A look at how the females of our species are represented in the 2012 horror film The Cabin in the Woods. Final Girl and Male Gaze theory are just some of the ideas explored in this Presentation.

2. Tunstall theorised that texts depict and exploit
four different types of woman…

4. After watching the film The Cabin in The Woods,
I would argue that only one of these types of
woman is present in the film…

6. One of Clover’s most significant contributions to film
theory was the idea of the ‘Final Girl’. Previously, females
were only seen as damsels in distress, but Clover argued
that Final Girls have the capabilities of fighting back.
Clover argued that because of this, the whole audience
identifies with the final girl, not just the female
percentage. As such, the Final Girl’s name and clothes are
usually none gender specific, and her sexual fluidity
allows audiences to identify with the fear of being
attacked. The main antagonist also usually has
experienced a traumatic event or has some psychological
problem, which means the audience is almost diverted
away from relating to them.

7. Dana remains
virginal
throughout the
film.
Dana is saved by
Marty.
Dana does not
partake in taking
drugs, getting drunk
or having sex.
Dana acts
assertively in
some scenes.
The name ‘Dana’
is androgynous.
Dana’s clothes
aren’t particularly
androgynous.
Marty also survives and
has traits of the Final
Girl. (Could be a new
type of character: a
‘Final Boy’?
Marty does do drugs,
but he is the only
one who knows what
is happening and
remains focused.

8. New hair dye – At the start of the film, Jules
has her hair dyed blonde. Fans have
speculated that this is the beginning of the
ritual, as the dye could somehow have
chemically changed her personality.
Kissing the wolf – After this particular scene,
Dana acts even more provocatively, suggesting
that not just the mounted wolf head, but
every other object that she interacts with
could have been laced with a psychology
enhancing substance.

9. At a few points in he film, Mulvey’s theory can be applied:
• Jules, ‘The Whore’: The dance scene, the wolf kiss scene,
and the sex scene. The sex scene especially, as we watch
the technicians gazing upon her, extenuating that Jules is in
a horror film within a horror film.
• Dana: Behind the two-way mirror. Again, in this scene the
subject is being observed within the film, this time by one
of the characters: Holden.

10. At all of these points of the film (the dance, the
kiss, the sex, and the mirror), we as an audience
are made to feel like we are watching the
characters, and that we are enjoying what is
happening on-screen. The use of seductive
music during Jules’ dance, and the reactions of
other characters in the film observing these
events makes it apparent that the audience is
supposed to be enjoying these scenes.

11. The only obvious references to women being
objectified/sexualised are the parts where Jules
is being sexually active. The justification for this
is that she is unwillingly transforming into a
much more whorish person. But this must mean
that she normally doesn’t behave like this.
Therefore, Jules is a puppet, or rather a more
powerful source is using her as an object in
order to achieve some other goal. This implies
that Jules is only being objectified/sexualised
because it is integral to the plot of the film.

12. Dana is, on the face of it, the ‘Final Girl’, because
she is a girl. However, the presence of Marty, and
the way they both behave, suggests that they are
both in fact the Final Girls. Males can relate to
Marty, and females can identify with Dana. Marty
saves Dana, and earlier, Dana acts boldly by
unleashing the monsters, but they both together
make the ultimate decision in the film. They both
have bold traits, and they both have credentials
which may divert the audience from identifying
with them, but together they both possess the
basic characteristics of the ‘Final Girl’.