Subtitle
Ideological Representations of the Adolescent Female in "Jennifer’s Body"
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Document Type
Thesis
School
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Department
Art
Date of Original Version
2013
Abstract
Since the birth of the genre, American horror filmmakers have posed female characters as prey and objects of sexual desire. Adolescent women in particular act as both the victim and as eye candy for viewers. From the damsel in distress to the rape victim seeking revenge, women in horror films exist to be antagonized, and so often, their exhibition of femininity and sexuality determines the severity of their suffering. Moreover, though the popular horror film narrative tends to explore the fringes of human nature, few horror films openly deal with the fears and concerns of women outside of threats to their physical being.
In the past decade, the horror genre has produced a new crop of young female characters who challenge the tropes of traditional horror films by trading in their role of damsel in distress for the role of the antagonist and anti-hero. What’s more, these films deal with themes relevant to young women, such as body image issues, tumultuous relationships, and sexual repression. In this thesis, I analyze the popular American horror film Jennifer’s Body (2009), which features two violent female protagonists and explores the horrors of adolescent female friendships. In my analysis, I examine whether or not the re-imagined female characters in this film are a progressive reconstruction of gender, and identify ideological conventions of the horror genre that continue to denigrate femininity and female sexuality.
Recommended Citation
Casali, Julie, "Terrors of Girlhood" (2013). Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview. 86.
https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/etd/86
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