Female Rage and Autonomy in Contemporary Cinema Open Access

Abstract

Historically, female rage in art has been portrayed as an ugly and depraved sentiment. The enraged woman is villainized and depicted as a surface-level antagonist. This depiction serves to delegitimize women’s anger, as it threatens to expose the fragility of gender constructs and dominant power hierarchies. However, female rage can also be understood as an act of defiance, serving as a vehicle for women to exert agency and dismantle expectations of passive femininity. In this thesis, I examine how three films depict female anger and violence across different genres. In Chapter One, I analyze Gone Girl (2014), positioning its female protagonist, Amy Dunne, as a modern iteration of the femme fatale who wields narrative power to present a complex portrayal of female autonomy. Chapter Two focuses on Jennifer’s Body (2009) arguing it re-imagines horror conventions to construct a nuanced depiction of female monstrosity while reclaiming the genre for female spectators. In Chapter Three, I explore how Ava from Ex-Machina (2015) presents a new form of identity and female autonomy within the Sci-Fi genre. Throughout all three chapters, I interrogate how these films complicate female agency by simultaneously reinforcing patriarchal constructs. My thesis delves into the intersection of female autonomy and rage, considering the tensions between resistance and entrapment within patriarchal systems while imagining possibilities for breaking free from it. 

Table of Contents

Introduction…1 Chapter One: “I’ve Killed For You, Who Else Can Say That?” : Gone Girl’s Amy Dunne…10 Chapter Two: Killer Victims: Jennifer Check and Needy Lesnick in Jennifer’s Body…31 Chapter Three: Ex-Machina: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity in the Digital Age…51 Conclusion…72

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Film and Media Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Gender Studies Cinema
Keyword	Ex-Machina Gone Girl Film and Gender Gender Studies Jennifer’s Body
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Michele Schreiber, Emory University
Committee Members	Tanine Allison , Emory University Timothy Holland , Emory University

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