The Representation of Women in Relation to The Cabin in the Woods (Goddard, 2012)

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

His four character roles are Domestic, sexual, consumer and marital. Dana the leading female character in the film undertakes the title of marital- she is portrayed as the good girl. On the other hand Jules undertakes the title of sexual, she uses her sexuality to grab the male's attention and it gets her killed off first in the film. 

2) How is Dana typical of Clover's 'Final Girl' theory? 

Carole Clover's final girl theory suggests that the final girl is usually a tom boy, with boyish features and extremely conservative. Dana fits the category due to her reserved personality. When Jules is sexually dancing in the Cabin, Dana does not join in and is seen as a good girl, as Kurt predicts she will choose Truth in the game truth and dare, indicating that she's boring. Dana's name is unisex, she dresses conservatively and is often referred to as the virgin in the film. Dana is a more boyish like character and fits into the final girl theory as she fights back to the zombies which try to kill her. She makes it to the end of the film, until she's eventually taken by the Gods from below. 

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

Jules is shown to men through the male gaze. Throughout her appearances in the film, she portrays her sexuality and the image of being 'The whore' who is a sexually active female, undergoing the typical blonde attractive victim- of whom is usually killed off first in horror films. At the start of the film it references Jules just dying her hair blonde, this makes her a typical horror conventional character; being the attractive blonde victim. Throughout the film, Jules begins to become more and more sex obsessed, that by the time she's drunk in the cabin she is dancing in front of everybody and then leads to her kissing a Wolf, and going out into the woods to sleep with her boyfriend. By Jules changing throughout the film, she is portraying a stereotypical teenager. 

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

The different camera angles and scenes in the film really exemplify the male gaze theory in the film, which is clearly apparent. Scenes in the control room show the two middle aged men and their colleagues staring at Jules when she is in the woods undressing herself to her boyfriend. They are creepily starring at Jules and undergoing the male gaze. Close ups and low angle shots are used to show Jules as the main object of desire in the shot. For example, when she's dancing in the Cabin we see a clear low angle shot focusing on her legs and when she's shown in the woods, we are always looking up at her. Although, it is opposite when Holden watches Dana through the one way mirror, he goes against the male gaze when he tells Dana and they switch rooms, informing that not all males view females as sexual objects. The roles switch when they switch rooms and Dana watches Holden take off his shirt, he becomes the object of the male gaze.

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 character?

We become voyeurs as well as the technicians as we watch the teenagers throughout the film. We are made to be voyeurs with Holden when he is watching Dana through the one way mirror. From watching each character such as Jules dancing when the other characters are relaxing in the cabin we can link her to being the sexually active character. We a long side the technicians are Voyeurs of the scene where Kurt and Jules are in the woods, as we see this through the screens of the technicians and watch them also watching the scene. It is important in regards to representation of character as we can identify with each character and learn that by being Voyeurs with Holden and watching Dana we learn how Holden is a decent guy, as he chooses to warn Dana about the mirror. 

6) Summarize the way woman are represented in the Cabin in the Woods. Are they objectified and there to provide satisfaction for heterosexual males and/or do they fulfill another role/purpose? 

The two female characters in the film represent two different kind of stereotypical female horror character types. On one hand, Jules is shown as the object of gaze. The colour of her hair, her outfits and personality including how she represents herself through talking about sex earns her the title of 'The Whore'. Through different camera angles we can identify that Jules is there as the object of the male gaze for the audience to look at. Then Dana, is the boyish final girl character who out lives the other characters due to her virginal personality and conservative way of dressing. Dana acts awkwardly when the subject of sex comes up and is the stronger of the two female characters as she's seen fighting back and surviving if not being the last character to die. Both character types are typical horror female characters.