1. Representation of Women in
The Cabin in the Woods
By Sable Jerman

2. What were Jeremy Tunstall’s 4 character roles for women
and do they apply to The Cabin in the Woods?
Tunstall’s 4 character roles for women were;
• Domestic
• Sexual
• Consumer
• Marital
Only one of these roles applies to the film, and that is the sexual role, this is done in
a subtle way as there is sexual attraction between Dana and Holden but we can see
that Holden isn’t desperate to sleep with Dana and they don’t sleep together. Jules
and Curt clearly have a sexual attraction as they are already a couple and we can see
in the film when they are all drunk that Curt does want to have his way with Jules
and due to this they then die, but Jules isn’t put in the film as a sex object as she and
Dana are both clearly smart (academically) and we can see that Marty and Holden
don’t have a desire to get there way with Jules.

3. How is Dana typical of Clover’s ‘Final Girl’ theory?
Dana is very typical of Clover’s final girl theory as she is the girl to
make it to the end of the film, even though she has had a lot of
help to survive so this makes her have both endings A (she
is saved) and B (she fights back). We can also see that she is
‘virginal’ when her and Holden are sitting on the sofa kissing
and she tells him that she is not ready to have sex with him and
he says ‘whatever you want’. Towards the end of the film we see Dana point a gun at
Marty who is one her of her best friends this shows her masculinity which the final girl
possesses. Her appearance is also typical of the final girl as she is very covered up
compared to her friend Jules who is wearing shorts and a blouse, whereas Dana on the
other hand is wearing jeans, a top and a cardigan so we can see no revealing flesh what
so ever. Her actions during the film are smart, she tries to survive on her own and is
constantly aware of her actions and the things around her. When she is fighting the
zombie near the killer she tries to pick up a plank of wood which is sticking out, this
shows that she is determined to save herself and to survive, she is not relying on
anyone to come and save her.

4. Jules undergoes mental and physical transformations during the
film, what are they and how do they cause her to become a horror
archetype?
Right at the very start of the film we learn that Jules has dyed her hair blonde, we don’t
see her do this but we know by all the characters pointing it out, this automatically
stereotypes her as the ‘dumb blonde’ the ‘whore’ of the group. When they are all at the
cabin and they are drinking and listening to music Jules has changed into shorts and a
blouse whereas at the start of the film she is wearing a dress and a cardigan and looks
quite classy. She then starts dancing in front of the fire and Marty notices the change in
Jules and Curt and they all notice that she is acting differently, we then learn that this is
because the scientists at the lab gave her the hair dye so it would sink into her scalp and
brain making her behave the way she does which then leads to her and Curt going
outside to have sex which then leads to her being murdered. This makes her a horror
archetype because all these things make her turn into a ‘whore’ even though she is very
smart, and there is usually always a ‘whore’ type character in horror films.

5. Is Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory exemplified in the film and
if so, how?
Mulvey’s male gaze theory is exemplified in more ways than one during the film, one main
example would be when Jules is dancing in front of the fire, we see that the camera angle
is low making the bottom part of her body more apparent to the audience. This is also a
POV shot as we are seeing her how the other characters are seeing her, we are seeing her
being provocative therefore the other characters would be seeing her as being
provocative, we know this because they are sitting down facing her so would be lower
than her which is another reason why the angle is a low angle. Another example would be
when Jules and Curt are in the forest and things between them are getting heated, Jules
sits on top of Curt and removes her blouse so we can see her bare chest, this is another
POV shot as the scientists at the control room in the underground facilityare all watching
and they are all men so we see exactly what they see. Before Jules starts dancing in front
of the fire there is a close up of her bum which is a quick shot but it there for us to see her
as the ‘whore’.

6. 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?
One of the clear examples of the audience being voyeurs is when all the characters go to
their rooms for the first time and Holden discovers a mirror which looks into Dana’s room,
he starts watching her and she begins to get changed, it is clear that she can’t see him, as
she starts to get undressed Holden hesitates weather to keep watching her or not, we see
this from his POV making us the voyeurs, he then decides to tell Dana and swap rooms
with her, this is important to the representation of character because we learn that Holden
is not a stereotypical male, this is surprising. Holden then asks Dana if she would like to
swap rooms and she really appreciates that he has offered to do that, even though Dana
likes that Holden respects her and doesn’t feel uncomfortable having a relationship with a
man we see that she is quite self conscious within herself and quite reserved and not as
confident to go for things as Jules may be.

7. Summary of the Way Women are Represented in The Cabin
in the Woods
I agree that both Mulvey’s male gaze theory and Clover’s final girl theory are used within
the cabin in the woods:
Mulvey’s theory is clearly shown in
the character Jules, we see this with
the way she behaves and the
camera angles and shots of her, she
is also the girl that gets killed of first
and is stereotypically the ‘dumb
blonde’. We also see this in
Halloween, Laurie's dumb girly
friends get killed off first.
Clover’s theory is shown in the
character Dana who is the final girl,
she survives until the end and she
fights back, she is also saved by her
friend Marty but before she is saved
she is fighting for her life. She isn’t as
provocative as the other female
character Jules, she is the complete
opposite in fact which shows the
clear contrast between them. Again
this is shown in Halloween, Laurie is
saved but also fights for her life.