Female Horror Victim Tropes: "Acceptable" and "Punishable" Femininity

[@Logitah]

Unfortunately, in Midsommar, Dani's vulnerability makes her ideal prey to the cult of Hårga. They don't really want her as an individual, but as something to be absorbed into their monolithic mass. In the end, Dani isn't happy, she has just gone utterly insane.

[@Pinkranger87]

Exactly

[@inkyami7719]

Exactly! And labeling her as a "final girl" makes me rethink what the trope actually means. Because yes, she is the last survivor technically, but in no way did she escape the danger or had any "emerge victorious" moment. She ended up exactly where the proverbial villains wanted her to begin with.

[@Pinkranger87]

@@inkyami7719 after watching midsommar I still believe the cult was involved with her family's deaths. I think Dani's boyfriend would whine and bitch to his friends including the guy from the cult about her sister and parents. So he got in touch with some other members and they either found away to get to the sister and push her over the edge.

[@BreakCards]

Tks

[@lemsip207]

Notice Dani wasn't called Danielle her proper name. Dani is a feminine spelling of Danny a male derivative of Daniel and sounding the same. Often the final girl has a unisex name or has a traditional feminine name shortened to sound like the shortened male version. Charlie, Edie, Dani, Jan, Billie, Vic, Georgie, Sam, etc. Then parents start naming daughters with the shortened version claiming it would be shortened at school and by friends anyway. The long version of the name as the official name gives the girl the choice of using that or the shortened version at school and in adulthood. You cannot lengthen an already shortened name if it's your official name to its original except legally.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Ok but thank you for this! My mother has the funniest reaction to people in American horror films. Something to the effect of “STOP ASKING STUFF AND GET THE HELL OUT!”. Also, both of us have perfected “Hello? Is anyone there?” in the generic American accent.

[@J.Soffer]

❤😂

[@lynnevetter]

I hate when people say that in the movies, or when they break out the flashlights... like I understand, us in the audience have to see what's happening, but it's almost never dark enough that you cannot see w/o a flashlight. And a flashlight is like a big light up bullseye. lol

[@vanzc7920]

Tatum Riley can be classified as the "whore", "sceptic" and "bitch". Scream is a fantastic movie.

[@ReginoRAmos-id3wf]

❤❤❤

[@bea4156]

“She’s not a slut or a bitch or crying all the time so she gets to live” FUCK WELL SAID

[@PokhrajRoy.]

10:09 Sarah Michelle Gellar needs to make a comeback in Mainstream Horror. She’s iconic!

[@ReginoRAmos-id3wf]

❤❤❤

[@Micoke12]

I had a different take on the hysterical girl. They are always scared for good reason, and taking the threat seriously helps them survive. While the skeptics who dismiss them as "hysterical" get killed. This trope isn't about shaming women, its about validating their legitimate fears about a world that is dangerous for them, and criticizing those that downplay their concerns as irrational. This trope tells us to take women seriously, and to strive to create environments where women can feel safe.

[@sullymd1]

Honestly it could be lesson from these girls Hysterical Don't let your emotions cloud your mind The Slut Look around your surroundings stop thinking just yourself The Sceptical Don't dismiss your friends or your family so easily when they know something is wrong and trust your gut than your brain The Bitch Depends if you want to make different choices in your life right or wrong the final girl Survive even it means defend yourself or save yourself no choice is wrong as long you see another day

[@laurie_guilbeau]

Right, the entire concept of hysteria was gaslighting: 'you're not oppressed, so quit bitching'

[@sullymd1]

@@laurie_guilbeau It's about having a clear head the main enemy is paranoia not the girl herself

[@Jules2439.5]

Thank you! Sometimes I’m like, ok are we not supposed to express fear and paranoia in times of distress or chaos? Like it’s a human instinct and hysterical girlies are usually the last ones standing

[@sullymd1]

@@Jules2439.5 honestly it's more of a human thing we never think when it's our time to die until we take advantage of it until you have that dread feeling and your right it is sexist to associate Women to Hysteria because of the stupid Word Origin meaning 'Womb Trouble'

[@debbiemoore2747]

A lot of horror is through the male gaze. Not really a horror but one subversion of this (kinda) is Alien/Aliens.

