The final girls in contemporary Indonesian horror films: reclaiming women’s power

Abstract

In this work, the concept of “final girls” in contemporary Indonesian horror films is interpreted as a way for women to reclaim their natural rights in the patriarchal world, countering the prevalent portrayal of female characters in popular films as victims or monsters. Therefore, contemporary Indonesian horror films can be viewed as a medium for negotiating gender-related issues, including women’s caring nature and nurturing temperament. In this qualitative study, these issues are examined by closely focusing on the cinematography. The findings yielded by analyzing the visual data reveal that culturally-specific strategies are used to reclaim women’s power and position by both confirming and challenging their normative roles in Indonesian society. Yet, despite the growing popularity of the final girls, their performance continuously reproduces double meaning in the context of reclaiming women’s power.