[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.