DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/FCSM-TR73
Defense Date
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Sociology
First Advisor
Dr. Tara Stamm
Second Advisor
Dr. Volkan Aytar
Third Advisor
Josh Smith
Abstract
This research examines the relationships between on-screen depictions of violence in American slasher horror films and depictions of gendered morality of victims. Slashers are a subgenre of horror film that arose out of the exploitation cinema movement of the 1970s that are characterized primarily by the presence of one or more human killers inflicting violence on a group of protagonists, typically through the use of bladed weapons. Data collected comes from a comprehensive set of thirty-six American slasher films that received a wide theatrical release, with exemptions for films whose primary genre is not slasher and only selecting three films per franchise. The unit of analysis is the character, coded for gender, participation in sexual activity, substance use, social attitudes, and violence received. Analysis reveals there is a significant correlation between the sex of the victim, level of violence received, and the rate of death. Specific traits considered generally to be “punishable” in the context of the films, such as substance use or bullying, tend to receive similar levels of violence for men and women, with the exception of promiscuity. Female promiscuity has a strong positive correlation with rate of death that is not present for male victims.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-8-2025
Included in
Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons