The representation of women in relation to 'The cabin in the woods'

 

 Jeremy Tunstall said that women had 4 roles in any kind of media production, domestic, sexual, consumer and marital. He collected evidence to suggest all women in the media are portrayed as housewives, mothers, shoppers and sex objects. In 'The cabin in the woods', there is one of the suggested roles present for certain in Jules, she is the classic horror film 'hot girl', and she flaunts her body at every oppurtunity. Interestingly, one of her last acts in the film is when she is dancing seductively in front of the fire, really certifying to the audience her role in the film. Also, Jules' name is androgynous, wheras often the girl who is killed has a girls name, but Dana is not androgynous which is unusual for horror film characters. As for Dana's character, i would say she is is more domestic than anything else, she seems like the kind who would refuse a party to stay at home and do homework, i could see her being a housewife in her later life, if she had lived.

Dana, in many ways, is a classic final girl. She is shy, academic, we dont see her drinking alchohol, she wears trousers and conservative clothing, unlike Jules, and up until the final scene we assume she is a virgin (there is a mention of her having a relationship with on of her teachers but no evidence she had sex with him). She is also independant, where Jules just screams for help, Dana trys to get herself out of the situation. Because the film follows classic horror conventions so strictly, it really isnt a surprise when most of the characters are picked off and killed and low and behold Dana is the only one left. Until, that is, the first real surprise happens and the stoner saves her, who we assume is dead. As the film progresses towards the final scene, Dana starts to act less and less like the final girl, she shows aspects of anger rather than fear, she reveals that she isnt a virgin, points a gun at one of her friends, and smokes a joint with Marty just before they're about to die. Obviously the whole final girl principal itself is under threat here because she technically isn't the sole survivor as is often the way, and even more unbelievable, the stoner is the one who survived with her.

Although we never see her any other way, we are soon informed that Jules has actually dyed her hair shortly before the film started, an example of Bordwell and Thompson's space and time theory, she is now blonde, a stereotype of the hot girl, not just in horror films but in common perception as well. Incidentally, Dana's hair is sort of ginger, if i dare say it, a stereotype of the 'nerd'. Jules' final screen time in the film is spent seducing curt, in the woods. Both of them are overly sexually precocious because of the drugs being sprayed everywhere by the men in charge, and inevitably they end up having sex, which can only mean one thing for Jules, and sure enough moments later she is beheaded by a zombie. This scene includes so many classic horror film aspects that give a fairly reliable idea of what is going to happen, they are in the wood, alone, at night, there is mist on the ground, oblivious to their surroundings, and the final nail in the coffin, they are having sex.

I think the male gaze is exemplified best in the scene where Jules is dancing in front of the fire. The camera appears to be through the eyes of someone sitting in the middle of the sofa in front of her, making it feel like a private show, like a stripper at a bar. The camera is also low, looking up at her making her look powerful, dominant, something to be taken notice of. It also, going back to the idea of a strip club, where the performer would be above the customer on a platform. Perhaps this is what the director was trying to portray in this scene.