Laurie basically set the rules for surviving horror be smart, stay alert, and don’t lose control. Horror rewarded her caution like it was morality. Later Final Girls started breaking those same rules, proving survival isn’t about purity it’s about strategy and strength.

#304F25

For me Laurie Strode created the “final girl” image. What makes her influential is that she shifted horror from faceless victims to a protagonist audiences could root for. Laurie wasn’t just surviving Michael Myers she was outsmarting him.

Why is the “Final Girl” always the same type? She’s usually white, straight, “good,” and innocent basically the “acceptable” survivor. Horror makes her purity a survival skill, while other girls get punished. That stereotype says a lot about cultural fears.
@cfuchstv.bsky.social #304F25

This trope isn’t just a horror cliché it’s a narrative tool rooted in morality, identity, and fear. Carol J. Clover introduced the term in Men, Women, and Chainsaws (1992), arguing that she survives because she embodies what audiences root for:
purity, awareness, and socially “acceptable” behavior.

Final Girl

I’m starting this thread to dig into why this trope persists: What does the Final Girl do for horror beyond survival? What fears or beliefs does she tap into?

#304F25 @cfuchstv.bsky.social