An Analysis of "Cat People"
by Aaron Davila
Note: Before starting, hit play. It makes things more 'fun' with a topically creepy song I found called "Love Is a Cat from Hell".
P.S. Sorry for not figuring out how to auto-play.
Welcome to the home page of my final project, an analysis of the horror film Cat People (1942) and its 1982 remake. Going along with the theme of the class, this analysis is far more than a Wikipedia page or critic website. It will look at the film holistically, from its narrative, its formal cinematography, even to the cultural and historical landscape of the times it was made. Through these things, we will be able to see some deeper meanings of behind both films -- no spoilers on that yet though. Below, you will find a summary of the films and a small vocabulary list of topics and concepts that will be very useful during the formal analysis of the film. The other sections on the project are labeled above. I had a lot of fun making this website, and I hope you have some fun visiting it. I had absolutely no previous experience, so what you see is the product of countless hours of trying to get things to lign up right or trying to make things cool enough for y'all to read. When you're done, I'd love for you to give me some feedback in the Comments box below (Ex: "The tiger in the back is distracting.", "This movie seems weird.", "You seem weird.", "Wow, your site was cool, I'd give you an A.", etc.). I promise to get back to you in a timely manner and look over your site, too. Anyways, small talk sucks, so let's begin...
Plot Summaries
Cat People (1942)
A man named Oliver meets a lovely young woman named Irena at the zoo outside of a panther cage. After talking to her and walking her home, he is invited inside by Irena who calls him her first friend. Inside, her apartment is decorated almost solely by things pertaining to cats, most pecudliarly one of a knight killing a cat. Irena explains it is a historical event where a king of her country came into her village and saved it from the evil cat people. He leaves soon after, but continues to pursue the young woman. After buying a pet and spending more time together, they confess their love for each other. She is too scared of some evil incited by sexual passion or pleasure to do anything, but Oliver assures her that all she told him is just a fairy tale. He insists they move forward to get married. Irena's still scared
of being a cat lady and cannot even bring herself to consummate their marriage. Oliver becomes so frustrated with her insistence on these crazy notions and makes her see a psychiatrist, while he falls in love with his coworker Alice. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the psychiatrist's delving into Irena's past has only confirmed Irena's suspicion, turning this fairy tale into one with a not-so-happy ending. After causing much chaos and fear, the movie ends where it began, with Irena sacrificing herself to the panther. (Wikipedia; not taken directly from it, but I had already read it, and found myself having a hard time completely separating my thoughts from their summary. Give credit where it's due.)
Cat People (1982)
The story actually changes a decent amount in the remake. The same main idea is there -- Irena loves Oliver but cannot physically love him because she's a cat person -- but this movie tries to (over)explain things and gets a lot more convoluted in my opinion. First, instead of being in New York, the second film takes place in New Orleans. In this film, Irena also has family. She lives with her brother at the beginning, until he reveals himself to be a cat person as well and describes their evil lineage. He even informs her of the 'cat rules', as opposed to the general fear of what could turn Irena in the first film. This was an attempt to explain things, but just made the movie weirder by tacking on the incest taboo and men's ability to be cats onto the original story. Now, her brother is a creepy
antagonist and the movie focuses on Irena's fleeing from him just as much as her battle with her own sexuality, which kind of sucked. The biggest difference lies in the two endings. Rather than, just killing herself, she has sex with Oliver who keeps her as a pet in the zoo, where they can still interact. This ending may not sound as cool, but it does allow the remake to reflect a cool point in history that will be covered in the next page.
Meaningful Definitions
Mise-en-scene: a French word that means the arrangement of scenery and stage properties
Close-up: when a camera zooms in on an object, often a person's face
Motif: any recurring element that contains symbolic significance
Abject (as defined in our class): a simultaneous feeling of repulsion and attraction; other definition I will come back and put
The Monstrous-Feminine: the association female sexuality and monstrousity within art and literature (duh)
Vagina Dentata: literally, a toothed vagina that eats men; symbolically, a woman's sexuality can overpower and subjugate a man
Thoughts?
Like I said earlier, I can't thank you enough for coming back here and giving feedback. I put a lot of effort into this and want to know if y'all enjoyed it. So let me know, even if you didn't. But if you don't... -->
I seriously have to stop now, bye.
