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The Sinful Maternal: Motherhood in Possession Films

Online ISBN:
9781496851789
Print ISBN:
9781496851734
Publisher:
University Press of Mississippi
Book

The Sinful Maternal: Motherhood in Possession Films

Lauren Rocha
Lauren Rocha
Merrimack College
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Published online:
19 September 2024
Published in print:
26 March 2024
Online ISBN:
9781496851789
Print ISBN:
9781496851734
Publisher:
University Press of Mississippi

Abstract

Possession films are a subgenre of horror films in which a character is possessed by a supernatural, or non-human, entity. Women in possession films are often either the target of possession or witness to the possession of someone else. The act of possession, then, disrupts and challenges the ordered structure women are part of, especially in the case of mother/child and mother/family relationships. This book explores how different depictions of women in possession films show various facets of motherhood. The possession films spotlighted are Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, Insidious and Insidious Chapter 2, The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, The Babadook, The Witch, and Hereditary. The films are placed in chronological order within the chapters to better connect with each other and to demonstrate how mothers in possession films have changed over time. It analyzes the films through the lenses of history and gender to show how society and cultural norms impact the depiction of mothers and possession. Topics explored include pregnancy, single motherhood, divorce, witchcraft, maternal archetypes, and forced motherhood. The book questions how possession can free, fracture, and transform women’s bodies and selves into ones that threaten patriarchal structures. It argues that women are always possessed because of unseen forces that seek to control them; how women react and navigate these forces highlights the need for more women’s and maternal agency.

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