Final Girl Theory

The final girl theory was created by Carol Clover. Carol was born on July 31st 1940 in America and is currently working as a professor of film, rhetoric language and Scandinavian mythology. One of her biggest accomplishments is her book Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film, which she recieved much credit for. Also one of the reasons she is so famous is for discovering the final girl theory.

This theory is when the last character who is left alive is female and she defeats her attacker. The female character is seen as smart and resourceful and she uses these skills that she possesses to defeat the antagonist. The girl is always seen as stereotypically and follows the conventions of a female character in the film. Also the theory suggests that the female is very moral which is done in the hope that the audience is educated from this. The theory also suggests that the final female character is a brunette as these characters are seen as more intelligent whereas female's with blonde hair are often sexualised and are usually the victim of an attack from the antagonist earlier in the film.

The final girl theory can be applied to many horror films including Carrie, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream and Alien.



Final Girl Theory Example
In the film scream we see how the final girl theory is applied and how the conventions of the female character are shown. In the end scene we see Sidney fight her attackers and we see her using her intelligence in order to outsmart the antagonists. But we also get a sense of her innocence which is a part of the final girl theory, because the female is seen as moral and always does the right thing.