I didn’t grow up watching horror movies, nor did I really develop an interest in exploring the genre until just recently (about two or three years ago). With a younger sister in the house, the scary movies were few and far between; Harry Potter was as spooky as it got. Though I’m no expert when it comes to Gothicism, I have most definitely seen enough to recognize the clichés sprinkled throughout each film. In fact, before even taking this class, I had begun to grow tired of the reoccurring elements that we find in horror films time and time again. Once you begin to recognize the commonalities in the gothic genre, your reactions to the “scary stuff” goes from this:
to this:
As we discussed in class, every horror movie seems to have a similar plot. While the classic black and white horror films rely on monsters, mad scientists, and castles full of cobwebs to spook their audiences, modern movies seem to rely purely on jump scares and attractive actors screaming. Though separate in scaring tactics, all horror movies seem to feature a common thing to some degree: a gothic heroine.
Even if this heroine appears to be nothing but a ditzy damsel in distress at first glance, eventually she begins to think and fight for herself and others. As women became more well read, they began to feel the need for a heroine that they could relate to, someone they could root for. In fact, Gothicism may very well be the main reason why we see so many female heroines today. You see, in horror films, women are forced to stand up for themselves; it’s life or death. In other genres such as fantasy or science fiction, the need for self-protection may not be there. On the other hand, in horror movies, everyone (including the damsels) tend to end up being forced to fend for him or herself. Thus, the gothic heroine was born.
This feminine hero has grown more and more common as the years have passed. With the rise of feminism in this day and age, the ratio of female protagonists almost seems to outweigh the number of male protagonists. Such characters include Tris from the “Divergent” series, Katniss from “The Hunger Games”, and – although she’s not the lead character – Hermione becomes quite the heroine in the “Harry Potter” series. These female protagonists can thank the gothic heroine for their rise to fame.
