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Birth/Rebirth (Moss 2023)
Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2023 film Birth/Rebirth. This is a vaguely Frankensteinian film, that addresses control of women’s bodies from a unique perspective. We very much appreciate a novel take especially given the current political climate. Laura was really impressed with the dominant read of the film as well as the representation of pregnancy, IVF, and prospective motherhood. Marshall had concerns of a possible contested reading of the film as critical of fetal science and respecting the choices of pregnant women.
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SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE
Birth/Rebirth (Moss 2023)
Pet Sematary (Lambert 1989)
L’interier (Inside) (Maury and Bustillo 2007)
Excision (Bates Jr. 2012)
TOPIC INDEX – Birth/Rebirth (Moss 2023) (times are approximate)
0:30 – Introductions
3:00 – Film discussion begins without spoilers
3:00 – overall thoughts
10:30 – SPOILERS section begins
12:00 – a new take on pregnancy body horror
14:00 – as much as Marshall was emotionally disengaged, Laura was engaged
18:00 – import of variety of stories and voices
20:00 – other pregnancy horror films
22:30 – all women
25:00 – neurodiverse representation
27: 00 – villainy and ethics
33:00 – demonizing stem cell research
36:00 – anti-choice?
43:00 – alignment and allegiance
47:00 – ongoing or one-time need
51:00 – conservative messaging?
54:00 – film ending
1:09:20 – grading the film using the Collective Nightmares Evolving Rubric of Social Responsibility
1:10:00 – Laura’s bodily experience of pregnancy
1:14:30 SPOILERS for The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (Hanson 1992)
1:15:30 – more on ethics
1:25:00 – Sony buys Alamo Drafthouse
1:33:00 – next film choices including mention of In A Violent Nature and Companion
Related Episodes
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (McNaughton 1986)
Proxy (Parker 2013)
Martin (Romero 1978)
Related Films
Excision (Bates Jr. 2012)
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Hanson 1992)
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“Horror films are our collective nightmares.”
Episode 142
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