ESA: The scientific women of B horror
Kasi Jackson of West Virginia University studies images of female scientists in horror films. But not just any horror film: “My criteria were puppets, people in rubber suits, or claymation," she says. "None of that fancy CGI stuff allowed.”
Jackson believes that B movies are actually more revealing of cultural currents than $100 million blockbusters created by marketers. In between the splatter and frontal nudity, interesting scenerios play out: women scientists as mediators between Science with a capital S and Nature with a capital N; women scientists as maternal protectors of nature—to humanity’s cost.
So I asked Jackson for her top 3 favorite B horror films featuring female scientists. And viewer beware, some of these are really gory.
1. Carnosaur (1993). Diane Ladd plays a mad scientist in a pink lab coat who decides that humanity, having trashed the planet, no longer deserves to live. After some scientific finagling, women begin giving birth to dinosaur eggs. Jackson’s fave quote from Ladd’s character: “To understand nature, you have to become as remorseless as Nature herself.”
Jackson says, “In spite of the giant dinosaurs, it is really a pretty sophisticated critique of science and society.”
2. Aligator (1980). A woman who once had a pet alligator grows up to be a zoologist played by Robin Riker. The pet alligator grows up to be mutated into gigantic proportions by a nefarious pharmaceutical company. Dismemberment ensues.
Jackson says, “In spite of the giant alligators, the woman plays a real scientist who actually does the kinds of things that scientists do.”
3. Kingdom of Spiders (1977). Tiffany Bolling plays an entomologist involved in a very serious spider situation, in which hordes of the arachnids begin mobbing cattle when pesticides kill off their more usual prey. Jackson points out that she also does something perhaps unique in the history of cinema: she resists the amorous advances of William Shatner.
Jackson says, “I really have a fondness for William Shatner, and besides, it really is a classic example off the ‘nature out of balance’ theme.”
Break out the popcorn.
Comments
Once again, with the exception of the spider movie (and that's only because I don't like 'em!), Dr. J has pegged, exactly, the requirements of a good B movie and although horror is not my preferred genre of film, all the appropriate criteria are met in these three movies! I agree that B movies are a more true representation of society, not as flashy as the blockbusters, but far more interesting.
Posted by: Susan | August 8, 2008 03:33 PM
Not surprising that Alligator is good -- it's written by John Sayles.
Nature should arrange a screening at the next ESA
Posted by: Oliver | August 11, 2008 06:40 PM
Jodie Foster is good (as usual) in Contact, the film of the Carl Sagan book of same name. Perhaps that isn't considered B, although it was pre-CGI so qualifies on that criterion.
Nor would be Coma, an even older film which featured Genevive Bujold as the protagonist, a medical student uncovering a clinical science-based conspiracy. The book (by Robin Cook) was a bestseller, an early (if not the earliest) "cross genre" book, as well as groundbreaking in that it featured a woman in a role more usually taken by a man (see "Contact" above, also). The author analysed the NY bestseller lists over time and came up with 16 key components, which he duly sewed together into this impressive novel, which was later made into an equally impressive movie. As well as Bujold, Richard Widmark was a convincingly smarmy corporate baddie.
In both movies (Contact and Coma) the female protags are allowed to be professional, capable "regular people" and not the usual female screaming-with-horror (movie) stereotype.
Posted by: Maxine | August 12, 2008 04:45 PM