The Final Girl by Carol J. Clover

The Final Girl

As we watch more horror movies we gradually found an interesting thing in common: the only one who survived from the slasher film is always a pure, brave and smart girl. Actually there is a famous concept “Final Girl” given by Carol J. Clover. She pointed out that in most of horror films female suffered much more than male, and the final one who survived from the sadism was a girl. In the movie Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Marty even though the two girls survive at the end, they are not as typical final girl as Carol said.

Before talking about if Sally and Anna fit the typical roles of the “final girl”, the first important thing is to know what “final girl” is and how it comes from.

In 1992 feminist scholar Carol J. Clover published an influential study which named Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. In this study, she analyzed horror movies through 70’s to 80’s, especially slasher films, pointed out the hidden gender issues from those movies. She made ​​quite famous "Final Girl" concept, and pointed out that only pure virtuous women even with some neutral qualities are able to live to the end. (CdMScott)

Carol Clover further pointed out that the gender issues might be caused by the second wave of feminism which began to develop at 1960s. Whereas slasher film reflected the impact and change of the female movement on gender, but in fact, such a change is not without danger, and even catered patriarchal social ideology. Because the final girls are often portrayed as "phallic girl" who finally holds knife, gun, and so phallic symbol in hand to confront with the villain, while to construed the strong female as "masculine of women" is a misconceptions and stereotypes to feminist.

On the other hand, the final girl are approbated by the audience because they remain chaste and undefiled, in contrast, any women who “lost virginity” in the movie become the objects of being killed without exception. Such a plot hides moral double standards set by patriarchal society, requiring women to maintain chastity and purity. Carol Clover combined feminism and film studies to point out the implicit gender issues and ideology in slasher films at the very beginning of the book. She is the early scholar who brought gender issues into horror film studies.

“The Final Girl is introduced at the beginning and is the only character to be developed in any psychological detail. We understand immediately from the attention paid it that hers is the main story line” (Clover 207). As she said it is easy to figure out who the final girl will be in the movie since she would have the most psychological details than others. However, from her other work Her Body Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film it is obviously to realize the phenomenon of the female victim-hero. Clover also states that the audience typically associate themselves with their own gender when watching a movie; a girl supporting the girl and the man supporting the man, though she says that the occasional cross identification comes into play, more often than not, its the women siding with the strong, independent man. But with the traditional horror plot completely reversed, with the last male easily killed by the villain, the men in the cinema are forced to associate themselves with the strong and independent woman, or as Carol call her, “The Final Girl”. (“Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film” by Carol J. Clover).

Besides the horror movie some rape/revenge movies have the relative character and feminism topics. Rape / revenge movie is a typical story: a young girl from the city come to the sparsely populated land, and be raped, tortured by local rogue or fugitives, after restoring vitality the girl launched a brutal and bloody revenge of these men. The typical rape/ revenge movie film are I Sply On Your Grave (1974) and The Last House on the Left (1972). (Creed 1)

Rape Revenge movie is a blooming violence flower of feminist on the screen. In the book Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender In Modern Horror Film Carol J. Clover summarized: This type of film can be regarded as revenge movie (Vigilante Film) branch, avenger changes from the victim, the role of women in the film should be some shift from victims into avengers who can fight back to everything she suffered injustice!(Clover 142)

After talking about Carol Clover’s “final girl” I would like to analyze if Sally is a typical final girl as Carol mentioned. Sally is the female protagonist in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre who survived from the slaughterhouse. Even though she is the only one survived, she is not a typical final girl because of the following two reasons.

Firstly, in this film there is no issue about Sally’s gender. The leather face wants to catch her only because she is a living person. No matter male or female, the people who come nearby slaughterhouse have to be caught and killed. There is a significant indoor scene in this movie: all family members of slaughterhouse sat together and had a formal dinner, Sally sat in front of the table and suddenly weakened up. She was screaming and crying crazily, after a while she stopped and implored to the two brothers. She said she can do anything for them. Here she promised that she can do anything for them, the meaning of this imploration is “you can have me, just please stop abusing me”. Sally throws out a gender imploration to ask for an exchange of freedom, but the fact is slaughter family treats her just as meat or body not a female can be raped. The only thing they desire to do with her is to eat her. So it is so obviously that there is no sexuality or gender abuse on Sally, or we can say for slaughterhouse Sally is a living body without any gender property.

Secondly, Sally’s family is not a typical family with apparent gender norms. It is not clear to recognize that the characters for women are weak and delicate; the characters for men are strong and protective. The characters