Nobody puts baillee in the corner

If you aren’t familiar with me at all, you should know three of my passions in life: the 1990s, The O.C., and horror movies. For the rest of you, the next couple of sentences are (do you hear that? neither do I, so I believe we can stop beating the horse because it’s clearly dead) going to be repetitive. I have tattoos to represent the 90s. I make at least 1242433 references to The O.C. daily. But horror movies are my bread and butter. I’ve watched them since childhood. I watch them for fun. I watch them to feel alive (just kidding, that’s The O.C.). All social commentary aside, I think horror movies have some great role models. Sure, you have the busty blonde whose top conveniently rips open at the most horrific and opportune time. You have the alpha jock whose hormones eventually lead to their downfall. You have all of the supplementary archetypes meta movies like Cabin in the Woods and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon have laid out for us. But most importantly, you have my idol, the survivor girl.

The survivor girl is portrayed as the shy and smart virgin. She’s logical. She’s usually brunette (much to the dismay of Elle Woods, so shout out to Buffy Summers). She’s my idol. There’s something amazing about the strong and silent girl that kicks ass. I love how we tend to underestimate her in the beginning but are depending on her by the end. She should be revered. A lot of people claim there aren’t a lot of good, strong female role models in film, and I have to disagree. I think Elle Woods and both Andy Sachs and Miranda Priestly (albeit, I don’t agree with all of her practices) are amazing, but Sidney Prescott, Buffy Summers, and Laurie Strode are phenomenal. They are murdering sociopaths and trying to save everyone. They’re trying to escape their past and overcome their metaphorical and literal demons. Most importantly, they aren’t perfect. They’re raw and flawed and complex. They’re constantly surrounded by darkness while trying to find their light. We can identify and relate to their struggle. That’s why I love them, and that’s why I think you should too. The next time you watch Scream or Halloween, take a minute to appreciate the Survivor Girl. She might just be the one who saves you…and your perspective on the genre.

P.S. Welcome back friends who have heard all of this before! I’m glad I could share three sentences of a blog post for you.