Although feminist film theory, and female representation in horror is arguably influenced mainly by second wave feminism, context is another significant factor which can influence how and why females are represented through horror films
Professor Beth Younger of Drake university claims:
“The representation of women in horror interacts with and reflects whatever is going on in culture at the time”
“The disillusionment many soldiers , small businessmen and housewife/ factory employees felt in returning to a peacetime economy was directly mirrored in the sordidness of urban crime film”
“… created the “tough” a cynical way of acting and thinking which separated one from the world of everyday emotions – romanticism with a protective shell”
“when the movies of the Forties turned to the American “tough” moral understrata , the hardboiled school was writing with preset conventions”.
“The majority of the scenes are lit for night. Gangsters sit in the offices at midday with the shade pulled and the lights off”
“in film noir , the central character is likely to be standing in the shadow”
“it , of course creates a fatalistic , hopeless mood”
“the rainfall tends to increase in direct proportion to the drama
“there is a love of romantic narration”
“the narration creates a mood of temps perdu : an irretrievable past , a predetermined fate and an all – enveloping hopelessness”
“it is obvious there is no hope for any future : one can only take pleasure in reliving a doomed past”
“A typical film noir would rather move the scene cinematographically around the actor than have the actor control the scene by physical action”
“the private eye had quit the police force in disgust”
“the over – riding noir theme : a passion for the past of present , but also a fear of the future”
“Thus film noir’s techniques emphasize loss nostalgia , lack of clear priorities”
Tonal – In Scott Pilgrim, a good example of Tonal montage is the scene where Stephan Stills shouts back at Scott as they walk to a party, as well as the scene where he’s dreaming of the desert.
Metric – In Scott Pilgrim, this can be found in the Bass battle Vs the third ex boyfriend, while in Strike, this occurs in the scene where all the workers strike from the factory.
For my third film role I decided to take the role of writer. I write in my spear time and it is one of the things that I know I am good at and I wanted to apply my skills in a new context and develop skills that will enable me to create in the medium of film , as I was used to only writing things that were meant to be read , not things that were meant to be filmed and this has been an informative experience and I am now comfortably able to create screenplays that look like they were professionally made.
Context is important for both films, to influence how the feminist film theory is represented.
How social context influences the ‘final girl’ characters
Social context differs greatly for both films, and the 40 year age gap between them can suggest why the characters are different. Social reforms, changes or general state of the society differs greatly between the two films, because they have been produced during different time periods, where the society has changed rapidly overt the 40 years.
The impact of other films as inspiration for female character portrayal
Both films are similar in that they cite other films for reference, both in the visual style of the film but also the plot and basic concept. This also can be influenced by the years of which the films were produced and released, because of the film availability. For example, Alien was released at a time where horror was in its ‘golden age’, specifically with the slasher genre. Many of these films began to introduce a change in female characters, stereotypes and tropes which influenced Alien. Whereas Happy Death Day was released much later, at a time where the female character has developed, and arguably evolved. Many female characters after Alien: Sarah Connor (Terminator), Nancy Connor (Nightmare on Elmstreet) and Sidney Prescott (Scream) influence the character of Tree in HDD due to the typical ‘final girl’ traits with subvert the final girl trope by introducing new elements to the character
The changes from 1979-2017 and how the time difference is significant in how females are represented
Second wave feminism was a major driving force for why the final girl character was created, and how females in film (particularly horror) needed to be changed. During the late 1960’s, early 1970’s; female characters in horror were typically seen as victims who were used only to grow the antagonists kill count and appease the male audience. Whereas as feminism grew and became more mainstream, the characters of females began to evolve in horror.
For example the character of Mari Collingwood in the original ‘The Last House on the Left’ (1972, by Wes Craven) can be considered a victim rather than a survivor or final girl. Whereas with the 2009 reincarnation of the film, directed by Dennis Iliadis, the character has changed drastically. Film theorist Alexandra Heller-Nicholas argues that the remake of the film follows a more generic horror structure as it ‘manifests in the “final girl” elements of Mari’s character that are absent in the original’. The character in the original dies, whereas with the remake: Mari was a fast swimmer so could escape after being shot in the shoulder in the lake. This shows how the character of women in horror has changed over time, with the growth of feminism leading to the need for female characters to be strong and determined rather than meek victims to inspire other women rather than being objectified by the typically male audience during the 1960’s
For my second film role I have decided to choose the role of editor. I decided to take the role of editor because I wanted to stretch the scope of what I can do and I wanted to try something that was outside of my comfort zone , because my other film roles are things that I am comfortable doing but I have no experience with editing and I thought that it was a way for me to develop a new skill that was different from the skills that I already had.
For my first film role I am going to take the role of director. I want to take the role of director of a melodrama that is made in the style of the early silent films of the 1920’s and I was inspired to make this creative choice by the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari , the narrative will not be the same as the film in any way but the style of acting will be similar in the way that the actors will not speak ,instead the dialogue will be supplied by inter tiles – this is one of the things that I have decided to lift directly from The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.