“Women have always been the main focus of threat and assault in the horror film.” Robin Wood.
The way that women are portrayed and shown with the genre of horror can be questioned in many different ways. Critic, Robin Wood, states that when threat and assault is seen within a horror film, that threat and assault is aimed towards the female gender. Wood stated this in the chapter “The American Nightmare” from his book “Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan” (Wood, 1987). He is stating that women are characterised in one particular way and the characterisation is one that depicts females and represents them in a non-positive light.
The genre of horror includes a range of conventions that allows its audience to identify it easily as that genre. Conventions such as low lighting, sudden jump sounds and close up camera shots can be recognised within a horror film. Looking specifically at the slasher- horror genre the conventions included can be seen through the characters. One specific character is the killer within the film, often of the male gender. The killer is of human form, not supernatural, and has usually suffered some trauma from their past in order to make them into a killer. Another character in the slasher genre is the final girl. This female character will encounter the killer the most throughout the film and will be its only survivor. It is common for the killer and final girl to be of the opposite sex.
This character convention is then linked to the final girl theory created by Carol Clover and speaks largely about this theory in her book “Men, Women and Chain saws: Gender and the modern Horror Film” (1992). The theory focuses on one particular female that will be placed within the storyline and “she is the one who encounters the mutilated bodies of her friends and perceives the full extent of the preceding horror and of her own peril; who is chased, cornered, wounded; whom we see scream, stagger, fall, rise and scream again” (Clover, 1992). This therefore links back to Wood’s quotation on the horror genre as is it someone of the female gender who is being afflicted of violence. Wood also states that the age group of the slasher genre, another main convention, is important in the selection of the victims. According to Wood, “teenagers are punished for their promiscuity” (Wood, 1987) which causes the selection of the younger generation, however he also states, “women are punished for being women” (Wood, 1987), showing the female gender are still the main focus of threat and assault.
Carol Clover coined up the final girl theory in 1992, during the release date period of slasher- horror films such as Candyman (1992) and Zipperface (1992). Her theory can be applied in almost all of the horror genre, however more specifically in the slasher horror genre which she states in “Men, Women and Chain saws: Gender and the modern Horror Film” (Clover, 1992). The final girl “alone looks death in the face, but she alone finds the strength either to stay the killer long enough to be rescued (ending A) or to kill him herself (ending B)” (Clover, 1992). Clover is stating that the final girl can either run and scream from the killer character or find the courage to kill herself without having to rely on being rescued from the gender of a male. Linking back to Wood’s quotation about promiscuity (Wood, 1987), the final girl is different from this as she is visual, the ‘virgin’ of the group, causing the speculation of the reason behind the final girl surviving is because she has remained ‘pure’.
Due to this, she appears to be presented as an ‘ordinary woman’ who the audience can relate to, with her characteristics allowing her not to rely on a man. These characteristics have caused controversy, however, as there is concern the character is ambivalently gendered, and therefore is neither fully female or male. This backed up by the final girl theory itself, as “the girl has masculine aspects” (Clover, 1992) about her, holding a unisex name such as Jamie, Terry, Stevie and Billie etc. The descriptive words of independent, intelligent and mature are used to describe the final girl, linking her to having male attributes. “The final girl is boyish, in a word. Just as the killer is not fully masculine, she is not fully feminine – not, in any case, feminine in the ways of her friends. Her smartness, gravity, competence in mechanical and other practical matters, and sexual reluctance set her apart from the other girls and ally her, ironically, with the very boys she fears or rejects, not to speak of the killer himself.” (Clover, 1992) This, in me, however, causes the question of why these characteristics are linked to the male gender only and not seen in a normal female representation? I do not see that as an issue within just the film world, however an issue with the whole of society still being dominated by men.
This has changed the sexualisation of females in some way as the female is now not always seen as the victim but the survivor, even if it is only one female out of the film and not all. This is true in the mind of Clover; however, it does still prove Robin Wood’s quotation of the female gender being the main focus of violence (Wood, 1987) as she is now the one who experiences all of it, in order to survive, and there is worry that this could become too predictable within the story line and the audience will end up having no interest (Laird, 2017).
Sigmund Freud, although not a film theorist, created theories that can be used to help validate Robin Wood’s thoughts on violence towards the female gender. Freud created the theory of psychoanalysis and cognitive psychology which can be used amongst the horror genre and show how slasher horror films can affect the audience and the way they see certain characters (Ackley, McCready, Wendler, 2015) . “Analysis of film content assumes two levels of meaning, one of which is manifest and one of which is hidden. The last carries the “real” meaning for the mass audience. This audience is presumed to intuit or in some manner become aware of the motifs in the film which satisfy and express its hidden needs. This seems to mean that the “unconscious” intuitions of the makers of films communicate to the “unconscious” minds of the mass audience” (Freud, 1925).
When talking about the unconscious mind, Freud can link this to the castration anxiety theory he created as one of his earliest theories (Schwartz, 1955). The theory comes to the conclusion that the male unconscious has a fear of its genitalia being damaged or put under violence in any way. The male gender within slasher horror films are not exposed to the same violence as the female gender because of this exact unconscious Freudian fear. If we look back to Robin Wood’s idea of promiscuity, again, then we can create a link between the two. Teenagers are discriminated because of their sexual actions and therefore their deaths are violently linked to their private areas (Wood, 1987). These violent deaths, around the genitalia area, are shown clearly from female characters, however hidden when the character becomes a male. The audience of the film still understand that a male character is going through the same violent as the female, however different cinematic techniques are used to show this for the male. The use of sound is the main technique that will take over from the camera in order to give the same effect for the audience.
