How are female characters represented in the Horror Genre?

In the Horror Genre female characters are portrayed as weak, defenceless

and submissive. In this essay I will be writing about the films Women In
Black, Nightmare on Elm Street and The Ring because I will be comparing
the character conventions of characters such as protagonists, antagonists
and Damsels-in-distresses, showing how the disempowerment of women
characters and then analysing product elements in how female characters
are portrayed through them. In analysing I will use theories such as Male
Gaze, Scopophilia and Irrational Voice theory.
In all horror films there will be an Antagonist, a Protagonist, a damsel-indistress and a troublemaker. An Antagonist is the main character who is
the villain who normally needs to be defeated. The Antagonist in Women
in Black is the Women in Black. In horror a female Antagonist can also be
called the Femme Fetal. The Women in Black is a frightening, evil and cold
character, her presence strikes fear into innocence people. Her role in the
film is to seek revenge for her sons death even after she is dead herself,
torturing innocent familys by killing their children. A Protagonist is the
main central character who is stereotypically brave, strong and able. The
Protagonist in Women in Black is Arthur Kipps. His character has the
conventions of brave, determinacy and strong. His role in the film is him
being a lawyer who has been sent the deceased Women in Blacks house
to clear her estate and try to sell the house. He tries to stop the Women in
Black from murdering the children by reuniting her with her son. In
Women in Black there doesnt appear to feature Damsel-in-Distress and
Troublemaker characters.
The Women in Black is empowered because she has total control of
people, mainly the children and no one can determine when she is going
to appear and what she is going to do next. If we analyse the Women in
Black using the Irrational Voice Theory which says that the female
character is weak and will act in an irrational manner when she is
threatened by the antagonist or other danger this goes against the
Women in Black as she is a Femme fetal. She is the danger, the
Antagonist meaning she has power. This theory can further show us that
the Women in Black is empowered because the Irrational Voice Theory
states that stereotypically the female is disempowered because of her
need for the male protagonist. This shows us that the Women in Black is
empowered because she doesnt need or want the protagonist, she makes
him one of her victims by controlling the protagonists son which leads to
his son and the protagonist being killed due to her empowerment.
On the other hand if you compared the Women in Black to Nightmare on
Elm Street the way in which the female characters are represented are
different in this horror film. The Antagonist in Nightmare on Elm Street is
Freddy Krueger. Freddy Krueger is an intimidating, creepy, twisted male
character. His role in the film is to torment peoples dreams to the point

where it comes reality, his targeting seems to be aimed at young females.

The Protagonist in Nightmare on Elm Street is Nancy. Nancy is a bold,
strong and independent female character. Her role in the film is to fight
against Freddy Krueger single handily and stop him twisting dreams. A
Damsel-in-distress is a weak female character who is stereotypical fragile
and helpless. She tends to rely on the protagonist to save her. The
Damsel-in-distress is Tina. Tina is a defenceless, thoughtless and feeble
character. Her role in the film is to be one of Freddy Kruegers victims.
In Nightmare on Elm Street Tina is disempowered because she is the
Damsel-in-distress, she is controlled by the antagonist and she hasnt got
the capability to fight for herself. If we analyse Tina using the Male Gaze
Theory which says that female characters are focused on for their physical
beauty and attraction rather than their personality and strengths, we can
see that Tina fits the criteria. This is because Tina is an attractive young
women and in the film it forces on her beauty and her slim figure by
dressing her in short night dresses which make her look vulnerable. Also
by focusing on her beauty it highlights the fact the Tina has little logic and
that she is so open minded that she willing without thinking walking into
danger, the Male Gaze theory shows us that Tina is disempowered in
Nightmare on Elm Street.
Sound and mise-en-scenes are used which highly represent the Women in
Black. In the film you could always tell when the Women in Black was
about to show her presence with sound. Her eerie presence would be
accompanied with distorted lullaby music. The lullaby music differs in
sound throughout the film. To build tension the music would start quietly
with a slow tempo then gradually speed up and become louder, at some
points the music would cut off then sharp bursts of it would be played
then cut off again causing a startled reaction. In the final scene on the
platform The Women in Black victimises the protagonists son, as she
arrives on the platform the music fades then the distorted lullaby tune
plays becoming loud. This causes suspense, tension and dear amongst the
audience. The sound gets higher in pitch when she appears and then she
screams, this makes the audience more aware and alert. The choice of the
music attracts her child victims as the lullaby sounds are associated with
young children, by using this it puts them into a trance and lures them to
their death. In analysing through mise-en-scenes, The Women in Blacks
costume consisted of a long bride-like black dress completed with a black
veil and black gloves. The connotations of black are death and
mournfulness. Her costume fits her Antagonist ways, this is because
wherever she was seen she caused deaths and it looks like she is already
dressed for a funeral, maybe not to grieve what she has done to her
victim but an ongoing grief of the loss of her own son. The location which
the women in Black is seen mainly in the dark woods and in the far
corners of victims houses. The connotations a dark wood is mysterious,
danger and the unknown and the connotations of a house is safety. The

Women in Black is the threat in all locations being in someones house she
makes that safe place unsafe as she is a danger. The lighting is always
dim, the connotations of this are gloomy and mysterious. The lighting
stayed dim around her, never become bright. This gave the effect of The
Women in Black being a shadowy character. In Nightmare on Elm Street
camera angles represent the damsel-in-distress, Tina. In the first
establishing shot we see of Tina, she is lying in bed and you can see she is
distressed as she was currently having a nightmare but the camera
panned up from her chest area to her face. Doing a shot like that exposes
Tinas body and beauty to the audience, focusing on how she looks. Tinas
main costume we see her in is a short white night shirt with bear legs. The
connotations of white are purity and innocence. This has the effect that
Tina is a pure character with no bad qualities. The way that Tina is dressed
in a short white night shirt makes her look vulnerable and exposed, and
the bear legs is also focusing on her looks and beauty. The locations which
she is threated in are her bedroom and outside her house in the sidewalk.
In her bedroom she is attacked by Freddy Krueger, being violently moved
around in the air even though you cant see the antagonist. And in the
sidewalk it is night time and the darkness emphasises the danger wait for
her, she later gets chased the antagonist.
In my conclusion my argument is that in the Horror Genre female
characters are represented as the weak and powerless ones. The evidence
that I have given proves my argument because it is very rare for a female
to play a part where she is strong and in control, like the Women in Black
where a female is playing an antagonist, most horror films feature females
as the damsel-in-distress who are defenceless which I have explained the
conventions for and backs up my point of females being weak and
powerless. Also females are sexualised by how they are made to look,
dress and act for example in Nightmare on Elm Street Tina who is a
damsel-in-distress is sexualised from her short night shirts and the way
her body is shown, which I have mentioned in this essay.