English 101 – Section 3914
Yvonne A. De La Cruz
2 March 2015
Table of Contents
Abstract…...…………………………………………………………….….. 2
Introduction………………………………………………………………… 3
Literature Review…………………………………………………………... 4
Results……………………………………………………………………… 5
Discussion………………………………………………………………….. 6
Works Cited…………………………………………………………..……. 7
Appendices – Contents…………………………………………………....... 8
Appendix A……………………………………………………….. 22
Appendix B……………………………………………………….. 23
Appendix C……………………………………………………….. 27
Appendix D……………………………………………………….. 28
Appendix E……………………………………………………….. 35
The Candyman: Behind the Man in the Mirror
Abstract
This research will explore the significance a myth, specifically the myth about the Candyman, has when compared to the history of America. The Candyman will be broken down so that one can understand the roots of the story. By doing so, one can infer how the myth was created. Readers attempting to comprehend the significance and the ties the myth and America has with one another, must have background knowledge on the author of story and the director of the movie, the events that took place in the Civil War time period, and an understanding of how racism and slavery evolved over the years.
This research will tie a variety of facts, from different sources, such as the History Channel, to help readers understand some of America’s dark past. These sources will relate into how the Candyman, originally a short story by Clive Barker, The Forbidden, transformed from a scary story to a warning tale with the plot revolving around racism.
The time period in which the movie was directed will also be explored to determine how the Candyman has evolved from a warning tale to, today, a reminder to all Americans of the horrors that took place on the land.
Through this research, readers will learn about the morals being taught through the myth of the Candyman. This story, that has been told worldwide, will be compared so that one can clearly see the importance places on racism in America.
Word Count: 241
Introduction
There are several tales that state of some monster that appears in the mirror after their name is chanted consecutive times. Most of these monsters appear with deformities, such as The Pinhead and Bloody Mary. Although these monsters, along with a few others, have similarities, the one that stands out is The Candyman. He, too, is summoned at a mirror by chanting his name five times and he shows up with a deformity, but his story goes deeper than just a scary bedtime story. All monsters have the possibility of representing a greater topic or moral. The Candyman is no different, he has a broader representation, which is the American horrors of the past. The Candyman is a reminder of what was occurring in the country not too long ago. These scary stories have evolved from a simple “boo” at the end, to a full historical ocean of possibilities. This is supported by an explanation made in the novel Monsters in America. Poole states, “The story of Candyman is the story of an American monster, born out of the terrors of the past. The film borrowed heavily from nineteenth-century gothic motifs, as well as from American anxieties over race, violence, and sexuality.”(53) Here, Poole helps readers understand how the Candyman evolved from a fictional character to a figure representing the realities of the great American country. Bernard Rose, the director of The Candyman, primarily used the American culture to create his monster. Through this culture, he was able to completely change the plot and point of the original story The Forbidden written by Clive Barker. Rose created a monster that could be looked at from different viewpoints. Candyman has the ability to be viewed as a warning tale, as a reminder to past, current and future generations of America’s past, and as a lesson to be learned from and not repeated. As a result, Candyman is studied
