Jay Schneider, Steven. "‘Suck… don’t suck’: Framing ideology in Kathryn
Bigelow’s Near Dark." The Cinema of Kathryn Bigelow: Hollywood Transgressor.
London: Wallflower Press, 2003. 72-89.
Schneider immediately addresses Christopher Sharrett’s 1993 essay "The Horror Film in Neoconstervative Culture," which convincingly argues that horror films of the 1970s often had conservative capitalist themes, which reinforce conservative ideologies within the U.S. Focusing on Bigelow’s Near Dark the author states that the film in fact subverts the conservative ideologies and uses them as a subtext. Instead the night time represents a wish fulfilling dream that frees the main character Caleb from the social and cultural norms that bind him. Through a psychoanalytic analysis of the film the author demonstrates how the neoconservative theme of the film is a vehicle used to subvert and critique these dominant ideologies. The methodology of the article pays tribute to the ground breaking works of Robin Wood (Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan) and similarly draws from David Bordwell’s work to contextualize the authors reading of the film.
The author focuses on the first few scenes of the film and demonstrates how these scenes establish the fantasy and the horror of the protagonist. The metaphor of vampirism, and Caleb’s rejection of it, itself is said to represent the dispelling of the Oedipal fears that typically help to push a main character from incestual desires towards greater socialization. The film opens with a dreamy sequence of a mosquito in a blurred hue and it is this sequence that establishes the ideological fantasy that Caleb is about to embark upon. The crushing of the insect is also said to articulate Caleb’s “mean streak” (76) and the character’s cruelty is reoccurring throughout the film.
The author then demonstrates how Bigelow, “places quotation marks around her protagonist’s neoconservatism” (76) creating a subtle critique of these political ideologies. The way in which the protagonist defeats the vampire group is said to be both hypocritical and indiscreet. Caleb often merely writes off the vampires as inhuman while he himself was just previously relishing in their fantasy life style. The vampires kill for food and it is Caleb’s reasoning that is less justifiable. The final scene of the film in which Caleb “rescues” Mae is interpreted as being an unhappy ending. Mae is forced to become human and forced into the neoconservative family that thrives in the daylight. The final scene shows Mae in the light while Caleb’s face remains in the darkness. The fact that Caleb is still in the dark while Mae cowers in the light represents the change that Caleb has undergone and articulates the unhappiness of Mae. This unhappiness is due to the fact that she was changed without her consent.
Schneider immediately addresses Christopher Sharrett’s 1993 essay "The Horror Film in Neoconstervative Culture," which convincingly argues that horror films of the 1970s often had conservative capitalist themes, which reinforce conservative ideologies within the U.S. Focusing on Bigelow’s Near Dark the author states that the film in fact subverts the conservative ideologies and uses them as a subtext. Instead the night time represents a wish fulfilling dream that frees the main character Caleb from the social and cultural norms that bind him. Through a psychoanalytic analysis of the film the author demonstrates how the neoconservative theme of the film is a vehicle used to subvert and critique these dominant ideologies. The methodology of the article pays tribute to the ground breaking works of Robin Wood (Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan) and similarly draws from David Bordwell’s work to contextualize the authors reading of the film.
The author focuses on the first few scenes of the film and demonstrates how these scenes establish the fantasy and the horror of the protagonist. The metaphor of vampirism, and Caleb’s rejection of it, itself is said to represent the dispelling of the Oedipal fears that typically help to push a main character from incestual desires towards greater socialization. The film opens with a dreamy sequence of a mosquito in a blurred hue and it is this sequence that establishes the ideological fantasy that Caleb is about to embark upon. The crushing of the insect is also said to articulate Caleb’s “mean streak” (76) and the character’s cruelty is reoccurring throughout the film.
The author then demonstrates how Bigelow, “places quotation marks around her protagonist’s neoconservatism” (76) creating a subtle critique of these political ideologies. The way in which the protagonist defeats the vampire group is said to be both hypocritical and indiscreet. Caleb often merely writes off the vampires as inhuman while he himself was just previously relishing in their fantasy life style. The vampires kill for food and it is Caleb’s reasoning that is less justifiable. The final scene of the film in which Caleb “rescues” Mae is interpreted as being an unhappy ending. Mae is forced to become human and forced into the neoconservative family that thrives in the daylight. The final scene shows Mae in the light while Caleb’s face remains in the darkness. The fact that Caleb is still in the dark while Mae cowers in the light represents the change that Caleb has undergone and articulates the unhappiness of Mae. This unhappiness is due to the fact that she was changed without her consent.