Sub- Genre Research
NENEH WATFA
Key Stock Characters in Monster
LAURA
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Cabin in the woods summaries
Laura Isabel Lozano-Robles
Using your notes from class on sub-genre and Horror conventions, write a summary of HOW the film make interesting use of the conventions of Horror and Sub-genres you have studied
In “The cabin in the woods” they used more than one sub- genre to make the horror film. One of the main sub-genres was zombie, the initial monsters were the zombies however this film combined the zombie sub-genre and the splatter sub-genre. The way the zombies were killing of the five main characters was suing the sub-genre splatter. The dumb blonde’s death was quite graphic with the zombie throwing the head of the girl (Jules) to the main protagonist Dana, who is the “virgin”.
Two sub-genres become involved in this film which are supernatural and J-horror, the men in charge are creating chaos all around the world to making the people who are being attacked a sacrifice to the “gods”. So there is a clip which shows what other countries are doing and one of them is Japan, it shows an aspects of the sub-genres of J-horror and Supernatural because they are performing some sort of ritual to get rid of the demon. Another sub-genre that comes up in this film is werewolves, in the last scene a werewolf attacks the protagonist, but this sub-genre doesn’t go to in depth.
All the “monsters” which are contained in the lab that these men are in control of all go under one sub-genre. So the antagonists use the sub-genres of horror to be the antagonist which is interesting and unique because normally there is just one.In addition this film used the stereotypes of characters, the plot actually picked these people because they went underneath the stereotypes, the whore (Jules), the athlete (Curt), the scholar (Holden), the fool (Marty), and the virgin (Dana).
Write a analysis of how the following themes and sub-texts are raised in the film (with examples of scenes that do so) - what is the film trying to say, particularly through its ending?
a) Teen Punishment
b) Gender & Sexuality
c) Yonic & Phallic Imagery
Teen punishment is a theme that we see especially through the Dumb Blonde character “Jules” and the Jock character “Curt”. In the scene in the woods when they have sex immediately afterwards the Zombies attack them aiming first at “Jules”, the zombie stabs her hand and the blood pours out which represents Yonic imagery. The weapons that he Zombies use represent phallic imagery as they use weapons such as screwdrivers, knives etc. again with the idea of piercing the skin.
There is an aspect of role reversal with sometime the female character taking the lead, in the scene when they are in the basement trying to escape from the zombies it’s the girl who saves the life of the nerd character Holden, she in fact attacks the zombie who is trying to kill Holden and she shows no mercy by repeatedly attacking it, it counter stereotypes the role for females in a Horror Film. The representation of the stoner character “Marty” is stereotypical, he hasn’t got anyone in the film who he is romantically involved with and is seen as the third wheel. He is slightly confused but where is differs is when he survives and helps save the final girl and figures out what is happening all because the drug he was smoking made him immune to the effects that the people in control ( Steve Hadley, Gary Sitterson Windy Lin etc.) where doing, so in this situation “drugs save his life”
In “The cabin in the woods” they used more than one sub- genre to make the horror film. One of the main sub-genres was zombie, the initial monsters were the zombies however this film combined the zombie sub-genre and the splatter sub-genre. The way the zombies were killing of the five main characters was suing the sub-genre splatter. The dumb blonde’s death was quite graphic with the zombie throwing the head of the girl (Jules) to the main protagonist Dana, who is the “virgin”.
Two sub-genres become involved in this film which are supernatural and J-horror, the men in charge are creating chaos all around the world to making the people who are being attacked a sacrifice to the “gods”. So there is a clip which shows what other countries are doing and one of them is Japan, it shows an aspects of the sub-genres of J-horror and Supernatural because they are performing some sort of ritual to get rid of the demon. Another sub-genre that comes up in this film is werewolves, in the last scene a werewolf attacks the protagonist, but this sub-genre doesn’t go to in depth.
All the “monsters” which are contained in the lab that these men are in control of all go under one sub-genre. So the antagonists use the sub-genres of horror to be the antagonist which is interesting and unique because normally there is just one.In addition this film used the stereotypes of characters, the plot actually picked these people because they went underneath the stereotypes, the whore (Jules), the athlete (Curt), the scholar (Holden), the fool (Marty), and the virgin (Dana).
Write a analysis of how the following themes and sub-texts are raised in the film (with examples of scenes that do so) - what is the film trying to say, particularly through its ending?
a) Teen Punishment
b) Gender & Sexuality
c) Yonic & Phallic Imagery
Teen punishment is a theme that we see especially through the Dumb Blonde character “Jules” and the Jock character “Curt”. In the scene in the woods when they have sex immediately afterwards the Zombies attack them aiming first at “Jules”, the zombie stabs her hand and the blood pours out which represents Yonic imagery. The weapons that he Zombies use represent phallic imagery as they use weapons such as screwdrivers, knives etc. again with the idea of piercing the skin.
There is an aspect of role reversal with sometime the female character taking the lead, in the scene when they are in the basement trying to escape from the zombies it’s the girl who saves the life of the nerd character Holden, she in fact attacks the zombie who is trying to kill Holden and she shows no mercy by repeatedly attacking it, it counter stereotypes the role for females in a Horror Film. The representation of the stoner character “Marty” is stereotypical, he hasn’t got anyone in the film who he is romantically involved with and is seen as the third wheel. He is slightly confused but where is differs is when he survives and helps save the final girl and figures out what is happening all because the drug he was smoking made him immune to the effects that the people in control ( Steve Hadley, Gary Sitterson Windy Lin etc.) where doing, so in this situation “drugs save his life”
Cabin in The woods summary
Omasan Pemu
Teen Punishment
The film explores the theme of teen punishment, through the killing of the dumb blonde/prostitute. Due to her promiscuous ways and sexual nature the dumb blonde is killed off first in the movie, this is due to the religious aspects of horror movies, as it shows that she is killed for her sins. Also she dies as she is about to have sex with her boyfriend which is interesting, and gives a message to the audience. The plan was for the virgin to live until the end, and for the other to die, as she is pure because she is still a virgin and they believe that she doesn’t need to be punished for any sins, as she has lived a good clean life. |
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Gender & Sexuality
The film shows the men of the group taking control and protecting the females, which reflects the patriarchal society that we live in as men are seen as superior and women are seen as inferior. Also the prostitute was punished for her sexual ways, whereas the men were not, also reflects the inequality of the patriarchal society that we live in. |
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Yonic and Phallic Imagery
Phallic imagery was used a lot in the movie. One example is when the unicorn kills the man with its horn on its forehead, this is an example of phallic imagery as the man’s belly represents the vagina and the hon represents the penis, its symbolising sexual intercourse. Yonic imagery was also used in the movie. It was used when the van went through the cave in the beginning, this is Yonic because the van enters and the cave represents the vagina, as the vagina takes thing in.
Phallic imagery was used a lot in the movie. One example is when the unicorn kills the man with its horn on its forehead, this is an example of phallic imagery as the man’s belly represents the vagina and the hon represents the penis, its symbolising sexual intercourse. Yonic imagery was also used in the movie. It was used when the van went through the cave in the beginning, this is Yonic because the van enters and the cave represents the vagina, as the vagina takes thing in.