women in horror, the legend continues

[intertribal]

This is a 2007 video that sockkpuppett (Luminosity) and sisabet made for Vividcon - the theme is the depiction of women in Supernatural, and the song they used is "Violet" by Hole (which should tell you in what direction the video's going).  It's extremely graphic - but of course this was all on the CW - and potentially triggery.  It's called "Women's Work."

As I don't watch Supernatural, I defer to cofax7 for some extra words: "I've been aware for the entire time I've watched the show that there were problems with the presentation of women, but this vid really provides the ammunition for that argument. Because even if the male deaths total the same number (which I don't know), the fact is that they are filmed entirely differently: they are clothed, the camera doesn't linger on them, they're not swimming, in bed, in bedclothes, bathing. Women in peril are sexy, and in a different way than the Winchesters in peril. Dean on his knees is sexy not because he is in peril, but because we know he's going to get up and kick ass in just a moment, because the show has identified him as the Hero. Whereas none of the women have that protection in the text."  More commentary on sisabet's LJ here.

Comments

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

I only saw one episode of the show. They axed two women in a pretty bullshit, throwaway manner. The only two women in the episode.

It's interesting, this show and Lost come up in my head a lot about how TV interacts with the notion of God, and in both shows, it seems that the producers and writers think that God is a man, not masculine in aspect, but a may-uhn, and that, as I judge them, he's kind of a shitty man.

There is a part of me that really wants to interact with that trope somehow, in some form of fiction or game design - the posable/disposable way women get treated in horror (especially in horror).

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

I do love this video and absolutely admire how it's getting across what it's trying to get across (which is certainly part of why I love the end credits of Jennifer's Body so much), but I'm still not sure about the contextual dismissal of the entire show assumed to be implicit in this and similar criticisms. Part of my whole "you can't throw away the entire source-material just because you dislike a part of it" thing, I suppose, even if the part in question happens to be less an unsightly cyst which could be removed without damaging the whole than a thread that runs through everything and can't be pulled out without making the entire story unravel.

Sexualization of female fear and death is part of "mainstream" horror iconography--we all know this. Questioning it is worthwhile. Widening the scope is worthwhile (why not do the same to dudes?), as is narrowing it (why sexualize any fear and death, when in RL both fear and death are very unsexy things?). And yet...

And yet: I still like Supernatural, so I guess I'm complicit, and I should just accept it. Yeah. That's probably the best way to go (aside from worth on those sequels to "Crossing the River").

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Whoa! Awesome song!

I have to confess that threat and violence--IN STORIES--can be pretty much of a turn-on for me, depending on the story. And I haven't analyzed myself enough to know what details of the story make it a turn-on and what ones make it a turn-off.

So: I know it's bad that it's always done to women, etc. But I guess I'm just humbly stating the obvious and saying that there are plenty of complicit women viewers/readers. LIke myself, in some instances. Certainly doesn't mean it's all that I want in my entertainment, or even most of what I want in my entertainment, just saying that a little of that, I don't mind. But clearly people's mileage varies WILDLY. And it's certainly the root of a lot of problems.