Date of Award

Spring 5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Film Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Nam Lee

Second Advisor

Dr. Kelli Fuery

Third Advisor

Dr. Patrick Fuery

Abstract

This thesis explores Brady Corbet's 2018 film Vox Lux, focusing on its portrayal of female trauma and the subsequent gendered division in its critical reception. The film centers on Celeste, a survivor of a school shooting who rises to pop stardom, depicting an eighteen-year narrative that transforms her personal trauma into a public spectacle and a critique of American culture. Through theoretical frameworks from Judith Lewis Herman, E. Ann Kaplan, Jacques Rancière and Susan Sontag, this thesis examines how the film's fragmented narrative and stylistic shifts represent the long-term psychological aftermath of trauma, manifesting as emotional dysregulation, substance abuse, and unpredictable behavior. Vox Lux generated a divisive critical response upon its premiere, notably exhibiting a significant gender imbalance, with a large majority of negative reviews authored by male critics, who pathologized Celeste's adult behavior as morally failing, narcissistic, and characteristically flawed, largely overlooking the manifestations of her unresolved trauma and exploitation. Conversely, female critics tended to provide more nuanced interpretations, contextualizing her actions as complex coping mechanisms arising from continuous trauma and industry exploitation. This divergence is analyzed through Rancière's concept of the "intolerable image," suggesting that critical resistance stems not from the suffering depicted itself, but from representations of female trauma that defy conventional expectations of victimhood and resist traditional narrative containment. By doing so, this thesis further highlights the persistent gender biases influencing the interpretation of trauma narratives in film criticism.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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