The representation of Women in relation to The Cabin in the Woods (Goddard 2012)

The Cabin in the Woods (Goddard 2012)

 

What were Jeremy Tunstall's 4 character roles for women and do they apply to The Cabin in the Woods?

Tunstall says that women are depicted as busy housewives, as contented mothers, as eager consumers and  as sex objects.

• Marital
• Sexual
• Consumer 
• Domestic

 There are five main characters in the film The Cabin in the Woods Curt, Jules, Holden, Dana and Marty who have all been categorized by the agency, these categories include 'The whore'- Jules, 'The Athlete'- Curt, 'The Scholar'- Holden  'The fool'- Marty and ' The Virgin'- Dana. 

Characters Dana and Jules  partially fit into Tunstall's character roles, I would say Jules fits into the sexual character role, this is mainly because this has been enhanced through chemicals in her hair dye which makes her fit the sexual category more, she is also sexulaised through POV shots which reveal her body in a sexual Manor as well aspects such as her actions throughout the film and the type of clothes she wears. Dana However could go under the domestic or marital category as in comparison to Jules she is portrayed to be much more sensible and reserved. 

How is Dana typical of Clover's final girl theory? 

Dana is typical of the final girl theory in that she is has androgynous tendencies similar as to ones we pick up from Laurie in Carpenter's Halloween. In comparison to Jules Dana is much more reserved and is the one to fit the 'Virgin' Category in the 'Show'.
In Crol Clovers book she states that the final girl is usually; virginal, bookish, hands on and non-sexualised.
Dana fits Clovers theory in that she is willing to fight back; showing that she is hands on this is shown when she stabs the Zombie multiples time and at the end she is prepared to kill her friend. Dana is made out to be intellectual and sensible when she tries to bring some books to study before Jules removes them from her bag, this relates to clovers book in that the final girl is usually 'bookish'. Later when they are at the Cabin the group have a tipsy game of truth or Dare in which when it gets to Dana; Curt automatically says she might as well skip to truth implying that she would not usually want a dare. Dana again fits this final girl theory in what she's wearing, she has on cropped jeans and a casual jacket which which is completely opposite to Jules' feminine outfit, towards the end of the movie Dana thinks to open the elevator to release all of the monsters to kill the people who are after them which shows she is smart and Brave. However Dana is also shown to have interest in boys, alcohol and sex (we also know that she is not a virgin) this challenges the Final girl theory. I also think that by having the binary opposition of Jules and Dana this emphasizes each others category by making the other seem more sexual or more virginal.
Another factor that challenges Clover's final girl theory is when Marty saves Dana, if Marty had not done this Dana most likely would have died meaning Marty would be the last one alive however as he does manage to save her the two die together rather than Dana being last one standing.

Jules undergoes mental and physical transformations during the film, what are they and how do they cause her to become a horror archetype? 

At the beginning of the film we are informed that Jules has dyed her hair blonde which is later revealed to have intoxicated her influencing her actions and making her more sexual to fit the Whore archetype. Not only does it do this but it also makes her fit the 'dumb blonde' stereotype. Jules wears extremely short shorts and a low buttoned blouse which shows off her body unlike Dana who wears unflattering clothes which don't extenuate her body; This shows the opposite female archetypes of 'The Whore' and 'The Virgin'this is also shown through the fact that Jules is the first one to die out of the group whereas Dana is Last along with Marty.
Because Jules' behavior has been enhanced she is made the sexual object of the show, she becomes much more provocative and does things she probably wouldn't have done if she was in her right mind. Her behavior is also changed through adding mist and temperatures to the forest/ cabin area which encourages her to have sex with her boyfriend Curt.

Is Mulvey's male gaze theory exemplified in the film and if so how? 

Mulvey's male gaze theory is exemplified in  The Cabin in  the Woods mainly though the character of Jules, Jules is the whore archetype who is seen as the sexual character her actions in the film are made sexual through various ways especially using different camera angles such as close up shots and point of view shots, These include when she's dared to kiss the wolf head on the wall, there is a close up shot as well as a point of view shot, there is also a panning shot of Jules when she is dancing in front of the fire it starts low then slowly tilts up her body. When Jules and Curt are outside together we are shown a point of view shot from Curts point of view of Jules undressing, this then cuts to a shot of a big group of men at the agency watching the screens it is they then say they do it to keep the audience happy. This shows how Jules is sexually objectified  and is there for the male audience's pleasure.

In the film we, as an audience are made to be voyeurs; when does this happen and why is it important in regards to representation of character?

Near the beginning of the film when they first arrive at the cabin Holden is disturbed by a gory graphic painting so takes it down but is even more disturbed to find a double sided mirror where he can see Dana but she can't see him. Dana looks in the mirror with a disappointed face then starts to undress, Holden contemplates on what to do for a minute but in the end decides to do the moral thing and tell Dana; This shows that Holden is a genuine and nice guy who has respect for women.
When dana goes into the other room she see's Holden start to undress she looks for a minute but quickly covers the mirror back up showing they both have the same morals and respect for each other.

Summarize the way women are represented in the Cabin the the Woods.

I personally think that The film 'The Cabin in the Woods' uses the typical horror film stereotypes in a clever way to add an interesting aspect to the film. The programme uses five categories 'The whore', 'The Athlete', 'The Scholar', 'The fool', and ' The Virgin'. This shows they intentionally use Jules as a sexual character in the film, her character is objectified and fits the stereotypical type of girl in a horror film, her character is there to bring pleasure to the hetro-sexual male audience. They use Dana as the typical final girl character fitting 'The Virgin' category, she is represented as being able to stand up for herself but also being much more reserved than Jules.
Overall there are two representations of women in the film, the women are shown to be typical of most horror films however they have been changed  physically and mentally to fit these horror archetypes which adds a unique twist to the film which makes it unique and different in comparison to other horror films.