While I still can't say I like the movie and how it handled its themes, I think you have made some really strong arguments regarding Ellen's character. I hadn't realized the possibility of her assaulting Thomas, which adds a lot of nuance to her character that I totally missed. The idea of her being both a victim and an aggressor is very interesting! I came out of the movie confused about what was the point of her sacrifice, and I think it would have worked better without the whole "female divinity" BS making things more confusing, but now that you have pointed out that it could be seen as a form of atonement and not just selfless sacrifice the scene feels more meaningful.
Thanks for reading! This whole thing was partly inspired by your comments the other week, and also by irl conversations. Personally, Nosferatu ticked a lot of boxes for me, specifically because I like my vampires grotesque (they are symbolic rapists, after all), and I don't like the trend of sexy vampires. I also liked the efforts to link Orlok to real folklore and history rather than the canon of 'cinematic' vampires. I definitely understand your point of view, though - Dracula is a whole can of worms, so foundationally there are always going to be problems.
Great essay, and thanks for the shout out!
While I still can't say I like the movie and how it handled its themes, I think you have made some really strong arguments regarding Ellen's character. I hadn't realized the possibility of her assaulting Thomas, which adds a lot of nuance to her character that I totally missed. The idea of her being both a victim and an aggressor is very interesting! I came out of the movie confused about what was the point of her sacrifice, and I think it would have worked better without the whole "female divinity" BS making things more confusing, but now that you have pointed out that it could be seen as a form of atonement and not just selfless sacrifice the scene feels more meaningful.
Thanks for reading! This whole thing was partly inspired by your comments the other week, and also by irl conversations. Personally, Nosferatu ticked a lot of boxes for me, specifically because I like my vampires grotesque (they are symbolic rapists, after all), and I don't like the trend of sexy vampires. I also liked the efforts to link Orlok to real folklore and history rather than the canon of 'cinematic' vampires. I definitely understand your point of view, though - Dracula is a whole can of worms, so foundationally there are always going to be problems.