The Cabin In The

Woods

What were Jeremy Tunstalls 4

character roles for women and do
they apply to The Cabin In The
Woods?
In The Media In Britain, Jeremy Tunstall argued that
women in the media had one of these four roles.
Domestic
Sexual
Consumer
Marital

Continued

Jules is clearly portrayed as the sexual character of the

group. This is evident from the scenes where she kisses
the wolf head, she dances provocatively and she begins
to have sex with Curt.
Dana could be seen as a domestic character as she is
more reserved and conservative than the other
characters, especially Jules. This plays into her being
the Final Girl.

How is Dana typical of Clovers

Final Girl theory?
Dana is portrayed as an intellectual girl because at the start of
the film she plans on taking books to the cabin. This is a contrast
to the other characters, as they all have their minds focused on
having fun.
She is shown to be virginal and androgynous. This is shown by
her clothing, which give a sense of innocence and her positioning
with the boys when watching Jules antics. Her name, Dana, is
unisex, so that implies that she is perhaps not as feminine as if
she had a female name.
She is portrayed as pre-pubescent as she is clearly not distracted
by sex, alcohol and drugs for the majority of the film. This is a
key point of the criteria for being considered The Final Girl.

Continued
In the end of the film she fights back against the
zombies, which is typical of the final girl.
In the scene featuring Jules dancing, Dana is positioned
with the men. This shows her masculinity, and that she
is different from the feminine Jules.

Jules undergoes mental and physical

transformations during the film, what
are they and how do they cause her to
become a horror architype?

At the start of the film, we are told that Jules has

changed her hair colour from brown to blonde. This
causes her to be the architype of the genre as her hair
dye was tainted by Gary and Steve, who added drugs
that affect her cognitive functions, hinder rational
thinking and increase libido. It also plays perfectly into
the dumb blonde stereotype. The idea behind that is
that she is not dumb, but one of the characters has to
be for the purpose of the ritual.

Is Mulveys Male Gaze theory

exemplified in the film and if so, how?
The POV shot used before Curt and Jules have sex in the
woods is framed with Jules in the centre of the screen,
showing herself to Curt and therefore the audience as
well.
The scenes which feature Jules dancing and kissing the
wolf both use pedestal shots. This is when the camera
starts at her feet and tilts up to show her entire body.
The scene when Jules strips cuts away to show the
entire office staring at the screen. They are then
annoyed when she gets distracted. This suggests that
that is the only interesting thing to them.

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?

The scene featuring the one-way mirror allows the

Holden character and the audience to be voyeurs as
they can see Dana through the mirror. Holden does the
right thing and tells her. Dana says she wants to switch
rooms, which suggests that she may be self conscious.
The film features many voyeuristic scenes from the
office as the staff watch all of the goings on in the
woods. They watch everything but there is a bigger
crowd and they are more focused during potential sex
scenes.

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 are represented in multiple ways in The Cabin In

The Woods. The Jules character is there simply for the
pleasure of heterosexual males. This is evident as she is
sexually provocative multiple times and is the only
character seen naked in the film. Dana, on the other
hand, is there to be a Final Girl. She is more masculine
and also more reserved than a lot of characters. She is
not distracted by sex, drugs, or alcohol and is focused
on studying and later survival.