Cabin in the Woods Questions

1.     What were Jeremy Tunstall’s 4 character roles for women and do they apply to The Cabin in the Woods?

-Domestic
-Sexual
-Consumer
 -Marital

Jules applies to the Sexual role of a woman because she is most sexualised. Although everyone is sexually active within the film, she is the one that is seen having intercourse with Curt in the Woods.

Lin applies to the Domestic role because she is the assistant that is seen helping out the other men, however she is still bossed around to an extent.

Dana and Jules are good examples of the Consumer role because they are typical teenage girls. When we first see Jules and Dana, we are told that Jules dyed her hair, a representation of consuming.

Dana is the most marital out of the female characters in Cabin In The Woods because she is the less sexualised and although not married, she has an attachment and sense of loyalty to one person.


2.     How is Dana typical of Clover’s ‘Final Girl’ theory? Please mention: the ending; Dana’s appearance and her actions during the film.

Dana is typical of the ‘Final Girl’ theory because she has an androgynous name and appearance, dressing less revealing in comparison to the others. She is less sexually active and not blonde. She fights for her life until the end, although it is most likely she died, she is the last remaining.


3.       Jules undergoes mental and physical transformations during the film, what are they and how do they cause her to become a horror archetype?

Physically, Jules undergoes the transformation of hair colour to become a blonde. Blondes in horrors are typically known for being the first to die, which then goes on to happen. She becomes more sexually active once at the Cabin which puts her at more risk of becoming a victim in a horror as most characters die as a result.


4.       Is Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory exemplified in the film and if so, how? Think about framing, camera angles and POV shots.

Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory is when the camera acts as the eyes of a heterosexual male to view females as sexual objects. Curt eyes his girlfriend at one point, where the camera follows him as a POV shot. When we first see Dana, she is in her underwear and the camera makes sure to point this out by focusing on her lower body.


5.       In the film we, as an audience, are made to be voyeurs; when does this happen and why is it important in regards to representation of character?

A voyeur is a person who gains sexual pleasure from observing others naked or also carrying out sexual activities, also a person who gains pleasure from watching their pain. We become voyeurs during the scene where Jules does stuff with a wolf, leaving her boyfriend to watch on. This shows the more sexually active characters in comparison to the others and the extents they will go to as well as the outcome of their actions.


6.       (Briefly) Summarise the way women are represented in The Cabin in the Woods. Are they objectified and there to provide satisfaction for heterosexual males and/or do they fulfil another role/purpose?

Women in The Cabin in the Woods are represented incredibly sexualised, attracting the heterosexual male. They do provide satisfaction and are objectified but are used a lot to create humour as well.