Carrie (2013) Horror Film Feminist Analysis

The 2013 retelling of the film Carrie (originally made in 1976) has many underlying feminist themes.

One of the main female characters in this film is Carrie’s mother, Margaret White. She is single mother and a deeply religious woman. She has raised Carrie on her own and hasn’t needed a male to help, even during the birth which was shown at the beginning of the film. However, her dedication to god which is extremely evident throughout the film, in her dialogue and within her home could suggest that her life is still revolving around a man even though she has specifically taught Carrie not to ‘give in’ to a man.

The male gaze is a very big factor when it comes to the young females in this film. The main/popular girls were typically beautiful and conventionally attractive (white, tall, skinny and there was a huge lack of diversity) and typically ‘girly’ e.g. wears an excessive amount of pink. The lingering shots of the female’s legs in the pool and Carrie washing herself almost sexually, I felt were extremely unnecessary and were purposefully there for the male gaze. In contrast, I also feel that the female body was shamed in one specific scene of this film, and was when Carrie experienced her period for the first time. Her period was extremely over exaggerated, due to the fact it was inaccurately represented. The amount of blood used, I feel was there to highlight the fact that most people think that periods are a ‘taboo’ subject. To add to this, the male teacher in the office looked at her skirt with a blood stain on it with shock. This also highlights the fact that men are very uncomfortable and insensitive when it comes to women’s periods.

One character in the film, Tommy Ross, is a typical American jock, who is adored by everyone in the school because he is in a position of power, he is also a compassionate and funny person. However, when it comes to a character like Chris Hargensen, who is also within the popular crowd. She is automatically made to be a horrible and judgemental person, and a typically ‘bitchy’ girl. To me this says that if a woman is in a position of power, she has to be a sadist. Furthermore, the majority of the girls in this film were made to hate each other or ‘other’ her for no specific reason. This is one major theme that runs through a lot of films. The main example of this, is Chris’s burning hate for Carrie. I felt this was extremely confusing, because not once had Carrie been horrible to Chris, yet she seemed to hate her more than anyone on the planet.  The unnecessary hatred and ‘othering’ between females in films, I believe is an exaggerated display of what males think woman are like in real life, since the screenwriters of this film are both male, and they have been chosen to write a film that is based on a female and has a 90% female cast.

All of the females in this film seemed to have a similar goal, going to prom. This was extremely apparent, because teachers would threaten the girls to be ‘well behaved’ or they would be banned from prom. This was also apparent when Carrie was asked to prom by Tommy, because the camera focused in on her face and she looked happier than she had ever done in the film up to this point. This suggests that all females are waiting for a guy to ask them out, this isn’t only incorrect but extremely heteronormative. In addition, the contrast between the males and the female’s feelings towards prom was blatantly shown during the scene of them getting ready for prom. It cut back and forth to each group and it purposefully distanced the two genders. For the males, it was a fun experience and they were messing around trying on different suits. Whereas the female’s had already picked out their dresses weeks before and they took it very seriously. The dress was also a huge part of the prom for the females. The character Sue’s dress foreshadowed a lot of the oncoming events for the film since it was a vibrant shade of red, which connotes danger. This could also suggest that a woman’s body is dangerous, risky and full of mystery, which automatically dehumanises women.

The motherly instinct was prominent throughout the film. Even though Margaret mistreated Carrie throughout her life, she showed small signs of overly protective motherly instinct and love, but in the end it did lead to religion, and the fact that a man (God) was ruling the decisions in her life. The gym teacher was very supportive towards Carrie and she was the only proper mother figure to her while she was at school. Furthermore, ‘the final girl’ Sue ended up being pregnant by the end of the film, which almost gave the film a cyclical ending because the film started with a birth and ended with a pregnancy.