The 2015 film Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (PA:TGD) was marketed featuring three particular details: it would be the “final” installment in the franchise; it would be in 3D formatting; and audiences would finally see Toby, the invisible and oppressive demon-villain. While the prequel, sequels, and spinoff gradually unveil an insidious plan involving kidnapped and militarized first-born sons, sacrificed mothers, and possessed female characters, PA:TGD halts at an open-ended “resolution” regarding the end game of Toby and the Midwives coven. This conclusion hinges on the reveal of the monstrous made whole and human. Through possession and sacrifice, Toby sheds his powerful omnipresence to gain an assumedly more powerful corporeal form. And his body is one that is specifically white, masculine, and naked; a body that looms victoriously over murdered mother, Emily, and protectively/possessively over orphaned girl, Leila, under his control. These details suggest not only a creepy relationship between an unsuppressed masculine evil and a corrupted feminine youth; they reveal patriarchal power dynamics embedded within gender roles in which power privileges the dominant-masculine, which then rewards, or is rewarded by, the loyal-feminine.
Hence, expanding on my past MAPACA PA papers, this presentation will examine how PA:TGD problematically concludes the series to re-center whiteness, the “male gaze,” and the masculine narrative (which had been disrupted partially in previous installments). The film manifests issues of patriarchal gender politics through its active male/reactive female characterizations (the Fleege Brothers, Father Todd, Katie and Kristi’s “Tutor” Kent, and Toby activate knowledge or strength against each other; Emily, Skyler, Leila, Grandma Lois, and the Midwives are responsive to their male counterparts’ goals). The first-person perspective, especially through the retro-modified camera, signifies a phallic “gaze” that objectifies (as utilized by the Brothers “watching” and “researching” or Kent “training”) and bears a 3D-penetrated witness to Toby’s unnatural monstrosity.
About the presenterTiffany A. Bryant
Tiffany A. Bryant graduated from William & Mary with a B.A. in Literary/Cultural Studies and from James Madison University with a M.A. in Literature. Her academic interests incorporate analyses of intersectionality and identity politics in popular culture, be that film, TV, literature, games, or interactive events. Horror narratives (especially with zombies and ghosts) are her favorite means for deconstructing internalized anxieties embedded in American society. In 2017, Tiffany was appointed PCA/ACA Horror Area Co-Chair.