The Woman, the Witch, and the Dancer. A comparative study of the representation of women in Suspiria (1977) and Suspiria (2018)

Abstract

This bachelor's thesis investigates how the representation of women differs between Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977) and Luca Guadagnino's 2018 remake of the film by investigating the protagonist Suzy. Audience reception with focus on the female characters is taken into account in order to relate the films and their reception to the different historical climates of feminism. It is concluded that the remake tries to update the original's misogynist portrayal of women while not completely succeeding in all regards. Most of the reviews from the original's release do not discuss the representation of women, while almost all of the remake's reviews do. As feminism has grown substantially in the 41 years between the releases, it is evident through the films and receptions that film has grown and adapted alongside it.