Introduction
Horror films comprise video casts with frightening scenes that infringe fear, anxiety, and mayhem to the viewers for many reasons. Cannibalism refers to the aspect where the eating of animal flesh, more so that of human beings, is embraced. Many movies nowadays have cherished the idea of many female protagonists or the main characters being portrayed as cannibals. For example, The Raw (2016), Ginger Snaps (2000), and Jenifer’s Body (2009) have shown the extremity. Women as eaters of human flesh out of a desire to invalidate the traditional mentalities and perceptions of women’s weaknesses, separation, and sexual defamation. Presence of cannibalism and female desire in horror movies is due to the dynamism evident for women’s efforts to thrive in the patriarchal fanaticism which portrays them as vulnerable and powerless, which is against feminism. Filmmakers use cannibalism and female desire to separate that aspect by bringing in a ‘girl kingdom’ that embraces feminism and the savage humanity incorporating spirituality in women in quest to discover equality in male-dominated societies.
The Female Cannibals Seen in Horror Movies Depicts Feminism and Spirituality
Many traditions have vested power in men, and the line is assumed to be firstborn sons mandated to maintain society’s heritages. However, modern movies which have horror aspects show women who cleave to super powers by eating human flesh, contrary to what viewers may perceive in contemporary settings. For instance, in Raw, Julia Ducournau has impeccably made a feminist vision of women transitioning from a hostile world (Antrim para. 5). The film is about a young lady known as Justine who meets brutal school life in a French veterinarian college.
The students in the same field that Justine ventures into are seen as lovers of partying, whereby they cut open animal parts and give freshmen the blood, kidneys, and other organs by force. The film portrays organized men and women who form sex orgies with a unique desire to have bodily satisfaction, which showcases women desiring sexual activities more than men (Denney para. 10). In that aspect, the audience can learn the new ways where it is no longer males who entice their female counterparts for sexual intercourse, but the urge comes from either side. Thus, based on this essay’s thesis, a feminism based on a patriarchal society is evident in the horror movies that have taken the art and entertainment space nowadays.
Justine’s environment is toxic for her despite having a sister who is supposed to protect her but fails to give a damn about that matter due to desire for equality. The two sisters are portrayed fighting for a certain gay man named Adrien but from the analysis and reading between the lines, it is not just ordinary male attention that women want but thriving in a male-centric society (Corrall para. 12). Watching Raw opens the eyes of the audience about the desire of women to be accepted in the society and that is why they make unique moves that suggest forceful penetration into savage world.
Society perceives women’s power and freedom differently from what Raw shows. Antrim (para. 5) says that Justine may be framed cannibal but not a murderer as that makes her to embrace the type of human being she is. That means the filming of women as cannibals has a hidden message of desire for them to have freethinking without condemnation by antifeminists. In the film, the search for female power is evident in the scenes of Justine enticing men for sex and later biting their bodies for blood are rampant (Antrim para. 7). The introduction to rabbit kidneys had made her thirst for meat despite growing in a vegetarian family but she resists that and craves for finger food that is made of real fingers.
Despite horror films having copious use of violence and nudity, which leads to sex, women’s cannibalism and desire to have affection for males is one way of the need for equal placement for every human being. Many notorious actions are associated with men in society, and the number of people jailed may show men as more affiliated with crimes than women. Although the theme may not mean women desire to belong to the ‘dirty’ world, their strength and vigor is a matter that is highly credited in horror movies (Brady para. 7). For instance, Jennifer’s Body shows Jen making a bloody meal of the boys in town. Hence, the desire to be accepted in the society is prevalent proving feminism theme.
Jennifer feels entitled and free to act on her attraction to her counterpart friend Needy because she believes in equality. In other films such as Ginger Snaps, Ginger says that she is pained because she thought the desire was for sex but seems everything was in mess. (Peacock para. 6). That statement has an intense meaning concerning female sexuality and the efforts characters are making to get out the primitive and uncivilized generation that may want to portray women as having shortcomings in action, thought and plan. The filmmakers have embraced that aspect in their movies since it is seen in many scenes where women are the key protagonists in the movies.
