¶ … serial killers and feminism. The writer uses a book and a film to explore what the feminist film contributes to the understanding by society of serial killers. There were two sources used to complete this paper. Very few things strike fear in the hearts of Americans the way that serial killers do. Serial killers place terror in the hearts of many because of their very unpredictability. They strike without warning and there doesn't seem to be a logical reason for the pattern that they choose initially. Once the pattern begins to emerge there is often a reason or pattern for the choices the killer makes in victims, but initially it seems like nothing more than a crap shoot and people are afraid of their strikes. For many years people have studied the patterns and lives of serial killers in the effort to establish how they are created. Other studies are conducted to discuss the pattern of the victims of the serial killers. Since the 1960's the women's movement has been in full force. The world has watched a metamorphic from housewife and helpmate to equality in the world between the genders. There have been several works published that have examined the feminist role, and reaction to serial killers.

In Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film by Carol J. Clover three are several examinations that produce some understanding about the feminist film theory and how that theory has contributed to the world's understanding of serial killers.

Clover writes the book as an examination of three different types of horror films. She discusses slasher films, occult films and satanic possession films. In addition she writes about rape/revenge films (Clover, 1992). Clover presents the idea that male spectators of the films often identify with the female victim heroes....

When one watches a killer film one sees at least one victim become a hero. She fights with everything she has, she refuses to give up and she brings the killer to justice with her very anger and unending fight to survive (Clover, 1992).
Clover reminds the reader that in most horror/slash films the victims are women. Most of the women are helpless and with that they end up dead. There is usually one female who refuses to die regardless of the horrors she witnesses or stumbles across. In these movies the female who survives fights with everything she has (Clover, 1992). She may see her best friend murdered, she may stumble across the dismembered body of her mother or she may witness her husband being beheaded in the rage to get at her. Through it all she never gives up. She fights, she claws, she thinks and she never stops working toward her own survival. It is something that eventually plants an idea in the mind of the viewer. Feminism is also filled with the idea that women should not give up. They should not accept dominance by males nor should they ever believe that they are less capable than men. If one takes the idea of feminist film theory and applies it to the real life of serial killers it is not difficult to draw some parallels. In serial killer patterns the victims are often female and those who die are usually caught off guard and might not fight or think things through. They die at the hands of a mad man and while they should never ever be held at fault for their own death the feminist basics might provide a more equal footing about the way a woman reacts to danger (Clover, 1992). Feminism is about the equal reactions and treatment of women. Years ago women were raised to believe they were less than men in all aspects of life. As feminism did its workwomen began to understand they are equal and can react in equal fashion. Feminism I films provide for the fighting back of a woman against a serial killer, or any killer. The audience sees helpless women give up and died without a fight,…