REPRESENTATION ESSAY
Representation in horror films is conveyed through characters and reinforced through themes. The five I will be addressing and applying to my summer trailer ‘The Last Ones Left’ are the Male Gaze, Final Girl, Religion and Sexuality, Hegemony and the Monster/Other.
In horror films the ‘Male Gaze’ is a theory by Laura Mulvey and it argues that women in films are perceived from a misogynistic point of view with the camera focusing mainly on sections of the woman’s body in a way man would look at them thus objectifying them on screen. In The Last Ones Left there are close up shots that are framed on parts of the girl that a man would stereotypically focus which could be a form of voyeurism for, particularly, male viewers. This gives the notion that in this instance males have more power, in terms of viewing, as it “signifies a psychological relationship of power” since the girl is being objectified. I think this doesn’t work too well in my trailer because it’s meant to be supernatural but the victim is a young female and being attacked by an older male antagonist, which is a common convention of slasher films. In comparison to supernatural trailers such as Orphan or The Exorcist my trailer doesn’t follow conventions because it shows too much of the protagonist from a male perspective.
‘Final Girl’ is a theory by Carol Clover that refers to the last female alive that takes on stereotypical masculine characteristics in order to defeat the antagonist. She is commonly, a virgin, has a unisex name and doesn’t do drugs or alcohol. This representation is not shown in the trailer effectively. At the equilibrium there are two female characters however only one is shown running, falling and levitating during the montage so it’s unclear about what happened to the other female and also the female who is present at the end doesn’t show any characteristics of bravery or courage. ‘Final Girl’ theory isn’t one that can be appropriately applied to the supernatural subgenre of this trailer as most of the ‘fighting’ is done internally because a spirit usually possesses the young girl do it would be better to show scenes of the girl being in a crazed and possessed state, writhing around to show a struggle between her and the antagonist. Alternatively, the girl could use a prop such as a knife or a sword to overcome the demon somehow to display some sort of courage as it’s a masculine trait.
Derry also argues that the monster/the other is a representation of the horror of human personality. In The Last Ones Left, it’s apparent that the humans or protagonist in the trailer don’t seem to be evil as they only appear frightened. The monsters in this trailer seem to be invading rather than to have been created so this theory doesn’t apply to this trailer. I think theory itself would work well with it because if a clip of the female being possessed was shown, it conveys the ‘monster in the human’ and the battle between good and evil thus showing that humans have the potential to be ultimately evil.
Derry’s theory behind religion and sexuality is that demonic has “sexual connotations” as the spirit is usually a male who takes control of the female victim, suggesting women are the weaker sex and religion acts as the saviour in this scenario. The Last Ones Left shows elements of possession towards the end when the female character is levitating which demonstrates that in this trailer women are passive to men in this instance however since the male character is levitating also it challenges this convention. To enforce this representation clearly in this trailer there should be more religious symbols such as a cross, a priest or a church to convey the genre effective and show the battle between good and evil.
Gramsci discusses hegemony as a system where one group is dominated by another and that dominance is maintained through “spontaneous consent”. In horror films hegemony is conveyed through ideologies such as men being stronger than women or women being promiscuous and as a punishment for their promiscuity they are killed or in supernatural films, possessed. Teen punishment is a theme that clearly expresses hegemony and is found in most sub genres. In The Last Ones Left, the characters are all teenagers and are seen as being attacked by supernatural creatures which suggests that they have done something morally wrong (drinking, smoking or having sex) thus ideologies in our real life society have been presented in allegoric ways.
In horror films the ‘Male Gaze’ is a theory by Laura Mulvey and it argues that women in films are perceived from a misogynistic point of view with the camera focusing mainly on sections of the woman’s body in a way man would look at them thus objectifying them on screen. In The Last Ones Left there are close up shots that are framed on parts of the girl that a man would stereotypically focus which could be a form of voyeurism for, particularly, male viewers. This gives the notion that in this instance males have more power, in terms of viewing, as it “signifies a psychological relationship of power” since the girl is being objectified. I think this doesn’t work too well in my trailer because it’s meant to be supernatural but the victim is a young female and being attacked by an older male antagonist, which is a common convention of slasher films. In comparison to supernatural trailers such as Orphan or The Exorcist my trailer doesn’t follow conventions because it shows too much of the protagonist from a male perspective.
‘Final Girl’ is a theory by Carol Clover that refers to the last female alive that takes on stereotypical masculine characteristics in order to defeat the antagonist. She is commonly, a virgin, has a unisex name and doesn’t do drugs or alcohol. This representation is not shown in the trailer effectively. At the equilibrium there are two female characters however only one is shown running, falling and levitating during the montage so it’s unclear about what happened to the other female and also the female who is present at the end doesn’t show any characteristics of bravery or courage. ‘Final Girl’ theory isn’t one that can be appropriately applied to the supernatural subgenre of this trailer as most of the ‘fighting’ is done internally because a spirit usually possesses the young girl do it would be better to show scenes of the girl being in a crazed and possessed state, writhing around to show a struggle between her and the antagonist. Alternatively, the girl could use a prop such as a knife or a sword to overcome the demon somehow to display some sort of courage as it’s a masculine trait.
Derry also argues that the monster/the other is a representation of the horror of human personality. In The Last Ones Left, it’s apparent that the humans or protagonist in the trailer don’t seem to be evil as they only appear frightened. The monsters in this trailer seem to be invading rather than to have been created so this theory doesn’t apply to this trailer. I think theory itself would work well with it because if a clip of the female being possessed was shown, it conveys the ‘monster in the human’ and the battle between good and evil thus showing that humans have the potential to be ultimately evil.
Derry’s theory behind religion and sexuality is that demonic has “sexual connotations” as the spirit is usually a male who takes control of the female victim, suggesting women are the weaker sex and religion acts as the saviour in this scenario. The Last Ones Left shows elements of possession towards the end when the female character is levitating which demonstrates that in this trailer women are passive to men in this instance however since the male character is levitating also it challenges this convention. To enforce this representation clearly in this trailer there should be more religious symbols such as a cross, a priest or a church to convey the genre effective and show the battle between good and evil.
Gramsci discusses hegemony as a system where one group is dominated by another and that dominance is maintained through “spontaneous consent”. In horror films hegemony is conveyed through ideologies such as men being stronger than women or women being promiscuous and as a punishment for their promiscuity they are killed or in supernatural films, possessed. Teen punishment is a theme that clearly expresses hegemony and is found in most sub genres. In The Last Ones Left, the characters are all teenagers and are seen as being attacked by supernatural creatures which suggests that they have done something morally wrong (drinking, smoking or having sex) thus ideologies in our real life society have been presented in allegoric ways.
Intro - (P) Rep of WHAT? WHY is it important particularly for Horrors? )A) WHAT does your Monster mean? WHAT is your SUBTEXT? IS your Trailer Misogynistic or Post feminist?
ReplyDelete" I think this doesn’t work too well in my trailer because it’s meant to be supernatural but the victim is a young female and being attacked by an older male antagonist, which is a common convention of slasher films. In comparison to supernatural trailers such as Orphan or The Exorcist my trailer doesn’t follow conventions because it shows too much of the protagonist from a male perspective. "
WHAT CAM shots did you use to put Mulveys theory into practice?
WHAT does this suggest about your work as being Feminist or Misogynistic?
"Alternatively, the girl could use a prop such as a knife or a sword to overcome the demon somehow to display some sort of courage as it’s a masculine trait. "
WHAT other MES such as COSTUME or HAIR style could be used to convey her Masculinity?
WHY does she have to be Masculine to fight back?
How is this work Post-feminist and WHAT does that MEAN?