Representation Essay
Representation in horror films are demonstrated through the characters and the themes. The five theories that i will be addressing and applying to Ghostly Studios 'Hunted Trailer' are The Gaze, The Final Girl, Religion and Sexuality, Hegemony and The Monster/Other.
Within horror films, 'The gaze' also known as the 'Male gaze' is commonly presented, especially in slasher films. Mulvey argues that women in horror are objectified on the screen with a point of view camera which intentionally focuses on their body. It's always from a male perspective (hence why it's called Male gaze) , making them voyeurs. In the Hunted, there's no use of the male gaze used. It would of been better if they had included the gaze as it signifies that male have more power over the females. It could of been used to demonstrated the killer's power over the female victims. It was supernatural film as it contained symbolic codes such as the cross and a statue of Jesus. These are conventions that are commonly used in supernatural films.
The 'Final girl' is a theory made by Clover and refers to the last female surviving till the end. Throughout the film, she adopts many masculine characteristics to defeat the antagonist. In the trailer, this theory wasn't shown clearly. There was no girl who seemed to have adopted any masculine traits. However, The final girl are commonly seen in slasher horror films and this trailer is a supernatural. They could of embedded some sort of phallic weapon for one of the girls to fight back so the masculine trait could of been displayed more clearly.
Derry's theory refers to religion and sexuality. The antagonist is pre-dominantly a male and the victim is always a female. This gives us an impression that women are the weaker sex. In the Hunted, during the disruption, it's seen that a male was the first to be victimized. There was a use of tracking shot and the victim had blood applied to his face to show he was a victim. This makes it atypical and subverts the theory as females are normally the victims. Towards the end, it seems like the male victim was possessed by a demonic spirit. The spirit could potentially be a female attacking males. One of the strengths of it is that the location is very low-key lit which helps build the mood and atmosphere of the trailer. The lighting denotes evilness so this could suggest the nature of the spirit.
Within horror films, 'The gaze' also known as the 'Male gaze' is commonly presented, especially in slasher films. Mulvey argues that women in horror are objectified on the screen with a point of view camera which intentionally focuses on their body. It's always from a male perspective (hence why it's called Male gaze) , making them voyeurs. In the Hunted, there's no use of the male gaze used. It would of been better if they had included the gaze as it signifies that male have more power over the females. It could of been used to demonstrated the killer's power over the female victims. It was supernatural film as it contained symbolic codes such as the cross and a statue of Jesus. These are conventions that are commonly used in supernatural films.
The 'Final girl' is a theory made by Clover and refers to the last female surviving till the end. Throughout the film, she adopts many masculine characteristics to defeat the antagonist. In the trailer, this theory wasn't shown clearly. There was no girl who seemed to have adopted any masculine traits. However, The final girl are commonly seen in slasher horror films and this trailer is a supernatural. They could of embedded some sort of phallic weapon for one of the girls to fight back so the masculine trait could of been displayed more clearly.
Derry's theory refers to religion and sexuality. The antagonist is pre-dominantly a male and the victim is always a female. This gives us an impression that women are the weaker sex. In the Hunted, during the disruption, it's seen that a male was the first to be victimized. There was a use of tracking shot and the victim had blood applied to his face to show he was a victim. This makes it atypical and subverts the theory as females are normally the victims. Towards the end, it seems like the male victim was possessed by a demonic spirit. The spirit could potentially be a female attacking males. One of the strengths of it is that the location is very low-key lit which helps build the mood and atmosphere of the trailer. The lighting denotes evilness so this could suggest the nature of the spirit.
"n the Hunted, there's no use of the male gaze used. It would of been better if they had included the gaze as it signifies that male have more power over the females. It could of been used to demonstrated the killer's power over the female victims"
ReplyDeleteDoes this make the trailer Feminist, Misogynist or Post feminist?
"They could of embedded some sort of phallic weapon for one of the girls to fight back so the masculine trait could of been displayed more clearly."
How successfully have they portrayed this character to make them recognizable?
What about costume and appearance in the MES to make them masculine?
WHY is this Post feminist?
You need another Theory.
WHAT does the Monster represent? SUBTEXT?
"Derry's theory refers to religion and sexuality. The antagonist is pre-dominantly a male and the victim is always a female. " This is nothing to do with sexuality or the supernatural though
What evidence do you have onscreen?