Attention movie nerds!

[muneca_brava]

I. I'm really enjoying my classes this year. I only have four, three hours each, and three of those are film classes. So my homework mainly consists of "watch as many movies as you can". I don't have as many problems with those kinds of assignments :)


I actually have a QUESTION FOR LOVERS OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOODCINEMA!! ! I know there are some of those on my flist!
My thesis is going to be on the theme of the hysterical/paranoid woman in 1940's Hollywood. I am looking for any titles you can think of of movies made in the forties (or even thirties or fifties would be okay) with a woman character who goes (somewhat) insane. Gothic melodrama, genre Rebecca, Secret Beyond the Door, Suspicion, Gaslight etc. is the most common. So any wife who thinks her husband is trying to kill her, who is haunted by her predecessor, who hallucinates, etc.
Thanks!


II.So last week, I was bored and wanted to watch something. I could have chosen the next episode of Six Feet Under (I'm in S4), pick up The West Wing again etc. Instead, I decided I wanted something cheesy and entertaining and decided to give The Vampire Diaries a try.
We're about a week and a half later and I'm almost done with season 2.
I don't LOVE the show like I love some others - in fact there are times I hate it - but I just can't. stop. watching.

Some reactions so far:

- So character-wise, I pretty much love all the ladies. Caroline is probably my favourite but I love Elena and Bonnie too. No, actually, I think if I'm being honest Katherine is my favourite. Scheming evil flirty HBIC fits all my character kinks, tbh.

- I am not attached to any possible ship, which is very comfortable. I can pretty much live with all the ships that seem a possibility at this point.

- I'm pretty sure I will never EVER venture into the fandom beyond my flist/Tumblr dash because I have a feeling it will be one of the more horrifying experiences of my life.

- Because I never thought I'd end up actually watching this show, I am know about pretty much all of the big twists and deaths. So you don't need to worry about spoiling me.

- I'd heard there were issues with this show, but I was still pretty shocked at just how disgusting the treatment of rape is. I almost stopped watching in the beginning with the Damon/Caroline storyline. Just...why is it never adressed how terrible Damon is? Why has nobody killed him yet??? WHY???
Speaking of Damon, are there actually Damon/Elena shippers who ship them like genuinely in a live-happily-ever-after way? I can get that you ship them because they are ~hot together or whatever but just...?? I can see them have a short-term thing but that's it tbh.

- While we're at it, STOP KILLING OFF THE FEMALE GUEST STARS. If you are capable of creating so many interesting, badass lady characters, why insist on killing them off systematically? I know it happens to the men too, but far less (and then even less if you discount poc characters) and those characters tend to be slimy assholes or really evil.

- Stephan/Elena is adorable is a kind of messed up way, and I was really surprised by how much I enjoy them, especially given my hate of Buffy/Angel (which I was informed was similar but I don't think that's really true).


So, anyone want to talk to me about this show?

Comments

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

1. I have a couple of recs, although the hysterical/paranoid women in these were justified in their paranoia. So won't really fit if you're looking for unjustified paranoia.

Notorious might fit the bill. In this one the wife only marries the husband to infiltrate a potential ring of Nazis. Then the husband gets suspicious...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038787/

Also, have you ever watched Laura? A police detective falls in love with a woman who's been murdered, while investigating her murder.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037008/

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought of Notorious! It's been years since I saw it so I pretty much forgot the plot. I will rewatch!

I do know Laura! I don't think it fits the paranoid woman thing, but thinking about it...I could maybe use it as an example of the same trope with a man, because it's really the detective who becomes obsessed with a painting etc.

Thanks for the help! :)

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

TVD! I sort of envy people who can watch it all at once because I think that's the best way to watch the show lol.

So character-wise, I pretty much love all the ladies. Caroline is probably my favourite but I love Elena and Bonnie too. No, actually, I think if I'm being honest Katherine is my favourite. Scheming evil flirty HBIC fits all my character kinks, tbh.

THIS IS THE MOST CORRECT OPINION TBH. I love all my girls - I think Elena is probably my favourite but damn to I love Queen K and Caroline.

I'd heard there were issues with this show, but I was still pretty shocked at just how disgusting the treatment of rape is.

Yeah.... just yeah. I'm pretty sure the writers don't see it as rape - which means there are people in fandom who constantly deny that Caroline and Andie were raped. #too many feelings about this

Stephan/Elena is adorable is a kind of messed up way, and I was really surprised by how much I enjoy them, especially given my hate of Buffy/Angel (which I was informed was similar but I don't think that's really true).

