1. What were Jeremy Tunstall’s 4 character roles for women and do they

apply to The Cabin in the Woods?Jeremy Tunstall’s 4 character roles for women were; domestic, sexual, consumer and marital. In The Cabin in the Woods there was only one character roles shown in this and this was Jules who acted in a sexual was quite often. This also then supports the ‘male gaze’ theory and all sexual blonde girls die first. The Dana didn’t really display much relation to the any of the other character roles.

2. How is Dana typical of Clover’s “final Girl” theory?

Carol Clover’s “final Girl” theory is that there will be a final girl at the end of the film. This girl will have different traits to that of a stereotypical girl in a horror film. For example she will be virginal, androgynous and will often be more into her education than boys like other girls of her age. The final girl will often have a unisex name like Sam, Billie or Joe. The final girl will often challenge the stereotypical blonde, sexualized girl in a horror film. In The Cabin in the Woods Dana only portrayed the virginal side and the education side of this theory in Dana as at the start we see her sister Joules take her school text books away from her. The name Dana is still quite girly and she still does drink and do drugs but not as much as her sister. She is intelligent and smart however and does fight back rather than scream and run away. But she is then also saved by Marty from the werewolf.

3. 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 start of the film we learn that she dies her hair from brown to blonde which automatically makes her a stereotypical stupid blonde. This then automatically tells us that she is going to die first, consequently she does whilst she is having sex.

4. Is Mulvey’s male gaze theory exemplified in the film and if so how? Think about framing, POV shots and camera angles.

Laura Mulvey’s gaze theory suggest that women are just seen as objects and something for the pleasure of men looking at. They do this through camera angles for example when Jules is dancing near the fire place the camera slowly pans up her leg to make it look more sexualised. Also when Jules and Curt run out into the forest and start partaking in sexual activities the camera focuses more on her rather than them together.

5. 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 characters?Throughout the film various events take place that could possibly make the teenagers feel like they are being watched, for example Marty finds the camera on the lamp and also the one way window in which Holden can see Dana but not the other way round. We know as an audience that they are being watched and that everything they do is being manipulated by the technicians.

6. Summarise the way women are represented in The Cabin in the Woods. Are they objectified and there to provide satisfaction for heterosexual males and/or do they fulfil another role/purpose?

In the film the character who plays Jules is particularly objectified and is there purely to provide satisfaction for the male eye as she shortly dies afterwards. She was shown to be dancing provocatively in front of the fire place whilst wearing quite revealing clothes compared to the other female character Dana. Dana isn’t there for satisfaction but instead she helps prove the “final girl theory” as she fights all the monsters and survives in the end because she is more aware of the danger.