Feminism- The Final Girl

Feminism is the belief that women should be treated respectfully and have a role of importance. The belief is more psychological as women have always been depicted as the fragile characters who need saving by a male hero. Stereotypically the woman is immoral, unwise and blonde. However films such as Halloween (1974), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream contradict this image and begin to pose questions such as; are females the helpless characters they are portrayed as in horror films? The Final Girl Theory has been perceived in films such as those as Carol J Clover suggested that the viewers share the viewpoint of the killer at first but then part with that idea and hope that the last girl who is the sole survivor confronts and escapes the killer. The final girl is virginal, avoids drugs, sex and is the intelligent consciousness that drives the narrative forward. This theory argued by Clover suggests that for a film to work well the surviving character must be female and she must experience pain as it is directed with sadistic voyeurism. Many people would not watch a horror film if it depicted a male as the weak character who is terrorized.

In Halloween the final girl theory is anticipated and confirmed as Laurie the timid girl in contrast to her friends survives till the end. Her friends are sexually active and confident whilst she is the complete opposite. Clover states that this final girl becomes masculinized and uses her intellect to escape the killer. Clover also says the last girl becomes masculinized through phallic appropriation when she takes a weapon and is not afraid to use it. This theory is clearly shown in Halloween as Laurie uses weapons such as a knife and needle. Nevertheless Laurie is strangled and has to be saved by a male figure that challenges the idea of feminism. Classic films such as ‘Carrie’ embody feminism. Although she is the killer, the audience empathizes with her because she is represented as a target at first. The Male Gaze Theory studied by Laura Mulvey also gives the impression that women are objects of male pleasure and the theory puts the audience in the heterosexual male viewers standpoint.