Who Gets to Survive: The Final Girls of Horror

Imaginary Worlds

Eric Molinsky

Arts, Science Fiction, Fiction, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2024

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we begin I want to tell you about a really funny and insightful movie
0:04.0	podcast called I Saw What You Did. Every week Millie de Cherico and Daniel
0:09.1	Henderson share a double feature with a different wild theme and explore how our life stories impact the movies that we love.
0:16.9	Millie and Danielle discuss cult classics through a feminist lens, have conversations about
0:22.1	their film crushes throughout the ages, and provide hilarious
0:26.0	hot takes on just about everything.
0:28.6	New episodes come out every Tuesday.
0:31.1	You can follow, I Saw What You Did did wherever you get your podcasts.
0:35.0	You're listening to imaginary worlds a show about how we create them and why we suspend our disbelief.
0:42.0	I'm Eric Malinsky.
0:44.0	Earlier this year, we did a mini series about iconic works of pop culture that came out in 1984,
0:51.0	including Nightmare on Elm Street. During our research into the Nightmare franchise,
0:55.9	we became fascinated by the trope of the Final Girl.
1:00.3	The Final Girl is the character who survives the movie and keeps coming back in sequel after sequel.
1:06.0	In Nightmare on Elm Street, it's Nancy played by Heather Langenkamp.
1:11.0	This is just a dream. He isn't real. In the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the character
1:18.3	is Sally, played by Marilyn Burns. In the Halloween franchise, it's Lori, played by Jamie Lee Curtis.
1:27.0	Are you fooling around again? I'll kill you if this is a joke.
1:32.0	In the Scream Films, it's Sydney, played by Nev Campbell.
1:36.0	So where are you?
1:40.0	Your front porch.
1:42.0	And Sigourney Weaver's character Ripley in the alien films counts as a final girl.
	...

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