The Virginal Archetype: Female Representation in the Slasher Film
Location
CSU 204
Start Date
28-4-2009 9:00 AM
End Date
28-4-2009 11:00 AM
Student's Major
Gender and Women's Studies
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Helen Crump
Mentor's Department
Gender and Women's Studies
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
The representation of women in slasher films from the late 1970's and early 1980's is worth exploring due to its depiction of the virginal female archetype and her level of empowerment. Scholars identify the slasher film as a sub-genre of horror that has a serial killer who stalks and kills a community of teenagers. The virginal female archetype they discuss is the last remaining female who ultimately defeats the killer. Scholars argue that in films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the remaining female survivor, or the Final Girl, is in fact empowered, and represents certain traditional cultural values of that time. This paper explores the arguments made by feminist film critics regarding the empowerment of women in slasher films. Such scholars discuss these women as the subject of the male gaze, the women as sexual objects to the killer, as well as the empowerment of the Final Girl. The significance of this research will bring light to the representation of women in horror genres. The slasher films from the late 1970's and early 1980's are especially important because of the cultural values they represent, and because they paved the way for images of women in horror film today.
The Virginal Archetype: Female Representation in the Slasher Film
CSU 204
The representation of women in slasher films from the late 1970's and early 1980's is worth exploring due to its depiction of the virginal female archetype and her level of empowerment. Scholars identify the slasher film as a sub-genre of horror that has a serial killer who stalks and kills a community of teenagers. The virginal female archetype they discuss is the last remaining female who ultimately defeats the killer. Scholars argue that in films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the remaining female survivor, or the Final Girl, is in fact empowered, and represents certain traditional cultural values of that time. This paper explores the arguments made by feminist film critics regarding the empowerment of women in slasher films. Such scholars discuss these women as the subject of the male gaze, the women as sexual objects to the killer, as well as the empowerment of the Final Girl. The significance of this research will bring light to the representation of women in horror genres. The slasher films from the late 1970's and early 1980's are especially important because of the cultural values they represent, and because they paved the way for images of women in horror film today.
Recommended Citation
Claybaugh, Shannon. "The Virginal Archetype: Female Representation in the Slasher Film." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 28, 2009.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2009/oral-session-12/6
