Female Rage, Revenge, and Catharsis: The „Good for Her“ Genre Defined in Promising Young Woman (2020) by Tara Heimberger
!!! In this Blog post Chat GPT and DeepL are used for english translations, spelling and finding synonyms
DETAILS
Title: Female Rage, Revenge, and Catharsis: The „Good for Her“ Genre Defined in Promising Young Woman (2020)
Author: Tara Heimberger
Institution: Georgia College and State University
Date: 4-18-2022
Field: English
Degree Name: Master of Arts (MA)
Source: https://kb.gcsu.edu/english/10/
ABSTRACT
By analyzing relevant cultural contexts to the popularity of the “Good for Her” genre, such as the “#MeToo” movement, the Trump presidency, and the resurgence of conservatism in the United States, the development of the “Good for Her” genre and its impact can be made clear. Given the genre’s development through social discourse on social media, it has become a universal and collaborative representation of liberation from oppressive experiences under a patriarchal society. The lead women in these films give those who experience patriarchal oppression a reprieve and an opportunity for catharsis they would not typically get in a male-led, male-focused film. The genre reinforces and builds upon the works of feminist film theorists such as Carol Clover and Laura Mulvey by offering a more contemporary evolution of Clover’s “Final Girl” through the combination of slasher and Final Girl to create the “Good for Her” films’ “victim-villain” and Mulvey’s theory of the “male gaze” by subverting and satirizing the typical female objectification of the old-school horror genre. Promising Young Woman acts as a definitive example of the genre and a crucial representation of the reality of rape culture while depicting a sense of voyeuristic and vicarious revenge and catharsis against the systems of patriarchal oppression that exist within the United States.
WHY I CHOSE THIS THESIS
I chose this thesis for its vital exploration of how female rage is portrayed in film and how this contributes to and challenges patriarchal structures. Right now I mostly dwelled on how directors instruct female characters to express emotions, not how the viewers and audience perceive it differently. By examining the “Good for Her” genre through a theoretical lens, this work clarifies how cinematic depictions of female rage, in examples like Promising Young Woman, provide catharsis and critique. This insight is essential for understanding both the empowerment and limitations faced by women in film and the broader societal impact of these narratives.
1. Level of Design
The Level of Design in this thesis is quite low. There is not much emphasis placed on design possibilities or layout. The focus here is clearly on content. I’m certain that this faculty has specific guidelines that the students need to follow, and creative freedom in design is very limited. This, however, is completely legitimate, considering that it’s a scientific thesis for an English faculty. At our institute, a layout like this would definitely result in a lower grade. The author barely uses even pictures or statistics.
2. Degree of Innovation
This thesis has a high degree of innovation, as I found very few related works during my general research in this field. This is unsurprising, however, as it’s a relatively new area of research that has only gained popularity with digitalization and the influence of younger generations. In this case I think it’s really smart to support this phenomenon immediately with a concrete example as done here in this thesis.
3. Independence
The author demonstrates a high level of independence, especially because of her innovative approach to the relatively new field of the „Good for Her“ genre. She critically and thoroughly examines the cultural and societal contexts that contributed to the rise and popularity of this genre, thereby making an independent contribution to feminist film theory. I also like the linking of social movements like #MeToo and political events such as the Trump era with the cinematic portrayal of female liberation – even though this topic is really overplayed in 2024 (you need to consider that this thesis was written in 2022 – and therefore she was really going with the zeitgeist). The thesis develops an original perspective that is both theoretically grounded and creatively responsive to contemporary societal issues. I aspire to also include this much of societal background for my own work.
4. Outline and structure
For me the overall structure is really good. When I look at the table of contents it all makes really good sense to me – Especially contextualising the the socio cultural background is necessary for understanding the emergence of the „Good for Her“ genre. This section effectively sets the stage for the authors discussion by linking the genre’s popularity to broader societal movements.
Another section that stood out to me was where the author was defining and contextualizing the „Good for Her“ genre. It allows to clarify the characteristics that define this genre, situating it within the landscape of contemporary cinema. This foundation is crucial for readers who may not be familiar with the genre’s nuances. This way of contextualizing in my opinion is totally necessary in order to make sure that the reader and the author are on the same page. Particularly when we are speaking about pop culture or concepts that have a small target group
5. Degree of communication
As far as I can evaluate I think the author definitely has a way with words and also can play her way around which makes it actually fun to read. Is is noticeable that she is doing her Masters Degree in english – it seems really professional but also not to intellectualized. The words used fit the overall theme of the thesis and the topic.
6. Scope of the work
The scope of work appears to be appropriate for an academic paper. However, I would have preferred fewer direct quotations, as it would have been more beneficial to see a deeper analysis of the few visual examples mentioned. More emphasis on the author’s insights and interpretations rather than simply reiterating existing opinions would enhance the overall depth of the analysis. Many examples are revisited throughout the paper, even though I thought the topic had already been thoroughly explored. This repetition sometimes makes the discussion somewhat redundant and less engaging. It would be more effective to introduce new perspectives or analyses to keep the discourse fresh and compelling.
7. Orthography
Occasionally, the flow of reading is disrupted for me by the words set in quotation marks. It might be more effective to integrate these terms more seamlessly into the text, allowing for a smoother reading experience without compromising the clarity of the concepts being discussed. Other than the word repetitions stand out significantly, I don’t have much to criticize. I also don’t like the font that is used. It makes the text for me personally harder to read.
8. Literature
The literature used is very contemporary and includes very few sources older than seven years. Notably, it relies heavily on many online articles. Caution is warranted here, as it’s essential to assess whether these sources are reputable and credible. For this blog post I did not check every online source used but what I could find in researching three of them is that they seem to be based on credible sources.