Friday The 13th Anthropology

Horror movies have shown time and time again that reality is thrown out the window in order to entertain a crowd. This genre pulls a good-sized audience into theaters to watch movies centered on themes of violence, the unknown, and psychological issues. Some of these stories are told from a first-person camera point of view. First person camera work calls us to be characters within the story. It provides a sense of confusion as we look through an alternate lens that is not our own in order to view the occurring violence and point of views of which the movie attempts to portray. In the movies we have watched in the past week, I believe that the first-person camera work not only brings out these ideas but also presents the idea that horror movies …show more content…
Voorhees. The killer in the movie is portrayed as masculine: violent and ruthless, showing no feminine qualities. In the real world, the traits the killer presented would most likely be viewed as male, but as the movie progresses we learn that the killer is female. This discovery introduces an idea presented by Clover; that masculinity and femininity are mentalities instead of something you are born with. The first person camera work from the killer’s point of view changed the way we perceived the character until the end of the movie. This idea leaves the audience at the edge of their seat guessing who the culprit is. Horror movies show that the rules of what or who a stereotypical killer could be is completely opposite to our culture’s perception of a female …show more content…
Throughout the movie, you find the female, Heather, leading the project. The team consisted of her, and two male young adults Josh and Mike. Heather gave instructions, planned times when they should set up camp, and she was the most interested in the project. Also, throughout the movie, Heather carried the camera more often than Mike or Josh. This could be a possible reason as to why she was handed more authority, and knowledge. Stereotypically, men are the most likely experts of nature and would normally be the lead of projects similar to the Blair Witch Project, but the two men on Heather’s team were anything but that. Josh and Mike gave off a childish persona and they seemed more dependent on Heather. When they did try to gain more authority they ended up ruining plans. For example, Mike threw the map away. When they lacked authority, they would blame Heather for any misfortunate situation that happened to them even though it was never completely her fault. These scenes prove the power of first person camera work when it comes to telling a story on a more personal level. We are able to get a more connected view of how the personalities of both genders are reversed as the males act more feminine and the females act more masculine in response to the series of events they experience. It brings out many ideas that are not