In classical horror films, like Halloween, Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street, the last character left standing was usually a girl, the smart one, the one that didn't fall for the "urban legend" stereotype of victim; and it was also the one that succeeds in killing (or somewhat killing since we all know there were tons of sequels) the "monster".
In most of the new generation horror films we also encounter a smart, not the most attractive by popular standards, type of heroine, a sort of "Velma" from Scooby-Doo type of girl. Since this genre looks to entertain in a shallow way, we already know all the stock characters and we are certain that, in the end, this dorky chick that does not care to be jumping from bed to bed or party party all the time, will live while all the hot, sexy, handsome characters will die in a gruesome way.
Film analysts argue that the final girl concept comes from a fluid sense of identification with the characters, that's why, this girl has a unisex name and gains masculinity bay fighting the monster with weapons in a very viril sort of way. This, say the experts, results in a type of feminism in the pop culture. At the end of her ordeal, the final girl, survived terror and is purged from it, showing that it was her traits what made her be the last one standing.
I actually love the fact that in these films, as bad as they are, low budget and simple script and all, the survivor is the one that decides for herself. There's a lesson to be learnt from this. If your life is full of terrible horrible things happening all around you (and to you), be the smart girl that lives, be the heroine of your story; 'cause in the end, it's your wits and not your tits that will keep you going so you can defeat the monsters.
...I was just thinking.
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