Lara Croft As The Final Girl

Clive Thompson, over at Wired, takes a look at the appeal of playing as Lara Croft ... and doesn't focus on her physical assets. From the article: "The Final Girl theory emerged in 1985, when Carol Clover -- a medievalist and feminist film critic -- was dared by a friend to see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Back then, most feminist theorists loathed slasher films, and regarded them as classic examples of male misogyny. It wasn't hard to figure out why: Thousands of young men were trooping into theaters to cheer wildly as masked psychos hacked apart screaming young women. That really didn't look good. But as Clover sat in the theaters, she noticed something curious. Sure, the young men would laugh and cheer as the villain hunted down his female prey. But eventually the movie would whittle down the victims to one last terrified woman -- the Final Girl, as Clover called her. Suddenly, the young men in the audience would switch their allegiance -- and begin cheering just as madly for the Final Girl as she attacked and killed the psycho."

Comments

Re:"Medievalist and Feminist Film Critic"

[el americano]

...who is finishing off her double degree in women's studies and political science.

Thanks for a good laugh. I'm sure you meant for that to sound impressive.

Re:"Medievalist and Feminist Film Critic"

[DesireCampbell]

Um, feminism is abusive, stupid posts on Slashdot? I'm not sure you've thought this through. Good job on quoting me poorly, too, you retard.

I'm not anti-feminism, I'm just pointing out the feminism is dead. You call yourself a feminist, well here's a quick test:

Do you cringe when you see a man hit a woman? You're sexist.
Do you support the 'White Ribbon Campaign' held on the anniversary of the 'Montreal Massacre'? You're sexist.
Do you see no problem in the way men are shown as idiots and women as smart and organised in advertisements? You're sexist.
Do you get personally offended when someone disagrees with your point of view? You're, well not sexist, more like a dick really.

Women still are not treated equally in many countries. There women's rights are slowly gaining ground. Here, in North America, there are very few laws left to change to give woman the benefits they deserve. The only step left is to change the views of those that believe woman are less than men.


But what about those that believe men are less than woman? Few admit to this, in fact, few realize they are incredibly sexist towards men. But enough about the general population, what about you?

I'm not "one of those extremists" for one: i have a dick.
That is fucking priceless. You're a sexist. I couldn't have made up anything better. It is possible that you are an extremist feminist, even though you're a man. If you can be a feminist, you can be an extreme feminist.

My fiancee is the same - she is in fact getting a double degree: Women's Studies and Political Science.
Wow, good for your wife (I guess. What kind of a job can you get with a PoliSci /Women's Studies degree?), but I'm not talking to her, I'm talking to you. Apparently she has some education in this area, do you?

I, like any intelligent person, ignore the extremists
Hot balls, you are smart! Ignore people you don't agree with? That's brilliant. Actually, intelligent people look at all arguments and then make up their mind.


You know what, I'm done trying to prove to you that you should be melted down and fed to the flowers, you seem to be completely inept - you can't back up your arguments with either fact or logic, and you can't seem to figure out how to 'reply' to posts correctly.

So, how about you think about it and try and prove you're not retarded - the first step would be replying to THIS post, and not your own, for the 4th time in this article.

Re:"Medievalist and Feminist Film Critic"

[July 21, 2006]

"Oh grow up - you've presented no evidence that the majority of feminist literature IS extremist either - so STFU your snarky little punk."

I don't have to moron. (Obviously your background isn't in any type of field where logic is a requirement.)

Again, I'm going to spell things out as simply as I can so that even you and your precious whore can understand my point.

You were trying to make the point that the majority of feminists did not have extreme views. In making such a claim, the burden of proof is on the person who is trying to dispell the accepted truth. Since it was your response to someone else, you were taking their belief as the basis. Thus, the burden of proof lies entirely on you.

For fuck's sake, you're really stupid.