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| Sumber: Doc |
Set in a bleak winter of the early 1990s, a bewildering case of a serial killer has been left unanswered for decades, and due to her unique gift—an occult sixth sense—newcomer Special FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to solve it. Over the past thirty years, ten households in Oregon have been murdered, each one following a chillingly similar pattern: the father kills his family, in which all of them have nine-year-old daughters born on the 14th of any month, before taking his own life. Additionally, at every single crime scene, a strange letter written in indecipherable codes is always present. However, these letters are not written by anyone in or connected to the family in any way, but a name is signed in each of them; “Longlegs”. With no physical trace of Longlegs, Agent Lee Harker is left to decipher these codes and uncover the source of this iniquity before it imminently strikes again. As the events unfold, Harker discovers that Longlegs is a Satanist who influences fathers into slaughtering their families, but especially their daughters. Being the proxy of the Devil himself, Longlegs does this for a reason; he has formed an alliance with Satan, which compels him to move onwards with his ‘killing sprees’ that are seen as sacrifices because he believes every soul he takes will secure him favor in the afterlife. But his hands are clean—the FBI struggled to find traces of him and to solve this case because he never was physically there. Instead, he kills through his accomplice Ruth Harker, Lee’s mother.
It is revealed that Longlegs approached Lee when she was a child, attempting to give her a doll. It is, in fact, these dolls that are the catalyst for the fates of all his victims. Each doll resembled a little girl, much like the victim's appearance, and included an orb in its head. While these orbs were physically empty, they had the power to manipulate the families who received them, casting them into an incoherent trance. This, then, drives the fathers into killing their daughters. Enraged over Lee’s refusal of the doll, Longlegs attacks Ruth, but spares her; he intends to use Ruth as an accomplice in carrying out his acts, and she agrees for the sake of Lee’s life.
Based on this overview and other significant occurrences throughout the movie, Longlegs provides interesting narratives that can be dissected through a feminist lens, particularly concerning patriarchy. These patriarchal values can be analyzed through various aspects of the movie, specifically symbolism, which will be examined in this analysis. The first and most prominent symbol is the notion of a household, particularly compromising the father, wife, and daughter. According to Morgan (1985), the home is the site for the creation, reproduction, and maintenance of patriarchal relations. Within the patriarchal household, the father or eldest male controls the family, and as the one in power, he is in charge of all aspects. The women of the family, on the other hand, are subordinate; Tyson (2006) states that these patriarchal cultures have justified excluding women from equal access to leadership and decision-making in the family. This could then lead to the abuse of power, which can be seen in the role of a father in Longlegs.
Although Longlegs’s ultimate victims are the daughters, he exploits the traditional patriarchal family structure, where the father holds the highest position of authority, by using them as instruments to carry out the murders. While still acknowledging the father’s power and function as a protector, Longlegs twists this role by weaponizing the fathers against their own daughters. Thus, as heads of their households, these fathers ultimately hold control over their daughters’ fates, with the vulnerable daughters having no way to defend themselves from the figure meant to protect them. Overall, the symbolism of fathers plays a significant role in this movie, but the theme of a father figure’s authority extends beyond those manipulated by Longlegs. A broader view of patriarchy emerges when viewing the role of Satan, who, in Longlegs’ eyes, embodies the ultimate authority and control, making the Devil his father figure. This then suggests a larger hierarchical structure, where Satan is the father, Longlegs is his son or servant, and the doomed fathers are their instruments. In a patriarchal family, sons are expected to reproduce their father’s position of authority (Guenther, 2000), which is reflected in Longlegs’s devotion to evil, attempting to both imitate and satisfy the Devil. In this way, Longlegs not only mirrors the patriarchal heritage of authority but also elevates it to a sinister level, showcasing how the cycle of male dominance can manifest in violence.
This leads to the daughters as symbols of innocence. Innocence is not cultivated through self-discipline, sustained effort, or giftedness, but it is rather an empty trait that is valued precisely as a deficit of experience, as if experience itself were corrosive of virtue (Faulkner, 2013). In other words, life experiences, and even the growth of an individual, might taint one’s purity, suggesting that the more they are exposed to the complexities of life, the less virtuous they become. Innocence is especially imposed upon children as it is often considered important for their safety, however, society tends to romanticize the sense of innocence in girls. For instance, in the movie, Ruby says: “Dad says he wants to keep some of my old stuff around so I don’t grow up too fast, but I’m going to grow up anyway”. This sentiment aligns with the fate of the daughters in Longlegs, who are killed just days before or after their birthdays. This pattern suggests that daughters are not allowed to grow up; once a girl enters womanhood, she is often seen as tainted as she has lost her innocence, and according to Welter (1966), a woman should be pure in order for her life to have meaning. Girls who are “impure” are thus seen as improper and less valuable to society, more so to their fathers.
Given the father’s authority and dominance, and given the inferiority of women within the patriarchy, daughters are often controlled by male figures to maintain their innocence, preserving their value in society. However, as a girl matures, she begins to develop autonomy and independence, which challenges the dominance of these male figures. This shift is often feared within patriarchal structures, as a girl’s transition from innocence to sovereignty threatens the power dynamics that keep her inferior. For instance, the loss of power often causes men to react negatively, and they will try to regain their power through violence (Babcock et al, 1993). This dynamic presumably explains why Longlegs targets young daughters; they are pure, naive, and simple, therefore easy to manipulate and eradicate.
On the other hand, the symbolism behind the dolls is rather more complex. Physically, dolls often symbolize the innocence and safety of childhood, especially considering how these dolls closely resemble the daughters. However, dolls are rigid, silent, and unmoving, perhaps suggesting that this is how the ideal daughter should be; passive and obedient. However, while they embody innocence, Longlegs had placed orbs in these dolls’ heads that put the family, particularly the father, in a trance, compelling him to kill his daughter. This highlights the doll's contrasting nature, where a sweet, innocent exterior conceals an underlying evil. Therefore, these orbs could symbolize a corrupting force that pushes the fathers into acts of violence. For instance, upon examining one of Longlegs’s murders, Agent Lee says: “According to physical evidence, (Longlegs) never is (inside the house). If it weren’tfor the letters he left behind, it’s almost like he was never there at all.” Longlegs, the physical embodiment of evil, is never present, he does not kill in person. Rather, it is the orbs that enter the households and deteriorate their minds, resulting in murders that happen because of the male figures within the household. This supports the narrative that these orbs could be the manifestation of corruption and flawed patriarchal beliefs, twisting the initial protective fathers into something destructive.
In conclusion, the symbolism in Longlegs can be analyzed to uncover patriarchal dynamics and the dark presence of authority within traditional family structures. The film reveals how patriarchal expectations shape the roles of fathers and daughters, showing how, with a single wrong push, male authority can be exploited to devastating ends. In this movie, fathers, the primary figures of control in these families, are manipulated by Longlegs to turn against the daughters, meanwhile, the daughters embody innocence, a trait idealized by society but also weaponized in the story. Their purity and lack of agency make them vulnerable within a system that demands their obedience and values them only while they remain "untarnished."
