Turning Points/ Artifacts
Purpose: To track how the Final Girl Trope has changed over time through the Cyclical political theory and what that says about the progression of women’s rights and how women are valued during these political periods of time. The Final Girl Trope visualizes the ideal woman of a time period and cautions against being anything lesser or more than that.
Will need to:
- Define the Final Girl Trope
- Define the Cyclical Theory
- Track the progression of feminist movements and conservative backlash
Turning Point One: The Classic/Golden Era
Evidence 1- Halloween (1987) and Laurie Strode
Evidence 2- Friday the 13th (1980) and Alice Hardy
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Sally Hardesty
*Conservative time, conservative standards for women
Turning Point Two: The Post Modern/ Self Referential Cycle
Evidence 1- Scream (1996) and Sydney Prescott
Evidence 2- I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Julie James
*Liberal time, liberal standards for women
Turning Point Three: Neoslasher Cycle
Evidence 1: Post 9/11 Cycle
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Halloween 1&2 (2007&2009)
Black Christmas (2006)
*Conservative time, especially after 9/11, return to conservative standards and brutalization
Evidence 2: 2010’s
*Liberal time, liberal standards for women
Ready or Not (2019)
Happy Death Day (2017)
The Fear Street (2021)
Midsommar (2019)
The Invisible Man (2020)
Scream 5&6 (2022&2023)
Links I found during class time:
Cyclical theory (United States history) – Wikipedia
The US political cycle. When will it end? | David Lee | Flickr
CYCLES OF AMERICAN HISTORY (austincc.edu)
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but I’m super excited to see how your Ted will develop from your topic, especially since there is so many movies packed into it! I never really thought about how horror could also translate to the sociopolitical standards, but when separating your evidence into your turning points, it starts to make a lot of sense. I think this is coming together wonderfully, it looks like you pretty much got everything covered!
This is such a great topic Autumn! Its also super interesting, so I’m sure the audience will be very engaged in your presentation. Its crazy how there misogyny seeped in to just about every aspect of our society, and how that could translate to the sociopolitical standards. You seem to have a great handle on the information you will be presenting, so I have no suggestions. Great Job!