At one point, what men control during sexual attention is turned into these horror movies which shows how anti-feminism is rampant. The desire for sex has a cannibal aspect where at the end of the action or during, women are seen as mouth-grabbing parts of the man’s body in search of blood. A perspective of spirituality in women drives them to make these adamant moves in their quest for acceptability in a patriarchal world. At one point in Ginger Snaps, the main character is seen refusing the man who she renders her virginity to take charge of the action where; instead, she takes a bite of him (Peacock para. 8). What crosses the viewer’s mind is the bodily attractions that women use to lure men into sexual practices where the end game is an expression of cannibalism where women’s strange traits are revealed. Thus, it is clear that female desire and cannibalism in horror movies are made to drive the idea of exploration of one’s burgeoning sexuality through feasting that is accompanied by inhumane activities (Stoddard para. 9). These habitual representations have a significant message which means females have come to demand empowerment.
Many film directors want the audience to perceive more than just the meat eaten in the movies regarding women’s spirituality as they take cannibalistic roles. Rather, they want to symbolize the real-life violence that pertains to conflict between men and women in the gender-based roles. In other words, it is about the overlooked aspect of womanhood that human beings have taken the time or have yet to acknowledge. There is a metaphorical sense that women eating life are similar to leading life on all occasions that may comprise what is referred to as common good or adversity in behavioral standings. In Jennifer’s Body, for instance, Needy, her friend, is baffled by Jennfier’s transformation because she has become a different defection of a normal girl (McCaffrey para. 6). That aspect fits what this paragraph attempts to conclude because, in normal life circumstances, people are concerned with women’s rise in power and the optimal levels which they have shown in both clean and dirty actions.
The horror films where women are seen satiating their hunger at all costs do not mean they can live with their flaws but means they follow path of female power through desire they have. What the filmmakers want to drive home is the point messy, dark, and controversial aspects of womanhood, just like their male counterparts (Creed 188). Women have been locked away from opportunities because they are often left to struggle with their voices disregarded due to the societal setting. These horror movies show women taking charge to incorporate the idea of feminism that is being fought for in modern society.
The nasty scenes show how people are unafraid to make mistakes and how the world has allowed women to strive for equality, which is seen by their zeal to overpower men in various scenes (Creed 181). The film Jennifer’s Body is a true representation of critiquing outdated gender politics directly and explicitly. Jennifer, a virgin sacrificed by a group of indie bands, turns out not to be a real virgin but a demon who feasts on the boys’ flesh. Thus, the stripping of humanity in these characters shows the struggle seen while attempting to moderate equality in society. That can be termed as a meticulous way that filmmakers use to communicate indirectly.
The patriarchal ideologies are coined in these horror films, which puts the end game as the perceptual context of moving away from traditional beliefs on human capability. Corrall (para. 6) says that the films enlighten readers about patriarchal ideologies that have been evident in many genre films where female gender is was perceived to be powerless due to their sex. Thus, the rise of female cannibals in modern cinema is rampant because women are not victims of sensual and sexual desire but rather the perpetrators of the same.
The Raw puts Justine in a transition of sexual discovery and parallels that with her doctrine of coming out of a monster and taking part in brutal incidences which shows feminist zeal. At one moment, she lost her virginity like an animal. From that moment, she decided to prey on boys at school parties as if they were food (Stoddard para. 6). Additionally, Justine made sure that all her college hookups were left with a mark on their body with less meat in their bones. Thus, the conceptual framework in these movies is to show the excellence women have in a selfish society of men and the efforts put in place by showing strategic moves that make them have breakthroughs in their quest for equality and recognition.
The supernatural horror movies are surrounded by women’s discovery of spirituality from occasions that change their lives for good. In Ginger Snaps, the two sisters in the movie start conflicting after one of them, Ginger, is attacked by a strange wild animal (McCaffrey para. 8). The event made Ginger have an immediate transformation that altered her way of thinking, and nature had to allow her to navigate life as a cannibal. The desire to satisfy her sexual hunger and, at the same time feasting on raw human meat is a result of a new spirituality that transformed her (Fau para. 7). Ginger can be seen fighting with men and killing Trina in what is termed as manslaughter.
