Carrie (the Stephen King novel/various movies)

[Walking Cat Bed]

I watched the most recent film interpretation of Carrie this weekend (with Julianne Moore and Chloe Moretz), and found the interpretation of Carrie's relationship with her mother interesting. The '76 version shows her mother as an unrelenting, cruel tyrant; the '13 version is a bit more complex.

 

What stood out most was the way Margaret's controlling abuse was interspersed with loving and affectionate behavior. She reminded me of how many of the Quiverfull mothers are -- focused on control and refusal to let their child step out of line, severe punishment (Carrie's "prayer closet" is a strong example), and the absolute insistence that she loves her child more than anything. Carrie can only resist because of her telekinesis, but still has that intense loyalty to her mother despite the horrible abuse. (There's also an offhand comment that Carrie was homeschooled until CPS stepped in.)

 

Has anyone else watched this and noticed the fundamentalism? Think that some of these fundy parents should be grateful their kids don't have telekinesis?

[browncoatslytherin]

i haven't seen the most recent incarnation, but my favourite is the 2002 tv movie with angela bettis. in that one, the mother is definitely domineering, controlling, and abusive. there are a couple of instances where it seems she tries to reach out and comfort and/or convince her daughter of this or that, but she ultimately comes off as cold, uncaring, and manipulative.

carrie has always fascinated me because there have been times i've felt like her. hell, my mum didn't even tell me about menstruation and so when it happened, i had a carrie-style freak-out moment. fortunately, i was at home when it happened, but it still was very traumatic to me.

[Walking Cat Bed]

I enjoyed that one too -- I'm a fan of Kandyce McClure, so casting her as Sue worked in my opinion. And Angela Bettis has a very particular talent range, which Carrie fit perfectly.

[roddma]

Can't you picture Jana or Jinger using telekinesis on Jim Bob?

[Walking Cat Bed]

I totally can.

Maybe THAT'S why Jana's not married yet :nenner:

[aquitana]

I thought this was the worst acting I have ever seen from Julianne Moore. She was too over the top as the mother to be believable.

Aren't most crazy/cruel people nice sometimes? The girl playing Carrie was fine.

[CallmeChaCha]

I just watched the 2013 version last night and I did see a few fundie-related things. The prayer closet; the scene when Carrie comes back from buying fabric and her mom tells her she's immodest because her shoulders are showing; the scare tactics that the boy is going to drive Carrie to the woods and have his way with her; when the mean girl says that she doesn't like Carrie because Carrie goes around saying everyone is going to hell except her and get mom. What gave me a bit of hope, even though it's just a movie, is that Carrie seemed to learn a lot in school that helped her push away some of the fundie mentality. For example, when her mom tells her the dress she's wearing shows her 'dirty pillows' Carrie says "they're called breasts, mama."

[lilwriter85]

I have liked some things about all of the movie adaptations. I liked Angela Bettis and Kandyce McClure in the 2002 tv movie, but didn't like the ending. But there were talks back then, that NBC wanted to a Carrie series and the movie was a pilot in a way.

Stephen King said that the Carrie character was based on two young women he knew during his childhood. One young women was the daughter of devoutly religious women and they had a large cross in their living room. The other young women wasn't religious, but she was odd and outcasted by others in the school. King said that both women died before they were 30. I recall one died due to complications with epilepsy.

[Walking Cat Bed]

I definitely noticed that offhand comment, CallmeChaCha, and given the context interpreted it as "she was homeschooled most of her childhood, it took a while to adjust to public school, she echoed her mother a few times early on before realizing that her mother was quite wrong". And in one of the arguments with her mother, Carrie told her that nothing her mother was telling her was in the bible -- meaning she'd started reading it for herself.

That meant nothing to Chris, because that was just further evidence that Carrie was lesser than. And that Chris was a terrible person.

[CallmeChaCha]

Agree about that Chris person - vile. That scene when Carrie says "that's not in the bible" was another example of how she seemed to be coming out of the fundie shell/bubble. I actually cheered. It's just a movie, I know, but I still cheered lol.

[roddma]

At least I think most Fundie girls now know about periods and stuff.. Carrie didnt know a thing about menstruation. In the original, she bled on the floor and the other girls thew tampons at her. The teacher had to explain everything. Her mom called it ';the curse of blood'. The book says they didnt take showers because her mother thought showers were sinful.And pillows were sinful as well. I liked it when she told her mom Im going to the the prom. BTW the unedited original had nude scenes.

[shedemei]

Has anyone else watched this and noticed the fundamentalism? Think that some of these fundy parents should be grateful their kids don't have telekinesis? :nenner:

Wait, what? Did they play down Mrs. White's extreme fundamentalism in the movies? It was a central theme of the book, and King wrote a lot about it.