Representation Of Women In Horror Films Essay

516 Words2 Pages

Explain the way in which females are represented in horror movies? In this investigation, I aim to explore how females are represented in horror films. The representation of females and males has changed dramatically in society and this is reflected in horror films. However, traditionally women in general are characterised as the damsel in distress because stereotypically they are playing the weaker role and are in instantaneous danger and attacked by a stronger character, usually played by a male. The key concept of my investigation is representation. The dictionary defines representation 'portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.' This places the audience in a particular position and the representations are always selected and …show more content…

I have chosen this as it shows a different view on the characteristic of the typical women in horror films. The second text in which I am going to study is the representation of women in the 1978 film Halloween. This film shows weak and victimised women, who are seen as less superior at the time. Moreover, both movies, which I have selected are different as stated previously, which means I can go on to further details and how females are represented and how sometimes the representation of women is challeneged and we are offered with a realistic representation of women in this world. Females from different ethnic minorities are represented inversely because of their cultural backgrounds. This thought will have a negative effect on males. In particular, it would affect the representation of females. Therefore, in horror films there are fewer females or none from ethnic minority playing a role from a different minority. However, the characters that are in the role would be characterised as a bunch of criminals or being attacked. Overall, this is known as Tokenism, gesture towards members of different minority

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