The Multiple Layers Of The Movie 'The Babadook'

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The Multiple Layers of the Movie “The Babadook” “When I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret.” (Dickens) As Charles Dickens uncovered a mystery in Paris over a hundred years ago, the director of The Babadook, Jennifer Kent, tells another secret in a house in the modern suburb of Australia. Many think of The Babadook as a supernatural monster horror, for the reason that movie critic, Briony Kidd, expresses, “some viewers might find it difficult, as I did, to connect the symbolic struggle portrayed in The Babadook with the real world” (Kidd). However, with careful eyes, one will be able to see through the surface fictional layer of Amelia, Samuel and Babadook’s story, and look…show more content…
Like Stephen King’s Boogeyman, Babadook first hides itself underneath the bed, and in the closet to frighten the child. It is a dark and slender figure with strong, craw-like fingers and sharp tooth, paying respect to many monsters in the Gothic literature and movies. It is the uncanny that threatens those who see it with ill will and death. Darkness, the unclean, danger and death are the embodiment of the Bobadook and they are common elements in many other Gothic work. However, it is also a creation by the repression of feelings, which Kidd sees as “the real toxin” (Kidd). Confirming Kidd’s idea that repression is a significant factor of the creation of the monster, Kent says during one of the interview for The Babadook movie, “…I am really fascinated by the idea of people who can suppress and hold down on things for many many years”. Amelia’s repression of feelings causes her psychological health as it does for the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. In this short story, the husband of the woman suppresses her feelings by repeatedly ignoring her mental struggles and trying to prevent her to express herself through writing. This repression is a major contributor to the woman’s insanity in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. This repression almost crushed Amelia the same way as she was possessed by the Babadook and had a foresight of her killing Samuel and being gun down by the police if her mental situation continues to
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  • The Multiple Layers Of The Movie 'The Babadook'

    1169 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Multiple Layers of the Movie “The Babadook” “When I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret.” (Dickens) As Charles Dickens uncovered a mystery in Paris over a hundred years ago, the director of The Babadook, Jennifer Kent, tells another secret in a house in the modern suburb of Australia. Many think of The Babadook as a supernatural monster horror, for the reason that movie critic, Briony Kidd, expresses, “some viewers might find

    Read More

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