final girl theory

The term ‘final girl’ comes from the book Men, Women and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film created by Carol J. Clover. This term simply refers to the last character of a film left alive to challenge the killer, usually used in a slasher/horror film. This female role is usually played by a feminine/ girlie character, who is known to be a sensible and pretty character i.e. won’t drink alcohol or take drugs and in some way is either shown as an intelligent and imaginative Lady. She can be a combination of The Hero or the woman in trouble. The use of a woman as the main narrator allows emotion and horrifying action to flow into the viewer along with the characters. Women display more emotion than men, therefore, having a male narrator would decrease the emotional connection with the audience as they appear more masculine so they don’t show as much fear, whereas the female character would be able to provide deeper detail through her being terrified by her sounding action e.g. screaming and crying. There are 5 female characters in the shining, they are Wendy, the lady in the bathtub, Grady’s daughters and the hotel secretary. The hotel secretary has a small role in the film but she is carrying out a stereotypical female role in organising a man’s work schedule as ladies are organised so are able to organise what a man does. The only representation of sexual objectification in this film is through the lady in the bathtub. When she steps out of the bath and reveals her naked body Jack is drawn in by temptation and begins kissing her, her body then wastes away and she turns into a corpse; a conceivable punishment for Jack’s wrongdoing when her skin wears away this also be a metaphor for the way the male gaze is removed from that scene. Wendy is the most important woman in the film as she is Jack’s wife and also the final girl. She is showed as very domestic and familial, as she does the jobs around the hotel Jack is unable to do and she stays by Jack’s side (her husband) whilst he contests with his unstable mind. She starts to show how she is the final girl by the way she proved that she was an independent and strong woman as she fights against jack to save her and her son Danny’s life.