For years, the role of women has changed significantly, both in the narrative and reality. It is well known that representation is a version of reality and this essay will try to show how the narrative is a reflection of how women have become more dominant in reality. I have spent time researching how certain characters have been portrayed, especially putting focus on the “final girl” theory and applying it to several texts which are based on having a “final girl” character, which is evident in many horror texts.
In order for something to be represented, it needs a setting. Horror films are usually set in large cities, small communities and often run down ghost towns. Such places are used because they have connotations to being alone and isolated which the audience can relate to and feel the same fear as the character. Many high angles are used which connote fear and nightmares. It also gives the impression that there is something superior to us humans and that plays on the fear of the unknown that we have. Often point of view shots are used in order to suggest that someone is watching, in turn creating enigma codes. Low and un-natural lighting is always used to show represent the “monster” being un-natural and which also makes the audience fear what is in the dark shadows of the film. The use of dark colours like red and black are significant for a number of reasons. Red is a symbol of blood, passion and anger and black, a colour of death and sin. The connotations are hegemonic and examples of dominant ideology. We already have pre-judged what the colours mean and assuming them to be negative but on Valentine’s Day however, red has a different connotation. When analysing different texts, it became clear that the same character types are often used, for example, werewolves, ghosts, zombies and vampires. All of which have not been proven to be real and therefore always associated with the unknown which is what separated the narrative from reality.
Another code and convention of horror, is the use of blood and gore. This is called abject theory. It can be defined as something shocking to an audience and is usually a social taboo. However, unlike hypodermic needle, this theory can be applied to any text that has something so shocking that it can cause the audience to feel sick or evoke so much emotion that the audience feel as though they have to look away from that specific text. Good examples of this theory are the “Saw” films. They use gore as a tactic to entice an audience. Most of us would no see these types of gory images in real life and therefore we would watch them in a film. The main reason for the use of gore is that the horror genre can evoke a different type of emotion than other genres and the creators of “Saw” have used that to their full advantage. Many viewers can not even watch this film due to its disturbing images.
An appropriate question to ask would be, why do people want to watch something that will scare them? The uses and gratifications theory explains why people would watch a film and that all media texts are created to fulfil a purpose. Firstly, surveillance is the need people have to know what is happening around them. If the audience saw in a film that someone had been chased in a murder attempt, the audience would understand this and relate to this by copying the same actions if it happened to them. The audience seeks out characteristics in a certain character and applies those characteristics to them as they identify with a specific character. When a character is brave, the audience personally identify with that character and adopt the same trait. An audience would watch a horror movie for social aspects, whether it would be going to the cinema or staying at home with friends. It gives the opportunity to start a conversation about the scariness of a film or discuss scenes of the film that they preferred or opposed. In addition, the most important reason for the consumption of media is escapism where the viewer has the opportunity to escape everyday life by putting themselves in the place of the characters, therefore allowing the audience to forget any work stresses or personal problems. Unlike other films, like comedy which makes an audience laugh, drama and romance evoke sad emotions and action movies are great for adrenaline pumping, horror is the only genre that can combine all these codes and conventions into one film. The biggest reason for horror to be so popular is the complete escape from reality for an hour and a half while the film is playing due to watching a series of scenarios that are not physically possible. Most of us, in our day to day lives would not encounter a ghost, come face to face with a serial killer or witness a 50,000 year old mummy come back to life. However, thanks to the horror genre, we can witness this from the comfort of our own home or the cinema. The reason we enjoy this genre so much is because we can experience all of our natural fears in safety. As an audience, we want to be scared. We are constantly waiting for a monster to jump out and take our breath away. Unlike other genres, we leave the theatre remembering everything that has happened in the film and it plays on our mind. They say that memories can “haunt” which is a word with extreme connotations to the horror genre.