[@williampearson6299]

Well, there was the BBQ Becky and Karen 2019 epidemic that cemented the truth in this view

[@sewthernbelle]

You need to do a whole video about the movie Last Night in Soho! It’s such an underrated film that takes classic horror movie tropes and subverts them to make a serious point about sexual violence against women.

[@meganharding5100]

I feel like the hastral women trope not only is a big metal finger to all female kind but it also makes fun of mentally disabled people and what they deal with as well I think empathy is the real solution

[@kiriki4558]

It affects both. Histerical, karen, bitch, crazy, bossy and hoe are just some of the words used to attack girls for exhibit unconvenient behaviour for other people, mostly males. Even if those are neurotipical and healthy reactions.

[@Pinkranger87]

Horror is the only Genre where women get two amazing titles. Final Girl and the scream queen.

[@meganmurderpint8119]

I look a college course dedicated to this topic specifically and it was by far the most fascinating class I ever took

[@jens1639]

I would also say that a lot of these tropes are built on the idea of guilt or good behavior based on catholicism. Horror as a genre isn't defined by a lesson to correct your own behavior. It's defined by the simple fact that "a monster is out to get you". What kind of monster and why it's after you can vary wildly, but there has so very, very, very many times, where western horror has defined the context as "the guilty ones die", because they don't adhere to catholic values and deserve to die. Women are more punished by catholicism in general, so the moment that the female characters have depts, insights, thoughts and not to mention agency shown on screen, it's more likely to be used as an indicator for their impending doom. Again, the definition of horror is nothing more than a monster is out to get you, but a lot of people make horror in games, movies and books mistakenly thinking that horror is "The sinful shall be punished" and then put scary music in the background and puts blood, darkness and demons on screen. It gets depressingly boring after a while. Horror is one of the simplest story setups, and yet someone will still forget the sugar, and so we get blandness to eat.

[@eduardopantoja9115]

I agree, horror can be anything and not limited to morality lessons

[@joy.limon_]

so fucking savage and true, gosh

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Idk why I want to keep recommending but the title is so good: ‘The Final Girl Support Group’ by Grady Hendrix

[@robbiescheid4127]

Great video these repetitive tropes are really getting old I love the movie sorority row but I definitely don't believe that most of them deserve death for drinking or putting bubble bath in the hot tub etc. and we definitely need more variety in final girls why can't we have a final girl who owns her sexuality or a tough as Nails Rebel who hates Authority the possibilities are endless

[@kiriki4558]

They will be called Mary Sue for just being competent.

[@bibianaguadalupeislasherre9880]

​@@kiriki4558 Exactly, the anti "Woke" crowd doesn't like that.

[@illusionhong18]

Now i kinda want more deep dive into Mike Flanagan horror universe, cause i feel like alot of his series and movies giving more agency for the women characters

[@bea4156]

THIS!! I just finished Fall of the House of Usher and it is SPECTACULAR 💯💯

[@UnboxingAlyss]

I would LOVE this! I finished Usher and rewatched Midnight mass. Now I'm trying to watch every movie he's made. I just finished Occulus and Absentia and just need Hust, Gerald's Game, and Before I Wake (I own the others)>

[@ktownshutdown21]

4:26 The Promiscuous Girl trope is my least favorite in all of horror, and the worst of them are especially gross with how those women end up getting the most gruesome deaths, revealing *quite* a lot about the director/writer. Instant 1 star and most likely turning it off, those movies aren't even worth finishing.

[@kmullins1259]

Really interesting and appreciated an opposing take… I have always loved horror movies because it’s the one time Women usually kick ass, especially with the final girl trope

[@Pinkranger87]

Exactly I agree. I always saw horror is probably the most pro woman genre, because the woman is more fleshed out character. Unlike Rom-Coms that make women into one dimensional character where changes herself for the guy.

