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Popular Culture Review
Wood refers to is exemplified by the fact they have all found a place for
themselves in society in one way or another rather than retreating into their own
worlds. Characters such as Leigh in Assault on Precinct IS, Linda Styles of In
the Mouth o f Madness, and They Live's Holly Thompson epitomize those who
have full-time jobs while Prince o f Darkness's Catherine Danforth and Maggie,
in Escape From New York, are resourceful women who have adapted as best they
can to their present circumstances. In each of these cases, as well as several
others, Carpenter shows his major female characters as equal to his men, either in
their choice of jobs (police officer, publishing company editor, television program
director) or their equivalent place in the social hierarchy (graduate physics
student, criminal associate). Of note here is that cf all the major Carpenter
females, only Adrienne Barbeau’s Stevie Wayne in The Fog fits the general
Hawksian mode while exhibiting one additional characteristic: unlike her sisters
in the rest of Carpenter’s titles, Stevie is also a mother.
This is not to say that these women fail to exude and enjoy sexuality, for
the sexual byplay and courtship dances between them and one or more of their
male counterparts is usually one of the subplots that help drive the overall
narrative in Carpenter’s universe. From Ieigh in Assault on Precinct 13 to
Melanie Ballard in Ghosts o f Mars, these women are depicted as comfortable with
their sexuality while simultaneously unwilling to hop into bed with the first man
who attracts them unless that male character first proves himself worthy. Indeed,
in many instances these characters are too busy saving the world or forestalling
evil’s appearance to actually find the time for such physical intimacy. Thus,
when we see Catherine Danforth and Brian Marsh following their sexual tryst in
Prince o f Darkness, or Elizabeth Solley and Nick Castle snuggling after their
exertions in The Fog, we know their teaming up will lead to their combining
forces to confront the narrative’s evil somewhere down the road. Carpenter’s
world is such that this female-male teamwork does not guarantee a happy ending,
because evil’s pervasiveness is always shown as never-ending. Thus, for every
Elizabeth and Nick who survive the ghost assault on Antonio Bay, there is a
Catherine Danforth who must make the split-second decision to head off the
appearance of an ultimate evil in the world in lieu of the opportunity of finally
experiencing a positive relationship.
As with any topic there are always exceptions to the generalizations we
attempt to draw, and such “rule making” for Carpenter’s lead females is no
different. For example, while Carpenter is mostly intrigued with his characters’
heterosexual b yplay, his plot lines occasionally admit to same-sex attractions,
particularly among certain of the females. There are also periodic films in the
Carpenter oeuvre featuring no female characters at all, such as Dark Star and
Carpenter’s rendition of William M. Campbell’s short story, “Who Goes There?”,
in 1982’s The Thing. It may come as no surprise, then, that by the conclusion of