Further Thoughts on Final Girls and Feminism
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Proposal
Further Thoughts on Final Girls and Feminism Halloween (1978) Film Analysis Watching horror movies with a group of teenage classmates, more than a fun weekend activity was a rite of passage. Sneaking into your first 14A slasher film was just as important as learning how to ride a bike. Fascinated by the slasher subgenre of horror films were to me growing up, I was keenly aware of the common consensus surrounding them- these movies were objects of feminist condemnation- not enjoyment. Regarding myself a feminist and part of a generation that has grown up viewing these films, it is time for the feminist film canon to reevaluate the slasher film. This revaluation should begin with the film accredited for launching the genre, John Carpenters Halloween (1978). Halloween’s investigation of gender borders, in horror and society, mark not only the film but the genre it started, which is more complex than the previous generation has acknowledged. With the latest installment of the Halloween movies having been released this past October (2018), and the strong female leads of modern horror classics such as Hereditary (2018) and The Babadook (2015), my essay discusses the more relevant than ever “final girl” archetype introduced in the slasher, and the gender relations she navigates.
Grand Challenges
Understanding Borders
Further Thoughts on Final Girls and Feminism
Further Thoughts on Final Girls and Feminism Halloween (1978) Film Analysis Watching horror movies with a group of teenage classmates, more than a fun weekend activity was a rite of passage. Sneaking into your first 14A slasher film was just as important as learning how to ride a bike. Fascinated by the slasher subgenre of horror films were to me growing up, I was keenly aware of the common consensus surrounding them- these movies were objects of feminist condemnation- not enjoyment. Regarding myself a feminist and part of a generation that has grown up viewing these films, it is time for the feminist film canon to reevaluate the slasher film. This revaluation should begin with the film accredited for launching the genre, John Carpenters Halloween (1978). Halloween’s investigation of gender borders, in horror and society, mark not only the film but the genre it started, which is more complex than the previous generation has acknowledged. With the latest installment of the Halloween movies having been released this past October (2018), and the strong female leads of modern horror classics such as Hereditary (2018) and The Babadook (2015), my essay discusses the more relevant than ever “final girl” archetype introduced in the slasher, and the gender relations she navigates.