women in slasher movie

[x_karen_x]

hello.. i am undertaking a critical reseach for my A level media study with a topic of women in horror movie.
t would like to ask what do you think about the representation of women in slasher movie?
Do you think they have changed from the late 70s(such as halloween ) to now(any from the mid 90s until now such as scream)?Why?
thank youx.x.x.:)

[Yellow Jacket]

Critics have always viewed slasher movies as sexist against women, portraying them as defenseless and weak. But, I beg to differ. Watch any slasher movie, and tell me what gender the survivor is. It's a woman. Why is this? I think that the woman (in slashers, that is) have the capability to absorb what's going on, and, instead of running away from the danger (or straight into its hands), she takes action. She sees the body count, and tries to take out the killer herself. And not stupidly like the men (in slashers still) do. The men in the film want to protect the ones around them, but do it horribly by just attacking head on (apply directly to the forehead), leaving to his doom. As for the woman, she plans it out and doesn't just run right into the killer. She does somewhat of a stick and run (that's when you hit the person and get away, then repeat). Now, not all women are portrayed like this in slashers. Some die instantly, while screaming their heads off. This is where the critics come in and bash the films. They feel that these women are defenseless. And they are. But, not because they're women. They die because they're not thinking. When you view these quickies, as we'll call them, they're usually always the slutty girl who does drugs and lets her looks get her ahead in life. Then, when anything happens, they'll hope their looks will help them out. But, in this particular situation, looks aren't going to help them out one bit. They don't think, they just hope and pray to survive. Now, I can see where the critics are coming from. But, the filmmakers of slasher films aren't portraying all women like this. Just the snobby rich ones/slutty whores. Ones that rely on others to get them ahead. The survivor isn't one of these. She's like seventy-five percent of the world's women: smart and independent. She's not relying on others to help her, she relies on herself to help her. She knows that to get ahead, you have to not only impress others, but impress yourself. These attributes can, and are, applied in the face of danger, and help her to survive. In closing, I don't believe slashers portray women as defenseless and weak. I feel they portray them as smart and independent.

[fortunato]

yellow_jacket definitely has a point. it would be interesting take a good cross-section of slasher movies (early ones to recent ones; different countries) and make a comparison between the females that live and the ones that die based on characteristics like personality, wardrobe, behavior, etc. and see what you come up with. i'll bet you'll up with some striking similiarities.

[x_karen_x]

Guys thank for your replies:D .
That really give me an idea what I should be looking as. I do agree with you yellow jacket. Those plastic girls around the lead female characters really think their beauty can save them. As I watched scream another night their rule is not to have sex and you will be save.
Is that really what we should think now? Virginal are save? I also come across that male re more usual to be the monster and chasing the girl because they are daring to find out the truth. Do you get bored with that role and want to watch sometime dofferent?
Futunato- I do, my next section is to compare the women in western and eastern horror.
What do you guys think of this? Because what my opinion is they are different like the ring. They are representing the victim and villain at the same time and the villain is usually a girl with white clothing after the ring.

[Roderick Usher]

The reason the virgin lives - at least in Halloween - isn't due to any moral purity or any remotely puritanical viewpoint (I know Dr. Carpenter and he's anything but puritanical) it is because she isn't distracted by sex/drugs/alcohol.

The one who pays the most attention to the killer's M.O. (always a woman in these films) is the one who survives. It is all about observation, awareness and keeping a level head.

More men die than women in slashers, but the women's deaths are lingered upon. This is primarily because we expect a male to die in combat, it is the history of the world, but to see a woman die horribly causes an instant emotional response - the catharsis that horror movies strive for.

Yes there is a very serious level of fetishism that goes along with watching beautiful women die horribly - and yes it is a form of objectification, but it is far from misogyny.

[Yellow Jacket]

I don't feel that the virgin should be the one always surviving. I don't think that it's sex that's killing these people. I agree with Roderick when he said about Laurie Strode and how she wasn't distracted by sex/alcohol/drugs. Doesn't mean you can't be active. There is nothing wrong with sex. It's as natural as the sky is blue. This reminds me of the movie Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. In it, there is a male serial killer who has a documentary crew following him around as he performs his first acts as a slasher. There is a scene in there that comes to mind, but I won't discuss it because it'll ruin the movie. But, it depicts the cliches in slasher movies. You should pick it up. It can you help you out with your research, and it's a good watch.

As for your second question, I do tend to get a little bored with the whole "man being monster" bit. I like it to change up a bit. Maybe that's why Audition was so freaky (and because it wasn't a slasher). I wouldn't mind a switch-up every now and then.

[Red1332]

I don't know if that helps at all but I've noticed a growing trend from the more passive female character in movies (a la Laurie Strode that spent a lot of time running away) to the more active female characters in todays films. Alice from Resident Evil is a good example. She understands whats going on, she sees the pattern, and she's directly confronting the evil in her path instead of constantly fleeing.
In a number of the movies I saw at Horror Fest I also noted that the women were given a MUCH stronger role. A lot of times the women were the ones left standing because they went and got the weapons, or took the enemy by surprise. In fact, it was almost humorous to be male in many of those films because the men didn't even get a chance to start the role as protector, or to launch in to battle. They were just mowed down.
So while women have always tended to be the survivor in the movies, I think Hollywood is realizing we're sick of seeing them trip when they run away and they're trying to play to the more feminist mindset these days where they're arming the survivors with guns and crossbows to protect themselves.
Same song, second verse, really. But more stuff blows up this way. :D

[can't get enough gore]

For me most women in horror movies are just sex things, and sitting ducks for the slasher in the movie

[Doc Faustus]

Gialli, which seem to be a really sexist cross section of horror movies sometimes turn the gender cliches on their head. Argento is great like that. Phenomena is a great movie about female empowerment, so is Opera. Emilio Miraglia's The Red Queen Kills 7 Times has women that aren't just victims involved and Hatchet for a Honeymoon equalizes things.

[JessicaFay]

I have chosen this topic as my dissertation for uni and it's amazing.
I am analysing 4 films to discover the changing development for women from the 1960's.

I have chosen
peeping tom
holloween
friday the 13th and scream.

but what you guys have already said has made me think of some great idea's. if you have anything else to say about these particular films it would be really useful.

Many thanks
jess

[leezuki]

i think they have made the woman Characters stronger than they used to be now in the movies.as before they just mainly used to be dizzy screaming woman,now in a majority of the movies the woman is more stronger mentally than the men.