Comments on: Sexism and Horror Movies http://www.365halloween.com/halloween-entertainment/sexism-and-horror-movies.php Halloween 365 Days A Year Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:37:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: pastavangelist http://www.365halloween.com/halloween-entertainment/sexism-and-horror-movies.php/comment-page-1#comment-21502 pastavangelist Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:37:49 +0000 http://www.365halloween.com/halloween-entertainment/sexism-and-horror-movies.php#comment-21502 You forgot to mention two great (practically feminist) horror films: Silent Hill and The Descent. Both movies are full of strong female roles, with men playing only minor parts. Silent Hill stars Radha Mitchell from Pitch Black (another strong female role) and her scene at the end proves that Hell hath no fury... Although the female characters are attractive, they are not sexualized or objectified. A strange trend I'm noticing now is that Hollywood hasn't figured out how to work a good romance into a horror movie with a strong heroine role. It's like you can be a heroine or you can have sex... you can't have both. 28 Days Later came close, but in the end, the man still had to fight off the bad guys to save the damsel in distress. You forgot to mention two great (practically feminist) horror films: Silent Hill and The Descent. Both movies are full of strong female roles, with men playing only minor parts. Silent Hill stars Radha Mitchell from Pitch Black (another strong female role) and her scene at the end proves that Hell hath no fury… Although the female characters are attractive, they are not sexualized or objectified. A strange trend I’m noticing now is that Hollywood hasn’t figured out how to work a good romance into a horror movie with a strong heroine role. It’s like you can be a heroine or you can have sex… you can’t have both. 28 Days Later came close, but in the end, the man still had to fight off the bad guys to save the damsel in distress.

]]> By: alison http://www.365halloween.com/halloween-entertainment/sexism-and-horror-movies.php/comment-page-1#comment-21332 alison Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:04:46 +0000 http://www.365halloween.com/halloween-entertainment/sexism-and-horror-movies.php#comment-21332 My husband and 18 year old are watching a horror film (I can hear from here) as I write. I hate the ubiquitous female screaming and male grunting. I really dislike the whole gender stereotyping, so I think it's not just a matter of women being stronger (though that would be some improvement) but also a matter of men being less violent. Why is the focus on changing the female characteristics? <strong>365 Halloween Response</strong>: Good point, Alison. Every issue has 2 aspects. I think that as we see stronger, participatory female characters in horror, new understandings are going to surface. Things are always changing, thankfully. My husband and 18 year old are watching a horror film (I can hear from here) as I write.

I hate the ubiquitous female screaming and male grunting. I really dislike the whole gender stereotyping, so I think it’s not just a matter of women being stronger (though that would be some improvement) but also a matter of men being less violent.

Why is the focus on changing the female characteristics?

365 Halloween Response: Good point, Alison. Every issue has 2 aspects. I think that as we see stronger, participatory female characters in horror, new understandings are going to surface. Things are always changing, thankfully.

]]> By: Lauren http://www.365halloween.com/halloween-entertainment/sexism-and-horror-movies.php/comment-page-1#comment-19945 Lauren Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:35:32 +0000 http://www.365halloween.com/halloween-entertainment/sexism-and-horror-movies.php#comment-19945 Great insight, Rick. The lack of strong female characters in horror has always been off-putting to me simply because I can't identify with that. I theorize that women are evolving in horror - being presented in a holistic way rather than a caricature of "woman" - because of this reason. As females increasingly identify with traits that the heroes have (strength, bravery, independence, etc.), I think we require that in our movies and other forms of entertainment. We need to see "us" up there. Here's to hoping that everyone in new horror films gets represented in a more realistic, identifiable way. For anyone interested in further exploring women in horror, I would highly recommend visiting <a href="http://www.axwoundzine.com" rel="nofollow">AxWound, a feminist horror zine</a>, particularly the article <a href="http://axwoundzine.com/gwehg.htm" rel="nofollow">Girls, Women, and Enjoyment of the Horror Genre</a>. The latter theorizes that, regardless of gender, many of us get into horror as a rite of passage, yet so many females lose interest in their adult years. It makes me wonder if that would be the case, were we creating movies that were more identifiable to women. This is a huge topic though, and I'm excited to see what others think. What say you, Halloween fans? Great insight, Rick. The lack of strong female characters in horror has always been off-putting to me simply because I can’t identify with that. I theorize that women are evolving in horror – being presented in a holistic way rather than a caricature of “woman” – because of this reason. As females increasingly identify with traits that the heroes have (strength, bravery, independence, etc.), I think we require that in our movies and other forms of entertainment. We need to see “us” up there. Here’s to hoping that everyone in new horror films gets represented in a more realistic, identifiable way.

For anyone interested in further exploring women in horror, I would highly recommend visiting AxWound, a feminist horror zine, particularly the article Girls, Women, and Enjoyment of the Horror Genre. The latter theorizes that, regardless of gender, many of us get into horror as a rite of passage, yet so many females lose interest in their adult years. It makes me wonder if that would be the case, were we creating movies that were more identifiable to women.

This is a huge topic though, and I’m excited to see what others think. What say you, Halloween fans?

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