Analysis

Both the 1976 and the 2006 Omen maintain the traditional role of gender and present the stereotype of female characters. Damien, the son of demon, is five years old boy. He has three followers - the first nanny, his mother, and Mrs. Baylock. He always stay with one of these mother figures.

When the first nanny hangs herself at the top of the house, she calls Damien to look at her. It is her desire of Damein's looking toward her as the visual plesaure. "Damien! Look at me. I love you. It's all of for you", siad the first nanny. Her dialogue also present the visual pleasure. In spite of death, she looks happy because of Damine's looking. This is implying the sexual plasure looked by the male character, Damien. According to Laura Mulvey, looking is " the way film reflects, reveals and even plays on the straight, socially established interpretation of sexual difference which controls images, erotic ways of looking and spectacle" (Mulvey). The nanny's asking Damien to look at her revelas their sexual difference and their relationship.

Katherine is the mother of Damien, but slightly begins to push away Damien because she recognizes extraordianry situations when she stays with Damien. Her escaping from Damien and pregancy finally drive her to be killed by Damien and Mrs. Baylor, who worships satan. Katherine is the victim killed by the male monster, which is a common element in the classic horror film. Clover has a different point of view about the gender in horror film, saying "the gender is less a wall than a permeable membrane" (Clover, 208). In contrast to the theory of corss-gender identification by Clover, the Omen obvioulsy divide the gender role and characteristics through Katherine and Damien. This scene is when Damein pushes the chair that Katherine is standing on. Her gaze looking up at Damien and the son's looking down is expressing Damien's power and the victim relation.

In the 2006 version, Katherine more expresses her fear of Damien. She dreams that Damien is wearing a wodden mask and transform to a devil. Her dreams reflect her psychological fright emotion and represent the classical victim character in horror film.

Moreover, there is also a monstrous-feminie character, who is Mrs. Baylock. She is the new nanny after the first nanny is killed by herself. She always wears the uniform and friendly looks after Damine. In fact, she worships the demon and encourages Damien to kill her mother. When Katherine is barely alive in the hospital, Mrs. Baylock kills her instead of Damien. Baylock's murder is an expression of desire to be a spiritual mother, guardian, and closer to Damien. It is also a normal relationship between male and female characters in the classical films.

Moreover, these women have a direct connection with Damien's look. His gaze is representatino of his evil power. Therefore, Damien usually have eye contacts with these female protagonists. Particularly, the nannies always look at his eyes to communicate. Damien's looking at them is their pleasure and desire. " The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female form which is styled accordingly" (Mulvey).

Work Cited

1. Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". Screen 16.3. Published Autumn 1975.

2. Clover, J. Carol. "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film," Representations 20. Autumn

1987. University of California pressed.

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