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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."
The summary at least misses the point. The audience didn't "switch their allegiances"; in each conflict, they were cheering for the better (generally smarter) of the combatants. That's why those films seldom just have people being killed. Instead:
Then, at the end, we get to see someone who didn't exhibit these character flaws win.
It has little or nothing to do with sexism, and everything to do with cheering for people with survival traits.
--MarkusQ
So does this mean the young men in question would be True Neutral?
:(){
You know, I have an MA in Literary and Rhetorical theory, and this kind of crap is why I left Literary study for Rhetoric and Digital Media when I went for the old Ph.D. The worst part is, I can probably cite most of the papers and books that this woman read, without even finding her references. It gets predictable. Want an alternate reading/viewing? Lara Croft is a modern female version of the "American Adam" archetype, as laid out by R.W.B. Lewis in 1955 in a book by the same name. She's "an individual standing alone, self-reliant and self-propelling, ready to confront whatever [awaits her] with the aid of [her] own unique and inherent resources" (p.5).
The point - and I do have one - is simple: the beauty of cultural criticism is that everyone can debate it endlessly, and everyone who's got the right sources can be right! Yay!
"Tu fui, ego eris" - Virgil
What I don't get is the mention of cheering when the bad guy killed the dumb girl. Didn't they cheer just as loudly when the bad guy killed the idiot boy? For me it was about getting rid of the stupid idiots no matter what their gender and then putting the agent of destruction away once the job was done.
"Thousands of young men were trooping into theaters to cheer wildly as masked psychos hacked apart screaming young women... 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."
Maybe the men weren't cheering for the psycho or the woman, but for the violence itself .
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was originally devised by Joss Whedon (who has a degree in feminist film studies) as the reversal of the girl and the monster enter the alley and only the monster exits. In contrast, with buffy she and the monster enter the alley and only Buffy exits. The first girl is the final girl, without the misogyny.
This is a much closer analogue to Laura Croft, or other fictional kickass ladies like the Major in Ghost in the Shell.
Hmmm the last girl who finally defeats the monster. Isn't this called "survival of the fittest"?
However, I really don't think of Lara as the "Final Girl". She's just a tough girl, period, if not a sex symbol. C'mon, we all know she was famous for her gravity-defying measures, but later was slimmed down to appeal more to the feminine public. I much less identify with her.
Now allow me to compare to another famous treasure hunter.
Indiana Jones
Family: A devout religious man (Junior?)
Studies: Ph. D. in Archeology
Job: Archeology teacher in Barnett College, NY ("X never ever marks the spot")
Reasons for treasure collecting: "It belongs in a museum!"
Favorite Gadgets: His leather whip and a Fedora with a very high sentimental value (belonged to the man who stole the Cross of Coronado).
Sex appeal: "And my mother's ears, but the rest belongs to you."
Most used quotes: "I hate Snakes!", and "Don't call me Junior!"
Lara Croft
Family: Extremely Rich family (can you compete with the Countess of Abbingdon?)
Studies: At home
Job: What job?
Reasons for treasure collecting: Add to her dad's collection, and, once in a while, save the world
Favorite Gadgets: Dual 9 mm Pistols
Sex appeal: Boing, boing, boing!
Most used quotes: ?
I'll take Indiana Jones, thank you.
There are several problems with feminism. One of them is the name. The name doesn't say "equality", it's all about women. Another one is the baggage. There've been so many radical feminists that have been embraced by the movement that there's an instant stigma attached to being a "feminist".
Personally, I don't instantly shut down when I encounter someone describing themselves as a feminist, but I have to admit that I'm slightly less likely to pay attention, because of all the ridiculous shit that's carried the feminist banner. I'm a humanist, or maybe an equalist?, and I do believe that all people should be considered equal until they prove that they aren't.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
[All information here shared by my wife with her English masters degree. Any and all misinformation introduced by my transcription of her description of the theory.]
Actually Lara Croft doesn't really fit with the final girl theory. In Carol's definition you can't start with the *final* girl. She goes through a metamorphosis and becomes more masculine as she survives more of the horror.
Interesting points about the final girl theory:
The theory is flawed (all failings acknowledged by Carol Clover, she doesn't assert that this theory is anything grand or definite) in that it assumes that only adolescent males enjoy horror movies. The theory is completely broken if you agree that any women enjoy horror movies.
The theory itself says that the adolescent boys can identify with the final girl without themselves feeling threatened by the killer (who is hunting women), but who demonstrates the traits of a stereotypical adolescent male masculine fantasy (surviving against all odds, strong, capable, etc.). The theory is that this is a way for young men to indirectly experience homo-erotic fantasies. The women are characteristically running from phallic, penetrating objects such as knives and other stabbing weapons. Yet the final girl is also an erotic object herself. She usually has an asexual name (like Sam) and carries a phallic object like a torch, stick, etc.
Yes, the world of literary theory is stranger than you know. o_O
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.
Dude, spoiler alert!
Thanks a million. Push Start to replay.