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Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'
Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film - Updated Edition by Carol J. Clover
1 review
petepilgrim's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.75
In the preface to this edition the author talks with some regret how the sketch of the final girl (its this book which coined the term) has become fleshed out in film since the idea took hold. I can definitely see why the author has regrets over the concept becoming too realised as the book goes on
The theories are Freudian (Everything's a hole. Everything's a pole) and the analysis is concerned with narrative tropes of the genre (typically around the late 70s) more so than film theory or going heavily into any one text. My response to these ideas was mixed. At times I felt they waa a misrepresentation of texts to fit an argument, or relying on the concept of genre to invent evidence wholecloth.
But it cannot be argued the influence this has book has had on horror theory, even if the work is quite dated now. Even if some of the lines of argument are difficult to get on board with, the ideas as a whole are fascinating.
It tackles some heavy topics, and requires at least some familiarity with media criticism of some kind (though not necessarily film theory and criticism). Still, a book I would recommend for a more academic perspective on horror.
The theories are Freudian (Everything's a hole. Everything's a pole) and the analysis is concerned with narrative tropes of the genre (typically around the late 70s) more so than film theory or going heavily into any one text. My response to these ideas was mixed. At times I felt they waa a misrepresentation of texts to fit an argument, or relying on the concept of genre to invent evidence wholecloth.
But it cannot be argued the influence this has book has had on horror theory, even if the work is quite dated now. Even if some of the lines of argument are difficult to get on board with, the ideas as a whole are fascinating.
It tackles some heavy topics, and requires at least some familiarity with media criticism of some kind (though not necessarily film theory and criticism). Still, a book I would recommend for a more academic perspective on horror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, and Body horror
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