Representation

Representation is used in films to give an idea about a certain group of people, for example gender, race and age.

Males and females can be represented in certain ways in many different films, and are therefore stereotyped. However, some films choose to represent gender in a different away, and go against the stereotypes.

Males in films

The male characters are usually represented as brutal and powerful. In horror films, it is most likely that any male protagonists will die over the female protagonist. This is because the audience has seen the female be subjected to horror which has scared her, therefore it would be "wrong" to kill her. However men are represented in a way that they do not scare anywhere as easily as the woman, therefore it is more acceptable for the male characters to die.

An example of this is the film Alien (1979). Despite there being only two female characters on the ship, and five male characters, non of these male characters survive. One of these male characters is called Dallas. He is the captain of the ship and is known for his laid back attitude. However, he is also known for his leadership skills. This fits into the stereotypes of male characters, as he is brave and is good at decision making. Despite all of these traits, he still dies, showing that even if the male characters appear to have the characteristics of someone who would survive a horror film, they will probably still be killed.

Females in films

Female characters are usually represented in films as the 'damsel in distress', meaning that the character needs to be saved by someone else, most likely to be a male. Horror films often represent the women as weak and vulnerable. There are usually two types of female characters in horror films, 'The Virgin' and 'The Slut'. Virgins are portrayed as the nice, innocent and pure characters, and often are not killed for this reason. However, 'The Slut' is portrayed more as a sinner, and someone who is unfriendly, which means that these characters are most likely to be killed.

An example of these stereotypes is Halloween (1978). The character in this which represents the 'slut' is Judith Myers. She is the older sister of the murderer, and his first victim. She is left alone in her house with her boyfriend, and the two of them go upstairs to have sex. However, Micheal Myers (her younger brother and the murderer), is waiting outside, and eventually goes into the house and stabs her. This supports the idea that any female character who has sex in a horror film is most likely to be killed. This film also includes a 'virgin' stereotype. Laurie strode is another sister of the murderer, and she is constantly being hunted by him. However, she is portrayed as a friendly and brave character and is therefore not killed.