Alice Drivers Media Coursework

Representation of Women in Horror Films The female role in horror movies are represented in very similar ways to each other. In most predictable horror movies we assume that the women are always meant to be naive, helpless, hopeless and seemingly always the victims. We notice that the victims are always alone and unable to get out of the situation. In older films this is mainly how they were presented. A typical example of this is the film Scream (1996) this shows that the woman are always killed first in an over dramatised effect. Most of the victims are blonde; this gives off a sense of naivety and unintelligence. The most predictable scene is when the victim is running around helplessly screaming not knowing what to do. This is how horror films use young women to present a horror movie. Directors do this to create an image of someone who needs to be rescued by a male figure for protection which then creates a storyline of the man to become the hero and eventually the killer will die. In most films this is what the viewer is predicted to see. A horror movie that doesnt represent women to play the victims is the horror movie Carrie (1976). This film clearly shows the opposite of a predictable portrayed young girl in a horror movie, as she has a psychological power called Telekinesis. This is where she can control everything around her and eventually kills everyone in the film. We wouldnt expect to see this in a normal horror film; this is why this film is very cleverly made. Recently, horror films have a fashion for the women to take the lead role as a killer; The Orphan, the Exorcist and Monster. But these are real life experiences. This could be done to show a difference between the horror genre; now and then. A contrast of the usual way women are presented can often be adventurous and willing to do something that is obviously not the right thing to do in the audiences view. A recent film that has shown this is The house at the end of the street (2012). In this film the victim played is very willing to find out who the killer is. This shows a twist to the narrative. Again this shows how characters have changed over the years to present woman to be fearless and confident. You can see how over the years the change between showing how women are presented in horror movies.

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Iconographies of Vampires- True Blood

This first photograph you cant automatically tell what it is, as it is a camouflaged alligator in its environment. This could suggest that its a natural born killer like a vampire.

Snakes are very similar to vampires, as they have a lot of features alike; in this picture it shows a snake ready to attack its prey with its wide open mouth with sharp teeth. Also snakes are very quick and speedy animals; this can represent vampires as well.

This third picture is a car on its own in the woods. This can relate to vampires as they are most likely to be alone and abandoned from everyone around them.

The forth picture relates to a vampire iconography because of the blood around the mouth and then sharp gritting teeth that is represented in the image. Obviously when you look properly at the picture you can tell its a young boy eating berries. This is a threat to child innocents.

The fifth image shows a full moon. This is an iconography of vampires coming out at night. But also this represents werewolfs coming out at night.

The sixth image is of two women who have very disturbing expressions. And also look like are praying. This is an iconography of religion that relates to vampires.

This seventh image is the Venus fly trap. This is an iconography as like a vampire it looks like a normal and healthy plant but then really is really a meat eater.

The eighth image has been chosen because they are two contrasting colours which both stand out from each other. Red colouring shows blood related events that could happen later in this series.

The last image shows death. Its not clear but you can work out that there are 2 people in the river drowning someone.

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The Nightmare on Elm Street The opening sequence of the Nightmare on Elm Street has an immediate tension feel, caused by the music. This is very high pitched that creates a mood and anticipation to the audience, which immediately grabs their attention. The music is not continuous which is unsettling for the viewer given the audience a feeling of uncomfortable and comfortable. Importance is placed on the camera angling as there are a lot of close ups and long shots. The first close up shot we see are knives being sharpened, this is to aware the viewers what is about to happen. This film technique is used to bring the audience into the killers world and lets us know what is happening. Low key lighting is used throughout the opening. This creates a feeling of loneliness and brings the audience to the killers dark world. The victim in this is played by a blonde woman who is clearly fragile and isolated against the setting. This feeling is also given off by what she is wearing. The editing in this first sequence shows flashing images, this is done to show the audience past scenes in the film. At the end of the scene we find out that the woman has woken up from a dream, this could be foreshadowing whats going to happen later on in the fi lm. Jaws The opening sequence of Jaws we see a girl running across a beach looking like she is having fun, this indicates danger to the audience as we can assume something to going to happen to her as she goes into the sea. There are many different shots of camera angles that are taken. The main one which shows danger is the camera beneath her. The audience gets to see the victim from the sharks point of view. This creates tension with the audience because we have an idea of what is going to happen next. The scene is set on a beach at first to show that a naive young girl is running along having fun. This shows that something is occurring to happen as its a very predictable shot to use. The sound during the attack is very ironic for this film. As it has a specific theme tune that when the audience hear it, we automatically know someone is in danger. The music has a very low key which creates more tension during that scene.

