I am the worst woman : the disintegration of the idealised feminine and the final girl in The forest of love
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Asian Studies, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Kuzyk, Anika Dawn
issued: 2024-04-22T18:23:01Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: For decades, Carol J. Cloverâs Final Girl theory in Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film has been repeatedly highlighted in discourse surrounding classic American slasher films' female heroines and victim-survivors. As of late, contemporary Final Girl literature has transitioned to criticizing the limiting nature of the original theory, such as its association with âWesternâ ideals of middle-class whiteness, heterosexuality, and ability. However, many scholars have taken the Final Girl and applied the theory beyond the image of a fair-skinned, conventionally attractive, and unusually physically capable teenager by finding altered renditions of Final Girl(s) within global horror cinema. This thesis analyses the undiscussed representation of the Final Girl and the gendered representations in Japanese horror cinema. Through an analysis of Director Sono Sionâs Netflix original thriller, The Forest of Love (2019), this thesis locates the differences between this new Japanese Final Girl and Cloverâs classic Final Girl, as well as the differences between this new Japanese Final Girl and those identified in scholarship post-Clover, to illuminate issues specific to Japanese gender systems and representational strategies in Japanese horror films. This analysis also reflects on the similarities between Cloverâs Final Girl and her potential counterpart in Japanese horror, underscoring the continuing usefulness of Cloverâs work as an analytical tool. Chapter One focuses on the definitions that make up the groundwork of this thesis, such as Cloverâs Final Girl, contemporary scholarshipâs use of the theory, and an introduction to the horror genre. Chapter Two then brings the discussion of the Final Girl to Japanese Studies by highlighting the traits of Japanese horror cinema, the J-horror genre, and Japanese analytical tools that will be used to analyse Sonoâs film. Chapter Three moves on to an analysis and discussion of The Forest of Love and determines wh…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/87923
note: I am the Worst Woman: The Disintegration of the Idealised Feminine and the Final Girl in The Forest of Love by Anika Dawn Kuzyk B.A., The University of Alberta, 2018 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2024 © Anika Dawn Kuzyk, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: I am the Worst Woman: The Disintegration of the Idealised Feminine and the Final Girl in The Forest of Love submitted by Anika Dawn Kuzyk in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Asian Studies Examining Committee: Sharalyn Orbaugh, Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Co-Supervisor Colleen Laird, Assistant Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Co-Supervisor Christina Yi, Associate Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract For decades, Carol J. Cloverâs Final Girl theory in Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film has been repeatedly highlighted in discourse surrounding classic American slasher films' female heroines and victim-survivors. As of late, contemporary Final Girl literature has transitioned to criticizing the limiting nature of the original theory, such as its association with âWesternâ ideals of middle-class whiteness, heterosexuality, and ability. However, many scholars have taken the Final Girl and applied the theory beyond the image of a fair-skinned, conventionally attractive, and unusually physically capable teenager by finding altered renditions of Final Girl(s) within global horror cinema. This thesis analyses the undiscussed representation of the Final Girl and the gendered representations in Japanese horror cinema. Through an analysis of Director Sono Sionâs Netflix original thriller, The Forest of Love (2019), t…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0441453
language: eng
degree discipline: Asian Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Orbaugh, Sharalyn
contributor: Laird, Colleen
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/87923