Provide a Feminist Reading of Two Slasher Films. How Far Do You Consider Them Empowering to Women Viewers?
Provide a feminist reading of two slasher films. How far do you consider them empowering to women viewers?
In this essay, the extent to which slasher films are empowering to women viewers will be assessed with a feminist reading of two movies; Friday the Thirteenth VI: Jason Lives (1986) and I know what you did last summer (1997). First, the notions of feminism and slasher movies will be explained. This will be followed by an analysis of the two movies.
Feminism is the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state (Cambridge Online Dictionary, 2013). The feminist movement can be roughly broken down into three waves. The first wave began in the U.S. and the U.K. and developed during the 19th and early 20th century. It requested the official inequalities to be changed (right to vote, education, health care, etc.). The second wave was really developed after the seventies and focused on the more unofficial inequalities. The third wave started after 1980. It fought against stereotypes and media portrayals of women and was also a critique of the second wave. The feminist reading of these two slasher films would therefore be a third wave feminist reading because it is this wave that focused on women’s image in the media.
Slasher film is a sub-genre of horror film. It can be distinguished from other horror film genres by a number of features. Typically it involves a male serial killer that stalks his victims and then kills them, generally with a cutting object. Very often, at the end of the movie, he is defeated by the ‘final girl’. The location, the villain, the victims, the weapons used and the final girl have a set of characteristics that help to differentiate slashers from other horror movie types. The villain is generally male and has been the victim of earlier crime. The location is very often an isolated one where it is impossible to
In this essay, the extent to which slasher films are empowering to women viewers will be assessed with a feminist reading of two movies; Friday the Thirteenth VI: Jason Lives (1986) and I know what you did last summer (1997). First, the notions of feminism and slasher movies will be explained. This will be followed by an analysis of the two movies.
Feminism is the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state (Cambridge Online Dictionary, 2013). The feminist movement can be roughly broken down into three waves. The first wave began in the U.S. and the U.K. and developed during the 19th and early 20th century. It requested the official inequalities to be changed (right to vote, education, health care, etc.). The second wave was really developed after the seventies and focused on the more unofficial inequalities. The third wave started after 1980. It fought against stereotypes and media portrayals of women and was also a critique of the second wave. The feminist reading of these two slasher films would therefore be a third wave feminist reading because it is this wave that focused on women’s image in the media.
Slasher film is a sub-genre of horror film. It can be distinguished from other horror film genres by a number of features. Typically it involves a male serial killer that stalks his victims and then kills them, generally with a cutting object. Very often, at the end of the movie, he is defeated by the ‘final girl’. The location, the villain, the victims, the weapons used and the final girl have a set of characteristics that help to differentiate slashers from other horror movie types. The villain is generally male and has been the victim of earlier crime. The location is very often an isolated one where it is impossible to