The Lobster Dance

Mild spoilers for The Ring (US – 2002).

In “Horror Week 2012: The Terror of Little Girls: Social Anxiety About Women in Horrifying Girlhood” (and the version on Indiewire), Leigh Kolb takes a look at how social anxieties about women lead to the horror trope of the monstrous or evil little girl, as seen in The Exorcist, The Ring, and a host of other movies.

Fast forward to the 1950s and 60s, and the modern horror genre as we know it emerged and began evolving into something that provided social commentary while playing on audiences’ deepest fears (the “other,” invasion, demonic possession, nuclear mutations and the end of the world were common enemies).

We know that horror films typically feature puritanical punishment/reward for promiscuous women/virgins (the “Final Girl” trope), and violence toward women or women needing to be rescued are common themes. These themes comfort audiences, and confirm their need to keep women subjugated in their proper place. It’s no coincidence that the 50s and 60s were seeing sweeping social change in America (the Pill, changing divorce laws, the ERA, and the lead-up to Roe v. Wade).

Terrifying little girls also make their debut in this era. Their mere presence in horror films spoke not only to audiences’ fears of children losing their innocence, but also the intense fear that little girls–not yet even women–would have the power to overthrow men. These girl children of a generation of women beginning a new fight for rights were terrifying–these girls would grow up knowing they could have power.

I do disagree slightly with the Kolb’s use of the quote about Rachel in The Ring (US) bringing the ghost into her family because she was in the public sphere. If the unnamed critic from Scope recalls, Rachel’s niece was one of the victims of the tape, and her investigation, journalist or not, begins because of the disturbing circumstances of her niece’s death. However, the theme of “women meddling where they don’t belong,” whether that’s murder investigations, non-pink-collar careers, or being proactive about their health and safety, is definitely a factor.

Content: the article contains spoilers for The Bad Seed, Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist, The Shining (original post only), The Ring, and Orphan. The post on Indiewire has very few images, but the original post on Bitch Flicks contains mostly-normal screenshots, except for the one from The Exorcist, which is SFW but you know, that makeup.