In class the other day we noted that often in the sub-genre of slasher films, the girl who survives is The Good Girl” the virgin, while all the more promiscuos girls are surely going to be killed. In this clip from Scream, we are taught some of the rules to survive a horror movie.
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From the first two rules layed out in this slasher film parody, we learn sinning (by either sex, drugs, or alcohol) is what get you killed. This might support the approach that the slasher film is preaching conservative ideals, and that the killer (much like Thursday’s group discussed about Michael Myers) is restoring order amongst the chaos.
However, there are many other
explanations that offer a different perspective in explaing the virgin survives phenomenom. One thing to note is that almost always, the lead of a slasher film is a female. In fact there is a phrase coined for the final survivor of horror flicks, as The Final Girl. Therefore, the female lead needs to be explained.
One popular explanation helps explain why the Final Girl is often a virgin. In horror films in order to deepen the anxiety and terror of the film (which is the point of horror films, either that or to laugh at them but thats a different story) the main charachter has to show terror, fear, and essentially scream; which a man lead can not do (as men are never allowed to be afraid even when chased by an axe bearing lunatic). However, as this genre is more male orientended, and the lead at the end has to portray some characteristics more often associated with males, such as the bravery and aggression to use violence and weaponry, it is important for the lead to not to be too feminine. Therefore, her sexuality is mininimized and she often is made into virgin , often with a unisex name, so the male viewer can view her as a somewhat more masculated hero. That is why the more feminine characters are killed off. (This idea is somewhat derived from Carol Clover theory on the Final Girl, the term she coined).
I also found this song on youtube that is written about the Final Girl of horror flicks from 70s and 80s. Doesn’t offer much content but thought I’d share it.
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It’s interesting what you write about the masculine/feminine balance of the slasher movie’s heroine in light of the Mulvey essay we read earlier this semester. I would say your explanation even proves Mulvey wrong. While the “final girl” has to be feminine enough to scream and run away from the maniac murderer, she also is given male characteristics like you mentioned. This would undermine Mulvey’s thinking that women in movies are either considered feminine or masculine. However, you can’t fully move away from this thinking, since, as you mentioned, the filmmakers acknowledge the male dominated audience and give the female those asexual qualities. It’s interesting thought to see unifying qualities in different kinds of films (from noir to slasher) through an expert lens such as Mulvey.
When I think of the final girl being the last one left, I think that the movie is trying to imply that no one is really safe from the killer. But I found Miriam’s response very interesting. I’m still not quite sure what giving females masculine qualities in horror films contributes to the overall movie experience. Miriam: are you trying to say that the movie producers are trying to appeal to the female audience (I think they tend to shy away from horror films more than man)?
I love this clip i think it summarizes a lot of older horror movies. I believe it also shows how a lot of kids weren’t truly affected by horror movies in such a way that they would hinder their promiscuous behavior because of it. You see this when the kids “boo” the no sex, no drugs rule. Although they are watching Halloween and it shows these fundamental rules must be kept in order to survive, it doesn’t stop the kids in the movie from engaging in these activities, just as i imagine Scream itself didn’t stop kids who watched it from doing drugs or having sex.