6 Female Horror Tropes That Need To Stop.
If say, a zombie apocalypse or any other horror fare was to besiege the population, I can guarantee that me and my female friends would survive. One because nearly all us know horror inside out. Two, I have a friend who has been planning her survival since the word zombie came into her life. Finally, we are all pretty strong and intelligent enough to scout out escape routes and know key elements in order for us to live until the bitter end.
However, if we were to star in a horror movie, I can guarantee that we would all be dead within the first half. Horror movies have, largely, become a staple for under-written female characters. Still heavily big on stereotypes, if you aren’t a particular type of character, you are more likely to see the rusty side of a killers axe and fall victim to a series of stupid mistakes that you’d avoid in real life.
Particular female stereotypes need to be changed or cut out completely, examples such as;
The Damsel In Distress.
Example: Megan in Re-Animator.
If there is one thing women know how to do in horror movies, then it’s scream. While it is a perfectly acceptable response to any terrifying situation, it seems that all females are capable of in horror movies is wail. Running through the woods, or their houses and whimpering when quiet, women are constantly portrayed as weak willed who cry for help from a dashing prince who inevitably comes to save her in the end. It is impossibly tragic that in horror, our go to action plan is to bring more attention to ourselves then hide in a closet and wait until some muscle bound love interest comes to kill our foe. Above is a classic example; everything Megan relies on is the safety net of the men around her and all she does is cry about it until her boyfriend saves her. Not once does she think about defending herself and instead becomes the victim constantly....
The Anti-Example – Check out Nancy in A Nightmare on Elm Street. The pretty lead is pretty kick ass as she attempts to not only save herself, butalso her friends and fight against people who dismiss her.
The Dumb Whore.
Examples: House of Wax, Halloween, Friday the 13th.
Women who have sex are terrible. That’s right, women who take control of their sexuality for pleasure and sleep with whomever they want are pretty much mush when it comes to horror. In fact, they don’t even have to be whores. They can be in a committed relationship and still, if they want to get busy it always means they are going to get sliced. This near porn character is not only seen having sex at the beginning but also spends the entire movie in skimpy outfits, trying to get a rise out of the male audience. Then what happens? The killer comes for her first or second and it turns out she is stupid too. In fact, the “dumb whore” is always the one that runs up the stairs, or calls out “hello?” getting herselfinto a sticky situation twice over. Is it too much to ask for a girl, comfortable with sexual intimacy, to fuck and survive?
The Anti-Example: Planet Terror, Rose McGowan’s stripper not only survives but also has enough sense to fight out of situations where she is trapped...
The Sassy Butch/Ethnic Friend.....Who Dies...
Example: Aliens, Wrong Turn,
It has become a cinematic trope that strong willed, masculine and altogether competent women are the ones who die. In fact, women who are probably more likely to survive are usually killed off by some grand gesture for the man I love or for the pretty white virgin to live. And they are usually ethnic or sassy or not as pretty as the white virgin. Usually quip fodder, used only to make humorous offhand observation, this character is usually there just so the pretty white girl survives. They either sacrifice themselves or are first to be murdered. While this is by far the more interesting, more equipped role and surprisingly strong, it is still more important to see the beautiful Snow White make it to the sunlit end than a realistically more prepared “butch” or ethnic woman. So god help any lady with a crew cut..
The Anti –Example: Naomi Harris in 28 Days Later who basically kicks zombie butt.
The Ugly Duckling Turned Killer Swan.
Example: Valentine, Carrie.
It’s safe to say that if you aren’t the lesser female role who sacrifices herself for the more attractive friend, you are likely a spurned geek who is on murderous revenge. High school and those years are hard on everyone. It is particularly hard on the bullied outsider who is either a little chubby or overly smart. Her role in her friendship circle is to get picked on and that can addle a person’s brain. No doubt, addle them to the point of murderous revenge. And unless they are deformed southern murderers on the outskirts of society, if you are an ugly duckling in your high school then you are no doubt a psychopathic but pretty girl. Seriously, becoming a society allowed attractive success woman when you are older is enough payback for those who dunked your head in a toilet. Put down the knife.
The Sexually Assaulted Girl.
Example: The Hills Have Eyes, Re-Animator, Evil Dead, Sleepaway Camp.
If you have read my previous article, then you are already pretty clear on my stance of sexual violence in movies. The generally gist and argument is that unless it is imperative to the story in a I Spit On Your Grave pay back movie, then showing rape or sexual abuse in horror movies is such a mind-numbing and disgusting way to get your audiences squirming. Look, I get what you are trying to do and I get that horror movies are trying to push the boundaries of cinema and make skin crawl. Usually, it is written in just because. It is a villainous trope that is totally left field. It happens but either before a killing or is never mentioned again. Great, you just subjected your audience to a horrific sight just for kicks and for no reason what so ever.
One of the reason bloods and guts are entertaining is because they are circumstances we aren’t likely to find ourselves in. If you ever research rape and sexual assault, you’ll see that it is about violation and control. It is deeming to victims, horrific in its own right and is not some sick fantasy. To show it constantly in horror movies is cold and bleak, far from entertaining.
The Anti-Example: Any movie without this.
Pretty White Virginal Final Girls.
Example: I Know What You Did Last Summer, Friday 13th, Halloween, Every movie ever ever ever....
Usually our lead, we are introduced to this character pretty much from the beginning. You’ll recognise her from the start. She is adverse to drugs, carrying study books and is making her boyfriend wait because “she’s not ready.” That’s cool, it is ok to have that character in the movie. Except, she usually is the main reason the killer is killing, she has no idea what she is doing and she is so predictable that the minute she is on screen, you can hear the groans from the audience. She is there because pretty much every horror writer is copying her verbatim from the others. And while, yes, there are a lot of virginal white girls who have more intelligence to survive, usually they are vapid and tedious characters who spend the entire movie confused as to what is going on. They cry, they scream, they are stupid and are usually the cause of the entire horror fare. And they are the bleeding ones who survive!
The Anti-Example: The Cabin in the Woods because this is a film that is destroying tropes the only way Joss Wheddon knows how...
It’s not that I have a problem with these characters; it is just that these characters are usually so underdeveloped that they are copied and pasted from movie to movie. In fact, they are so unrepresentative of women and the way women work that we are more a hindrance to our own survival. What is frustrating is that it is still happening and while there are journeys into the strong willed women fighting their own way through a situation, there are many leaps to come. For example women of colour are still particularly sandwiched into one type and so under used in horror movies, and yet we are supposed to be a more enlightened generation of filmmakers.
So if you find yourself staring at your horror movie with any of these characters or situations on your page, step away from the computer and step outside. Talk to women, find out how they would survive, come back and write a three dimensional female role as your lead.
In other words, research.
TTFN
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