Bloody Mary. [FINAL: film.]

Here it is on youtube.
Sorry I can't upload it directly onto the blog, blogger is giving me problems.

Problem Solving: Bloody Mary.

To approach my myth of the urban legend "Bloody Mary", I decided to make a film. I want to explore the ideas in the tale--young girls, dark mirrors, the chanting ritual, etc. while also exploring the 'coming of age' symbolism that has been observed within the legend, as written about by Alan Dundes. My film begins as footage of a cheesey, kitsch 1980s girls' slumber party, that turns into a romp into a world of dark mirrors, menstruation, and sexuality.

'Bloody Mary': Research.

To try and find some answers to the questions I posed about the Bloody Mary urban legend a few weeks ago, I've been doing some research. Here is what I found...

1.) Where did the name "Bloody Mary" originate?
It was hard to find an exact answer concerning the legend, as there are not many real scholarly sources on the tale. Most of the legend has developed through word-of-mouth and internet blogs, so that is where I ended up having to gain most of my information. An article on About.com describes the Bloody Mary spirit originally as a vain young girl named Mary Worth, who ended up being disfigured in some kind of horrible accident that caused her to be terrified of her reflection. Popular urban legend website Snopes.com describes the Bloody Mary story as either a witch who was executed hundreds of years ago, or a modern-day woman who was disfigured in a car accident (again, the theme of injury in some kind of accident). Snopes also goes on to explain that the name Mary may have been taken from historically infamous queens, such as Mary I of England and Mary Queen of Scotts, despite these two historical figures being far from murderous or having anything to do with blood. In the scholarly study of Bloody Mary by Alan Dundes, he asks children folklorists about the tale, and say they have heard reports of several variations of the Bloody Mary name, ranging from Bloody Mary, Mary Worth, Mary Jane, and Mary Whales. Though it is unsure of where exactly these names originated from, as each child that was interviewed from different areas had heard a different rendition of the tale.

2.) What are some of the most popular versions of the urban legend tale?
Many of legend variations being told around the internet either involve a vain young girl in love with her beauty being horribly disfigured in some kind of accident, usually a car crash. If not this, then the second most popular version is the story of a disturbed witch who dabbled in the black arts. These stories are not set in stone, however--there are many, many other versions of the legend that depend on the area on which it is told, the age of the children telling it, etc.


3.) What are some versions of the ritual used in the urban legend to summon Bloody Mary?
All variations of the tale involve a darkened mirror. How to actually 'summon' Bloody Mary depends on each variation of the story. Usually it involves some kind of chanting--saying the name "Bloody Mary" or "Mary Worth" a certain number of times, in a certain volume or tone. Sometimes it involves repeating phrases, such as "I believe in Mary Worth". It can even involve the movement of spinning in circles, the use of a candle, and even a drop of blood.


4.) How is Bloody Mary portrayed in pop culture?
Bloody Mary is a great mysterious and chilling tale that many films and movies have taken advantage of. TV show Supernatural based an episode off of the legend, while horror films such as Candyman and Bloody Mary have gotten inspiration from the legend in varying degrees. There is also the famous cocktail drink called 'Bloody Mary', but its debatable how relateable the drink and the legend are.

5.) Are there any other supernatural legends similar to that of Bloody Mary?
When various online research articles attempt to dissect the Bloody Mary urban legend, many of them come up with many cases of Victorian era 'spells', that involve young woman seeing their future spouses in a dark mirror, etc. There is also the Spanish legend of La Llorona, aka the "Weeping Woman", who is a disgruntled ghost who wanders the earth after killing her own children during her living days.

Seeking Shambhala and other art at the MFA.

The Seeking Shambhala exhibit at the MFA was very beautiful, but the two pieces that I connected with the most were 'Radioactive' by Gonkar Gyatso and 'The Mantra Waterfall' by Tadanori Yokoo. 'Radioactive' was a psychedelic collage piece on a cast-resin statue of Buddha. The stickers and magazine clippings are very modern and kitsch--even including the glittery bits representing the Chakras of the Buddha. It was an interesting mix of holy iconography and modern-day kitsch, which I love and try to put into my own art.
The second piece in the exhibit that really captivated me is Tadanori Yokoo's 'The Mantra Waterfall', which is a mix of art and technology. It involved small, animated tv-screens where the waterfall was, causing a psychodelic, animated effect throughout a colorful, traditional style Japanese paintings. The water patterns on the screen, over the 2-dimensional painted hills, drawing the viewer in and making them believe in a make-believe world behind the painting. In my own art, I love creating my own worlds, and I'd like to hope I could create the similar feelings I got from Yokoo's work with the art of my own creation.
In another part of the museum, I found a beautiful automaton titled 'Diana and the stag', who had been credited by Joachim Fries. It is an extremely ornate drinking vessel, made from silver and gold-gilded silver encrusted with jewels, featuring an ethereal angel figure riding a beautifully decorated stag, with hounds and forest animals at her feet. The entire piece is so wonderfully detailed and fairytale-like, it caught my eyes immediately. It made me want to write stories about the figures portrayed in the figure, which I find very inspiring. I hope this same sense of whimsy and fairytale-like nature comes through in my own work.

'Bloody Mary' film: 8 images from the progress.

Su-En Wong.

Su-En Wong is a Singapore artist, born in 1973 and now living in New York City. For years, she was a recital pianist, for which she moved to the US to tour with her music. Stage fright kept her from performing, and she ended up an artist instead. Her pieces are mainly done in colored pencil on acrylic backgrounds, and occasionally in graphite on paper. Her pieces play with stereotypes, sexuality, and maturity. Su-En Wong gets her inspiration from her own personal experiences and emotions, and plays with the ideas and feelings associated with a young girl growing up into a woman. Her drawings create a sense of time through her repeated characters--each piece represents a girl or woman at a different age, while playing with whirlwind of emotions and attitudes with each one.

5 Questions about Bloody Mary.

1.) Where did the name 'Bloody Mary' originate?
2.) What are some of the most popular versions of the urban legend tale?
3.) What are some versions of the ritual used in the urban legend to summon Bloody Mary?
4.) How is Bloody Mary portrayed in pop culture?
5.) Are there any other supernatural legends similar to that of Bloody Mary?