Representation in The Cabin in the Woods

Jeremy Tunstall once stated that women were portrayed in film in one of the following roles:

1. Domestic
2. Sexual
3. Consumer
4. Mother/Marital

Dana typical of Clover's 'Final Girl' theory in several ways:

1. she has short hair and does not wear lots of make-up thus making her slightly androgynous (she only wears trousers too)
2. she is willing to 'fight' and kill to survive
3. she is the 'last man standing' at the end of the film
4. her name could also be a male's name (again androgynous)

Jules undergoes mental and physical transformations during the film, firstly she dyes her hair blonde so that she fulfils the 'dumb blonde' criteria expected in a horror film but she is also drugged so that she furthers the stereotype and actually gets really dumb. The torture she suffers and the fact she is killed off first helps to aid in her conventional horror role placement.

Mulvey's Male Gaze theory is exemplified in the film, particularly with Jules; firstly, she is shot from a low angle and with close ups on her body when she is dancing for the dare. She is also shot voyeuristically when she is 'making out' with her boyfriend in the woods, when the lab guys are watching (via hidden cameras).

In the film we, as an audience, are made to be voyeurs twice, once as mentioned above and then also when Dana is unaware of the faux mirror, when she gets changed in front of 'her intended partner'. She continues to fulfil the role of the virgin as she accepts the room swap so that no one can watch her again. It can be seen that she is quite a prude and embarrassed of her body, unlike Jules.

In The Cabin in the Woods women are very intentionally objectified, as is common in horror films. However, in this film it is almost like a comment on the objectification of women in horror as it is self-effacing and the film comments on the way people are show/portrayed in films (particularly horror films). The film is almost a character study of roles and archetypes rather than another horror film blindly showing us stereotypes.