Horror Film Media Representations

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         In my final project, I plan to create a movie trailer of the horror genre. To keep up with the times, this will most likely fit into the subcategory of the psychological thriller. After conduction research on common horror genre conventions, our group has become educated enough to the point where we can address certain media representations, and possibly challenge a few.
         A rough outline of our horror film may include a group of millennials who have to overcome some sort of villain or monster. The horror genre is home to many different media representations, one being gender. More often than not, women are portrayed as either the victims or the monsters in these films. A classic example of this is in the movie Psycho, where a young, beautiful woman is killed by the villain. The movie House Of Wax, a 2005 horror film, also depicts the sexist nature of horror films. Throughout the film, many of the female characters are depicted with revealing clothing, appealing to many viewers. Paige, one of the main characters in the film is a dumb blonde, another common stereotype in the film world. Another common stereotype in horror films is that the characters are often feebleminded. Usually, the main characters in the film will open a door even if they are aware of the dangers behind said door. For example, in Anabelle: Creation, one of the main characters decides to go into the room where the doll was after it was made clear that the doll was evil. 
         Personally, although these media representations may have been acceptable in the past, I do not believe that they hold much value in modern society today. In order to combat these unrealistic media representations, we may decide to have a female character play an important role, and have her dress in a manner that is consistent with modern times. Furthermore, given that this is a 21st-century film, our cast may present an educated air, as opposed to many horror films of the past century. Most likely, we will implement common techniques of a horror film, such as a spooky soundtrack and dark colors in post-production. We hope to challenge many of the harmful media representations associated with the horror film while embracing conventions that will add to the fear factor of our film. 

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