Graduation Year
2019
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Media Studies
Reader 1
Jennifer Friedlander
Reader 2
Nancy Macko
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2018 Maya L Zhou
Abstract
Decades of horror film research and theorizations have shown us that there is a reason why this particular genre has been an important part of film history from the beginning: namely, the idea that horror both reflects and shapes our historically and culturally specific anxieties.
By examining the Final Girl trope in Halloween (the 1978 original versus 2018 version), this paper traces the evolution of female protagonists and whether a more modern film accurately reflects the increasing role of feminism in society, or sticks to traditional conventions of misogyny and male-dominated visual pleasure. Placing the newer film in the context of the #MeToo era, this paper also addresses more contemporary anxieties over trauma, sexual assault and female anger.
Recommended Citation
Zhou, Maya and Zhou, Maya, "Evolution of the Final Girl: Exploring Feminism and Femininity in Halloween (1978-2018)" (2019). Scripps Senior Theses. 1279.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1279
