DREAMS DASHED BY DOLLS: CHUCKY, ANNABELLE, AND CURSED INHERITANCE
Paper co-written with Ethan Tussey, Georgia State University
Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference, March 2021
Heirlooms are freighted with the meanings and memories of each generation that inherits them. The sentimental, economic, and other values attached to heirlooms are unstable; the circumstances of stewardship always alter the meaning of heirlooms as each generation makes them their own. Using two case studies: the Conjuring/Annabelle cinematic universe and the Child’s Play franchise, this paper will explore inheritance as both a narrative theme and industrial process as these series have been passed among multiple stakeholders. It will demonstrate how inheritance and the meaning of an heirloom are dramatized in the Conjuring/Annabelle cinematic universe and compare it to the production circumstances of the series as it is passed down from its initial Hollywood filming location to the tax incentive safe harbor of Atlanta, Georgia. Likewise, the rhetoric of inheritance and legacy heavily shaped popular discourse surrounding the Child’s Play franchise in light of MGM’s 2019 reboot under new creative leadership, and the TV series with the original creative team from the 1988 film at its helm. This splitting in the franchise’s legacy is commonly discussed in terms of stewardship, care, and growth of the franchise’s intellectual properties—most notably, the doll character Chucky.
Drawing on work from media industries studies and scholarship on cinematic objects, the paper will trace parallels, between the inheritance of the cursed doll Annabelle in the film franchise and the self-reflection of the creative team as they transition to a new production culture. It will demonstrate how the act of inheritance is understood, represented and replicated in physical objects, such as the “Artifact Room” of the Annabelle nationwide promotional tour that preceded the release of Annabelle Comes Home. These artifacts’ circulation as part of the film’s promotion attest to the power of material objects to produce and sustain broader cultural anxieties, much like Chucky in the Child’s Play franchise passes down permutations of a recurring moral panic associated with children and technologized play. These two case studies, focused on dolls as prototypical heirlooms, suggest the role of inheritance as both a key theme and commercial practice in the ongoing lifespans of media franchises.