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Event Website
https://www.mythsoc.org/oms/oms-2023.htm
Start Date
8-5-2023 11:00 AM
End Date
8-5-2023 11:50 AM
Description
Season three of Supernatural (2005-2020) closes with a shot of Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) in Hell. The place has no discernible features and resembles neither the long waiting line nor the gothic castle of later seasons. The few elements that do characterize it, however, make it look like a brain, the labyrinth of ropes reminiscent of neurons. This association introduces Hell as a place that exists first and foremost in Dean’s dead. The lack of establishing shots and the abstract terms used to discuss Hell, damnation, and Dean’s experience further support this claim, working in its favor. After all, the audience may not be presented with a physical place, yet the effects of it are made clear to the point of creating a place into which all of Dean’s fears and trauma converge. Following this, this essay aims to analyze Supernatural’s first iteration of hell as the manifestation of the “foundational drama” (Faludi 208) of post-9/11 America and, as such, as a place not too dissimilar to the microcosm that Dean already inhabits. Through the use of gender studies and queer studies, it will highlight the importance of White hegemonic masculinity and queerness in Dean Winchester’s damnation and salvation, as well as the role played by Hell in the deconstruction of the character.
Included in
Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, Literature in English, Anglophone outside British Isles and North America Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Modern Languages Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons
Hell on His Mind: Dean Winchester’s Journey to Hell and Back
Season three of Supernatural (2005-2020) closes with a shot of Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) in Hell. The place has no discernible features and resembles neither the long waiting line nor the gothic castle of later seasons. The few elements that do characterize it, however, make it look like a brain, the labyrinth of ropes reminiscent of neurons. This association introduces Hell as a place that exists first and foremost in Dean’s dead. The lack of establishing shots and the abstract terms used to discuss Hell, damnation, and Dean’s experience further support this claim, working in its favor. After all, the audience may not be presented with a physical place, yet the effects of it are made clear to the point of creating a place into which all of Dean’s fears and trauma converge. Following this, this essay aims to analyze Supernatural’s first iteration of hell as the manifestation of the “foundational drama” (Faludi 208) of post-9/11 America and, as such, as a place not too dissimilar to the microcosm that Dean already inhabits. Through the use of gender studies and queer studies, it will highlight the importance of White hegemonic masculinity and queerness in Dean Winchester’s damnation and salvation, as well as the role played by Hell in the deconstruction of the character.
Comments
SESSION I
11:00 AM—11:50 Eastern
10:00 AM—10:50 Central
9:00 AM—9:50 Mountain
8:00 AM—8:50 Pacific
3:00 PM—3:50 GMT