Monstrously Feminine: Orientalism Embodied in 2017’s The Mummy

Abstract

In 2017, Universal Studios released a new version of The Mummy. The rebooted tale of an ancient Egyptian mummy come to life featured a female villain for the first time. The decision to feature a woman in the role was pushed by the film’s producers, director, and stars as an innovative and groundbreaking change. Audience goers did not seem to agree. The film was not successful at the box office and the studio scuttled the Dark Universe slate of films that The Mummy was supposed to launch. Informed by scholarship on Orientalism, as well as literature on the idea of the monstrous feminine, this article examines the narratives of East and West produced by the film. It shows how the film, rather than being innovative, traffics in stereotype, helping perpetuate the ancient idea that the East is an other the West must fear and conquer.