Re-reading the Monstrous-Feminine: New Approaches in Psychoanalytic Theory, Affect, Film, and Art

This chapter explores the background to Barbara Creed’s groundbreaking book The Monstrous-Feminine and also an overview of the concept of the monstrous-feminine. The monstrous-feminine is situated in relation to modern and contemporary debates about psychoanalysis and film theory. The continuing importance of the concept for the analysis of art and film is discussed. The chapter also addresses the significance of the idea of masquerade within Creed’s thinking. Additionally, Creed’s highly influential analyses of the films Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) are revisited in the context of the recently produced prequels to Alien, Prometheus (2012) and Alien Covenant (2017).