The Ring and the Grudge: Subversion of Culture Through Emptiness and Loneliness the Onryō’s Quest to Destroy the Bourgeoisie Mindset
THE RING AND THE GRUDGE: SUBVERSION OF CULTURE THROUGH EMPTINESS AND LONELINESS
THE Onryō’S QUEST TO DESTROY THE BOURGEOISIE MINDSET
Connor B. Malander
Department of History
History 505
December 8, 2010
THE RING AND THE GRUDGE: SUBVERSION OF CULTURE THROUGH EMPTINESS AND LONELINESS
THE Onryō’S QUEST TO DESTROY THE BOURGEOISIE
Hollywood; thoughts of the movie star and the next big feature film come to mind at the mention of it, but rarely does it evoke feelings of fear. The horror movie, on the other hand, does a fine job of evoking our fear responses in one form or another. Gore Verbinski’s The Ring and Takashi Shimizu’s The Grudge, as well as their Japanese predecessors, Nakata Hideo’s Ringu and Ju-On by the very same Shimizu bring about feeling of fear American audiences just aren’t quite used to, and for good reason. The Ring and The Grudge aim directly at our sense of society’s basic structure and the very core of the bourgeois family archetype, bringing about our fear of the denial of death and a specter enacting vengeance upon the society (read: us) as its cause for torment. Where the American horror audience expects the unseen male monstrosity lurking in the dark, ready to strike; instead, they find a simple, relentless, female ghost who refuses death in the most traditional of senses, seeking only to destroy the lives and concepts of life of all those it comes in contact with, and with little or nothing to do to stop it from happening. We will start with Hideo’s Ringu, as it is important as a jumping point to Verbinski’s American remake, The Ring; Ringu is the highest grossing horror film of all time in Japan, and for good reason. Hideo uses the local legend of a videotape that, after watching, causes death in seven days. Already, we can see Hideo hitting an important concept squarely on the proverbial head; death is timed, to the minute, and there is seemingly nothing you can do to change this. Our society is structured death
THE Onryō’S QUEST TO DESTROY THE BOURGEOISIE MINDSET
Connor B. Malander
Department of History
History 505
December 8, 2010
THE RING AND THE GRUDGE: SUBVERSION OF CULTURE THROUGH EMPTINESS AND LONELINESS
THE Onryō’S QUEST TO DESTROY THE BOURGEOISIE
Hollywood; thoughts of the movie star and the next big feature film come to mind at the mention of it, but rarely does it evoke feelings of fear. The horror movie, on the other hand, does a fine job of evoking our fear responses in one form or another. Gore Verbinski’s The Ring and Takashi Shimizu’s The Grudge, as well as their Japanese predecessors, Nakata Hideo’s Ringu and Ju-On by the very same Shimizu bring about feeling of fear American audiences just aren’t quite used to, and for good reason. The Ring and The Grudge aim directly at our sense of society’s basic structure and the very core of the bourgeois family archetype, bringing about our fear of the denial of death and a specter enacting vengeance upon the society (read: us) as its cause for torment. Where the American horror audience expects the unseen male monstrosity lurking in the dark, ready to strike; instead, they find a simple, relentless, female ghost who refuses death in the most traditional of senses, seeking only to destroy the lives and concepts of life of all those it comes in contact with, and with little or nothing to do to stop it from happening. We will start with Hideo’s Ringu, as it is important as a jumping point to Verbinski’s American remake, The Ring; Ringu is the highest grossing horror film of all time in Japan, and for good reason. Hideo uses the local legend of a videotape that, after watching, causes death in seven days. Already, we can see Hideo hitting an important concept squarely on the proverbial head; death is timed, to the minute, and there is seemingly nothing you can do to change this. Our society is structured death
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