“Sexual repression is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing their own sexuality. Sexual repression is often associated with feelings of guilt or shame, being associated with sexual impulses. What constitutes sexual repression is subjective and can vary greatly between cultures and moral systems.”
Robert Eggers is a director known for two notable films, those being The Witch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019). When in talks about the two films, Eggers has brought up the idea of sexual repression. The main characters in both films have secrets and are shunned mentally or physically from society. In “The Witch”, the family is kicked from their colony and sent to live among the animals in the forest. In “The Lighthouse”, the two leads are sent to take care of a Lighthouse, with only each other to keep them company. In this essay, I will be discussing how Robert Eggers films contain subtext pertaining to Sexual Repression and Self Hate among the LGBT community. Obviously the essay will contain spoilers for both “The Witch” (2015) and “The Lighthouse” (2019)”. The Witch is currently on Amazon Prime and Netflix, so check it out as soon as possible. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but it pays off in the end. The Lighthouse just hit theatres this recent Friday, so check it out in the cinemas. The film is definitely a quicker pace than “The Witch” and is definitely spectacular. If you are listening in the future, check it out on Itunes. I love both movies and cannot recommend them enough. You have been Warned!
Let’s first talk about Egger’s directorial debut, “The Witch” (2015), The film follows a young girl (played by Anya Taylor Joy) who experiences weird supernatural occurrences after her family is shunned out of her colony in 1630s New England. The family is soon torn apart by forces of Witchcraft, Black Magic, and Possession. The film was a mixed bag for people, mostly because of the subliminal subtexts. A huge quantity of the viewers didn’t know what to think after viewing the film. After a few watches, I believe the film is about Anya Taylor Joy’s character being sexually repressed by society.
I definitely believe “The Witch” is about the oppression lesbians have went through. Because being a lesbian would have been considered as bad as being a witch during the time. The family is shunned out if their society during the beginning of the film, which that could represent LGBT people being shunned out of society for being different. As the film goes on, Anya’s character begins to give in to the evil powers. That element could represent people starting to lift the oppression and self hate put they put onto themselves when they are shunned from society. Self Hate is definitely common in the LGBT community. The film ends with Anya giving into what she knew she was in the first place, a witch. The ending scene being “Anya Taylor Joy” giving into her true self, going to dance naked with witches. I believe the ending represents when people choose to stop caring what society thinks and show their true colors. When people drop their guard and become their true selves. The film presents a claustrophobic feel, that definitely represents the feeling of having a “dirty little secret” that becomes too hard to keep contained. The film’s main themes are Sexual Repression, Society’s views on other Sexualities, Self Hate, and being your true self. Another reason I believe this is that screenshots of “The Witch” accompany the definition of Sexual Repression on google. So there’s that.
“The Lighthouse” is Egger’s second directorial effort. The film definitely elevates the subtext and themes of “The Witch”, bringing them more into daylight for the audience. The film follows two lighthouse keepers who spend four weeks together on a remote island. After one viewing of the film, I believe many of the themes were carried over into Robert Pattinson’s character. A big concept in the film is “secrets”. In a notable scene, William Defoe asks Pattinson if he has any deep dark secrets, because he is acting strange. The film throughout has a claustrophobic, secretive tone. The film definitely is trying to point a finger at Pattinson having a secret. That secret I believe is him being Gay and having to repress it because of society’s views on the matter.
There’s a random, out of nowhere scene where Pattinson is master bating to a mermaid sculpture. It could be about the feeling of being an outcast for being gay. For a split second during the mermaid scene, a shot of a random guy is inserted for a split second, and then Robert Pattinson screams. A possible theory is that Pattinson’s character and that guy had some sort of relationship, and out of shame for the times, Robert Pattinson killed him at the end of the film. That’s why he screams at the end of the scene and why there is a sense of guilt throughout the whole movie. That would make sense because being gay would have been an outrage at that time. The mermaid could represent what society wants him to be into with the flash of the guy being him realizing what he truly likes. Him screaming because he is scared of what he truly is. That being self-hate, which is common for LGBT people.
Throughout the film William Defoe and Robert Pattinson become super suspicious of each other. Another scene in question is the scene where Pattinson wakes up after hearing noises. He goes up to the lighthouse and hear Dafoe having sex. He notices a weird substance (possibly semen) and sees octopus tentacles rush by through the grates in the sealing. Dafoe himself is also hiding the same exact secret, he has a sexual interest in something that is not seen as a sexual partner. Pattinson’s creature is a mermaid and Dafoe’s creature is a octopus. Both creatures represent gay relationships and the negative light of being gay in that current time.
The film ends with Pattinson killing the guy we see for a split second in the masterbation scene. This represents the character killing the secret he is keeping deep inside him. He is killing the object of gay affection, which is seen as wrong. Pattinson is trying to get rid of what he sees as an issue or a plague in his life. He’s killing off the side of him that he sees as unnecessary or harmful.
Both Robert Egger’s directorial efforts contain the same themes and subtexts. Those being Sexual Repression, Self Hate, Society’s views on alternate sexualities, and being your true self. The two films look at the topics in two completely opposite ways. The climax in “The Witch” shows the character embracing what she had known from the start, that she was a witch. The subtext represents someone embracing their true feeling, that of being gay. “The Lighthouse” on the other end, shows Robert Pattinson killing the secret he had been holding the whole film, that of the strange man showing up in his mind in its climax. That ending represents someone trying to get rid of their hidden sexuality because their society deems it incorrect. The person trying to get rid of the idea of them being gay to make their life a little bit easier. Trying to help themselves out by getting rid of something they feel unnecessary in their lives, that being their sexuality. That right there being Self Hate, something many members of the LGBT community admit to have struggled with or they still struggle with.
Both of Robert Egger’s films look at the concepts of Sexual Repression and Self Hate, two concepts that many LGBT members struggle with. The two films are different in the way they show how the character’s deal with it. In “The Witch”, Anya Taylor Joy’s character chooses to embrace the fact she is a witch. That representing the people who choose to embrace their sexuality and live with it. “The Lighthouse” on the other hand shows Robert Pattinson trying to kill the secret that is causing so much strain in his life, that being the man in his mind. That represents people who try to hide or get rid of their alternate sexuality, because society or they themselves find it wrong or unnecessary. Both Robert Eggers films show off Sexual Repression and Self Hate, but both films show off the two sides of the coin that in their climaxes. They show off the two different outcomes that happen to people who feel Sexual Repression of Self hate towards themselves. Robert Eggers has successfully shown off Sexual Repression and the possible positive and negative outcome of the repression through the means of Arthouse Horror.
Well written!