Blog Post #4

 In the film, The Eve’s Bayou (1997) the plot follows an upper-middle-class Black family living in a small racially homogenous city near the Louisiana Bayou. Before watching this film, I had no clue of the plot or the themes--and this was probably one of the most uniquely disturbing movies I have seen in a long time (and I’m an avid horror film). This film falls within the gray area of gothic and horror, but nonetheless, this film is powerful because it executes the difficult job of portraying the horrors that can happen within the household. What pained me throughout watching this film, was the adultification of Eve and Cisely--especially with Eve. Eve the middle child of Eve and Louis Baptiste carried the stress of trying to keep her family together despite all of the disturbing secrets and insecurity in the household. Her father, while a stable financial provider is an absent father staying late from the house and engaging in extramarital relationships-and completely unaware and ignorant of how his actions are negatively ruminating and affecting his family. Eve’s mother is weak, submissive, and insecure and attempts to keep her family together and suppress the knowledge of her husband’s infidelity. As a young girl, it is devastating to watch Eve suffer, resent her father plan his demise to get revenge for his inappropriate interaction with Eve’s older sister Cisely. It’s very clear that even though only a young child the Eve loss her innocence due to her knowledge of her dad’s affairs and her attempt to subdue her dad’s inappropriate relationships with other women. Eve takes on the responsibility to attempt to try and save her family from her dad, who is this monstrous man who has little accountability and empathy for how his affections created structural instability for his entire family unit. Eve is defiant and refuses to be a submissive daughter as she is aware of her father’s malicious nature and is motivated by this to kill her father through the help of a voodoo practitioner to help rid her father and end his torture. Louis’s character is simply monstrous, while he is not abusive physically--emotionally and arguably sexually he is very abusive to his family. His death was well deserved, as he was a womanizer and utilized a charismatic and fatherly guise to hide his womanizing tendencies and narcissism. He was an absent father and only cared for himself and lacked awareness of how his actions were caused severe trauma to his family. I think this story was so unsettling because although placed in a different time, it represents such a relatable story that many can relate to the experience of an emotionally lost--neglected child and absent parental figures.