The Evolution of 'the Other' in Hollywood Film An Analysis of Representation in Horror and Western Cinema

Dogan, Tobias Quaade ; El-Zein, Allan

4. term

English, Master

2026

2026-05-31

118

This thesis examines how westerns and horror films portray people marked as 'the Other'—groups defined as different from a dominant 'us'—with a focus on ethnicity, gender, and sexualisation. It analyzes four films: The Mummy (1932), The Mummy (1999), The Searchers (1956), and Dances with Wolves (1990). The study asks how these films both reinforce and challenge stereotypes, and finds that representation is shaped by contradictions and tensions rather than a single stable ideology. Stuart Hall’s chapter ‘The Spectacle of the ‘Other’’ provides the main framework, highlighting how meaning is built through binary oppositions, stereotyping, and simplification, and how films construct identities through an 'us versus them' logic. This lens is complemented by Edward Said’s Orientalism (how the West has depicted the East as exotic, dangerous, irrational, and inferior), Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit’s Occidentalism (stereotypes of the West as morally corrupt, lacking spirituality, and cut off from nature and humanity), and bell hooks’ ‘Eating the Other’ (turning difference into something to desire, consume, and romanticise, which still amounts to othering). Each film analysis considers whether the film leans toward Orientalist/othering portrayals or toward Occidentalist images; none fits neatly into one category, and their representational strategies are sometimes unstable. Across the four films, the study traces change from the 1930s to the 1990s. The pre-1960s films, The Mummy (1932) and The Searchers (1956), largely misrepresent 'the Other' through Orientalist tropes and through gendered and sexualised depictions. They reflect Hollywood’s tendency to oversimplify and stereotype Native Americans and Egyptians, and to frame women as underdeveloped characters dependent on male leads. By contrast, the post-classical films, Dances with Wolves (1990) and The Mummy (1999), make the constructed 'Other' more complex: they redistribute stereotypes while giving marginalised characters more perspective, agency, and narrative depth, thereby challenging some clichés while reaffirming others.

Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan western- og gyserfilm fremstiller personer som 'den Anden'—altså grupper, der markeres som forskellige fra et dominerende 'os'—med fokus på etnicitet, køn og seksualisering. Der analyseres fire film: The Mummy (1932), The Mummy (1999), The Searchers (1956) og Dances with Wolves (1990). Specialet spørger, hvordan filmene både forstærker og udfordrer stereotyper, og peger på, at repræsentation formes af spændinger og modsætninger snarere end af én stabil ideologi. Stuart Halls kapitel ‘The Spectacle of the ‘Other’’ er den primære ramme og viser, hvordan betydning skabes gennem binære modsætninger, stereotyper og forenkling, og hvordan film bygger identiteter op via en 'os versus dem'-logik. Dette suppleres af Edward Saids orientalisme (hvordan Vesten har fremstillet Østen som eksotisk, farlig, irrationel og underlegen), Ian Buruma og Avishai Margalits occidentalism (stereotyper af Vesten som moralsk korrupt, uden åndelighed og afkoblet fra natur og menneskelighed) samt bell hooks’ ‘Eating the Other’ (når forskel gøres til noget, der kan begæres, forbruges og romantiseres—stadig en form for othering). Hver filmanalyse vurderer, om filmen hælder mod orientaliserende/otherende eller mod occidentalistiske fremstillinger; ingen film passer entydigt i én kategori, og tilgangen er til tider ustabil. På tværs af de fire film spores en udvikling fra 1930’erne til 1990’erne. De før-1960 film, The Mummy (1932) og The Searchers (1956), misrepræsenterer i høj grad 'den Anden' gennem orientalistiske greb samt kønnede og seksualiserede skildringer. De afspejler Hollywoods tendens til at forenkle og stereotypisere indfødte amerikanere og egyptere og til at fremstille kvinder som tyndt tegnede karakterer, der er afhængige af mandlige figurer. Omvendt gør de post-klassiske film, Dances with Wolves (1990) og The Mummy (1999), den konstruerede 'Anden' mere kompleks: De omfordeler stereotyper og giver marginaliserede karakterer mere perspektiv, handlekraft og narrativ dybde, hvilket både udfordrer nogle klichéer og bekræfter andre.

[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]

the Other ; Representation ; the sexual Other ; Orientalism ; Occidentalism ; Western ; Horror ; Genre

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