The Ring and Ringu: Naturalising Maternal Self-Sacrifice

Arnold, Sarah and D'Amore, Laura (2011) The Ring and Ringu: Naturalising Maternal Self-Sacrifice. In: Bound By Love: Familial Bonding in Film & Television Since the 1950s. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear. ISBN 9781443829854

Abstract / Summary

This chapter was requested by the editors following the presentation of a paper at the Film & History Biennial Conference in Milwaukee, November 2010 . The subject of motherhood has become a topic of debate in the humanities and this chapter speaks directly to some of the key issues addressed within the academic field. The chapter uses an established methodology- psychoanalytic film theory- but suggests that psychoanalysis is nationally and culturally specific and often used in a genre-specific way. As such the chapter demonstrates how psychoanalytic and feminist film theory must be considered as emerging from and speaking to nationally and historically relative circumstances. In doing this, I propose that Japanese psychoanalytic theory is a necessary tool for reading Japanese horror film. Thus the chapter introduces alternative psychoanaltic models to film studies. The chapter compares the figure of the mother in an original film and its remake and argues that the alternative ‘mothers’ are better understood by examining the social and historical context in which the films were made (Ringu, 1998, and US The Ring, 2002). It investigates whether these constructs are universal or culturally specific by comparing a number of Japanese maternal horrors with US remakes. By comparing an original Japanese maternal horror with a US remake, the chapter adds to the body of gender studies by demonstrating that although patriarchal cultures share common modes of maternal representation, and although maternal themes may appear universal, that each culture engages with this maternal discourse in radically different ways.

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