ENGLISH 400: MONSTER THEORY
Sophie Gray
Research Abstract
"Homosocial Desire in The Devourers: Fenrir, Gevaudan, and the Werewolf as Misogynist"
Focusing on Fenrir and Gevaudan in The Devourers, my paper will explore the relationship between these two monsters as they compete for control of Cyrah’s body and her unborn child. My paper asks how the relationship between these two werewolves reflects the definitions of homosociality, especially its tendency towards misogyny. Using homosocial theory, the paper will consider the two
werewolves’ treatment of Cyrah as an object—a thing desired rather than as an individual and it will ask how that treatment shows homosexual desires.Using Hammaren and Johansson’s article “Homosociality: In Between Power and Intimacy,”, that distinguishes between two kinds of homosociality: vertical/hierarchical and horizontal homosociality, I will unpack the complicated relationship between Fenrir and Gevaudan. Although Gevaudin and Fenrir are enemies, they share connections through their relations with Cyrah. Those relations, as we can see in their views of Cyrah’s civilization, establish their feelings of superiority over the woman they both want to control.
My analysis shows that homosociality is possible without friendship. Gevaudan and Fenrir’s misogyny links them and what allows them to attempt to assert male authority. In society males power tends to run off of competition for a desired object. It is important to learn about homosocial relationships because it helps us understand the complex ways men objectify women and compete with each other.
Capstone Presentation
"Color Palettes and Gender in Twilight and Underworld"
Directors and cinematographers employ different color palettes to evoke emotions, build the story and mood, and convey the setting in films. In monster films, color palettes can be used to feminize or masculinize monsters. For my capstone presentation, I will compare the use of color in two monster movies that are roughly from the same era: Twilight (2008) and Underworld (2003). In Twilight, the director uses greens and browns as well as bright cold light to tell a conflicted love story and to feminize the main character. In Underworld, the director draws on dark blues, purples, and black to convey a hostile and violent society and to masculinize the main characters. By focusing on color palette, we can understand how film directors portray monsters in a gendered way and challenge our assumptions. In this way, understanding the use of color palettes in these two popular films deepens our understanding of monsters and the gender norms they are meant to reflect.