Media Values & Ideologies

Values and ideologies play a significant role in all films and Slasher movies are no different as there is always a message being sent out to educate and inform the audience. In this movie the message being sent out is a cruel one which can be argued that it is wrong or right. The message being that there are people in this world who are heartless and can do things as such, the main motive behind the film is to educate the audience about the past of Texas.

The values being put forward in terms of gender are that men are dominant over women. Women are portrayed being weak and helpless at most times as we see that they are crying for mercy from Sheriff Hoyt and Leather face. In the movie women are also represented as passive and promiscuous characters. Near the beginning of the film we see Diora Baird in lingerie which reinforces the point that women are still used in some Slasher films as sex objects for the male gaze. On the other hand it can also be argued that in modern day Slasher films roles of women are getting more active, for example in Texas chainsaw massacre itself the final character to be killed is a women who had been trying to rescue the rest of the characters hence this demonstrates that women are not only there for the male gaze, they also have a significant role to play.