Random Notes

When does a mom change from a normal human into a “monster mom”? And I don’t mean monster in the “mammy” typecast (completely desexualized and child-focused) OR in the hypersexualized typecast but an actually, real person that acquires the ability and desire to harm their own children. Is this a true transformation? Does the woman shift from being a mother to being somehow separated and differentiated as she performs these tasks? Why the urge to create a distinct transformation separating a mother from her violent acts? (Carol Tyler is an obvious example, as well as the mom in Crossed. Sethe is also described as somehow not in her body or more animalistic.) How does this look? What indications are we given that a shift has occurred? Are they subtle and spread over a long period of time? or a sudden and drastic change? Story from Nancy Grace other the mother trying to cover up her boyfriend’s continual abuse and eventual murder of her child. On the ideas of what being a “good mother” means across varying national contexts "Arlie Russell Hochschild “Love and Gold” --> Article on Filipina (and Sri Lankan) nannies in the US that we read in Transnational Feminism" "In the Philippines, simple providing of food, education, etc. is seen as good parenting versus US/Western focus on the necessity of love in motherhood" "This fits contextually with the mother figure in Linda Barry’s One Hundred Demons" "Connects with Eva’s perspective on motherhood in Sula --> how do race, class, and nationality impact the expectations placed on mothers?" Consider the mother in Stitches and the mean grandmother figure "Cruelty of the mother towards her son; she’s only nice to him when she thinks he’s dying" "The moment when the mother thinks she hears the grandmother and you can see through her glasses (that are normally opaque) and her eyes becomes visible and display fear." "The subsequent nightmare about the grandmother and the crucifix (Pages 84-105)" Margaret Drabble The Millstone "Protagonist makes a conscious choice to become an unwed mother" "May be good for self, not so much for project" Any images of monster mothers in The Omen? Watch Mommie Dearest Watch Flowers in the Attic(?) → It’s available for instant streaming on Netflix Look into film with the abusive mother who badly mistreats her daughter; her brothers sexually abuse the girl and the sexual abuse/incest is blamed on the daughter Watch The Brood Look up this episode from The Amazing World of Gumball (it’s called “The Limit”) and other episodes from this show. The mom is actually present (so many cartoons lack a mom figure or, at best, have a grandma) and she has varying emotions (versus Dexter’s mom who is pretty much always happy/oblivious/naive) → Full episode Think of all the Disney step-mothers who are really just images and examples of bad mothers, or at least representations of the bad parts of the characters’ own mother "Obvious ones" "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Queen Grimmhilde)" "Cinderella (Lady Tremaine)" "Tangled (Mother Gothel)" "Less obvious examples of the separated “bad mother”" "Sleeping Beauty" "Leah, her biological mother, is largely absent and passive. Aurora is raised by her three fairy godmothers, who become her active, “true” mothers, for whom Maleficent (the “wicked fairy godmother” in the original French fairytale) serves as a foil, becoming a representation of a bad mother." "Brave" "Merida has a troubled relationship with her mother, Queen Elinor (of whom we see both positive and negative images). When she is finally transformed into a bear through a potion, there are moments in which she still behaves as her normal, “human” self; however, there are other times in which she becomes completely animal, completely bear, and thus uncaring, disconnected, and a violent threat to Merida. It is in these moments that she becomes a truly “bad mother” in the film, not just one who is struggling to communicate with her daughter." Lady Gaga “Manifesto of Mother Monster” "Expresses the duality of good versus bad mothers (“And she herself split into two”) and that of the child as good or evil but not both (has two births, one of peace and equality, the other of evil; the mother must deal with both for which she feels ambivalent)." "“It seems easy, you imagine, to gravitate instantly and unwaveringly towards good. But she wondered, ‘How can I protect something so perfect without evil?’”" Circa Survive "Spirit of the Stairwell" "“Because I’d be terrified if I had to leave this place today/We haven’t saved the baby”" "“Then we saw a different side of ‘Annie’ nobody saw/She tried to kill the baby”" Dad monster in Papo & Yo is very large and bulky "Compare to the spidery monster mothers in Coraline and Silent Hill: Homecoming" "Spiders --> Black widow --> women as ensnaring --> femme fatale" "Women as femme fatale if they are an agent, a damsel in distress if a passive figure (think about the article on egg/sperm descriptions from Intro the GWSS)" "This binary is especially evident in video games" "ALTHOUGH, Carol Tyler in “The Outrage” from Late Bloomers turns into a demon, not a spider-esque monster, though she takes on many additional leaking breasts, a symbol of her femininity and maternity" Searched database “GenderWatch” for “mothers and anger” --> potentially helpful academic articles and resources: "Karen L. Fingerman “Being more than a daughter: Middle-aged women’s conceptions of their mothers.” Journal of Women and Aging. Volume 9, number 4." "This may be a very helpful publication" "Janet Lee “Teaching feminism: Anger, despair, and self-growth.” Feminist Teacher" "Phyllis Chester Women and Madness" "Sandar Warshal “Maternity Madness”" "Jane E. Kromm “The feminization of madness in visual representation”" "The Unnatural Mom" "About theories on how to have and raise children and how these pressures make mothers who don’t fit this specific mold or who, for certain medical or biological or financial or whatever reasons, can’t meet those goals feel ashamed, inadequate, and not like a “real” or “natural” mother." Article on post-Lacan French Feminism "References Beloved and links to other good resources" Resources on murdering mothers as “bad” or “mad” "http://cmc.sagepub.com/content/4/2/271.short" "Based off of Israeli cases; need to see if I have access to this database through the university" "http://www.crimeandliterature.com/2012/05/08/mothers-who-kill-their-children-are-they-bad-or-are-they-mad/" "References Yates, Casey Anthony, and others; portrayals in the media; less “official” but may lead to some good info, images, or links" "http://familylaw.uoregon.edu/assets/familylaw/child/motherswhokill/mothersbackgroundpaper.pdf" "Scholarly article but don’t know who wrote it; read this as a basis and look into the references" "http://familylaw.uoregon.edu/child/motherswhokill/" "SEVERAL RELEVANT ARTICLES ON THIS LINK" http://gamerant.com/worst-video-game-mothers/ "#2 Flemeth from Dragon Age" "One of the comments mentions House of the Dead: Overkill for the final monster mom boss fight. It’s interesting that she becomes hypersexualized and incestuous, like the mom in Crossed: Family Values. Becomes monstrous with a long tongue, and “births” zombies that try to attack you in the final battle." "A comment reads, “Nice list! I didn’t realize there were so many mothers in video games.” Reflective of the relative absence of mother figures in visual media (cartoons, video games, and comics). Despite their largely invisible status, though, there are still many more examples of mothers (good, bad, and otherwise) in video games than the seven listed, they just play very minor roles, have few or no lines, or appear in lesser known titles." http://kotaku.com/5238770/mommy-dearest-the-best-and-worst-mothers-in-video-games "Contains a list of both good and bad mothers in video games (not many that shape shift or become monsters but many that have “monstrous” behavior)"