Women's Paranoia: Cassandras and Conspiracies

Programmed by: Ursula Rigberg Wagner

When we think of paranoid thrillers, we often see masculine heroes caught in baroque conspiracies. They're not without roots in reality, but those roots tend to be of a more political nature, i.e., tales of governmental corruption and cover-ups. But if the personal is also political, as the second-wave feminist movement famously asserted, then that is exactly what is reflected in movies about women who appear to experience irrational fears. The protagonists in this series largely feel ill-at-ease within their most intimate relationships, and are disbelieved by doctors and law enforcement; nothing about this is irrational. Statistically, we know that women are frequently unsafe from men, their fears and reports of abuse often dismissed, and their pain more likely to be minimized or ignored by the medical establishment. As Joseph Heller wrote in Catch 22, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you."

In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a gifted prophetess who rebuffed Apollo's advances. As punishment, he cursed her with the burden of her (very accurate) warnings never being believed. Inspired by Cassandra's plight, this series explores the specific terror of being a woman in a patriarchal society. The point is not to revel in feminine insanity, fear, confusion, or suffering. These films show women reacting to a variety of threats and conspiracies that are largely real in the context of each film. No "hysteria" here. Watching them, we experience the anxiety of having one's legitimate fears minimized or one's perceptions and special knowledge disbelieved.