Stereotypes are commonly used in every media text. It enables the audience to instantly identify the characteristics and traits of a character by making a prejudgement based on a characters way of life, the clothes that they wear and the way that they act. Stereotypes are exaggerated representations of people or places in reality, for example, the “dumb blonde” who is beautiful yet incredibly stupid. We can easily identify highly stereotyped characters by appearance. For example, if you saw a character with glasses and reading a book you instantly think of the character being a geek. If I were to add that the same character had several piercings and pink hair you would think of them being an “emo” type character. According to Propp’s character theory, the characters are very clear. Michelle and Shelley are victims and are killed within the first 20 minutes of the film. Shelley is the dumb blonde character, who is killed first. The blonde hair is significant as it shows how that they are unintelligent and therefore killed off easily. The detective is the helper to the hero and final girl Beth. There is no clear villain in this film and other horrors which have final girl theory. It is important that the villain is not revealed until the end otherwise too many action codes would be given too soon and there would be no need for the narrative to develop and keep the audience guessing who the villain is.
Some media institutions attempt to challenge stereotypes which enabled the narrative plot to have a twist. The villain is a challenged stereotype in horror because the villain is unknown yet, having said that, the villain can also be stereotyped as being an unknown character. In comparison with other film genres, women are stronger and seem more superior especially over men. In most recent horror films, the main character has been a woman and the helper (according to Propp’s theory) is a man. Take for example the film “The Unborn”, Casey is the hero and the helper is her boyfriend, Mark. In other cases, the villain is often a girl too like in “One Missed Call”. It seems that with changing times regarding women’s rights that women’s rights in narrative are also changing. We no longer have the binary between male and female who have always battled against each other in the past, but now females against other females, showing the evolution of society.
Feminist theory is another theory which is greatly linked to the horror genre. It is applied by an audience in order to clearly define gender inequality in all media products. It is often used to show the objectification of women, often sexual exploitation or discrimination. In connection with the horror genre, men and women are clearly defined. Women are often portrayed as the more dominant characters. In each text we look at, it is the female who out lives the rest of the characters and overcomes all of the obstacles. In the film, “We are in the Night”, the vampires are women who we see kill men with ease. This shows the power that females can have against men. This theory is also linked with the male gaze theory which outlines the sexual way in which men look at women purely based on appearance. In the film, the vampire women are extremely alluring. This helps them set a man as a target as the men cannot deny their attractiveness. This is something that has been seen throughout history from media texts to the arachnids where the black widow entices her prey and then kills it.
According to Clover’s final girl theory, the final girl is the protagonist that survives until the end of the film, where she confronts the monster and either defeats the monster of becomes the monster. The final girl theory complies with a set of codes and conventions. Usually, the final girl has a unisex name like Billie or Georgie. She appears to be very innocent and virginal and stays away from drug use and sex which is binary to the connotations of men. Her innocence is childlike which in many horrors children appear as the innocent’s in order for their innocence to be binary to sin which is often associated with the horror genre. The final girl is an “investigating consciousness” as she moves the narrative forward. She is a challenge to the stereotype of women because she acts with bravery and intelligence, which historically was never encouraged by men. Clover says that the final girl becomes more and more masculinized throughout the film as she chooses a weapon with phallic connotations like a chainsaw or a knife. This disproves that the female characters are superior to men because in order to defeat the monster, the final girl must use something which connotes men. This suggests that men are in fact the superiors. It seems that in order for a film to be successful, the main character must be female for the male audience to empathise with as it is predominantly has a larger male demographic because they would not empathise with a male character in the same way. This is usually associated with male voyeurism and their need to feel superior to a woman who is in need, therefore by watching this, they would be pleased knowing that if they were in the film, they would be able to help. The final girl is a less relatable character to men as she is to women even though she would appeal more to men.
Before the introduction of television and moving image, Horror existed only as myth and legend and often in the form of ghosts, vampires and monsters. After moving picture was introduced, Horror took on a huge role in entertainment, much more than any other genre at the time. As a generation who has grown up with this genre, we can clearly see the changes in not only the genre but in modern society. As modern values evolved, so did television. Since the very first films in the silent era, women have become more and more equal to men. In my opinion, the horror genre gives a voice to all women and even though they may not be represented in a positive way, they are still able to be more dominant than males.
The Horror Closet 