An Analysis of "Cat People"
by Aaron Davila
Scene 1 - The Cat People (1942) - The Apartment
There is the motif of cats in both pictures from this scene. They are both heavily seen in both films (obviously). They are always portrayed in a bad light, like the creepy cats in the first screenshot, showing their sinister dark sides that Irene is the embodiment of.
The mise-en-scene in the first screenshot has the cats just staring creepily at Irene, which worked well to show Irene's cat side in the other picture when she was just staring and watching Oliver sleep when he woke up a few moments later. There's also a panther in the background watching both of them in that second screenshot.
Scene 1 - The Cat People (1982) - The Transformation
In this video you see Irene looking over Oliver as he sleeps, like she did in the first film, but this time she is transforming on screen into the motif of the cat. The transformation is supposed to look hideous and matches with the music to make her seem like a monstrous feminine.
Scene 2 - The Cat People (1942) - The Attack
In these screenshots you see the motif of sexual pleasure that is associated with the cat transformation, followed by the shadow of cat Irena killing Dr. Judd over the picture of a evil looking prowling panther.
Scene 2 - The Cat People (1982) - The Ending
This last frame in the remake shows Irena as a panther, the most monstrous of all the cat motifs throughout both films. Mise-en-scene is important here, though, because she is inside of a cage, furthering the idea that she is a monster that needs to be contained. Oliver stands outside, petting and gazing at her. This is symbolic to show that he as the man, is the necessary means by which the monstrous Irene and her sexual appetite can be subjugated.
Summary:
Sadly, I did not have a way to record clips of the scenes because I was streaming the video and am not very good with a computer, so screenshots will have to do. In summary, I would just like to say that the mise-en-scene and motifs of cats help to portray the woman in each film as a cat and subsequently as a monster, going full circle with the theme of Monstrous Femininity, regardless of whether the film is reductive of progressive of that. I thought it was a cool reminder of when we described Jennifer in Jennifer's Body as a literal Vagina Dentata, because in this film, as a panther, that's exactly what the character was.