This assignment was a part of my horror and gender class. We had to choose a horror movie to analyze in a one to two page paper, and discuss the interesting aspects of the film as it relates to gender. I chose an in-depth analysis on the film The Babadook . In this paper I look at the challenges faced by both the mother and the effects that this has on the child due to failure to meet societal expectations of motherhood, which is represented through the film’s monster, Mr. Babadook.
An Unspoken Look At Motherhood
Childbirth and motherhood are not always joyful experiences for women, but society often hushes feelings of unhappiness related to this process. This, in turn, causes mothers to repress any negative emotions associated with this typically happy experience. Because the emotions are being held down this has negative effects on the mother, which also negatively affects the children. In an attempt to draw upon these very real horrors that can occur with motherhood, Jennifer Kent’s film, The Babadook, uses the monster “Mr. Babadook” as metaphor for repressed emotions and what this can do to both the child and the mother. Societal expectations also play a role in why the mother, Amelia, does not find help for how to deal with her emotions. The Babadook may seem like a typical supernatural horror film, but in actuality, it uses Mr. Babadook, as a representation of the realities of repressed emotions and the failure to meet societal expectations of motherhood, as well as the effects that this has on the child.
Repressed emotions and what occurs as a direct result of these emotions is a major theme that is seen throughout The Babadook. Amelia represses the memories of her late husband, and bottles up her emotions about his death. In one scene her son, Samuel, ventures into the basement where pictures of his father are stored. Amelia runs downstairs and yells at him to never go down there again, to which Samuel retorts that she is hiding his father from him. Amelia’s repressed emotions are figuratively embodied in the Babadook; the more she ignores her husband’s death, the stronger “the Babadook” gets. Amelia, however, is unable to find solace in friends and family because no one understands. She refuses to seek help in support groups, and when her husband is brought up in conversation she ignores the subject. Mr. Babadook becomes the embodiment of Amelia’s emotions, and as she continues to ignore her problems her demons grew stronger.
Society makes it very hard for women to voice their feelings during an unhappy motherhood. Women can feel like failures for not finding happiness from being a mother, so they often keep these feelings hidden. Amelia’s emotions are not given much attention to throughout the film. Lucy Fischer cites to Myra Leifer in her article “Birth Traumas: Parturition and Horror in Rosemary’s Baby” saying that “strikingly less attention has been given to [the trauma of birth’s] impact on the mother.” Seeing as Amelia gives birth, presumably, just following the death of her husband, the process was both scary and traumatic for her. Samuel is brought to many doctors regarding his behavioral problems, however, Amelia is ignored.The Babadook, like other maternal movies, including Rosemary’s Baby, confronts very realistic “demons.” Sometimes these demons come to the surface, which is portrayed in another scene in The Babadook when Amelia fears that she has killed her son. Her deeply repressed emotions regarding the unfair death of her husband and difficult birth of her son brings to the surface “the fears of motherhood that society wants hushed”(Fischer). Amelia is, understandably, grieving and finds herself unable to love Samuel until she copes with his father’s death. These sort of feelings are ignored and often denied by society.
Since Amelia cannot bring herself to be a nurturing, loving mother to Samuel, this brings out behavioral problems in him. Throughout the film, Samuel is violent. He makes various weapons, acts out and even pushes his cousin out of a treehouse. Samuel’s violent actions and obsession with the Babadook are clearly seen as anxiety as a result of his mother’s own psychological issues and faults. Lucy Fischer talks about the maternal fear that a child will end up with all of the “bad” characteristics of the mother, like aggression or repression of emotions. The Babadook’s characterization of Samuel brings this fear to the surface. Amelia is shown as impatient, emotionally distraught, and occasionally aggressive. Samuel is the result of the trauma that Amelia faces. Amelia, unable to cope with her husband’s death, has a hard time listening and acting like a mother to Samuel. He shows her magic tricks and inventions that he has made, but Amelia pays little attention to him. In fact, she occasionally scolds him and tells him to stop being such a pain. Because of the death of her husband, she cannot seem to find a mother-son bond with Samuel. This lack of a motherly love can be seen in the ways in which Samuel lashes out.
The Babadook metaphorically points to the challenges that are very real for a lot of mothers. Amelia’s repressed emotions are as a result of the stigma that society places on mothers who cannot love. Because Amelia is nervous of the backlash that she may receive for being unable to love Samuel and because she hasn’t yet accepted her husband’s death, she finds it difficult to seek out help and new relationships. As a result of this, she is unable to be a loving mother to Samuel, which is shown in his violent outlashes at school and with family. Through their journey during the movie, the Babadook becomes stronger and stronger until it finally blows up and refuses to be ignored. Amelia confronts her inner, repressed emotions. This is symbolically shown at the end of the film when she finally chooses to celebrate Samuel’s birthday which falls on the anniversary of her husband’s death. She is then shown “feeding” Mr. Babadook in the basement. He is kept in the basement because this is where Amelia’s husband’s belongings are also kept, and he is shown being “fed” to portray how Amelia is now dealing with her emotions, rather than repressing them. The Babadook describes a journey of a single mother and her son, and it forces unspoken maternal problems to be talked about.
Emilie Rae 