Film Fatale: In Defence of Misery’s Annie Wilkes
Fan culture has been the backbone of media industries for centuries: After Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes in 1893 in The Strand, mass unsubscribing that almost made the magazine bust, furious letters, and men wearing all black mourning gear around London ensued. Doyle killed off Holmes because he disliked writing the stories as they distracted him and he wanted to direct his career in a more ‘serious’ direction, unfortunately for him the fans were rabid and he decided to resurrect the detective, probably fearing for his own life. Even before this, the first iterations of fan fiction were already in existence. In 1726, readers were writing their own additions to Gullivers Travels. Depraved fan art also ensued, like this one where they’re putting a cannon up his ass. Maybe we shouldn’t blame the dark sides of fan culture solely on the internet. Maybe it's in our blood.
Today, we would envision the super-fan in a more feminine angle. A teenage girl hunched over her laptop, typing furiously on Wattpad. She’s making the two guys from Supernatural kiss each other or creating a scenario where Harry Styles bursts through her front door, shouting ‘Oi love, your mums sold you and you’re coming with me’. We’ve come a long way since Gulliver's Travels, but one thing will always stand: fan culture doesn’t get a great wrap, even from the artists themselves. Interview with the Vampire author Anne Rice would send her fanfic writers threats from her lawyers, and, more recently, Doja Cat coming out as a proud hater of her fans.
___STEADY_PAYWALL___
Annie Wilkes - played by the incredible Kathy Bates - of Stephen King’s Misery is the ultimate fangirl, or fanwoman, as Annie is not a teenage girl screaming for her favourite band, but a fully grown divorcee living alone with a pet pig. Annie is obsessed with the Misery series by author Paul Sheldon, who conveniently crashes his car and breaks his legs just beside her secluded farmhouse. Annie takes it upon herself to mend Paul back to health, whilst keeping him hostage of course. Similar to the events of Sherlock Holmes in 1893, Annie is horrified to discover her beloved Misery is killed off in Paul’s brand new work. Hell ensues.
Annie is, of course, not a great person. She is very, very scary and depraved. But she gives us a perfect insight into the fangirl, even if it is horrific. Firstly, her outfits are impeccable: It’s peak 90s winter, a dainty crucifix placed neatly under the neck of her jumper, which is caressed by an oversized chunky cardigan. Her outfits are homely and cosy, everything the reclusive fangirl stands for. If Annie Wilkes were played by someone more fitting to the 90s beauty standard, such as Winona Ryder, she would be plastered all over Pinterest and be in endless fancams. It would be a full ‘Good For Her’ moment.
“Fangirls are often overlooked components of celebrity empires. Similar to when walking into a cathedral, when entering a concert hall, bookstore or cinema, we should remember the anonymous hands that did the dirty work in order to get said work onto this pedestal.”
Secondly, she’s hands on. Again, evil and depraved, but truly a proactive person, like most fangirls. Looking at the Archive of our Own website, a collection of over 12 million fanfictions, a glance of the usernames credited when scrolling gives a clear indicator: endless time has been spent by women dedicated to expanding the worlds they adore. Annie takes it too far, obviously, but the point stands nevertheless: The building blocks of pop culture are fangirls.
Author Paul Sheldon doesn’t seem like a bad guy, and he doesn’t deserve what happens to him, yet the film feels like a revenge to me. He’s embarrassed by the empire of Misery he’s created. He’s putting out books that, although extremely successful, are sold in gas stations and attract the likes of Annie Wilkes - lonely women who crave romance, passion, and touch. After being kidnapped by Annie, he’s playing out a sort of male author purgatory. A place where sell outs go after they die: forced to forever be in the floral bedroom and look into the eyes of their own creation - fawning women.
Fangirls are often overlooked components of celebrity empires. Similar to when walking into a cathedral, when entering a concert hall, bookstore or cinema, we should remember the anonymous hands that did the dirty work in order to get said work onto this pedestal. The blogs, fanfics, and, at times, the willingness to do anything for their fave. Paul is ungrateful for his success. He’s ashamed of his feminine, romantic works and people like Annie. He believes he’s above the genre, whilst all the same reaping the financial benefits.
Directly depicted during a phone call with sheriff Buster and Paul’s power suit wearing agent, Misery is a city vs. bumpkin story. A trope Stephen King loves to contemplate, such as The Shining with the Torrance family driving way out into nothingness; Pet Semetary with the idealistic middle class American family moving to a small town where the people are so twisted that they’re raising their pets from the dead; Salem's Lot with an author stumbling onto a town of vampires during a writing retreat. King is the master of showing how city folk cannot survive, physically or mentally, in the outback pockets of America. Although Paul pushes through and fights off his number one fan, he’s traumatised - seeing Annie in the face of passers by, clutching a knife in one hand and an autograph book in the other. That strange, reclusive woman will be in his mind forever.
Annie is just one example of the fangirl in horror and thriller. Der Fan (1982) directed by Eckhart Schmidt is an underrated example, following a woman who’s obsession for her favourite pop star turns bloody. Unlike Annie, Der Fan’s protagonist is cooler and younger, showing that it is not age or location which entices a crazed fan - celebrity culture is universal when it comes to luring in potential fan-to-killers. With the themes of parasocial relationships being a persistent point of interest in TV and film, Hollywood is casting its net over its own creations and turning it ugly. Ingrid Goes West (2017) is a perfect example of this - a more realist look on how these superfan situations would play out today. The modern equivalent of Annie Wilkes smashing Paul Sheldon’s ankles would be to drag up your faves questionable tweets from over a decade ago.
Words: Charlotte Amy Landrum