Built to Destroy
The Eugenic Gaze in David Cronenberg’s The Brood
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21792737 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah Manley (0009-0005-7578-5038, University of Utah, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 17-33 |
| Publication date | 2024-02-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1757-6458 • E-ISSN: 1757-6466 |
| Publisher | Liverpool University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3828/jlcds.2023.43 |
| OpenAlex | W4391475830 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 8 |
David Cronenberg’s cult classic horror film The Brood explores the breakdown of the nuclear family as the impotent Father fails to protect the Child from the destructive threat of the Mother. The article argues that the film employs a misogynistic, eugenic gaze which compels viewers to perceive the “antagonist” Nola as a violent madwoman whose actions necessitate her destruction by the forces of professional male rationality. In constructing such a woman, the film’s eugenic gaze encourages co-identification with a cast of professional men who set out to destroy the very monster their misapprehension has helped to create. Building on scholarship in feminist film theory and disability studies, the article elaborates the many eugenic gazes operant in The Brood and concludes with a speculative reimagining that attends to the utter lack of care Nola receives as she struggles to extricate herself from intergenerational neglect and abuse
Art · Disability Rights and Representation · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |