Rosemary’s Baby is an honest horror movie. Though it may not have any jump-out-at you moments unlike other scary movies, this film will certainly keep you up at night. While you won’t be hiding under the protection of your blankets from images of red demon eyes or Mia Farrow’s supposedly stylish new do, a truer threat will haunt your dreams: oppression and the inability to escape it. Oppression from your husband, from your neighbor, from your doctor, from everyone it seems.
Upon first viewing, the message of Rosemary’s Baby was clear to me. Even if Rosemary’s baby didn’t turn out to be the son of Satan, she was still overtly controlled by her husband, Guy (even his name simplifies him) is among the most detestable characters I can recall in any recent movie I’ve seen. He epitomizes a man, at least in the stereotypical “misandristic feminist” point of view, and provides good reason to side with feminists and those that call for a change in the way women are treated circa 1960.
The most appaling scene in the movie takes place immediately after the rape of Rosemary by the Devil. Guy and Rosemary awake and Rosemary says that she feels strange. We, as the omnipresent viewers, know this is because of the terrible events that took place the night before. Guy then admits to raping Rosemary in her sleep. He does not feel regret about the act, but merely apathy. He claims that “he didn’t want to miss baby night”. Rosemary, who has been conditioned to accept everything that Guy says and does to her, only shrugs off Guy’s words and goes on her day. This short scene can be taken to be perfect evidence toward any feminist ideas about the movie.
The other prominent male figure in the film, Dr Sapistein, like Guy, is very controlling. Though most in the 1960’s would consider Sapirstein to be a man of respect and power because of his social status as a doctor, his high placement in society still does not give him the right to treat Rosemary the way he does. When Rosemary is in severe pain because of the literal demon inside her, Sapirstein addresses Rosemary like a child. He talks down to her and ignored her words. Regardless of whether Sapirstein is a member of a satanic cult, he feels that he is superior to Rosemary. Later in the movie, Sapirstein goes as far as to grab Rosemary’s upper arm, like a father would a child, and forcibly walk her back home.
The few women in the film come nowhere close to the loathsome men in the film in terms of mistreatment of Rosemary, again lending to the idea of a feminist undertone in the film. All of Rosemary’s friends stick up for her, give her advice about her baby, and physically shut Guy out and away from Rosemary. Though the Satanist Laura-Louise seems like she may pose a serious menace to Rosemary, at the end of the film, she sticks out her tongue. Because of this, the old woman diminishes her threat to both Rosemary and the audience. The neighbor, Minnie, isn’t nearly as physically or emotionally offensive to Rosemary as the male characters are, she’s more just annoying and intrusive. Where Guy or Sapirstein would insult or physically impose their will on Rosemary, Minnie only suggests her will and is never too direct with what she says or does.
While Rosemary’s Baby might not seem to have an ostensible underlying message upon first glance, after thinking about it, it’s obvious that the film has a feminist agenda. If you had asked me before watching the film whether I had agreed with feminists ideas, or at least, what I thought were feminists ideas, I probably would have said no. After watching Rosemary’s Baby, however, I know absolutely agree with the theme of the film, and hopefully, you do too.
Great post! I agree with your points about Rosemary being controlled by her husband and doctor. Guy epitomizes the man by showing how he put his job first and is willing to sacrifice a precious child for wealth. I also felt that the movie was about paranoia. Rosemary being fine at first starts to become more and more paranoid as more coincidental events occurs. She becomes frantic, and starts to trust no one. Not her husband, neighbors nor doctor. This relates to pregnant women. I think it would be okay to say that pregnant women are somewhat paranoid. During the nine months of pregnancy they try their best to keep their unborn babies healthy and try any remedy they can to assure that their baby will come out “beautiful” or not having any birth defects/mental illnesses. I also felt that the movie showed how passive people can be when it comes to doctors, especially the well-known doctors. People aren’t so educated when it comes to the human body, thus, they put all their trust in doctors. We tend to trust doctors so much that we don’t question their methods giving some doctors the opportunity to use or mislead us.
