Blog #3

Chelsea Bristow

Two films that address the role of the patriarch and gender roles are The Brood and The Shining. In The Brood, the father, Frank, is the protector of his child, Candice. However, in The Shining, the father, Jack, only serves as the provider of his family and fails to be the protector of his child, Danny. The gender roles in these two movies differ. The woman in The Brood turns out to be the monster, while in The Shining, the woman is victimized the entire film. The Brood challenges the status quo by making the female the monster instead of the male, while in The Shining, the male is the monster. The films send different messages about the future of the patriarch. The ending of The Brood implies that the patriarch will live on, while the ending of The Shining implies progression.

In the final scene of The Brood, Frank pretends to want to be with Nola in order for her to happy, making her brood of evil children happy as well so they will let Candice free. Through this act, he is proving to be the true protector of Candice. On the other hand, in The Shining, Jack does nothing but provide. He takes the job at The Overlook Hotel to be able to provide financially for his family. Once they are settled into The Overlook Hotel, Wendy does all the caretaking for the hotel and Danny, while Jack sits back and writes.

In The Brood, the status quo of gender roles is challenges. The father ends up being the caretaker of the child, which isn’t typically his role. The mother ends up being the monster, which usually doesn’t happen in horror films.  In contrast, the mother in The Shining is the typical housewife. She takes care of Danny and the hotel while Jack sits back and “writes.” For example, she prepares all the meals for Jack and even brings him breakfast in bed. The scene in which Jack is overlooking the maze where his wife and child are represents his authority and power over them. As well as being the typical housewife, Wendy is also victimized throughout the entire film. In the scene in which Jack and Wendy are talking about what should be done with Danny, Wendy helplessly holds a bat to defend her self against the crazed Jack. Later on in Jack’s rampage, when Wendy is trapped in the bathroom, she again is helpless, holding a knife that she could be using to protect herself, but instead she chooses to stand in the corner and scream while Jack breaks down the door with an axe.

The endings of these films say different things about the future of the patriarch. At the end of The Brood, the father kills the mother, expressing the idea that the patriarch will live on despite being challenged. However, at the end of The Shining, the father dies, symbolizing the death of the patriarchy. In Vivian Sobchack’s article, “Bringing It All Back Home: Family Economy and Generic Exchange,” it says we can see a “patriarchy maddened by a paradoxical desire for its own annihilation.” As a result of Jack’s constant need to be in control, he faces his demise.