The document discusses how the film The Possession uses common horror film tropes and conventions to portray gender. It notes that horror films typically depict women and children as the weaker targets of ghosts or killers, with men taking on the role of rescuing them. In The Possession, the youngest daughter is the first to be possessed by the ghost. The father takes on the dominant role of trying to help her, while the mother becomes fearful and helpless. Another woman is also possessed, reinforcing the common trope. However, the ending subverts expectations by depicting the daughter as too powerful for even doctors and priests to stop.

1. Shahnaaz Begum 13ME Media The Possession
How does the director use micro-elements to present the gender in
the film?
Horror films have a set of codes and conventions which all genres have and tend to follow.
With horror films, the codes and conventions are most likely for a female or a child to be on
the weaker side, possessed and a male trying to rescue and help the possessed female.
There is also a killer or a ghost who is trying to get to someone who is weak and take over
their lives or try killing them. However some horror films don’t follow codes and
conventions do the opposite, which opposes the idea of the ‘stereotypical’ horror film.
In the beginning of the film, it starts off with a shot of the family, who live in a normal
American house. In this horror film, as the parents have separated the father of the two girls
decides that he wants his daughters for the weekend. During the moment of disequilibrium,
the youngest daughter gets targeted by the ghost. Em was pulled into the trap of the ghost
by the ring that she found in the box. She gets tricked by the fact its jewellery and can’t help
herself but put the ring on. During the beginning of the film, Em is wearing clothes that little
girls would wear for example dresses and skirts. However, during the period of
disequilibrium Em starts wearing dark clothes, for example black and grey. This shows that
she has been possessed and that her ‘world’ has gone dark because she can’t control herself
because the ghost has taken over her actions. It also follows the codes and conventions of a
horror film because it’s most likely a female figure to be targeted or a young child.
Adding on, the children are given to the father to look after when things start to go wrong
as one thing leads to another, this shows that the mother is not capable enough to look
after the daughters after the youngest daughter gets possessed. Most females are shown to
be vulnerable against the supernatural as they are weak; this shows that they are a target
for ghosts/killers.
As the soon as the youngest daughter gets possessed, the father starts finding out different
ways in helping the daughter out, by going to different religious leaders and groups of
people. However, the mother is scared and does not know what to do; she gives all the
responsibilities to the father. This follows the codes and conventions of a horror film
because the woman is shown to be weak and the man is taking over the role of both father
and mother.
Also, most of the camera shots that are in the film shows that the mother is almost looking
up to her ex-husband because even though at the beginning of the film she was bossing him
about, on how to look after their daughters, now she’s almost pleading for his help. Close
shots of her face show the emotion of her face which is worried and helplessness as she
pleads him to help her.
In this film, there is a lady who gets possessed by the same ghost who is trying to take over
the Em’s. The fact that another female got possessed repeats the same codes and
conventions of woman being weak and vulnerable.

2. Shahnaaz Begum 13ME Media The Possession
Near the end of the film, Em is taken to the hospital. However, no one can help her because
Em’s powers are stronger than everyone else’s and she is out of control. This in a way
doesn’t follow the codes and conventions of a horror film because at the end, the female is
made to seem really strong, stronger than the male doctors, her father and the Jewish
rabbi. This almost connects to the beginning of the film where Ems mother was standing on
top of the stairs and her father at the bottom, showing that she has more power over her
daughters. It contradicts the ending of the film, where she goes to Ems father for help
because she is helpless and has no one to turn to. During the period of disequilibrium Ems
father is shown to be the strong father figure because he is constantly trying to help and
find out what has happened to his daughter, while the mother is in barely any of the scenes.
Overall, The Possession is a typical horror film where the male figure is stronger than the
female figure, not just physically but in the sense of trying to help out his daughter, Em.
Most horror films follow the codes and conventions of a female being weak vulnerable. The
female is also the one who gets possessed or killed first and the male figure tries to get
away or help. Females are targeted more in horror films which follow codes and
conventions.