The Showtime series Yellowjackets, built around the theme of women behaving unpredictably, owes a surprising creative debt to a Clint Eastwood film from the 1970s. The Clint Eastwood Yellowjackets inspiration centers on the psychological thriller The Beguiled (1971), which informed both the show’s tone and character dynamics.
How The Beguiled’s Premise Mirrors Yellowjackets
Although Clint Eastwood was primarily recognized for his work in Westerns, The Beguiled marked a tonal departure. In that film, Eastwood plays Union soldier John McBurney, who becomes wounded behind enemy lines during the Civil War. He is taken in by a group of young women at a Southern seminary, led by Geraldine Page as Miss Martha Farnsworth. Initially sheltered while he recovers from his injuries, John soon becomes embroiled in a tense dynamic, as his presence sparks obsession and rivalry among the women.
Tensions escalate as John McBurney exploits emotional vulnerabilities, causing jealousy and eventually violence within the group. His manipulation leads to catastrophic consequences after the women, under the guise of preventing gangrene, amputate his leg—a decision made by Miss Martha. This final act of brutality ultimately seals his fate and sharply illustrates a shift in power, setting the stage for thematic connections with Yellowjackets.
Female Characters and Power Shifts in Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets draws from various influences, but The Beguiled stands out due to its focus on female dynamics and social systems. While the series often nods to survival tales like Alive, its narrative incorporates the psychological edge of The Beguiled. One of the show’s key characters, Misty Quigley (played in her youth by Samantha Hanratty), exemplifies adaptability and unpredictable behavior as the group is thrust into survival mode after the soccer team crashes in the Canadian wilderness.
In Yellowjackets, similar to the scenario in The Beguiled, a few male figures are subject to shifting and sometimes perilous power structures orchestrated by the female protagonists. Steven Krueger’s Coach Ben is one such character. Despite being the only adult and an authority figure after their crash, Ben’s influence wanes rapidly, especially after he’s injured. Misty, whose motivations are ambiguous, performs an emergency amputation on Ben’s leg, echoing the fate that befell John McBurney in The Beguiled. The trauma marks the beginning of Ben’s ongoing struggles rather than the end.
Ben, distinguished from John McBurney by his isolation and different intentions, seeks only to return to civilization. However, Misty’s fixation complicates matters, especially as Ben asserts boundaries that go beyond romantic disinterest—rooted also in his sexuality and a deep discomfort with the disturbing lengths to which the girls might go to survive. Both narratives examine the volatility and complexity of female adolescence, demonstrating how the men who intersect with these groups are often left vulnerable and powerless.
Deeper Parallels and Interpretations
The psychological tension in both Yellowjackets and The Beguiled stems from themes of group vulnerability, shifting loyalties, and latent aggression. Characters like Misty and Coach Ben in Yellowjackets bear a strong resemblance to Martha Farnsworth and John McBurney, with their lives and fates upended by violent, emotional shifts within a female-dominated world. Geraldine Page’s performance as Martha mirrors the authority figures in Yellowjackets grappling with control and survival.
For those interested in exploring this cinematic influence, The Beguiled remains available for purchase or rental across digital platforms. Its impact on cultural conversations about gender, violence, and power continues, echoed in the ongoing twists within Yellowjackets’ plot and characters.
The links between Clint Eastwood, Samantha Hanratty’s Misty, Steven Krueger’s Coach Ben, and Geraldine Page’s Martha underline how powerful and multi-layered the dynamic of women behaving unpredictably can be when revisited in contemporary television. As Yellowjackets progresses, viewers can expect the show to further explore these themes of psychological intensity and moral uncertainty, following in the footsteps of its cinematic inspiration.