The threat and assault that is depicted against women in slasher horror, according to Sigmund Freud, also has sexual undertones hidden inside the act (Hein, 2006). During a seminar paper written by Caroline Hein, she states that fetish objects are occasionally used by the killer against females within the film. Objects such as whips, tights and handcuffs are used for the prospect of violence and not thrill, which cause pleasure for the male audience in seeing these objects used against the female gender. Freud uses these objects, that appear to have more than one purpose, as an explanation as to why women are the main focus of threat and assault (Hein, 2006). These objects do not have to be just sexual but can simply be seen as typically female as a way to show the difference of gender. Freud’s work is mentioned within the book “Sexuality in the field of vision” (Rose, 1986).
Looking at the threat and assault in slasher horror films from a visual pleasure point of view, is Laura Mulvey. Laura Mulvey is a British, feminist film theorist who created the film theory of ‘the male gaze’. The male gaze is the “act of depicting the world and women in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine and heterosexual point of view, which present women as objects of male pleasure” (Eaton, 2008). In Caroline Hein’s seminar paper, she accuses mainstream film of satisfying the male spectator by projecting desires on screen.
“The woman is usually displayed on two different levels: as an erotic object, both for the characters within the film and for the spectator who is watching the film. The man emerges as the dominant power within the created film fantasy. The woman is passive to the active gaze from the man” (Mulvey, 2009). This can be linked to slasher horror, as the film- fantasy for the killer is to murder the final girl and it is him who has the dominant power throughout until the very end of the storyline. All female characters can fit into the passive category, as their deaths, in Mulvey’s mind, are sexualised for the pleasure of the killer as well as the pleasure of the male spectator who will be gaining scopophilia (Mulvey, 2009).
Mulvey’s views, have been influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud, and follows in his theories, linking the idea of sexuality and genitalia being a large influence in the film world. However, Mulvey takes this idea, and using the genre of slasher horror, depicts it’s the sexual desire that causes the female gender to be the main focus of threat and assault. In her book, “Visual and other pleasures” (Mulvey, 2009) which is made up of a section of her well- known essays, she states that women’s bodies are purposely lingered upon with the camera in order for men to enjoy what they are seeing for just that little bit longer. This can be seen in instances of the final girl. The final girl goes through a journey throughout the storyline (Clover, 1992), growing in confidence and allowing her body to be put under more strain and stress and be more on shown as the journey grows. The female gender simply gets more camera time on screen in order to show off her features and if that means a woman is stripped and violently beaten to death in order to see her private areas then that is how it will be shown. Due to females not have a phallus, and therefore no castration anxiety (Mulvey, 1989), females can be cut and beaten and have violent acts placed upon their private areas and it will still provide scopophilia for men.
Looking at examples of slasher horror films, shows that the theories from Clover, Freud and Mulvey are all seen throughout the storylines. Psycho (1960), is questioned to be one of the first slasher horror films to exist. The film shows the beginning of the final girl theory, with character Leila being the girl that survives from the killer. Looking at the female characters within the film, it appears that the theory of the final girl is split into two characters instead one of, however as the genre develops this condenses into one female role. The first female death of the film, can be argued to follow in Freud and Mulvey’s point of views due to it being within the shower. Her body was naked, therefore being appealing to the killer as well as the audience knowing her private areas are not covered. The psychological background of the film, links to Freud’s psychoanalysis as sex is what afflicts the killer to be the way he is (Tudor, 1989).
Scream (1996), is “an example of the thriving sub-genre” (Tudor, 1989) and a better example of how the final girl theory has come into focus. The character of Sidney, is seen as the final girl throughout the film. She follows Clover’s attributes of what makes a final girl, due to her non-specific gender name and what she has to witness of people around her being murdered. Her boyfriend, Billy, is attacked and murdered after having sex, proving Robin Wood’s idea of teenagers being targeted for their sexual acts. His murder is also not fully shown on screen, and as stated by Laura Mulvey (2009), it is only female bodies that are depicted and sexualised in film.
In 1978, Halloween (1978) was released and has been named as “one of the most important horror movies of the modern genre” (Tudor, 1989). This film once again, includes a final girl who holds a neither male of female specific name, of Laurie, and who is the only one of her age group who has appeared to survive from the killer. She also is pure and does not have any sexual experiences throughout the film. Her friends however, are violently murdered after having sexual intercourse, however the male characters are quickly and simply stabbed with a violent manly weapon with no concentration on their phallus. A female character’s murder is rather different and involves the female being sexual, proving Mulvey’s theory (Mulvey, 2009), and instead of a violent weapon being used, following Freud’s view (Rose, 1986), a telephone cord is used to strangle her. Later on, a set of knitting needles are used in defence, to distinguish that it is a female ‘weapon’, however due to this girl being the final girl and her masculine traits, she is allowed to also use a knife in order to save herself from the killer.
Robin Wood’s words of the how women are shown and represented within the horror genre and specifically how they are the main focus within the genre of violence is justified through what can be seen within films. Using the specified sub- genre of slasher horror and three largely advocated theories/theorists, the way that females are represented has been concluded to be not just one specific representation. The final girl representation, shows that the male gender is still shown to be superior, as in order to survive she has to become masculine in her characteristics. The representation of the female gender that relies on a male due to their fears. A woman has to be depicted of violence simply because the male gender doesn’t want to see it happen to them and would rather see it happen to the opposite sex. And finally, the sexual representation of females that is there to provide scopophilia for the male spectator of the film. All these female representations conclude back to men. Men who make the decisions, who are still in charge of the film world and society in general.
Reference list/ Bibliography:
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