Imaginary Worlds   /     Who Gets to Survive: The Final Girls of Horror

Description

Horror movies are best known for their monsters and villains – but there’s another half to the equation. The Final Girls who survive horror films and live to see another sequel have been fueling the genre for half a century. Freddie Krueger met his match in Nancy. Michael Myers can’t outwit Laurie. Ripley is the ultimate survivor of Alien movies. But the trope of the Final Girl has gone through an evolution in recent years. I talk with Robin Means Coleman, University of Virginia professor and author of the book Horror Noire, about the underlying issues of race and gender in who gets to be considered a Final Girl, and why she coined the term Enduring Women. Cultural critic Jenika McCrayer guides us through modern day Final Girls, who are more diverse and complex. And PhD student Morgan Podraza maps out the evolution of Jamie Lee Curtis’s character in the Halloween franchise, from innocent high schooler to gun-toting grandma. This week's episode is sponsored by Sol Reader and Henson Saving Go to solreader.com to and use the code IMAGINARY at checkout to receive 15% off your purchase of Sol Reader Limited Edition. Visit hensonshaving.com/imaginary to pick the razor for you and use the code “imaginary” to get two years' worth of blades free with your razor – just make sure to add them to your cart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subtitle
We dodge chainsaws, butcher knives and alien jaws to learn how Final Girls survive horror films, and why the definition of The Final Girl needed to broaden
Duration
2201
Publishing date
2024-10-23 19:01
Contributors
  Eric Molinsky
author  
Enclosures
https://pdst.fm/e/chrt.fm/track/47G541/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/433/claritaspod.com/measure/traffic.megaphone.fm/QCD2824926736.mp3?updated=1729703003
audio/mpeg

Shownotes

Horror movies are best known for their monsters and villains – but there’s another half to the equation. The Final Girls who survive horror films and live to see another sequel have been fueling the genre for half a century. Freddie Krueger met his match in Nancy. Michael Myers can’t outwit Laurie. Ripley is the ultimate survivor of Alien movies. But the trope of the Final Girl has gone through an evolution in recent years. I talk with Robin Means Coleman, University of Virginia professor and author of the book Horror Noire, about the underlying issues of race and gender in who gets to be considered a Final Girl, and why she coined the term Enduring Women. Cultural critic Jenika McCrayer guides us through modern day Final Girls, who are more diverse and complex. And PhD student Morgan Podraza maps out the evolution of Jamie Lee Curtis’s character in the Halloween franchise, from innocent high schooler to gun-toting grandma.

This week's episode is sponsored by Sol Reader and Henson Saving

  • Go to solreader.com to and use the code IMAGINARY at checkout to receive 15% off your purchase of Sol Reader Limited Edition.
  • Visit hensonshaving.com/imaginary to pick the razor for you and use the code “imaginary” to get two years' worth of blades free with your razor – just make sure to add them to your cart.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices