The Flesh Turned Inside-Out: The Abjection of Interior Masculinity Made Visible in The Fly (1986) Anonymous College

David Cronenberg is known to be one of the pioneers of the body horror genre, which typically evokes horror through the grotesque transformation and transgression of the human body. In The Fly (1986), the grotesque transformation of Seth Brundle’s male body serves as the site of abjection. This essay would borrow on Kristeva’s conception of abjection as the threatened breakdown of meaning caused by the disintegration of borders between subject and object or between self and other, and Creed’s conception of male monstrosity, to discuss the borders broken down in the male body, and to contend that male monstrosity arises from the feminisation of the male body.

The Fly details the transformation of Seth Brundle into a hybrid fly-man, after an accidental fusion with a fly. His transformation is witnessed by his girlfriend and reporter Veronica Quaife, and her ex-boyfriend Stathis Borans. The transformation of Seth is marked by his increased exhibition of ‘fly-like’ characteristics. By the end of the film, Brundlefly attempts to fuse with Ronnie, but Stathis rescues Ronnie. Brundlefly is fused with the machine, and killed by Ronnie out of pity.

Barbara Creed draws on Kristeva in discussing abjection in relation to the male body....