[@starsynbeachlamptheunknown5447]

I’d love to see a combination of all of these (there probably are some out there already). A b*tchy girl is promiscuous and starts off as a skeptic, then becomes extremely hysterical and ends up being the final girl, which could signify character development from her b*tch persona to her final persona.

[@chaotic_gothic_bi]

I'd love to see you guys cover horror that has 'non perfect' final girls. Like Cam or Revenge, especially since those are movies made by women.

[@paperrev]

I'm sorry, but reducing Helen Shivers to just "the bitch" is an incredible injustice and over-simplification of that character. She should have been the final girl over Julie.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Happy Halloween 🎃 👻

[@MzNunyaBiznis]

Love this Take!

[@NellyNutmeg]

"Bitch" should be recognized as a slur. Everyone is way too comfortable with misogyny

[@1992disney]

If that's the case, then would you also consider "bastard" as a misandrist slur? 🤨

[@Pinkranger87]

It's also a noun

[@KittySnicker]

Meh I’m a feminist and I call both men and women bitches.

[@RoninRen]

although I'm not sure, if it's even alright to suggest this for The Take, to make a video essay on it, basically it can be for a later time, I just hope they'll consider covering how domestic abuse stories have been represented in media, basically I can understand that at least talking about it, is a real start, however it feels like physical abuse gets more attention, when there's still emotional abuse, mental abuse &psychological abuse, that toxic people have put others through,

[@vanzc7920]

Loved this

[@anakreyszig303]

Watch the original version of Black Christmas. (from the mid 1970s). In it, the final girl is pregnant but wants an abortion because she has plans for her future. She loves her boyfriend but is not attached at the hip to him. They are separate, interesting individuals.

[@RoninRen]

To The Take, although tbh it's up to them if they cover the Virgin Trope, basically it is beyond confusing how it's up to the era, when it comes to the virgin, essentially how is it that somehow being a virgin equals both most vulnerable(basically being the favorite target of vampires, supernatural cult leaders, or warlocks/witches, oh with the joke that if a non-virgin gets "sacrificed" it causes the antagonist's destruction) &most indestructible(case in point any horror movie that ends with a final girl) against monsters,

[@gamingoutlaws9765]

Oh Helen the should’ve been final girl 👑

[@lemsip207]

At the end of the day, it has nothing to do with character but being in the wrong place at the wrong time and not having survival skills or personal safety knowledge.

[@X-Warrior.1119]

{4:27} - I feel like this type of character deserves an UPGRADE?!

[@emilymatthews2990]

X did a great job subverting the final girl trope. In X you think the church goer Lorraine is going to be the final girl but in reality it’s Maxine, whom would be considered ‘promiscuous’ because she’s an adult actress. I found it to be a refreshing take on the trope. Maxine kicked ass at the end of the movie, even running over the old lady

[@phatato]

Sometimes you guys list the movie name for the scene we are seeing, but sometimes you don't, is there a reason for that? It would be great if we always knew what the clip was from. Thank you so much!

[@TheRealHelenaDeluca]

Omg what film is that when she talks about the godforsaken maniacs? It looks great!

[@valakjarval]

Bless you ladies

[@ImMaleImProud]

The situation is unhinged

[@Pinkranger87]

Here's another thing horror movie due is to make law enforcement and most adults, is to make them inept and played for laughs, or they're not around. In nightmare on elm street, we met Nancy's parent's, but her father was hardly around, and her mother is a drunk. The adults are never held responsible for their hand, what transpired.

[@nicolec8884]

I don't get why people like horror movies. People actually like watching all that negativity?

[@lemsip207]

I only watched them because they were there and because of coercion. I worked in a cinema in my teens so had my fill of them by age 19. Then went to a male dominated university and couldn't understand why the film club there would only show film showing sex, gore, horror and violence so I decided to go to the cinema instead and watch drama films like Kramer versus Kramer and family favourites like Superman.