ReplyDeleteRosemary and Guy do share an interesting relationship that, while we may find appalling some of the things said, for that time it was normal. Of course, raping a women (whether she’s your wife or not) is abhorrent, but the scene that comes to my mind for something that was absurd, was the scene where Rosemary and Guy are fighting and Rosemary is getting hysterical from the book she’s reading. Guy demands the book from her, because he doesn’t want it upsetting her anymore. And in a submissive moment, Rosemary obliges. Further heightening the suspicion, Rosemary later asks Guy for it, and he says he threw it out. Your final point that you draw on in your last paragraph is something of merit. I have seen this film many many times. I make it an annual thing to watch this among my large Halloween/scary movies that I need to watch in October. However, the movie is too interesting just to watch around once a year. So I have seen this movie a few times. Upon first viewing, I actually did not read the back cover and did not know anything about the film – so in my mind, there was still the doubt that maybe Rosemary was crazy and that she was not pregnant with Satan’s baby. I later learned that it was the basis of the film (haha). With each viewing, I find something new. It is important to realize that in most professional Hollywood films nothing happens by accident. Films, especially with directors like Roman Polanski, are meticulously crafted down to the last detail. So every shot, every edit, and every set piece is put there for a reason. Going off my earlier point, when Guy puts the book up on the shelf, you can see the other books that are there – one of the books is a book about feminism. In the reading, they even point out that the film was trying to make a message about pregnancy and how hysterical some women can get – and really put it to the maximum degree. The reading even made the point that Rosemary was chosen to bear the child of Satan because she was vulnerable and because she did not expect anything.
ReplyDeleteAnother great post Zain. Nick also has a good point, the fact that Rosemary just accepts being raped because it was by her husband is completely insane, and the fact that Guy let's his wife get raped by Satan and then takes responsibility for it is also rather insane/disgusting/horrible.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that we as a society trust doctors too much is also somewhat troubling to me, I know in my life I have been ill-advised by doctors on several occasion; for example our own campus health center misadvised me on an insect bite that had become infected in my leg, after taking the antibiotics they prescribed me for a week, and having my leg swell up and tasks like walking sitting, moving, becoming increasingly more painful I returned to the health center looking for answers only to be referred to the emergency room at Brooks Memorial where I was then informed had i come in a few days later I would have likely become seriously ill/die from a MRSA infection that was misdiagnosed. Although luckily satan was not born from my leg infection, it sure as hell felt like it when they had to cut my leg open. Although that's irrelevant to the film, it say's a lot about how one doctors misguided diagnosis can cause serious harm whether or not they're working for satan(I'm watching you campus health center).
As far as the feminist elements of the film, I think the it addressed how awful woman were actually treated at this time. Seems to me like the film showed women as procreation tools with no mind of their own. And even as Nick addressed on what the reading said points to the view that women really didn't expect anything. The fact that after Rosemary's baby is stolen Guy tells her, we'll just try again when you're better. Are you kidding me!? Also good job Nick an catching the book about feminism on the book shelf.
The horror of the movie translates to the horrible ways in which society portrayed females.
These factors all suggests that she wasn't so submissive until her entry into her new home. Therefore it's not (entirely) the characters themselves who are to blame for their behavior, but the external forces acting upon them. I strongly doubt that Guy would have become so controlling of her if they hadn't moved into the apartment, and I don't think she would have let it happen if it weren't for the forces working against both of them. Rather it was their entry into their Hellish surroundings that prompted gradual changes in character. It's easy to totally condemn Guy and side with Rosemary, but I don't think that's possible when we look at how different the two are from the beginning to the end of the film. This is especially the case since both are affected (albeit as polar opposites) by the same external influences.
ReplyDeleteUgh...the first paragraph I wrote accidentally got deleted. I'll try to recap, but it probably won't be as good.
ReplyDeleteBasically I provided examples of Rosemary as a character at the beginning of the film and showed how she wasn't nearly as submissive as she was in the end. Between her and Guy it was she who wanted to move into the apartment in the first place and had to argue with him in order to win her case. She also utilized contraception in order to prevent pregnancy even as we were introduced to her heavily Catholic upbringing. Before moving into the new apartment she maintained control of her body and would have been an example of feminist ideals. Going along with this notion is her sexual appetite which we see expressed on their first night in the apartment, before the others can get to them.
Alex, your point about the differences between Rosemary and Guy from the beginning of the film to the end is an interesting one. I'd have to watch the movie again focusing on that idea in mind to see if I agree with you. From what I do recall though, you seem to be right. Guy and Rosemary are much more playful and much more like a young couple than at the end of the movie, which, as much as I never thought I'd admit it, really lends to Nick and Lucky's point about paranoia and Rosemary possibly going insane.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not completely convinced about the insane theory versus the feminist one. I do want to watch the film again with everything I knew at the end of the film in mind. I'm very glad we got to watch this movie, I think it really ties in well with the class.
This discussion is so interesting, because each of you is arguing for a somewhat different angle of interpretation, each of which is equally valid. It's definitely easy to read this as feminist, but Al's point is well-taken: Rosemary wasn't weak or submissive, and her husband wasn't particularly horrible, until they moved into that apartment--which makes the movie not a social critique, but about satanic influence. On the other hand, the rapidity with which Rosemary becomes isolated, and the ease with which her doctor gets away with controlling her because he's a respected authority and her husband with isolating her from her female friends, argues for a feminist interpretation.
ReplyDeleteZain, your reading and comments are really strong, and as usual, I really enjoyed reading this discussion. But bring the reading in!!!