Marieke / Annotated Bibliography

Bibliography / Essays

Powers of Horror - Julia Kristeva

The term abjection literally means "the state of being cast off". The term has been explored in post-structuralism as that which inherently disturbs conventional identity and cultural concepts. Among the most popular interpretations of abjection is Julia Kristeva's, pursued particularly in her 1980 work Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Kristeva describes subjective horror (abjection) as the feeling when an individual experiences, or is confronted by (both mentally and as a body), what Kristeva calls one's "corporeal reality", or a breakdown in the distinction between what is Self and what is Other.

The Uses of Enchantment - Bruno Bettleheim

Fairytales are analyzed in terms of Freudian Psychoanalysis. Bettelheim presents a case that fairy tales help children solve certain existential problems such as separation anxiety, oedipal conflict, and sibling rivalries. The extreme violence and ugly emotions of many fairy tales serve to deflect what may well be going on in the child's mind anyway. A child's unrealistic fears often require unrealistic hopes. Interesting since the films I am interested in touch these ugly emotions.

The Ghost is just a Metaphor - Kindinger

An analysis of Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak. It researches Crimson Peak and other horror films their symbolism and how these can be linked to female emancipation. In Crimson Peak's this symbolism is the ghost: As domestic phenomena, ghosts of women that are trapped at home and in ethereal bodies mirror women’s invisibility and powerlessness.

The Rhetoric of Cinematic Improvisation - Virginia Wright Wexman

Considering the importance of improvisation for many modern filmmakers, it is surprising that the technique has received so little critical attention. This essay explores the use of improvisation in cinematic settings. It discusses how improvisation can be employed in cinema succesfully by being experimental while keeping certain boundaries.

The audio Uncanny Valley: Sound, fear and the Horror game - Mark Grimshaw

Sound is a huge part of the horror experience as it builds the tension and the sound is an important indication of danger. This essay examines if sound also has the potential to be uncanny. The 1970 proposition that there is an Uncanny Valley which man-made characters inhabit as their human-likeness (both appearance and movement) increases has been a growing topic of debate in the fields of robotics, animation and computer games particularly since the turn of the century. However, what the theory and subsequent related writings do not account for is the role of sound in creating perceptions of uncanniness and fear, a particularly useful attribute in computer game genres such as survival horror.

Against Abjection - Imogen Tyler

Whilst the abject has proved a compelling and productive concept for feminist theory, this article cautions against the repetition of the maternal (as) abject within theoretical writing. It argues that employing a Kristevan abject paradigm risks reproducing, rather than challenging, histories of violent disgust towards maternal bodies. In place of the Kristevan model of the abject, it argues for a more thoroughly social and political account of abjection.