Film Genre and Feminism

Which is worse? A slasher Movie or A RomCom?

Slasher films are not the best representation for women:  Females are always dumb-bimbos, they are always helpless and screaming, and they always get violently ripped apart from stem to stern.  Sexually active vixens are sure to die, giving the message women are only “good” if they’re virginal.  The more cleavage, the better in this films, which sexualizes women and makes them into (disposable) objects.

Admittedly, I enjoy a good horror/slasher movie, and am inundated with those negative images.  BUT I know what I’m getting.  I know what to expect with a slasher film.  I can see they are low-budget most times with poor dialogue and unrealistic plot lines.  I get that.  I don’t think there are many horror fans that believe what they are seeing is absolutely real.  I like a scary movie, because I know it’s phony, though the messages about women are very real.

I would argue that romantic comedies are a worse representation of women then slasher flicks.  Sure, no woman is sawed apart or treated with extreme violence as in the slasher film, but portrayal of women is still poor.  Women in romantic comedies are dependent upon males, whiny, helpless, manipulative, and weak.  They may live to the end credits, but women in romantic comedies still are not shown as independent, smart, well-adjusted ladies.

At least there is usually a strong female role-model in the horror films.  There may just be one survivor, but she outsmarts the villain, kicks ass, and had superior survival skills.  In romantic comedies even the “strong” women are flawed, lonely, and NEED a man to realize true happiness by the end of the movie.  And unlike the slasher films, romantic comedies portray their content as realistic.

Romantic comedies, like Disney princesses, give girls and women unrealistic, idealized, expectations of men, relationships, and love.  Instead of showing relationships based on hard work, trust, and equal partnership, the RomComs show romanticized male leads with overly chivalrous behavior, and an unbalanced relationship where the women schemes to get what she wants and the man is in ultimate control.

Which do you think is worse:  The Slasher Film or RomComs???

Related articles

• Sub-genres of Horror (thehorrorguide.wordpress.com)
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a Slasher (horrorfilm240.wordpress.com)