From the Gutter Studies Vault, this is a video summarizing and discussing the first part of Carol Clover’s book Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. Clover is best known for coining the term “final girl”, a rare example of a phrase that has come into popular usage from film theory.
The video covers both this concept and Clover’s wider theory about the horror genre as a return to the unconscious fantasies of so-called “one-sex” sexuality.
What does that mean? Watch to find out.
This is the first part of a planned four-part series covering Clover’s entire book. So far I’ve done the second video, covering Clover’s theory of supernatural horror, but I stopped halfway to focus on other stuff. The second half covers rape-revenge films, as well as Clover’s take on “gaze” in modern horror.
It’s an interesting book covering lots of territory, so I’d love to finish the series one day. If you’re keen on seeing more, let me know via comments, email, etc.
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