Stefan/Elena are weirdly sort of cute and functional?? THINGS I WAS NOT EXPECTING. I think what made them different from your usual vampire/human love story (i.e. Edward/Bella or Buffy/Angel) is that they genuinely seem to make each other happy? Which sounds kind of corny BUT THERE YOU GO. Like they spend very little time sitting around and angsting about how doomed they are? Also Stefan in S2 was the best boyfriend ever.

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

there are people in fandom who constantly deny that Caroline and Andie were raped

Yup, never ever venturing into fandom.

Yeah, I think you're right about Stefan/Elena. We actually get to see them be happy and functional together, instead of sitting around brooding and dramatically speechifying about how ~true and ~epic their love is.

[breakattiffanys.livejournal.com]

Shadow of a Doubt
Dial M for Murder

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

I guess a (re)watch of the Hitchcock's entire oeuvre is in order :)

[define-serenity.livejournal.com]

noooo not Katherine! ö (though i do feel Katherine love every time she does something to save my boys -whistles-) i'm glad you're enjoying the show though :D it's addictive!

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

SO ADDICTIVE! And sorry, but Katherine is just exactly the kind of character I really enjoy lately. She is perfect to me~ :D

[define-serenity.livejournal.com]

i do kinda envy you that you get to watch several episodes at a time XDD is it Friday again already?

i have issues with Katherine, mostly because she did to Stefan and Damon what Damon is now doing to other women, and she only ever acts in her own interest (rarely for someone else's - which is still something Damon does more often) whoa, /rant (clearly, i really like Damon :D)

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

The huge difference, though, is that Katherine is explicitly coded as EVIL, she's a villain so everything she does is bad (including what she did to S&D), while Damon is one of our heroes, who clearly is supposed to have a redemption arc and who the show always codes as funny, sexy, misunderstood. And when Katherine kills/rapes people, the reaction is disgust and 'she must be destroyed', and when Damon does the same thing the reaction is 'oh no, poor Damon isn't doing well, he must be redeemed'.

And I mean, I don't love Katherine in the way you love Damon! I love her in all her unapologetic evilness, because I like a well-rounded female villain! :)
(I think we both have too many feelings? :P)

[define-serenity.livejournal.com]

LOL. too many feelings!!! it's like my current feelings for Klaus, i want to hate him as a villain, but they're making him more multi-faceted - mind you, not redeeming - and nggh, it's so damn hot! ö

and i'm usually all for a unapologetic bad guy/girl, but when that person gets away with everything i start getting annoyed? (like Helen on Primeval >.<)

[swift-tales.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your topic! I totally had a talk with L. on facebook about it and I hope she passed on my regards of how AWESOME I find your thesis topic! It's really quite good. I would very much like to read it when you've finished, if you don't mind!

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

We'll see how well it turns out :P But if I'm happy with it I'll be sure to send it to you! :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/brokenrecord__/]

ooh, that sounds like such an interesting thesis topic! Unfortunately I can't really think of any that haven't been mentioned that fit. The Snake Pit might be interesting just because it shows a woman in an actual mental institution, but I don't know if it fits as well because it's less "She is hysterical/paranoid!" and more "People with mental illnesses are actually people!" It's possible that she's paranoid at some point(s), though? (It's been ages since I've watched it.) Oh, and another Hitchcock that hasn't been mentioned: I think Spellbound would fit? Although, again, it's been too long since I've seen it to really say with any certainty.

Caroline is absolutely my favorite on The Vampire Diaries, and Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie's friendship is another one of my favorite things, so I definitely approve of your feelings on them! Katherine is also totally awesome. I'm kind of in a weird place ship-wise in that I have shipped Damon/Elena in the past but find it problematic for many reasons (but still kind of enjoy their chemistry anyways; idk, my feelings are complicated, and, as you said, I definitely could never see them in a like... happy, functional relationship. I actually don't think I really want them to ever get together), and I like Stefan/Elena, but I've never been able to really get into them. You are definitely right not to venture into fandom too far, though. It can be pretty awful.

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

I don't know The Snake Pit! It sounds interesting and I could use it, I think. I'll try to find it.
I think in Spellbound it's mainly the male character who has psychological issues, but it's definitely one of the most prolific movies of the era when it comes to the Freud theme etc so I'll probably use it somehow.

Yeah, I can understand shipping Damon/Elena on that level because they do have chemistry and if I ignore my disgust with Damon's story arc (which I have to do while I'm watching the show or I would just never stop raging all over the place) I do enjoy their interactions a lot. I sometimes really enjoy Damon, and sometimes not at all - maybe it depends on who's writing him? I'm not sure. I think the trick is not to have him angst too much. If he's being snarky it's okay.