In Solidarity with Monsters
Two things happened that led to the writing of this blog. The first is that I finally watched China Miéville’s wonderful talk “Marxism and Halloween” (I’ll link it at the bottom), where he makes the point that we should be open to, “a call for solidarity for those who are made monsters.” This, of course, brings to mind Robin Wood’s idea that “normality is threatened by the monster.” Miéville goes on to say that, “the disavowed throughout history…have always had the sneaking sympathy of those suspicious of power.” In other words, it is our duty as Marxists to cheer on the creature from the black lagoon. The second thing that led to this blog is that one of my eighth graders told me their favorite scary movie was Sleepaway Camp, and I promised to watch it over the weekend. I know I am not qualified to write about this but I am going to do it anyway, because my thoughts on it were slightly too long for Letterboxd.
My early impressions of the film were that it was a lame 80’s trans-panic slasher, but as it went on it took on more of a revenge fantasy vibe. The “monster” in Sleepaway Camp is easy to root for. The first victim is a pedophile who attempts to sexually assault our main character, Angela. The victims that follow are equally detestable: a pair of campers that lash out when Angela does not respond to their advances, a female camper who mocks her for being timid and prude, a female counselor further ostracizes Angela from the rest of the female campers. The movie is mostly fun to hangout in. When characters bully or shame Angela, they are systematically eliminated by our killer. The killings in Sleepaway Camp don’t increase the suspense as much as they bring a sense of relief that justice has been served. Those who treat Angela with respect and kindness–her cousin Ricky and the male counselor with huge pecs to name two–are safe from the killer’s wrath.
Eventually, Angela finds friendship in Ricky’s friend Paul. It is clear that Paul fancies a sexual/romantic relationship, but it is clear Angela is unwilling to move any further beyond a few pecks on the cheek. This leads Paul to also lash out at Angela and go running into the arms of another girl. Thus comes the final night of the movie, where the aforementioned female campers meet their end, along with a group of younger campers who threw sand at Angela, and the repulsive manager who beats her cousin within an inch of his life. Finally, we find a nude Angela cradling the severed head of her ex-beau Paul. She stands to reveal her genitalia, one of the counselors who found her says, “she’s a boy,” and Angela releases a blood-curdling scream as credits roll.
The transgender aspect of this film is strange. I don’t know that the filmmakers put it there for anything other than shock value. It leans into the same trope that films like Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs do, that being trans is a form of mental illness. This being true does not preclude us from another reading of the film. Going back to Miéville’s idea about “those who are made monsters”: when is it that Angela is made a monster? Some reviews I’ve read would say it is during that last shot. To quote one of them, “Her humanity is lost when her penis is shown” (Maclay). I would argue that her humanity is lost the second she steps into that camp. The entire camp seems to zero in on her, doing their best to bully and other her. The way Angela is treated, and how she responds, are relatable to the experiences of certain trans people: “shrinking away from people’s touch and freezing at confrontation and feeling monstrous, just like a shrieking hissing nightmarish creature whose gaping mouth can swallow anyone whole” (Esther). This reading, in keeping with Miéville’s theory, paints Angela as more of an anti-hero than monster or victim. Her accident-spree is less a series of killings by an insane murderer, than it is a rigorous piece of praxis.
China Miéville: Marxism and Halloween - Socialism 2013 (youtube.com)
Robin Wood on the Horror Film: Collected... book by Robin Wood (thriftbooks.com)
Read trans writers:
Alice Collins: 'Sleepaway Camp': The Elephant in the Room [Trapped By Gender] - Bloody Disgusting (bloody-disgusting.com)
Willow Maclay: "How Can It Be? She's a boy." Transmisogyny in Sleepaway Camp - cléo (cleojournal.com)
