INCARCERATED, NOT DEFEATED: A STUDY OF POWER OF QUIET RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE IN THE MOVIE GIRL IN THE BASEMENT (2021)

Abstract

The paper investigates female resistance in the film Girl in the Basement, predominantly focusing on the protagonist, Sara, and her defiance against patriarchal abuse, and her confinement. By employing Johan Galtung’s Violence Triangle as a critical framework, the study examines how Sara endures direct, structural, and cultural violence. While the film presents harrowing depiction of violence, the study argues that Sara’s most powerful resistance is rooted in her motherhood. Sara reclaims her agency not just by managing an escape, but significantly by nurturing her children, educating them, and instilling a sense of self and agency in them. Motherhood becomes a mode of defiance that counters the dehumanization forced upon her. The analysis reveals that Sara’s endurance of psychological assault, positive nurturing of children and refusal to surrender are profound acts of defiance within a deeply violent structure of the society. Through analysis, the study reframes the narrative not as one of victimhood, but a testament to strength and subtle resistance of a woman, stripped of her agency.