In class we created a list of binary pairs seen in A Head Full of Ghosts. My group felt as if many of those pairs (witch doctor/doctor, possession/mental illness, supernatural/ natural, public/ private, religion/ science) could be equated to the father/ mother pairing. The father felt the best course of action was to rely on the church and religion to help Marjorie while the mother looked for more logical, scientific reasons and responses to her daughters condition. Merry witnessed several hushed (and not so hushed) disagreements between her parents about how to handle Marjorie and what was really wrong with her. While the father ultimately won out (which fits into familial stereotypes), the Barrett parents do differ with regards to normal gender roles.
Society usually places the hysterics and illogical thoughts of possession onto women, while the “white coat” males of science come to the rescue. It is basically the opposite for the Barrett family. The mother scoffs at the fathers escape to religion and would much rather have her daughter see a psychiatrist. Creed’s article also mentions one part of The Exorcist that breaks away from the male/ female norms and also the norms of horror. While most of the tension in the movie tends to be related to a male/ female power struggle the one dynamic that breaks this mold according to Creed is the struggle between Regan and the entity who possess her. Creed makes an interesting argument that the devil inside Regan is in fact female. This is not what one would expect from an evil spirit possessing a young innocent girl.
Another interesting (somewhat unrelated) comparison between A Head Full of Ghosts and The Exorcist is the thought that the cause of possession could be related to parent-child relationships. Creed talks about how the problematic parts of Regan’s relationship with her mother are amplified in her possession.
“Mother’s swearing becomes Regan’s obscenities; Mother’s sexual frustrations become Regan’s lewd suggestions; Mother’s anger becomes Regan’s power” (pg. 39)
I think this could also translate to A Head Full of Ghosts. Without the families money issues and relationship problems Marjorie’s “possession” may have looked very different.