There is a physical transformation in her body where the scars from the attack by the werewolf start growing hairy, and she sprouts a tail which makes her behave aggressively due to power of a woman. From the scenes, one can conclude that Ginger gradually transformed into a werewolf, a spiritual connection she feels (Robertson para. 3). Therefore, the powers of horror can be interpreted as a systemic representation of a given subject. In the case of Ginger Snaps, the film emphasizes spirituality, sexuality, and the vigorous fight to attain acceptance in society for women, and that is why they are protagonists in the film.
In trying to show the women’s quest for equality and acceptance, horror movies use violence toward women who turn to protagonists after undergoing barbarism while growing. In Cannibal Holocaust, a native girl is seen being raped by the cast. She later turns to be a shocker in the movie when she reveals her zeal to object to men’s dominance in the movie they were shooting (Denney para. 2). Horror movies uses violence against women as a driver of the intended plot since it is not possible to start a film while a woman is at the climax of her cannibalism. Hence, the increased desire and female cannibalistic nature is one way of defending inhumanities committed against women, as seen in the Cannibal Holocaust (Denney para 7). Therefore, film directors play a key role in enlightening viewers about why a certain event leads to another. From that concept, it is rare for the public to question the inspiration behind the framing of women as sexual monsters and cannibals in male-dominated societies.
In horror movies, there is a depiction inside distinction of inherent monstrous nature that proves women are powerful Creed (190), says that various representations such as giving of birth flips a split between natural world of motherhood and the paternal symbolism that comes with different rules such as civilized behaviors that are free from dirtiness. That aspect means the certain element of giving women the differentiated aspect that makes them able is evident. The book gives an example of Xtro, where impregnated womb swells to monstrous proportions (Creed 189). That is an aspect of spirituality that women have which helps build the thesis for this paper. The women giving birth in horror movies are important scenes that portray horrific images and intra-uterine iconography, forming unanticipated representations of strength in women (Creed 190). Therefore, the protagonist women who play a key role in phenomenal horror scenes help the audience obtain key information on what women want in society.
Cannibalism is one way of meeting feminism in horror movies because people support equality between human beings. The Raw movie is said to have made the viewers faint in Toronto, Canada, where one was carried in a sketcher (Denney para. 6). However, despite the ugly scenes, there is a message on the general state of the world in the current society. Hence, the insecurity that the feminist agenda may die is erased while watching these types of movies. Having originated in the early 1960s, horror movies have exploited the practice of rituals and savage elements in society through Mondo films (McAffrey para. 4). There is a recognition of people are who they are, and the cannibalism as seen in women is a power they have developed under patriarchy in both micro and macro environments. Therefore, the theme of feminism is evident whenever movies such as Headless Women of Hollywood, where women’s bodies have been fragmented and deconstructed to sell stuff (Creed 191). That is evident even in today’s society, where women like portraying their sexuality to get favors or compliments from their male counterparts.
Conclusion
Women’s desire for sexual affection and rampant representation as cannibals in horror movies is one way to empower women in society, which is recommended by feminism. Additionally, the increased cannibalism, seen in horror films where women are protagonists, is a measure of how women have conquered male-dominated societies. There is an aspect of spirituality in women, as seen in the films Raw, Jennifer’s Body, and Ginger Snaps. In these movies, it is clear that women have been given the ability to perceive power inside them and take charge aggressively. For instance, Ginger’s tribulations from attack by wild animals made her start behaving or transforming wildly in pursuit of spiritual affiliation from that occurrence.
The outcome is mortalities where some people may die from horrific incidents powered by women. Horror films have represented women as people who can be on the wrong side of life, as seen in Raw, where Justine is seen fighting for a gay partner with her sister after being introduced to cannibalistic settings, which affects her hunger for human flesh. The desire for sexual intercourse from women depicts the dynamism where men are experiencing similar affinity from women on sexuality. However, depicting women as barbarity in horror films does not mean they have been deprived of their human nature in the contemporary world.
Works Cited List
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