This
article discusses the way in which woman are presented in horror films and
notes how they are no longer always portrayed as the weaker sex that rely
on men to be saved but actually as the person who fights/defeats the main antagonist
and is able to protect and do what they need to in order to survive. The
article goes on to discuss the concept of the “final girl” character in horror
films, a term coined by Carol J Clover who was a feminist film theorist/critic. “A final girl character is the last
surviving female in the horror film who manages to kill the murderer on her own
or at least manages to escape successfully and hence, lives to tell the story.”
This type of character can also have something in common or share history
with the antagonist and are not sexualised like other female characters in
horror films but usually virgin like and not seen in particularly “girly”
clothes. According to the article, horror films can suggest, due to the
structure of promiscuous girls usually being killed first, that “engaging in sex would constitute death”.
Final girls are usually intelligent and carry a lack of sexual urges, Laura
Mulvey (another feminist film critic) believes, because these traits “desexualise”
women which is needed in order to make them appear equal to men and able to
defend themselves independently.
The
article also touches upon women sometimes being used as the main antagonist in
horror films (For instance, Carrie) and how that helped women to be seen as equal to men. For
example, Carrie was portrayed as powerful and full of rage therefore the
audience view her as strong. However, the article later on poses that horror
film could be suggesting that, in order for a female to be viewed as strong and
to gain power against “aggressors”, they have to act like men and they have to
be “pure”, hence why so many of these final girl characters are virgins.
Although the example of Sidney Prescott in Scream is highlighted, she loses her
virginity in the first film yet still acts as the final girl character in the
whole series which suggests that being pure and virgin like is no longer as vital
for the final girl. This would be referred to as a “reform final girl character”
– it does not stick to the traditional stereotype but allows the final girl to “need
not be masculine… they could embrace their femininity and yet have access to power
at the same time”.
However,
the article also uses examples such as Nancy Thompson from the Nightmare on Elm
Street series that suggest no change in women being looked as vulnerable in
horror films. Nancy Thompson was the final girl character for a portion of the
series but was eventually killed off whilst Alice Hardy, the final girl
in the Friday the 13th series, “descended into insanity” which
suggests that, in reality, women are still presented as the weaker, less able
sex in horror films as they eventually submit to the antagonist or the memories
left behind by the antagonist.
I think
this article is interesting because I've found that vulnerable female
characters with sexual connotations, despite the final girl character being
used often in horror films, are what people generally associate with women in
horror films and that, even if there is a final girl character present, there
is a female included that is made to look promiscuous in order to appeal to the
idea of the male gaze and also is usually not very intelligent and unable to
defend herself. I like the idea of the final girl as I think it portrays females
in a positive light however I do think it is right to evolve some traits of the
final character, such as the virginity one, to show that women can still behave
in a feminine manner and have power and be viewed as equal to men.
Phallic
appropriation: "Carol J. Clover argues women become masculinized in
horror films through "phallic appropriation", e.g taking up a weapon
such as a knife or a chainsaw against the killer.
