Zero Dark Thirty, Maya and the myth of the Calydonian Boar

Adkins, K. A. (2021) Zero Dark Thirty, Maya and the myth of the Calydonian Boar. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 19(3), pp. 311-329. (doi: 10.1080/17400309.2021.1949205)

Abstract

Zero Dark Thirty depicts its female protagonist as a leading strategic character in the fictionalised account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Yet, as this study argues, she is paradoxically framed in terms of her capacity to disrupt the status quo. Kathryn Bigelow’s Maya (Jessica Chastain) is often marginalised by the male-dominated culture within which she works. This is a recurrent theme in military/combat narratives, evident as far back as Ovid’s tale of the warrior woman Atalanta. Research challenges the idea that physical and psychological differences make women less fitted to active combat, yet Bigelow’s cinematography and staging establish a narrative that expresses a mythological fear and mistrust of women’s inclusion into the fraternal unit. In arguing that the fate of Maya represents a cultural template which extends back to ancient mythology, this study unpicks the ideological forces which inform Bigelow’s framing of her female protagonist.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Adkins, Dr Kirsten
• Authors: Adkins, K. A.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
• Journal Name: New Review of Film and Television Studies
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 1740-0309
• ISSN (Online): 1740-7923
• Published Online: 02 September 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
• First Published: First published in New Review of Film and Television Studies 19(3):311-329
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher