The Case of Scream by Valerie Wee, Essay Example

Scholarly Article Summary and Critical Response to Resurrecting and Updating the Teen Slasher: The Case of Scream by Valerie Wee

Introduction

In this article, Wee makes a critical examination of the Scream trilogy and repudiates the notion that the film series is reactionary and conservative in its approach to addressing social issues. The author contends that the distinctive manner in which these films have treated the slasher villain and the female survivor is reflective of the American concerns of the 1990s and that this approach follows from a progressive, revolutionary stance. Further, the author asserts that Scream and its sequels have revolutionized the traditional form of the slasher and that they deserve credit for updating several key conventions. Although the article makes well-articulated and substantiated claims about the revolutionary nature of the teen slasher, it takes a narrow perspective because it based on only a single film series.

Concession

Wee’s article makes interesting and convincing claims about the teen slasher genre, especially when it explains the traditions and evolution of this genre. The author has noted that the early teen slasher films focused mainly on the controversial portrayal of brutality and violence and thus helped in addressing a wide range of contemporary concerns and issues. The Scream trilogy is one of such films and has undoubtedly made a big impact by highlighting the link between real life and slasher films. Through their extreme portrayal of violence and terror, slasher films depict heightened levels of anxiety in the society, especially about family, children, sexuality and political leadership (Wee 52). This, in effect, makes the teen slasher an exquisite exercise in attempts to cope with the terrors of everyday life. As Wee notes, the pain of losing dear ones, the mystery of death and the unpredictability of calamitous events coupled with the inexplicability of the villains’ intentions makes for the classical case of this category of horror movies.

According to Wee, Scream is one of the contemporary films that have helped in reinventing the slasher genre. It can be noted that the genre appeared to reach a point of exhaustion in the 1980s. Fast forward to early 1990s; the genre embarked on an upward growth trend with the release of new films such as Scream. The revival was made possible by the new film’s focus on the aesthetic style and content, which were primarily a tweak of the depiction of the previous films. One of the most subtle strategies used here was the deconstruction of the genre’s conventions and the insertion of self-referential and inter-textual comments. This characteristic has enabled many teen slasher films such as Scream to receive significant attention from the audience and the scholars.

The important role that Scream has played in reinventing the psychotic serial killer cannot be gainsaid. As Wee notes, the Scream trilogy breaks away from the traditional slasher film through its reinterpretation and portrayal of the slasher monster (Wee 54). This was not the case with the earlier teen slasher films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where the villains are consistently depicted as indestructible maniacs. At the core of the traditional slasher films lay a psychologically disturbed male serial killer with almost superhuman traits. Their villains are always virtually outsiders and misfits. But the depiction of these killers in the Scream trilogy is that they fit the usual human characteristics and are not necessarily masked. This divergence from the 1980s depiction makes the Scream to be reflective of the real world and the events that happen in it.

Critical Response

In Wee’s view, the Scream trilogy has fundamentally changed the traditional perception of the teen slasher. Wee bases this argument on a detailed analysis of the Scream trilogy and how it presents various issues. But it appears evident that Wee’s position is somewhat flawed because it is based on only a single film. It is the case that taking such a position requires critical analysis of several films. Evidently, there are many 1980s slasher films that share similar characterizations of the killer as those of 1990s including the Scream. Implicit here is the fact that the 1990s slasher films did not deviate significantly from those of 1980s as far as the depiction of the killer and the villain are concerned.

The author seems to have overlooked the fact that although slasher films articulate the concerns and issues prevalent in their eras, they are based on the same philosophical orientation, and thus the sociopolitical context does not necessarily change the behaviors of the characters. This is to say that slasher films are based on the narrative of serial killers stalking their victims who are mainly teenagers and in most cases females. This depiction has not changed and remains the same in both the 1980s and 1990s films. Another important element that has not changed is the fact that the killer is a psychologically disturbed person with queer personalities and is almost invariably a man. The depiction of the killer as a monster seems to have been abandoned in the 1990s movies, which is an attempt to connect the genre with real life.

Although the Scream trilogy contains some elements that make it appear to deviate from the norms established in the slasher films of the previous decades, it is apparent that the most important issues have been depicted to reflect contemporary concerns. This, in its right, does not mean that the Scream was designed to show a change in attitudes because even the previous movies exhibited sensitivity to the social concerns of their eras. In other words, time seems to be an important variable in the change of movie depictions, and this is an important point, which Wee fails to articulate in her article.

Conclusion

Despite its more revolutionary approach, the Scream trilogy bears a close resemblance to the previous slasher films in the sense that successful films show a desire to address contemporary concerns. It is evident that the social concerns of the 1990s were significantly different from those of 1990s. This is part of the reason why many of the slasher films released in 1990s such as Scream may appear to adopt a revolutionary approach in their handling of many of the contemporary issues. Overall, Wee’s article is well articulated and suitable for individuals studying the topic.

Work Cited

Wee, Valerie. Resurrecting and Updating the Teen Slasher: The Case of Scream. Journal of Popular Film and Television. 34.2(2006): 50-61