Stockholm Syndrome
The conception of Stockholm syndrome has grown to include victims of kidnappings or hostage instances, domestic abuse, child abuse, human trafficking, incest, prisoners of war, political terrorism, cult members, concentration camp prisoners, slaves, and prostitutes. It is believed that women are especially subject to develop the condition.
There is evidence that many victims of childhood sexual abuse come to feel a connection with their abuser. They often feel flattered by the adult attention or are afraid that disclosure will create family disruption. In adulthood, they resist disclosure for emotional and personal reasons.
There are four key components that generally lead to the development of Stockholm syndrome:
- A hostage's development of positive feelings towards their captor
- No previous hostage-captor relationship
- A refusal by hostages to co-operate with police forces and other government authorities
- A hostage's belief in the humanity of their captor, for the reason that when a victim holds the same values as the aggressor, they cease to be perceived as a threat.
Domestic Violence
A list of of behaviours which may indicate an abusive relationship.
- Destructive criticism and verbal abuse: shouting; mocking; accusing; name calling; verbally threatening.
- Pressure tactics: sulking; threatening to withhold money, disconnecting the phone and internet, taking away or destroying your mobile, tablet or laptop, taking the car away, taking the children away; threatening to report you to the police, social services or the mental health team unless you comply with his demands; threatening or attempting self-harm and suicide; withholding or pressuring you to use drugs or other substances; lying to your friends and family about you; telling you that you have no choice in any decisions.
- Disrespect: persistently putting you down in front of other people; not listening or responding when you talk; interrupting your telephone calls; taking money from your purse without asking; refusing to help with childcare or housework.
- Breaking trust: lying to you; withholding information from you; being jealous; having other relationships; breaking promises and shared agreements.
- Isolation: monitoring or blocking your phone calls, e-mails and social media accounts, telling you where you can and cannot go; preventing you from seeing friends and relatives; shutting you in the house.
- Harassment: following you; checking up on you; not allowing you any privacy (for example, opening your mail, going through your laptop, tablet or mobile), repeatedly checking to see who has phoned you; embarrassing you in public; accompanying you everywhere you go.
- Threats: making angry gestures; using physical size to intimidate; shouting you down; destroying your possessions; breaking things; punching walls; wielding a knife or a gun; threatening to kill or harm you and the children; threatening to kill or harm family pets; threats of suicide.
- Sexual violence: using force, threats or intimidation to make you perform sexual acts; having sex with you when you don’t want it; forcing you to look at pornographic material; constant pressure and harassment into having sex when you don’t want to, forcing you to have sex with other people; any degrading treatment related to your sexuality or to whether you are lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual.
- Physical violence: punching; slapping; hitting; biting; pinching; kicking; pulling hair out; pushing; shoving; burning; strangling, pinning you down, holding you by the neck, restraining you.
- Denial: saying the abuse doesn’t happen; saying you caused the abuse; saying you wind him up; saying he can’t control his anger; being publicly gentle and patient; crying and begging for forgiveness; saying it will never happen again.
https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/recognising-domestic-abuse/
Nuns v Other Women
Nuns choose to live a life under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience inside a monastery or convent. Some choose to take a vow of silence, leading to what some might see as a life of solitude, loneliness and isolation. They wear simple clothing and don't feel the need to dress in a fashionable way or keep up with societal trends. However, some women outside of the church live this kind of life without wanting to. They may be living with an abuser who forces a life of solitude, loneliness and isolation through psychological abuse. These women are forced to be obedient to their partners. Although domestic abuse can be experienced by both men and women, it is estimated that 1.9 million people aged 16 to 59 experienced some form of abuse with 63% of them women (1.2 million) and 37% men (713,000).
Further Research - Nuns
I continued looking at The Daughters of Charity in a book called "The habit : a history of the clothing of Catholic nuns". I found the text above interesting, "representing white walls, and calm corridors (...). The centre point directing their eyes to heaven". This is very different to the "wings" of the Handmaid's in The Handmaid's Tale, the purpose of which is to "prevent us seeing, but also from being seen", which is an interesting contest in meaning.
I also found visual representations of other communities of nuns. I focused on the habits they wear, and how they vary between each community.
The habit : a history of the clothing of Catholic nuns - Elizabeth Kuhns
Architecture
A selection of buildings used in dystopian films or TV shows. Many of them were in a Brutalist style which began in the 1930's and ended in the 1970's. After researching these filming locations, I looked for other examples of brutalist architecture, such as the National Theatre located on the Southbank of the River Thames, as well as Trellick Tower and the Barbican. I will take aspects of these buildings and apply them onto a human body, creating highly structural forms.
