Carries

In the 1976 monstrous puberty film, Carrie, is a film that displays female adolescents and what it means to “grow up” in a world of a girl. One of the most crucial points in a girls life is when she gets her period for the first time. Such as in the film Carrie, when Carrie is in the women’s locker room taking a shower she notices blood falling from her leg in which her first instinct is she thinks she is dying. However, she doesn’t grasp the fact that she is around that age where females have their first period. In Lindsey’s article “Horror, Femininity, and Carrie’s Monstrous Puberty” it sets forth Carrie and her telekinetic powers. Throughout the film it is apparent to viewers that Carrie’s mom is very religious and is very firmly against sex. Furthermore, this upsets Carrie when her mom treats her unfairly, not letting her do anything fun, or go to her high school prom where this cute guy. Viewers see how upset Carrie is when she is moments away from being picked up by her prom date when the mom is simply begging and pleading for her not to go. Carrie is tired of listening and uses her telekinetic power to shut her mom up and go to her highschool prom.

Source: MGM, 1976, Carrie

(Carrie’s mom not wanting her to go to prom)

 Lindsey also discusses in her article how femininity is constructed to cover up who you really are. For most of the duration of Carrie’s school year she is a quiet girl who feels no need to load her face with makeup. Carrie knows that no one finds her attractive or anything likeable about her, until lovely Miss Collins comes along to help her. Miss Collins insists on giving Carrie a new look of her own so Carrie can feel less insecure about herself. Miss Collins essentially gives her a makeover in which she changes her hairstyle, gives her some lipstick, and mascare. As much as Carrie seems to enjoy this she knows that this is not who she is. This is covering up what is really lying underneath Carrie.

Source: MGM, 1976, Carrie

(Miss Collins giving Carrie a makeover)
 Males look onto what the female body generates. In the article it is stated that what the female body generates is recognizable to feminist cirtics of the slasher film. Likewise, in Carrie, Carrie’s body is not exactly what males would look onto or fantasize about. Miss Collins body on the other hand gives males something to castrate about from her being braless to physically active and having good posture she guides Carrie into womanhood and the idea of castration and enacted by the slasher. From the early stages of being a girl to her first menstrual period Carrie sees the pain of not being one of the popular girls. In the sense that Carrie’s mom is a religious freak and against any kind of sexual activity Carrie has more of a masculine image throughout the movie.