Women in horror

[punkypinkpig]

Hello everyone.
I am doing research in to the representaion of women in horror film and it would be helpful if anyone could give me their opinions on this subject

Kimberley

[ItsAlive75]

Either they show their titties and die, or they're virgins and they live.

Suffrage!!!

[punkypinkpig]

lol yeh... life's a bitch if yr a woman in a horror film

[alkytrio666]

Women play a big role in a lot of films-

Check out Rosemary's Baby, The Evil Dead, The Exorcist, King Kong (1933 or 2005), Psycho, I Walked With a Zombie...

I mean, I could go on forever. Women have a lot of crucial roles, and I think they're just as important to a storyline.

[punkypinkpig]

yes but they are all still victims and in need of help - which mostly comes from a man

[filmmaker2]

I thought you wanted opinions...aren't you sort of polluting your own research if you give us yours?

[alkytrio666]

Originally posted by punkypinkpig
yes but they are all still victims and in need of help - which mostly comes from a man

I'm not sexist at all, but if a woman and a man were getting attacked by a seriel killer in real life, nine times out of ten the man would try to fight him off.

Think about it. It's how our society is.

Obviously you'd be the one time out of ten.

[The STE]

Evil Dead aside, the survivor is almost always female.

Although personally I think the whole "gender roles in horror" thing is way over-done

[punkypinkpig]

Originally posted by filmmaker2
I thought you wanted opinions...aren't you sort of polluting your own research if you give us yours?


just trying to give people something to agree or disagree with.

thanx for answering though... anything i can use for my research paper will be most helpful :)

[filmmaker2]

Oh. Well, I think women's roles in horror films have been changing drastically since the ERA. Take a look at some of the older films, even...Dawn of the Dead, Aliens (emerging feminism in horror films).

Now we're in Resident Evil and Tomb Raider territory (aggressive, ass-kicking, non-victim female main characters).

We've come a long way since 1931's Frankenstein (whimpering bride cowering in the corner).

[punkypinkpig]

yes i have noticed that it tends to be the recent slasher films where the woman is the heroine and the surviver.
But still they get themselves into situations of peril where a man has to rescue them.

I am also looking at the exorcist becuase many of the camera angles show the females as vulnerable character, especially the scene where the mother goes into the attic.

[The STE]

recent nothing, the survivor is almost invariably female (although nowadays they're lowering the bodycount so there's usually a bunch of survivors), and has been since Halloween at least

[Haunted]

Rolling Stone did a whole article on how Silence of the Lambs challenged the role of victim in dark/horror movies. The article suggested that the roles of Clarice Starling as the heroine and Catherine Martin as the rescued sort of princess role by another woman challenged those roles that put woman as victims or, Punky, as you said, women only suriving with the aid of a man.

You might be able to either find that issue, it's pretty damn old, on microfilm in a large city library.

I read it in middle school, and I'm now 28. I'm also the forum's token feminist.:D

[punkypinkpig]

Thanks Haunted, i will see if i can find it

[Tat2]

Women aren't always victims in horror and/or slasher films. For example;

High Tension
I spit on your grave
House of 1000 Corpses
The Devils Rejects
Underworld 1 & 2
Resident Evil 1 & 2
Flesh-eating Mothers

Women have came along way in horror based films, but even in the classic era there were still movies that displayed women as monsters and not just the victims. Consider the many vampire flicks (ie., Dracula's Daughters), Creature flicks (ie., The Wasp Woman, Lair of the White Worm), Slasher flicks (Friday the 13th.) and Zombie Flicks (Dawn of the Dead).

Women practically "own" a sub-genre of horror flicks known as "revenge" films (such as the forementioned I spit on your Grave).

All of the above is just off the top of my head, but if I put some thought into it or checked out my own collection, I'm sure that I would find hundreds of movies that the woman/women are most definately NOT the poor, screaming, running-up-the-stairs victim, but the "bad Guy".

[The STE]

Originally posted by Haunted
I'm also the forum's token feminist.:D

It is so weird that we get along...

[Haunted]

Originally posted by The STE
It is so weird that we get along...

That's because I'm not blinded by my own opinions. I mean, I have my ideals, but I learned early on in this forum that my ideals are simply that, my ideals.

I also understand that a lot of what many feminists see as anit feminism or anti woman are not. I don't necessarily believe in coincidence, but in something as mundane as a movie or book, I think that some of the female roles and characters just have things happen for the sake of the story and not necessarily because they're women.

For instance, I'll use an old stand by: Jason isn't killing the nude girl on the pier overlooking Crystal Lake because she's a girl. He's killing her because he's Jason, and he get's his jollies by killing people.

I maybe a righteous feminist, but I'm not stupid.

Plus, S, I know better than to pull that shit with you.;)

[MisterSadistro]

Go to Pretty-Scary.net (http://www.pretty-scary.net) . It's a horror site for women, by women, about women, etc.
CK

[filmmaker2]

And also--oh yes!--check out "They're Coming To Get You, Barbara," at

www.theyrecoming.com

GREAT horror site run by Barbara and Barbara.

[lovecraft]

Hey, lets not forget about Neve Campbell in Scream. She kicked some ass.

[punkypinkpig]

Thanks everyone, you are all great :)

[MisterSadistro]

Some of us are greater than others. Just be glad I'm modest, too :D
CK

[ItsAlive75]

Originally posted by MisterSadistro
Some of us are greater than others. JCK

Yeah dude, I am pretty great.