I loved this so much! I love your mind. You’re such a unique and original voice and you add so much to this platform, we’re very lucky (🍀) to have you!
love love love the tie in of all these characters & personas in different media. I think it’s so fascinating how this enigmatic dead girl archetype has shifted as media becomes more critical & aware of how woman in general & especially women as victims are treated & seen. also adored how flannagan took Nell’s character from the book and kind of incorporated the archetype without completely making her into the archetype. also this reminds me heavily of the song dead girls by penelope scott!!!
I have never seen Twin Peaks, but I know that I was absolutely enthralled with the way Alison haunted the narrative in PLL. They made her seem so much larger than life that whenever someone in the show asked smth like “why is everyone so obsessed with her”, I felt like I just got it.
I think other examples that come to mind for me where this trope is really well done is Rachel Amber in Life is Strange, and in a bit of a different way, Rose Tyler in S3 & 4 of Doctor Who.
Also I just remembered I did it once in a short story. I guess I’ve been always fascinated by women haunting the narrative but probably couldn’t have put it into words as well until reading your essay.
i’m so glad the PLL example resonated with you!!! it had such a huge impact on my adolescence and also was always one of those characters that just stuck with me! i’m definitely going to look into the examples you mentioned!! i love that you included this trope in a short story; it really is fascinating!! thank you so much for reading, and i’m so glad this resonated with you!!!
This is my first introduction to your work, what a terrific piece! I just finished binge watching two seasons of Sense8 by the Wakowski Brothers (now Sisters) and in the first scene, you see Darryl Hannah commit suicide... and then haunt us for the next two seasons. Another one for your list!
I'm a big fan of twin peaks and the really the haunting genre as a whole, but sometimes i have a hard time reconciling a lot of what you describe in this post and the feeling that I'm being cheap by leaning into these tropes. Again, everything you wrote really resonates with me, but when I try to write fiction, sometimes I'm held up by these questions.
i love this comment and it's a great question! at least in my opinion, the fridging concept comes up more commonly in male-led stories. while twin peaks' primary character is a man, many of the other examples i mentioned are in primarly female-driven casts, or have their Enigmatic Dead Girl existing as their own person, not tied to a man or existing just to prop up a man. What stands out to me is that all of the women i described (and many more) are well written, and have their own traits, Alison DiLaurentis is dead, but besides that she is manipulative, she's enigmatic, and she has intentions and motivations. I think a lot of the women who are victims of the fridging trope were created to prop up a man. The marvel comics women only seem to exists to give their male characters a love interest, and are killed off just to give that man some kind of motivation. We need women to be written with care and agency, to be regarded as actual human beings, as the women i wrote about are! i hope this is what you're looking for!
Absolutely loved this. Regardless of PLL flaws and decline, the Allison narrative and its constant influence in the present was great. Btw, you are tottenham fan?? God's strongest soldier for sure. No wonder you like the dead girl archetype
I was enjoying this so much until I saw the part about Tottenham vs Everton (being an Everton fan is a perpetual tragedy 😞).
No but seriously, this was a great read, and as an enthusiast of both Twin Peaks vibes and fall vibes, I will definitely be checking out your playlist!
I loved this so much! I love your mind. You’re such a unique and original voice and you add so much to this platform, we’re very lucky (🍀) to have you!
aw amanda i love (💜) you!! thank you so much for just being you!
ugh brilliant
thank you so much faith 💘💘
love love love the tie in of all these characters & personas in different media. I think it’s so fascinating how this enigmatic dead girl archetype has shifted as media becomes more critical & aware of how woman in general & especially women as victims are treated & seen. also adored how flannagan took Nell’s character from the book and kind of incorporated the archetype without completely making her into the archetype. also this reminds me heavily of the song dead girls by penelope scott!!!
thank you so much hannah 💘 i agree completely with your point!! and i’ll check that song out asap
absolutely love that you published this on the anniversary of fire walk with me’s release!!
everything is intentional 😇
I have never seen Twin Peaks, but I know that I was absolutely enthralled with the way Alison haunted the narrative in PLL. They made her seem so much larger than life that whenever someone in the show asked smth like “why is everyone so obsessed with her”, I felt like I just got it.