[@Krissy_888]

I think those Y2K femele thropes could have been baded on what movie makers assumed their female audience would identify with, hence why the often simple, down on her luck girl ended up being the Final Girl while the 'bimbos' were punished.

[@andieallison6792]

Gaslight shouldn't be on here because she's an abuse victim

[@qualinseler]

I never fully realized that even the 'strong final girls' are another patricarchal role we need to fit in. Sigh. There's also a girl who's father was a famous scientist/military/etc. So she's capable but only because a man bestowed it onto her. For instance the girl from You're Next slasher. Being a daughter of a survivalist, she's smart, tough, has skills. But still, it's because her father gave it to her.

[@KittySnicker]

The treatment of these movies towards the promiscuous girl makes my blood boil

[@zainmudassir2964]

I love strong women 💪

[@rodan9773]

On The Thumbnail you forgot The Most popular and the most used Female position in Horror The Survivor The Fighter. Because in nearly every Horror Movie The Female is always The Warrior against The Male Villain. Why not do a video on Why Males are The Villains in nearly every Horror and not Females sometimes.

[@G0TIMAN]

this

[@Heliandis17]

They didn’t forget, that trope is the final girl. It’s not in the thumbnail but they talk about her

[@malvavisco10]

“Increasingly more insane” is redundant. Just say “increasingly insane.” It’s called proofreading; try it out!

[@feketebalazs1982]

Most of these character types are not just female character tropes. There are usually male versions there too. Also cuting together a video by choosing the films that represents your ideas has the same issue what this video meant to highlight, that writers forcing the narative on us. Using in the shrieking woman segment the to most annoying female leads (Shinning, Texas chainsaw) with other more capable female leads bad moment cutted in isnt fair with more realistic final girls. Also these movies represented a strong female leads - who are capable to grow and to take control of they life and not waiting for a prince to save them (they are mostly dead by then 😅) - in an era where not a lot of movies had female main characters, even less if we take out all of the romantic movies empthy shell main characters (the ones has no personality just to be a placeholder for you to jump into the fantasy) They should be praised and not chriticed even if they are movies from not a traditional "female" genre.

[@claudiabcarvalho]

"No one likes a mad woman / What a shame she went mad / No one likes a mad woman / You made her like that" - Mad Woman (Taylor Swift) Every "hysterical woman" has a backstory to explain why their losing their minds like that.

[@Babyblue115]

We need your take on Malena!

[@XanderShiller]

The Neve Campbell meta trope.

[@darkservantofheaven]

Wonder how this applies to marginalized males (ie racialized or lgbt....or both)

[@RoninRen]

If The Take could find enough references for it, they could at least think about covering the male feminist characters for a video essay, &truth be told not just the portrayals of them, but how to tell the difference between which guy is lying about being pro-feminism(as sadly it has happened historically in real life) &which guys are genuine,

[@malvavisco10]

Midsommar, not Midsummer, try saying it right

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Ok but the recent ‘Carrie’ remake was just not good. I saw it and the performances were all over the place.

[@AA-cf4es]

And now they want to make her a man. A transsexual is gonna play Carrie, a menstruating young woman. That is not even funny anymore.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@AA-cf4es First of all, the story of ‘Carrie’ is not at all at odds with trans and or queer women. Secondly, not all women (young and old) menstruate. Get your basic facts straight.

[@thelordakira]

@@PokhrajRoy. if this is from CRT , then there are no facts.

[@caitlin329]

​@@AA-cf4esI think you're parroting a rumour spreading on clickbait-y outrage right wing news sites that a trans woman (you know the accurate language & refuse to use it, sure, whatever) will be in the new film. Would it matter anyway? Why would you assume the character would be trans? You know none of it is real, yes?

[@caitlin329]

​@@thelordakira...what do you mean by CRT in this context?

[@sofitocyn100]

"The skeptic"...well, what are those female characters allowed to be if even this is considered a trope? Characters need to have at least something interesting about them. They cant just exist like house plants. The film has to be fun to watch somehow and that cabt happen with generic characters with no personality.

