{"id":272968,"date":"2020-10-26T03:52:43","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T07:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=272968"},"modified":"2020-10-26T04:04:03","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T08:04:03","slug":"dressed-to-kill-6-ways-horror-folklore-is-fashioned-in-the-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/10\/26\/dressed-to-kill-6-ways-horror-folklore-is-fashioned-in-the-movies\/","title":{"rendered":"Dressed to kill: 6 ways horror folklore is fashioned in the movies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Women\u2019s violent struggles as perpetrators and victims of horror \u2014 in the pursuit of sexual freedom, social empowerment and fulfilment of desire \u2014 are reflections of the concerns of a conflicted and changing society. (File Photo: Mahyar Sarreshteh\/Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBeauty is pain,\u201d goes the famous adage. The phrase suggests that in order to fully understand what a society considers beautiful, you must explore ugliness. Enter the horror movie.<\/p>\n

Horror often examines \u201cthe dread of difference<\/a>\u201d seen in society, and cinema scholars like Barry Keith Grant have studied how horror films explore gender roles.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s violent struggles<\/a> as perpetrators and victims of horror \u2014 in the pursuit of sexual freedom, social empowerment and fulfilment of desire \u2014 are reflections of the concerns of a conflicted and changing society.<\/p>\n

In the book we edited, Fashioning Horror: Dressing to Kill on Screen and in Literature<\/a><\/em> we explored how horror literature, film and folklore are expressed through fashion and costume. Our approach<\/a> was informed by our background in fashion studies, folklore and literature, as we investigated the central importance of clothing to the horror genre.<\/p>\n

Here, we demonstrate how common fears around femininity are expressed through costume and roles in the movies.<\/p>\n

The ghost<\/h2>\n

The well-known popular image of<\/a> a haunting woman in white is a classic gothic and horror trope rooted in European folklore dating back to pre-Christian and pagan times<\/a>. Whether dressed in the white of a burial shroud, or the white of mourning, \u201cthe White Lady\u201d often appeared by moonlight.<\/p>\n

The film The Ring<\/em> (2002)<\/a> based on the Japanese horror film<\/a> of the same name derived from the novel by Koji Suzuki<\/a>, shows a contemporary reading of the ghost as related to anxieties about new technology, social change and family relationships. The ghost in white is not seen by moonlight but by the blue glow of a television screen. Naomi Watts<\/a> portrays a journalist who investigates a cursed videotape that seemingly kills the viewer seven days after watching it.<\/p>\n