Thursday, November 14, 2013

Project Proposal: Sex, death, rebirth

My project will consist of a series of videos that will analyze the roles of women in the context of the horror genre. I plan on making a series of three minute long videos that will feature an image and a voiceover analysis of film (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lambs,  etc) and literature (Frankenstein). I will supplement these videos with a tumblr blog because I have a diverse collection of images that I feel will enrich the project. I also want to survey both eastern and western art (films, written works and illustrations) and draw conclusions between them. Of particular interest to me is cultural constructions of sex and violence and how they may relate to domestic abuse and rape in society.

Advertisement for the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)


I plan on following the lead of YouTube user rantasmo, a vlogger who takes aspects of popular culture and analyses them through a sociological lens. His focus is on gender studies and the treatment of LGBT people and women in the media. Likewise, I will discuss the themes of sex and violence in films and how these messages both affect are affected by society. Horror films are of particular interest to me because they are the one genre of film that seem to be inherently and consistently sexist.

7 comments:

  1. This a topic I never thought would appear and I like it! We never analyze the cliché of the women's roles in horror movies. There has been a growth in the parts women play during the movie but still the women follows the direction of a male. I'm interested to see what things you will ultimately include in the project.

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  2. I think this sounds quite interesting. Not a lot of people look at horror films and think that it's sexist. I know for one that when I watch horror films, I just watch it because it's entertaining. However, your proposal changed my outlook on the horror films. I'm looking forward on your final project.

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  3. Horror films for me have always been able to affect me and set a very deep mood where I was drawn into the film. The way women are always 'used' in horror films has always intrigued me, very few make the women brave and fight back against whatever horror they are facing, Check out 'Cabin in the Woods' as well as 'Silent Hill' where women fight back, as opposed to just getting killed

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  4. I think this topic is especially interesting, because it tackles a specific film genre, one that is synonymous with violence and one that infamously glorifies sexual and physical violence against women.You should try looking to see if there are female directors making horrors movies, and if so how is their portrayal of female characters are different from other directors, if at all.

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  5. I absolutely loooove this idea! The subject matter of sexualized violence in horror movies is a great one that has been discussed before, but your idea to put it into video form is better for those with short attention spans. Make sure you talk about how women are dressed in these acts of violence that romanticizes the idea of domestic abuse. Because the women look sexually attractive while getting attacked, or murdered, in these films, heterosexual men may equate that violence (of any kind) goes hand in hand with sex.

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    1. Absolutely, especially if you consider that the objects used to kill women are often phallic-shaped (knives, machetes, chainsaws, etc.) Thanks for the comment!

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  6. Women always seem to be the inferior one rather in movies or art as we all know...this topic is great and I can't way to see your final project....not only are the women surveyed but are slaughtered..I spit on your grave remake is a great one where the woman fights back and gains the victory.

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