[@hamzazad5258]

Well...this could apply to men too, esp of people of color

[@69gabygirl]

make your own video if it’s such a concern to you, then.

[@AA-cf4es]

​@@69gabygirlfr, whataboutism in this comments is extreme

[@susannehuber3996]

Can you please elaborate. Just dismissing everything that women say doesn’t count as evidence anymore.

[@Clarke.Beatriz.Griffin]

Hi! Beautiful. Could you make video of the Christian girl on screen or how Christianity its potray in movies

[@rtothec1234]

Dirk Diggler.

[@CarlDillynson]

Ok but y’all didn’t really give a “take” with this video more so than just describe the tropes. What was the final message at the end? There should be better female representation? Yeah…we been knew. This video was lazy.

[@ImMaleImProud]

What about skeptical men

[@pdzombie1906]

Which proves how important women are in the horror genre, but nooo!, Let's just see the negative to prove women are the perfect victims in the horror of the patriarchy, because men tend to be the monster or just another random victim, that's all the types of men in horror...

[@caitlin329]

They aren't saying it's necessarily always bad. Pointing out how media reflects the society it's created in ( *especially* horror) is nothing new. And I can tell from the rest of your comment that there's a reason you don't know that -you're clearly not someone who's that interested in or even watched much horror.

[@ty-guy4458]

Oh yeah? Try being a fat guy with curly hair who's into horror movies. So obnoxious we have to die in the first act. In ill-fitting cloths. Covered in chocolate and/or sloppy drunk. Always unlaid. Forever the sadboy.

[@caitlin329]

Maybe you should do a video about that

[@helenablavatsky9136]

Fat, curly-haired and covered in chocolate. Hmm. Can you name some characters that fit that very specific description?

[@helenablavatsky9136]

​@@caitlin329His description of the character may explain why they are forever "unlaid..." which isn't a word.

[@ImMaleImProud]

The cult crying with her sees li mocking

[@UnboxingAlyss]

If you mean Midsommar, they weren't mocking her. The Horga did this multiple time throughout the movie and most of those instances didn't involve Dany. The old man failing to kill himself, the sex scene, and the burning at the end are just 3 examples.

[@ImMaleImProud]

Ironic how feminist about problems unique to women never asked men if their going through same or own issues

[@caitlin329]

I don't think you understand what irony is or how feminism works. How is this comment in any way relevant to the video?

[@Krissy_888]

As a feminist, let me present you with a solution to your problem: Grammarly

[@KittySnicker]

Okay: what problems are you going through? I’m all ears

[@darshankharbikar3567]

If you reverse the gender the video still makes sense

[@ImMaleImProud]

Whataboutism invalidates narratives

[@AA-cf4es]

So stop doing it, worm.

[@tianasenn]

If you are going to reference Midsommar, at least pronounce it correctly. 🙄

[@ImMaleImProud]

How come men can't ger there revenge fantasy

[@caitlin329]

There's plenty of that in the horror genre. Although what it's revenge for exactly is not quite the same... Why do you think women having something automatically means men don't?

[@RhaegarTargaryen1st]

@@caitlin329 Every time The Take makes a video about women centering themselves and their issues, etc., he comes along whining, "what about men". What about them?! This video isn't about men, it's about WOMEN!

[@KittySnicker]

Have you seen Taken or John Wick? Lmao

[@UnboxingAlyss]

That's basically every action movie starring a man.

[@roshalayegh4440]

By revenge fantasy, do you mean avenging a loved one or revenge rape/torture porn? That one's pretty self explanatory. Women's revenge fantasies are about getting revenge on an abuser, not a girl who rejected you in 6th grade.

[@FeelinErie]

Hey The Take, I turned 37 yesterday, could I please get a shoutout?

[@CaregivingVlogs]

The Final Girl is the only horror trope, that I love. She is kickass and kills the killer. 🔪🩸

[@hwizell7478]

Ripley