What does Clover mean
by 'female victim-hero'?
Clover’s female victim hero is a character with traits of
both a victim and a hero, but not fully either; she adds that the hero part
always contains some degree of monstrosity. Her main example being character,
Carrie White from the film, Carrie.
Carrie has heroic traits as she defeats her monstrous mother, and the female
bullies from her school (of whom she is a victim), however only by performing a
monstrous act herself. Such characteristic mean Carrie represents Clover’s
female victim hero.
Why does Clover say that males relate to the females in horror films?
King, the author of Carrie
states that anybody who has been victimised can relate to the plain being felt
by Carrie in the book, and film. Clover agrees with King, by stating that it is
possible for males to relate to the on-screen female struggles within the
horror film world rather than objectively viewing them. Clover’s final girl
theory suggests that the androgenetic features within the female character,
makes such character gender fluid and allows the male audience to relate to
their struggles.
Why does Clover suggest that horror research is problematic?
Surveys within film are normally conducted by large studios as they have the money to do so, however horror films are typically produced by small studios on a low budget, therefore have no or little money to spend on research. Clover’s book also states that horror films often have a short run in the cinema or go straight to VHS, meaning such films have no or little, and unreliable box office records.
Who does Clover suggest makes-up the typical horror audience?
Suggested by Clover, the typically horror audience within the cinema in size order is young males, often in a group; heterosexual couples, of a variety of ages; solo “rouge males”, of an older age and with an ominous appearance; and groups of adolescent girls. Such proportions vary with different sub-genres, however the predominance of the young male remains consistent, as they are the “unmistakeable target audience of horror fanzines”.
Why does Clover suggest that horror research is problematic?
Surveys within film are normally conducted by large studios as they have the money to do so, however horror films are typically produced by small studios on a low budget, therefore have no or little money to spend on research. Clover’s book also states that horror films often have a short run in the cinema or go straight to VHS, meaning such films have no or little, and unreliable box office records.
Who does Clover suggest makes-up the typical horror audience?
Suggested by Clover, the typically horror audience within the cinema in size order is young males, often in a group; heterosexual couples, of a variety of ages; solo “rouge males”, of an older age and with an ominous appearance; and groups of adolescent girls. Such proportions vary with different sub-genres, however the predominance of the young male remains consistent, as they are the “unmistakeable target audience of horror fanzines”.
Was there parity between horror audiences in regard to those who
watched horror films at the cinema and those who watched them at home through
rentals?
Clover partook polls in VHS rental shops, half in San Francisco and half elsewhere in the USA of the clientele of certain horror films, including Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Ms. 45. Such poll confirmed the male bias within the horror genre, and gave parity between audiences in the cinema and in rental stores, with 4/5 of the renters of Ms. 45 being male; and, nearly these renters, both male and female were under the age of twenty-five, showing a similarity to the predominantly youthful cinema viewers of the horror genre. Clovers polls seem to pair up with the cinema statistics, however we must remember that she only conducted small scale research (mainly in San Francisco), and as Clover states, “the renter of the video cassette is not necessarily the only watcher”.
Clover partook polls in VHS rental shops, half in San Francisco and half elsewhere in the USA of the clientele of certain horror films, including Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Ms. 45. Such poll confirmed the male bias within the horror genre, and gave parity between audiences in the cinema and in rental stores, with 4/5 of the renters of Ms. 45 being male; and, nearly these renters, both male and female were under the age of twenty-five, showing a similarity to the predominantly youthful cinema viewers of the horror genre. Clovers polls seem to pair up with the cinema statistics, however we must remember that she only conducted small scale research (mainly in San Francisco), and as Clover states, “the renter of the video cassette is not necessarily the only watcher”.
What are the two ways identified by Clover in which audiences identify
with characters?
Clover identifies primary identification, which relates the cinematography within a film, and secondary identification, which relates to the character of empathic choice. Clover’s primary identification, relating to cinematographic identification suggests that the camera can move to different character, and omniscient positions with ease, to gain different levels of personality. Stated by Clover, the hand-held first-person perspective or the ‘subjective camera’ is thought to be “the most personal of them all”; relating to Laura Mulvey’s ‘male gaze’, which is conventionally uses cinematography to sexually view women, but Clover believes such technique is used in the genre to help the audience identify with, and share the perspective of the films ‘female victim hero’. Clover’s secondary identification, in relation to empathic choice, again used Carrie for explanation, as Carrie is bullied by students at school, and her mother at home.
Clover identifies primary identification, which relates the cinematography within a film, and secondary identification, which relates to the character of empathic choice. Clover’s primary identification, relating to cinematographic identification suggests that the camera can move to different character, and omniscient positions with ease, to gain different levels of personality. Stated by Clover, the hand-held first-person perspective or the ‘subjective camera’ is thought to be “the most personal of them all”; relating to Laura Mulvey’s ‘male gaze’, which is conventionally uses cinematography to sexually view women, but Clover believes such technique is used in the genre to help the audience identify with, and share the perspective of the films ‘female victim hero’. Clover’s secondary identification, in relation to empathic choice, again used Carrie for explanation, as Carrie is bullied by students at school, and her mother at home.
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