Goddesses in various myths and female character archetypes in cinema both represent the archetypal feminine in human's mind. The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the characteristics of the goddesses in hindu tantrism and the seductress characters in the classical Hollywood cinema.
In hindu tantrism, the female principle is called Shakti which creates, maintains and destroys the world. Many goddesses in hindu tantric myths are manifestations of Shakti. The feature of hindu tantric goddesses is diverse in appearance, personality, social status, etc. Particularly, goddesses of Dasha Mahavidyas are described as wild, independent and erotic character. Such primitive characteristics are usually found in the ancient Great Mother which reveals various aspects of the female principle.
Seductress character is one of the major female character archetypes in the movies. It represents the mysterious, sensual, chaotic image of women. In the classical Hollywood cinema, seductress characters are usually described as cunning or evil woman like 'vamp', 'femme fatale'. But in contemporary movies, such tendency is reduced. Around the 2000s, there are attempts to portray the seductress character as an empowering, inspirational woman.
Hindu tantric goddesses and seductress characters are both described as outsiders that stand beyond the boundary of the society and conventions. Commonly, hindu tantric goddesses and the seductress character's settings are strangers, wanderers or outcaste. This kind of setting is appropriate to make someone [tantrika or the main character] isolate from the community. By detached from the ordinary life, tantrika and the main character can start a journey to the unknown land.
Another similarity between hindu tantric goddesses and seductress characters is the sensuality and the physical beauty. Among the Mahavidya goddesses, Tripurasundari and Bhuvanesvari particularly considered as the manifestation of the universal beauty itself. Moreover, in the iconography of Chinnamasta and Kubjika, the description of intercourse is clearly expressed. In the description of seductress characters, the physical beauty and the sexual love are important qualities as well. In the classical Hollywood cinema, the erotic feature of the seductress character is often emphasized by the comparison with the ordinary female character which is virtuous and innocent.
In hindu tantrism, Eros represented by the love of Shiva and Shakti symbolizes the conjunction of the opposites, the ultimate unity. Same principle can applied to the relationship of the seductress character and her partner also, but in a limited way. The love or connection with the seductress character becomes the medium for experiencing the unity temporarily.
As a symbol of archetypal feminine, hindu tantric goddesses include all contradictions and the duality. Every individual goddess is a manifestation of one Great Goddess, Maha Devi. In hindu tantric concept, the creation and the destruction, birth and death are equally divine. Fearful goddesses such as Kali, Bhairavi represent Tamas guna, the destructive aspect of being, but simultaneously they are regarded as the benevolent Mother. However, archetypal feminine is divided into good and evil excessively in the Hollywood movies. Such tendency appears clearly in the works of the classical era. But as the women's right and social status extended, there is an interesting shift in the description of seductress characters. In several movies around the 2000s, the woman who has seductress's qualities becomes a main character and portrayed as someone vitalizes the community or other people.
As Federico Fellini said, the cinema uses the language of dreams. Mythological narrative and characters are the archetypal image of the collective unconscious. Images presented in the cinema do not deviate from this category. The seductress character is far from the ordinariness, but a very popular female character archetype described in numerous movies throughout the film history. Until now, the femininity of this character has been expressed in a reduced, distorted way in the male oriented narrative. But from now on, it is supposed various films will be produced which describe the seductress character's feminine quality in a complete way. Hindu tantric goddesses can be a proper clue to a female character not only strong, independent but also feminine which is absent in our modern society and culture.