Cat People (1942): "Homo-Repressed Bird Explosion"

The idea of making a movie that’s both homoerotic and thrilling is hardly new, which is why we decided to throw it back to the ‘40s for our third installment of Homoerotic Thriller Pride. On the latest Spooky Tuesday, we’re talking about Cat People (1942), a subtly sapphic creature feature about Irena, a recent immigrant who fears her passions may come with dangerous consequences. Given that this flick was made under the Hays Code, there’s a lot it couldn’t show or even really hint it, but it’s been viewed through a queer lens for decades. This week, we’re pointing out parallels and pondering the past as we dabble in cinematic history.

References:

https://www.horrorhomeroom.com/cat-people-1942-coding-lesbianism-via-otherness/

https://wordpress.lehigh.edu/screams/2020/03/22/cat-people-1942/

https://screenqueens.wordpress.com/2019/06/27/cat-people-exploring-lesbianism-through-the-otherness/

https://unimelbfilmsoc.org/2022/11/30/a-retrospective-review-cat-people-1942-and-1982/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hays_Code