the perfect scapegoat. (Picart 2001)

19. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed  Again Frankenstein plays the role of the parthenogenetic fa- ther, who is attempt- ing to usurp the ability to give life & therefore, control power.

20. AnnaAnna  Anna plays the role of the feminine as mon- strous.  She initially appears to be the perfectly domesticated female figure, yet we quickly discover that in reality she is an accomplice in her fiancé’s stealing and selling illegal drugs.  This accomplice role “justifies Anna’s (as yet feminine-as-monstrous figure) destruction” (Picart 2001). Continued on next slide

21. Anna (2)  Anna later finds herself assisting initially in more passive forms, such as holding the reigns of a horse, but eventually she will find it necessary actually to hide the body of Brandt in her garden when the water main breaks. Continued on next slide

22. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed  Through a series of appropriations, the Baron as representative of the masculine subsumes and removes the feminine from the Frankensteinian myth.  There are three key instances of appropriation: –The Boarding House –The Rape of Anna –The Death of Anna

23. The Boarding House  “Like a vampire who parasitically feeds upon the blood of his victims and contaminates them with his own blood, Frankenstein exploits the young couple’s love, and turns them into reluctant ex- tensions / versions of himself” (Picart 2001).  The Baron, upon learning of Anna and Karl’s secret drug dealing, is able to take over the boarding house for his own laboratory purposes.

24. Taking Over The Boarding House  Following the break in the water main, Franken- stein, having taken over the previously feminized house, immediately dismisses the onlookers as though the garden was his own.

25. The Rape of Anna  Picart notes that the rape scene was tacked on as a box office draw but that in many ways, it fits perfectly with the cinematic aesthetization of the assumption of female power at the hands (literally) of the male. Continued on next slide

26. The Rape of Anna (2)  The role of the female in this film plays as a means to attest to the strength of Frankenstein as masculine figure.  In order to accentuate the masculinity, it is necessary to make the aggressiveness of the masculine more accentuated than perhaps it was in the previous films. Continued on next slide

27. The Rape of Anna (3)  This film, perhaps more blatantly than some of the others, takes the appropriation of the birthing power, and adds to it the necessity, not only to exert dominance over, but also to destroy the feminine aspects of the world around Frankenstein.

28. The Death of Anna  The Baron kills Anna.  This completes the removal of the feminine from the story.

29. Discussion Questions  In what ways do the feminine and the masculine intersect in the Frankenstein films?  What might be some other examples of the “removal of the feminine” from the evolving Frankenstein myth?

30. Additional Discussion Questions (Optional)