1966: Children predicted what life would be like in the year 2000 on Tomorrow's World
Initial Research
Young-old : urban utopias of an aging society - Deane Simpson
In this book I looked at how Florida has adapted its neighbourhoods towards the end of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st Century. The change was ignited by the elderly moving to Florida in their retirement as well as overcrowding and the need for more housing.
Lost utopias - Jade Doskow
Looking at attempts architects have made to design for the future, but ultimately have failed due to lack of money in the area to continue the style, or its been forgotten.
Archaeologies of the future : the desire called utopia and other science fictions - Fredric Jameson
Exploring ideas of utopian thinking in a post-Communist age and looking at the relationship between utopia and science fiction. I also looked at descriptions and interpretation s of 'Utopia'.
Utopia forever : visions of architecture and urbanism - Robert Klanten & Lukas Feireiss
Visual ideas and interpretations of the future by a number of architects. Some utopian ideas and some dystopian ideas.
Ecotopia 2121 : a vision for our future green utopia in 100 cities - Alan Marshall
An artist's realisation of London in the future, Mother Nature seems to have taken back the space and human-kind seems to have dwindled.
Loving to Survive: Sexual Terror, Men's Violence, and Women's Lives
First published in 1994, author Dee Graham uses the Stockholm syndrome label to describe group or collective responses to trauma, rather than individual reactions. Graham focuses specifically on the impact of Stockholm syndrome on battered and abused women as a community. She claimed that in both the psychological and societal senses, these women are defined by their sense of fear surrounding the threat of male violence. This constant fear is what drives these women to perform or allow actions that they know will be pleasing to men in order to avoid emotional, physical, or sexual assault as a result of male anger. Graham draws parallels between women and kidnapping victims in the sense that these women bond to men to survive, as captives bond to their captors to survive.
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Loving_to_Survive.html?id=5WkjNAd-r0AC&redir_esc=y
Stockholm Syndrome - Case Studies
Colleen Stan
In 1977, Coleen Stan was hitchhiking to visit a friend in southern California when she was kidnapped by Cameron Hooker and his wife Janice and forced to live in a wooden restraining box underneath their bed. For seven years she was repeatedly raped and tortured by Cameron and forced to live life as a sort of domestic/sex slave. Even though she was allowed to socialize with Janice and even visit her mother, she still continued to live in the box and did not attempt to escape. She was eventually freed by Janice, who asked Stan to not disclose her abuse as Janice was attempting to reform Cameron. Stan remained silent until Janice finally decided to turn Cameron over to the police.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/girl-box-article-1.1715494
Natascha Kampusch
Natascha was kidnapped at age ten and kept in an insulated, dark room under the garage of Wolfgang Priklopil. She would receive a variation of kind, physically and sexually abusive, controlling, and permissive treatment from her captor. Eight years after her kidnapping, Natascha left and Priklopil committed suicide. After her kidnappers death, Natascha lamented and kept a picture of him in her wallet.
https://www.therichest.com/shocking/15-twisted-cases-of-stockholm-syndrome/
Physical Oppression of Women
A chastity belt was a steel locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse or masturbation. Such belts were historically designed for women, for the purpose of chastity, to protect women from rape or to dissuade women and their potential sexual partners from sexual temptation.
From this description of a chastity belt, I noticed that it was the women that were being controlled, and who were deemed promiscuous when in reality it would have been the men who would have slept around.
A scold's bridle was was an instrument of punishment, as a form of torture and public humiliation. The device was an iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head.
This animalistic type restraint was used to shame a woman in public. The bridle would be forced onto by the husband of the woman who wanted to control their wives.
A shrew's fiddle or neck violin is a type of restraint whereby the wrists are locked in front of the bound person by a hinged board or steel bar. It was originally used in the Middle Ages as a way of punishing women who were caught bickering or fighting.
Again, this was adorned by women to shame them on public.
Foot binding was the custom of applying tight binding to the feet of young girls to modify the shape of their feet. It was practiced in China until the early 20th century, and bound feet were considered as a status symbol and most prominently, a mark of beauty. Foot binding limited the mobility of women, and resulted in lifelong disabilities for most women.
This is a slightly different form of oppression, and some may disagree entirely that this is oppression. But the fact is that women were giving themselves physical disabilities in order to make themselves appear more beautiful and desirable. Distorting the body is still around today in slightly different ways. For instance, women are choosing cosmetic surgery to enhance their features to make themselves more desirable to men.
The science behind females changing their natural bodies is their evolutionary instinct to attract a male to them rather than another female. This is in order to gain the males resources and safety. It is argued in psychology that the sole reason for human life is to procreate, therefore females compete to be more attractive.
Daughters of Charity
Looking good: a visual guide to the nun's habit - a collaboration between GraphicDesign, theologian Veronica Bennett and illustrator Ryan Todd.
