Gender Representation in thriller films

In thriller film the males are portrayed as being the physically and mentally fit character. They are stereotypically the protagonist throughout the film and are set out to either save the world or protect the vulnerable women.
Throughout the films, men tend to show less emotion towards the situation than woman do, their roles are more active and they tend to be more of a team leader in situations as they are put in the story to be the “hero” of the story. Male characters in thriller films are always portrayed to be the braver character, which contrasts the weak and vulnerable characters that are played by the women. During the movies the men are often seen as mysterious, and are quite distant from the audience, whereas the women tend to be a lot more emotionally connected to the audience. Men seem to be fighting their own inner demon during the film, as if there is an agenda as to why they are being such a hero, is there something to prove?

Male characters tend to be “lone heroes”, they are very independent characters. They do have sidekicks, who are often female (reflecting on the male superiority) however a lot of the time the male will go and solve the crime alone, and lose their sidekick until reunited at the end when they have completed their task. The Male antagonists are often shown as isolated characters, which is why they are not as connected or related to by the audience; however it is clear that they hold all of the power. In the ending of the film it is often the male that restores the peace from the events and proves himself as the hero.

In Thriller films the women are given many different roles to portray, they are often made to seem pure and innocent which gives them the vulnerable characteristics that help the antagonist male full fill his role. If the woman is older, their character is often portrayed to have a sexual appeal to the men, and may have some kind of relationship with the antagonist. Marilyn Monroe is an excellent example of this as the role she plays in “Niagara” (directed by Henry Hathaway, 1953) is portrayed to be very sly and seductive.  Her character is an adulteress and she is plotting to kill her husband, her role is the antagonist as she is not at all contributing to the restoration of equilibrium at the end of the film.
The characters of women in thriller films are generally portrayed as having very passive characters and are often emotionally unstable and are very over reactive in some situations, this leads them to depend heavily upon the male character. Women are often the antagonist, as they show little characteristics that would help solve an issue. In a lot of thriller films (just like in many horrors) there is often a female character that is seen as a very “virginal” character, she is very independent and doesn’t fit particularly well with the stereotypical characters that a female plays – this character often has a unisex name.

Overall both genders of characters are extremely stereotyped, but in very different ways. The men are portrayed to be the heroes of the story and are always very masculine this contrasts the non-independent characteristics of the female characters.