I think other examples that come to mind for me where this trope is really well done is Rachel Amber in Life is Strange, and in a bit of a different way, Rose Tyler in S3 & 4 of Doctor Who.
Also I just remembered I did it once in a short story. I guess I’ve been always fascinated by women haunting the narrative but probably couldn’t have put it into words as well until reading your essay.
i’m so glad the PLL example resonated with you!!! it had such a huge impact on my adolescence and also was always one of those characters that just stuck with me! i’m definitely going to look into the examples you mentioned!! i love that you included this trope in a short story; it really is fascinating!! thank you so much for reading, and i’m so glad this resonated with you!!!
This is my first introduction to your work, what a terrific piece! I just finished binge watching two seasons of Sense8 by the Wakowski Brothers (now Sisters) and in the first scene, you see Darryl Hannah commit suicide... and then haunt us for the next two seasons. Another one for your list!
thank you so much!!! 💘
I wonder where you think the line is drawn between what you describe and what has been critically referred to as "stuffing women in refrigerators"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_refrigerators#:~:text=Women%20in%20refrigerators%20is%20a,colloquially%20known%20as%20%22fridging%22.
I'm a big fan of twin peaks and the really the haunting genre as a whole, but sometimes i have a hard time reconciling a lot of what you describe in this post and the feeling that I'm being cheap by leaning into these tropes. Again, everything you wrote really resonates with me, but when I try to write fiction, sometimes I'm held up by these questions.
i love this comment and it's a great question! at least in my opinion, the fridging concept comes up more commonly in male-led stories. while twin peaks' primary character is a man, many of the other examples i mentioned are in primarly female-driven casts, or have their Enigmatic Dead Girl existing as their own person, not tied to a man or existing just to prop up a man. What stands out to me is that all of the women i described (and many more) are well written, and have their own traits, Alison DiLaurentis is dead, but besides that she is manipulative, she's enigmatic, and she has intentions and motivations. I think a lot of the women who are victims of the fridging trope were created to prop up a man. The marvel comics women only seem to exists to give their male characters a love interest, and are killed off just to give that man some kind of motivation. We need women to be written with care and agency, to be regarded as actual human beings, as the women i wrote about are! i hope this is what you're looking for!
fire walk with me is one of the saddest films i’ve ever watched
i love journalist!sarah so much! this was so comprehensive and analytical and i loved reading it.
also, i thought this was an interesting read (one of my favorite articles) related to the dead girl trope: https://web.archive.org/web/20150310035644/https://www.theawl.com/2015/02/the-husband-did-it
i love you so much 🍓🤍💘💌
Absolutely loved this. Regardless of PLL flaws and decline, the Allison narrative and its constant influence in the present was great. Btw, you are tottenham fan?? God's strongest soldier for sure. No wonder you like the dead girl archetype
HAHAHA it’s truly hard work but i love them 🫣
FINE i'll rewatch twin peaks
but more importantly this was a brilliant essay and i greatly enjoyed it
AW riley thank you!!! and please let me know when you rewatch!! we need to discuss 💘
loved the connection between laura and ethel cain !!! thanks for writing this ❤️
💘💘 thank YOU for reading it!!
I was enjoying this so much until I saw the part about Tottenham vs Everton (being an Everton fan is a perpetual tragedy 😞).
No but seriously, this was a great read, and as an enthusiast of both Twin Peaks vibes and fall vibes, I will definitely be checking out your playlist!
HAHAH i’m so sorry 🫡 but i’m glad you enjoyed the essay and it means so much that you read it 💘
love the playlists!
thank you legend
so so so good!!!
Such an interesting read! Amazing playlists as well! :)