Periods, pig's blood, religious repression and quite possibly the worst school prom in cinema history. Welcome to Carrie! Hello Gazers! This week we're going back to 1976 for Brian De Palma's horror classic Carrie, starring Sissy Spacek as the painfully shy teenager whose schooldays are about to take a rather spectacular turn for the worse. But is Carrie simply a terrifying tale of supernatural revenge, or is it really about the horrors of being a teenage girl? And, more importantly, could you get away with it today? We begin with one of cinema's most uncomfortable opening sequences, as Carrie's first period becomes a source of humiliation in the school changing rooms. It's a scene that raises some interesting questions about the male gaze, the representation of teenage girls and why De Palma chooses to introduce his heroine in quite such an intimate way. From there, we explore the relentless bullying Carrie endures, her emerging telekinetic powers and her deeply troubled relationship with her fanatically religious mother, Margaret White, played with extraordinary intensity by Piper Laurie. Then, of course, there's the prom. The dress. The date. The bucket. And one of the most memorable sequences in horror-film history. We discuss how Carrie turns teenage cruelty into something genuinely disturbing, whether its portrayal of female anger can be read as empowering, and why the film seems determined to punish its heroine just as she begins to find a little happiness. Is Carrie a monster, a victim, or simply an outsider pushed beyond her limits? Along the way, we revisit the making of the film, Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie's Oscar-nominated performances, its box-office success and its extraordinary influence on popular culture. We also look at the various attempts to revisit Stephen King's story, including the remakes and the forthcoming television adaptation. And then it's time for Culture Corner! Although Carrie was released in America in 1976, British audiences had to wait until January 1977, so we're taking a trip back to Britain at the beginning of a particularly memorable year. The Ford Fiesta was arriving on British roads, the Sex Pistols were making headlines after being dropped by EMI, and the Sinclair pocket television offered a glimpse of a technological future that wasn't quite as convenient as advertised. Meanwhile, Britain was dealing with political tensions, IRA bombings and the death of former Prime Minister Anthony Eden. And naturally, we couldn't visit January 1977 without switching on Top of the Pops to see what Britain was buying, listening to and dancing around its living rooms to. It's a fascinating contrast: while Carrie White was discovering the terrifying possibilities of her own power, Britain was entering the year of punk, pop and enormous social change. We finish with our verdicts on Carrie, its legacy and whether its treatment of women, sexuality, religion and teenage cruelty still stands up today. Is Carrie a feminist horror masterpiece, or does its portrayal of female rage reveal something rather more problematic? Join us for another affectionate, irreverent and occasionally horrified look at a classic film through modern eyes. Subscribe to The Problematic Gaze for more film and television nostalgia, forgotten cultural history and questionable attitudes. Click here to visit our YouTube site, The Gaze Channel, where you can watch video versions of our podcast. Our YouTube site also contains playlists for each episode with provides wider context to each episode. Click here to follow us on all our socials And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at theproblematicgaze@gmail.com. We love hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
