Gender In The Slasher Film Essay

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Films are universally known to generalize individuals especially in relation to their gender. Though they contain different themes, movies follow a similar pattern; the beautiful, innocent woman is recused by an attractive, strong male. In Carol J. Clover’s article, “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film”, she explores a new emerging pattern in horror cinema where the woman herself becomes the hero. Clover’s purpose in writing her article is to help her audience become familiar with the idea of cross gender identification. This is where the male audience is compelled to associate themselves with the strong independent female. In this essay, I will analyze how Clover uses female characters in horror films to display the visible adjustment in terms of gender representation through her various examples in slasher movies.
Slasher films invite and target a male audience to identify with the female protagonist. Clover defines slasher films as, “The immensely generative story of a psycho killer who slashes to death a string of mostly female victims, one by one, until he himself is subdued or killed, usually by the on girl who has survived” (195). This “female victim-hero”, who has survived the raft of the villain, is known as the Final Girl. The Final Girl, is introduced at the beginning of the
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The Final Girl, who is the last character standing by the end of the film, represents an adjustment in terms of gender representation. The female character possesses both masculine and feminine characteristics. This mixture of personalities allows the male audience to connect with the female character without feeling as if his manhood is being taken from him. Although the Final Girl is a female character, she strategically embodies both genders which allows all audiences to connect with the

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