Nun's Cornette
A cornette is a piece of headwear a nun, potentially worn by the Daughters of Charity, like the women above. It is a type of wimple that is heavily starched white cloth, folded upwards to resemble horns on the woman's head.
The Handmaid's Tale reference images
Whilst looking for reference images for The Handmaid's Tale I noticed colour as the main theme through all the images. The Handmaid's wear a red habit, historically a habit is a religious dress, and white "wings" to prevent seeing or being seen except when standing directly in front of another individual. The wives, who are infertile, and married to high ranking officers always wear blue dresses and cloaks, which might reference traditional depictions of the Virgin Mary in historic Christian art.
I was mostly interested in the wings and their purpose. They wear these "wings" on their heads to frame and hide their faces. The "white wings" give the Handmaids next to no peripheral vision; they can only see what is directly in front of them. The idea is to "prevent us seeing, but also from being seen".
The Handmaid's Tale
I decided to look at The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood to explore themes of identity. In the book, the narrator loses her identity through the clothes she wears and the way she is treated. As a handmaid, she wears a red dress and white cap/wings. All handmaid's are identical in the way they dress and are only valued for their fertility.
I have researched quotes from the book which highlight the loss of identity as well as the loss of self, personal choice, freedom, opinion and individuality.
This quote is about hierarchy and how the narrator is at the bottom of the social order in the house. She is trying to understand the reason for people's actions. She has come to the conclusion that perhaps the reason people can be vile and vindictive is because they can get away with it.
To give this quote context, the narrator asks a question, just for politeness sake "Is it too late?". She knows the answer will be "no", but she asks anyway to make herself feel as though she has a choice. This ritual somehow gives her a glimmer of hope for her freedom.
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-handmaids-tale-quotes-740006
https://insthehandmaidstale.weebly.com/important-quotes.html
Further Initial Research
Gattaca (1997)
In the film “Gattaca”, discrimination is based on genetics, not race or class. Parents see geneticist to filter out undesirable traits in their children. Vincent's parents decided to conceive naturally, but he is seen as genetically inferior and is doomed to a life of servitude. His parents have a second child consult a geneticist, the child becomes his parents pride and joy. Vincent dreams of travelling into space but he is seen as “in- valid”. He uses the DNA of a paralysed, genetic elite to get into the space program. It's a complex procedure, in which he uses the donors body fluids to fool gene testing machines. Vincent loses an eyelash leaving his DNA, and a murder investigation focuses on him, which makes it harder for him to disguise himself.
Architecture and costumes from Gattaca (1997)
The Giver - Lois Lowry (1994) Film (2014)
The setting of “The Giver" is a world in which there exists no pain, no war, and very little emotion. In this utopia, everything is pleasant. Birthmothers give birth to “new children" and never see them again. These “new children” then move to the Nurturing Centre, then to a family unit, then become other “Childless Adults." When they become too old or infirm, they are “released" – although they don’t realise it, those who are released are actually killed.
Costumes from The Giver (2014)
Things to come (1936)
In this film, a global war begins in 1940. The war drags out over many decades until those people still alive do not remember who started it or why. Nothing is being manufactured any more and society has broken down into primitive communities. In 1966 a great plague wipes out most of what people are left but small numbers still survive. A strange aircraft lands at one of these communities and its pilot tells of an organisation which is slowly rebuilding civilisation across the world and bringing these groups of survivors together. Great reconstruction takes place over the next few decades and society is once again great and strong and the population is now living in underground cities. In the year 2035, on the eve of man's first flight to the moon, a popular uprising against progress (which some people claim has caused the wars of the past) gains support and becomes violent.
Costumes and architecture from Things to Come (1936)
Blade Runner (1982)
In the futuristic year of 2019, Los Angeles has become a dark and depressing metropolis, filled with urban decay. Rick Deckard, an ex- cop, is a "Blade Runner". Blade runners are people assigned to assassinate "replicants". The replicants are androids that look like real human beings. When four replicants commit a bloody mutiny on the Off World colony, Deckard is called out of retirement to track down the androids. As he tracks the replicants, eliminating them one by one, he soon comes across another replicant, Rachel, who evokes human emotion, despite the fact that she's a replicant herself. As Deckard closes in on the leader of the replicant group, his true hatred toward artificial intelligence makes him question his own identity in this future world, including what's human and what's not human.
Costumes from Blade Runner (1982)
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (1985) Film (2013)
Costumes and still from Enders Game (2013)
Metropolis movie poster (1927)
The Terminator movie poster (1984)
Still of Tom Hardy from Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Illustration from George Orwell’s Novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’- Jonathan Burton
City of the Future - Harvey Wiley Corbett (1913)