Nightmare on Elm Street: Deep Thoughts About Badass Final Girl Feminism

Send us a message! Include how to reach you if you want a response. One, two, Freddy’s coming for you…Today’s episode of Deep Thoughts gives Emily a chance to finally exorcise the boogeyman of every 80’s childhood: Freddy Krueger. Though neither Emily nor Tracie ever saw the influential 1984 film Nightmare on Elm Street, the burned and be-knived Freddy cast a long shadow over pop culture, meaning the Guy sisters were completely unaware of the badass Nancy Thompson, protagonist and final girl (the last woman alive to confront the killer) who refuses to give in. This was a shame, since teenage Emily could have used this excellent example of pragmatic feminism in storytelling.Though the film hits some false notes in 2024–specifically, the “punishment” of Tina after having sex–Wes Craven has created a remarkably feminist film that allows a normal teen girl to reclaim her power from an abuser. What a shame that pop culture chose to make Freddy the enduring symbol of these movies, rather than Nancy.Content warning: discussion of child murder, death, and sexual predationWhatever you do…don't fall asleep. And do throw on your headphones to listen in!Mentioned in this episode:https://thegeekiary.com/a-feminist-look-at-a-nightmare-on-elm-street/18520https://slate.com/culture/2015/09/wes-craven-s-secret-feminism-as-seen-in-nightmare-on-elm-street-and-scream.htmlhttps://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/1281https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-enduring-importance-of-nancy-from-a-nightmare-on-elm-street%3famphttps://papaeleele.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/a-nightmare-on-adolescent-street-by-richard-stange/Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon. We are the sister podcasters Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our extended family as the Guy Girls.We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love 80s and 90s movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, analyzing film tropes with a side of feminism, and examining the pop culture of our Gen X childhood for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, religious allegory, and whatever else we find. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com. For our work together, visit guygirlsmedia.com We are on socials! Find us on Facebook at fb.com/dtasspodcast and on Insta at instagram.com/guygirlsmedia. You can also email us at guygirlsmedia at gmail dot com. We would love to hear from you!