The Final Girl Evolution- an actual feminist icon

Welcome back to the home of the Unoriginal Thinker where we have found ourselves once more addressing a popular trope of novels and films: The Final Girl. In general, I would very much like to commend the concept of one girl being able to outlive everyone at the end of all possible catastrophes. In theory, the idea of the Final Girl really should be an attestation to 'Girl Power'. However, like many film and literary critics, I can see that there are several issues within the Final Girl trope. As a character 'The Final Girl' should appeal to her female audience but instead, she inevitably reaffirms patriarchal ideals of femininity. The version of womanhood offered by The Final Girl is one that relies on whiteness, purity, and virginity. It is a dangerous message that has been reiterated throughout the horror franchise, "sexual women get killed and only pure women survive"(Cowan & O'Brien 194). It allows for the identity of women to become solely dependent on their sexual activity and is used against them to explain the unfortunate circumstances of their lives.

While I have major issues with this representation of femininity, I don't think that the Final Girl trope is not capable of being salvaged. There is potential within the concept but for that potential to be realized certain issues need to be addressed. The Final Girl should not find her sexuality to be the main focus of her identity nor an integral part of her survival. This is a criticism that has not just been felt by me; film directors have now seen that the original Final Girl is not the kind of woman wanted to be seen on screen. Instead, we need to offer Final Girls that have far more to offer than just their virginity. Women who are from a range of different backgrounds are reflective of all kinds of women. A recent example of a more promising Final Girl would have to be the 2022 Prequel of the Predator franchise, Prey.

The movie set in the Grand Plains follows the story of Naru a young Native American girl who longs to train like her brother and become a hunter for the tribe in 1719. However, if she wishes to train like the other men and to be given the opportunity to become a hunter, she must prove herself by completing a hunt by herself. It is important to note that the film, quite early on, centers itself on the struggles of female identity. As a young girl, Naru is to be trained in medical remedies and become a healer for a tribe. Within the film, Naru is actively addressing the pressures of gender roles and their conflict with personal desires and beliefs. Rather than presenting a female lead who appears to have no outward dilemma with her sense of personhood, Prey engages with the topic. It is also important to stress the difference between the personal issues faced by Naru in light of the Final Girl dilemma. The sexuality and sexual desires of Naru are not discussed within the film, nor seem to be a topic of interest to other characters. It is also not suggested that her abilities to combat the alien are dependent on her sexual activity or lack of. Traditionally, the Final Girl figure does not get to have such control over her sexual identity. As it has been observed by Clover, the Final Girl is written for the male audience; she is to be relatable to him but also an outward extension of his own "sadomasochistic fantasies" (Clover 214). Naru does not present herself in a way that makes her easily identifiable to male viewers and also does not allow for her sexual desires to be used against her.

As the Final Girl is often framed to be "not like other girls", the attributes and personality of a Final Girl figure are very important. It is often depicted in horror films that the Final Girl is different to her peers as she is seen as boyish and less feminine. As the Final Girl, is the lone survivor of all her peers there is clearly an association between her lack of feminine traits and her survival. In order to survive, it appears that women must be willing to embrace their more masculine side. In doing so, there needs to be a suppression of their natural femininity. While it feels a little backward to use the terms feminine and masculine characteristics; they still have a place within this film genre. It is common to see the typical Final Girl either exhibit more 'masculine' traits or be seen to become more masculine in her confronting of the killer. There are many reasons to explain the macho persona associated with the Final Girl; as already mentioned it allows for her to be seen as identifiable with the male audience, by being perceived as masculine the Final Girl is again "different" to her peers, and it reaffirms common beliefs about power in the horror genre. Unfortunately for the girls of the horror franchise, many films would like to give the impression that power is belonging to the masculine. As women are often depicted as the victims of horror films and men as the main perpetrators of crime, an unequal power balance is being demonstrated. Women are seen to be in fear and men are the cause of these fears. The Final Girl as the lone survivor is in possession of a form of power and her ability to be seen as less feminine allows her to access this power. Therefore, it's hard to view a Final Girl as a feminist icon when her ability to overpower or outsmart her attacker is because she is deliberately depicted as less womanly.

I would argue though that Naru's outsmarting and even aggression towards Predator is not seen as a masculine feat. While Naru does heavily rely on the physical training and combat she would have learned from her brother, these are not her only useful skills. As expected of the women in the tribe, Naru is trained in herbal remedies and has an extensive knowledge of natural plant life that becomes essential in her attack against the Predator. Naru is seen several times within the film in possession of a holistic remedy, an orange flower. It is able to lower the body temperature of anyone which can be quite useful in slowing down symptoms. After applying the medicine to the Frenchman, Naru observes that the Predator no longer views him as a threat and realizes that the Predator is tracking body heat. Thus, if she wants to remain undetected she must apply this to herself. By combining both her "feminine" holistic knowledge and "masculine" combative skills, we can see that Naru, as the new Final Girl, is able to bend the gender division. Naru does not need to abandon her femininity in order to defeat the Predator. Instead, it is shown that her feminity is essential to her survival. While Naru might not be like the other women within her tribe, her characterization does not contribute to the pattern of assessing power as masculine. Instead, she is a character that utilizes her gender role and lets it become an advantage against Predator.

While there is still much work that needs to be done to unravel the problems associated with the Final Girl, the film industry is clearly reconsidering her characterization. It is not enough to have a woman be able to outsmart and even kill the attacker of a horror film. It may give the appearance of giving female leads more control and power, it's a meaningless gesture if her entire presence gives into misogynistic teachings. A real Final Girl needs to challenge these ideals and demonstrate the power within the feminine. This is something I believe Naru does brilliantly in Prey. She holds a strong identity that is not attached to her sexuality, does not transform into a masculine being to survive, and uses her gendered teaching to her advantage.

My next post, which should be up soon, will continue feminist criticism. Instead of Final Girls, I will be looking toward the ongoing debate surrounding rape narratives within both literature and film.

Stay Unoriginal.

Secondary Reading:

Clover, Carol J. "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film."Misogyny, Misandry, Misanthropy, special issue of & Representations, vol. 20, Autumn 1987, pp. 187–228.

Cowan, G. & O'Brien, M. "Gender and survival vs death in slasher films: A content analysis". Sex Roles, vol. 23, 1990, pp.187-196.

Playlist:

A couple of songs to listen to while you read:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ipKncGJWLRtTEVzyIUTWW?si=Ot4gGoFDSr2HM08_6bBtZw