Actors: Victims in Supernatural Horror - Bailey May

Actors:victims 

Victims in films ,especially horror films, are essential to making the film scary and maximising the films effect on the audience due to portraying their and the audiences insecurities and fears.

Throughout history the victims have mostly being female due to this idea that they are more vulnerable and unable to defend themselves while man are portrayed as the heroes protecting and saving the female victims.  

Victims in supernatural horror have evolved over time such as demonstrated by The Exorcist in which the girl becomes the victim to the demonic spirits.

This conforms to the age old stereotypes of girls being vulnerable and weak which was the common convention in the 1970s. This was further instated in this film through the girl having to be saved by a male Priest further conforming to the common gender conventions contemporary to the time.

Also the fact her mother was unable to help or save her daughter conforms that females are vulnerable and need help in dangerous and scary occasions. 

However, in more recent times, the gender roles have switched and become more equal as the boy in the film Insidious (Dalton) is the victim of paranormal entities. He is the victim of the paranormal, demonic spirit which subverts the common representation the males are the heroes and not immune to being victims.

Moreover, the evil spirit is deranged from an evil possessed woman so it is continuing in subverting from common expectations in regards to gender roles and challenging societies instantaneous perceptions of victims in films and gender roles.

Continuing, the only person able to save Dalton was an elderly woman which subverts not only the gender conventions but also the conceptions of age which only emphasises how vulnerable the male victim is. 

Although the victims in the contemporary film The Conjuring are all female, conforming back to the stereotypes of women being the victims in film.

The victims act as helpless and vulnerable in search for masculine help in the form of their father who is commonly portrayed by the media the savour. 

Also their mother becomes possessed and exploiting the stereotype of woman being victims and conforming to the audiences expectations of the narrative of the film.

Evaluation

Having compared victims in supernatural horror from the past and the present it is evident that the common media presentations of victims has changed over the years. There is now a more balanced number of male and female characters who act as the victims which subverts original prejudices in society and they now represent a more equal society

In regards ti our product, the victim can either be a male or female actor due to the shift in ideologies in gender roles. However, it is still embedded that males are the 'heroes' in these films saving the conventional female victim. 

Therefore, I think it would be creative by having a male victim to subvert the common conventions to add out own originality to our product while also making the audience uncomfortable due to illustrating that no matter which gender everyone is vulnerable.