Female Victims -- Explain

Romero, director of Night of the Living Dead, uses the convention of female victims, to invoke the feelings of protection towards the character of Barbra. In typical Hollywood style, the use of making Barbra a helpless female further gives shock value when she is murdered. Especially to those who might have expected the traditional Hollywood ending. This contributes towards the idea of nihilism. As female victims up to this point, even though helpless, were always saved by the stronger male lead, however, true to the idea of nihilism (where there is no point to life, utter chaos rules and where we care about no-one apart from ourselves) Barbra is killed in a sudden moment which happens so quick that it leaves the audience stunned. The audience response to this is key, as it prepares them for the end of the film, at which nihilism triumphs and none of the main characters survive. While a normal "Hollywood Ending" would stereotypically end in the main characters all surviving, this film breaks away from tradition where the female victim is killed rather than saved.

In Scream, the director, Wes Craven, uses the complete contrast towards female victims, making them the victim and the hero. This makes the viewer of the film identify with the character more. As in tradition, females were helpless and nowadays females are considered to be tougher and wouldn't associate with them. In this film, Sidney (the female lead) survives without help from a stronger male. As this film is all about breaking away from the traditions of the horror genre, this convention being broken is a perfect example of this.