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Se7en The camera uses a lot of close up shots and extreme close up shots in the opening of the scene. This is done to set a mood of what specifically someone is doing and it gives a clear idea of what is written on the papers. We can only assume at this point that someone is making something with sharp objects. The lighting used in the opening is low key lighting to create a dark suspense of what someone is doing. Also it gives an idea of the genre that the film is; at this point we assume that it could be a horror, thriller or an action film. The editing done in this is very quick and sharp, as we only see the clips for a few seconds, this gives the audience an uncertain view of what is happening. The director wants to create suspense; this is done by in the editing where there is not much given away. This gives the impression that something is occurring. The music used is non-digetic sound throughout the opening. It sounds like a sci-fi movie or action from the different noises as its very jumpy and loud. Link to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-k2gsEI34CE

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Directors Research Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock, a director known for his high suspense film making, along with his innovative film techniques. In todays film industry, Hitchcock would be regarded as one of the greatest directors ever. Many of todays films have moments, scenes and ideas that relate too many of Hitchcocks work. One of his most famous films is Psycho, a psychological thriller that plays with the audiences mind, using suspense and shock. A brief incite of the film introduces a woman on the run trying to start a new life with stolen money, after this point the suspense and thrills begins at the Bates Motel. Another classic Hitchcock that creates a different kind of suspense is the classic, Birds. The film is a more natural horror picture showing the audience, how birds create chaos in an American town. Hitchcock enjoyed using a female to present the characters, a striking blonde with very similar features. For example; Rear Window- Grace Kelly, Psycho- Janet Leigh, Birds- Tippi Hedren, symbolised as a woman of vulnerability. Hitchcock reined as a prominent film director for 54 years. Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick is regarded one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He wasn't just a filmmaker but a film director, producer, cinematographer and editor. Kubricks films covered a variety of genres; war, crime, romantic, comedies, horror and science fiction. He has very wide ranging horror film techniques; from The Shining to classic futuristic A Clockwork Orange. One of his most modern was The Shining, casting Jack Nicolson as the lead role playing Jack Torrance. This horror story again has a psychological twist to the film line. This film is one of the greatest horrors made of all time and the scariest. Wes Craven Wes Craven was an American film director, writer, producer and actor. Craven has been directing films for over 40 years now. Most of his films hes made are horror. He is best known for directing all of the "Nightmare on Elm Street", The Hills have Eyes and the "Scream" series.

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How is sexuality and gender represented in a TV program? True blood is a good example that presents sexuality in their TV program. True Blood is an American television series based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This TV show is very obscene and contains a lot of sexual scenes within the program. In their episodes it shows sexuality by the personalities of the actors, as most of the women are very seductive and bold. True Blood target audiences is aimed at Adults as it contains very explicit scenes and story line. This is also shown through the beginning theme song "I wanna do bad things to you". Automatically it opens with a sexual phrase.

This picture symbolises sexuality through the character licking her lips. We can associate this photograph of someone licking their lips meaning they are hungry for blood or hungry for sex. Through this we can get an insight of what the programme represents; danger and love. This shows women are seen as predators for humans.

Vampires mostly are seen to be very sexual by the audience. This is shown through their clothing they wear; the colour red symbolises sexuality yet also the colour of danger. This is ironic and known for vampires. Gender presents female vampires to look seductive and promiscuous. This is seen through the clothing they wear which is; little tight clothes which outlines their figures, this draws attention to the male characters. However the male characters in this are a contrast to how the women are portrayed. They are seen as very violent towards each other. As they have their fangs there to protect them from humans.