The Cabin in the Woods Powerpoint

2. What were Jeremy Tunstall's 4 character
roles for women and do they apply to The
Cabin in the Woods?
Tunstall explained in ‘The Media in Britain’ that the 4 characters
types represented in the media are;
• Domestic
• Sexual
• Consumer
• Marital
Jules clearly fits to the sexual character type as the ‘dumb
blonde’ while Dana does fit to character type slightly, she is seen
as more than just her looks. While Dana and Holden do have
intellectual things in common such as Holden reading Latin,
there is a sexual chemistry between them which is seen in the
mirror scene and when they are sitting together by the fire.

3. How is Dana typical of Clover's 'Final Girl'
theory? Please mention: the ending; Dana's
appearance and her actions during the film.
As Jules is seen as the ‘slutty’ character, Dana contrasts this by
possessing masculine and feminine traits that make her more relatable
to the male audience. Her appearance is quite toned down compared
to Jules and Dana is quite nervous when entering the basement during
the ‘Truth or Dare’ game to show she isn’t reckless like the others.
During the film, apart from when she is in the van with Holden is quite
determined throughout the film on surviving even though she sees her
friends being killed by the Buckner zombie family. After her fight with
one of the zombies where she ends up in the lake, while she is
swimming one of the scientists says how they want her to do well. This
shows how determined she comes across even when she's injured and
being chased by Father Buckner.
Towards the end of the film when Dana and Marty are the only
survivors, she is the one who presses the ‘Purge’ button that releases
all the monsters from theirs cages that acts as a distraction while they
escape. When they finally meet The Director of the facility, she
explains to Dana that she must kill Marty to complete the ritual
however she refuses, showing her strength to stick by her friend. As
time runs out for the two, the ancient gods begin to raise to surface
and although it suggests they both die, the film shows both Marty and
Dana are the last ones to survive, fulfilling the Final Girl theory.

4. Jules undergoes mental and physical
transformations during the film, what are they
and how do they cause her to become a horror
archetype?
At the start of the film when Jules and Dana are talking in her room, she announces that
she has dyed her hair blonde, the first sign of her becoming the ‘dumb blonde’
stereotype. When they get to the cabin and start ‘Truth or Dare’ while drinking, it has
become apparent that her personality has changed through her provocative behaviour
after being intoxicated by the psychotropic drugs as well as being impaired by the
infected hair dye.
When Jules and Curt run off to the woods, they start to have sex which has become a
stereotype for the horror genre to suggest the first victims. As the Buckner's start to rise
from the dead, Jules is decapitated to which Curt manages to escape back to cabin. By
Jules being the first victim, it follows the main stereotype of the blonde, provocative
character being too distracted to concentrate on the strange occurrences that started to
happen.

5. Is Mulvey's Male Gaze theory exemplified
in the film and if so, how? Think about
framing, camera angles and POV shots.
In this film, the male gaze theory is applied mainly to Jules
as Dana is the main protagonist although it some parts of
the film, the theory can be applied to Dana swell, such as
the mirror scene which the audience is watching from
Holden’s point of view. This theory can also be contrasted
when the audience is seeing from Dana’s point of view of
Holden undressing from the other side of the mirror.
When Jules is dancing in front of the fire, this is clearly seen
from a male perspective as it uses many close up shots and
tilts the camera towards her to fulfil the male gaze theory.
Later on when her and Curt are having sex in the woods,
long shots are used to show Jules entire body which makes
her seem like a sex object to the audience.

6. In the film we, as an audience, are made to be
voyeurs; when does this happen and why is it
important in regards to representation of
character?
When the film begins, the camera pans into Dana’s room from the street
where you see her getting changed and talking to Jules about her hair colour.
This automatically places the audience into the voyeurs position which
maintained throughout the film and highlighted in certain scenes. The main
voyeurs of the film are the scientists who continue to watch the teenagers
throughout the film until the purge. The two scientists who work for the
facility, Sitterson and Hadley as well as the chemical technician, Lin have a
sadistic approach to their job by not only feeling no guilt or remorse for the
deaths but also placing bets on which creature the victims will choose. This
shows that the characters just see their actions as work and don’t have an
emotional reaction to seeing the deaths of innocent teenagers for sake of the
tradition. The only member of the facility who seems to feel sympathy towards
the teens is Daniel, a security guard who refuses to place a bet and doesn’t
enjoy watching the victims compared to the other staff, who had become
almost desensitised to seeing the deaths.
As well as the mirror scene with Dana and Holden, the other scene in the
cabin/forest scene which is very voyeuristic when Jules and Curt are about to
have sex in the woods which could have been heavily suggested but by seeing
what they are doing when they think they are alone puts the audience in the
same place as the scientists who are also watching. Although Jules has already
been affected enough to fit with the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype, this only
furthers it into her role as the ‘Whore’ within the sacrifice.

7. In the film we, as an audience, are
made to be voyeurs… (Continued)
A scene that could be argued to be quite voyeuristic is when
Dana and Marty are in the glass cube and are revolving around
all the monsters that they could have chose. By using shots from
outside the cube as well as close ups of the characters reactions,
the audience gain perspective on the size and location while
giving the audience a chance to ‘look in’ into the situation
without the characters knowing. Using close ups get across to the
audience the terror that they characters are feeling and with
Dana, the almost hysteria when she realises they chose their own
fate. At this point Dana starts to bang on the glass which is shot
from the outside the cube, increasing the voyeurism in the
scene. The panning long shot after that shows all the different
cubes moving furthers this the audience the idea of how many
monsters there are.
When Dana presses the Purge button in the facility, the scene
where the creatures are released is a long shot and has a
voyeuristic perspective as the characters are in a different place
of the room compared to where the camera is. This scene is the
‘goriest’ throughout the film and is mainly used as a shock tactic
to scare the audience therefore, leaving a memorable and
frightening impression.

8. (Briefly) summarise the way women are represented in
The Cabin in the Woods. Are they objectified and there
to provide satisfaction for heterosexual males and/or
do they fulfil another role/purpose?
Although both women are subjected to sexual
objectification in some scenes, is in mostly Jules who is
seen as the sex object while Dana has intelligence and a
will to survive, making her more androgynous. In the 5
roles that need to be sacrificed, the women only fit the
‘Whore’ and ‘Virgin’ role whereas the males fit the more
characteristic roles such as ‘Jock’, ‘Scholar’ and ‘Joker’ that
furthers the idea that the women only had a sexual
purpose.
Even though Dana was the final girl and fits the theory of
this in many ways, it isn’t likely she would have survived as
along as she did if she hadn’t have found Marty who had
figured what was happening because the Buckley’s were
very close to killing her until she hid in the underground
room. This perpetuates the theory that she needed a man
to save her. Later on when the Director orders Dana to kill
Marty, she refuses after hesitation even though she knows
the consequences and how it will effect the world. This
goes against the traditional hero who usually sacrifices
something to save many and for the greater good.