Today, the millennial female is constructing her identity in a new wave of feminism. Current representations of young women in recent TV and film are showing how certain female demographics navigate and construct the world around them. Gender politics have emerged through the representations of females in the media. All forms of media are political, TV in particular has raised a lot of scholarly discussion about the politics of media in relation to gender and sexuality. Through the content analysis of two episodes of HBO’s hit TV drama, Girls, it proves to be political because along with raising much discussion and debate, it embodies post-feminism and all it’s contradictions. From a research as politics approach to research on gender in media, this essay aims to present both existing literature on the topic as well as discussing my personal findings. Through qualitative research I am able to express the background, reason of interest, and point of …show more content…
TWO EPISODES. ANALYSIS
Girls is structured by two major ideals, both of which overlap and create a mix of postfeminism and queer theories. One is the theme of the strength or importance of the relationships between the four girls themselves and the second is discussions the women engage in about their sexual encounters and life (explicit talk about sex, drugs, body image, gender roles, careers). The relationships that each girl forms with each other allows them to forgo their heterosexual alternative when it comes to emotions. The main issue is that women today are still lacking of power in all spaces, now giving men the permission to treat them any way they'd like. TV and Film today that are supposedly of a postfeminist era, reveal women being objectified by men… and allowing it! I was interest in exploring contradictory elements of postfeminism and wanted to study elements of the female characters. To prove that Girls has a political motive and embodies postfeminist ideals, I choose two episodes to
While some other shows attempt to present flawed female characters, they fail in making the viewer sympathize and understand them. Instead, the viewer sees these characters as “unlikeable” and often the women end up at the receiving end of a joke and then serve no further purpose. Alsop argues that newer television shows such as Transparent, Fleabag, and Girls have characters with multiple flaws, some that may even seem irredeemable, but the characters do not let those flaws define them. This causes the viewer to empathize with the characters on a deeper level. What the author of the article may not know is that of those three shows mentioned, the writing, directing, and producing credits go mostly, if not exclusively, to women. Perhaps this is the difference that makes these television shows stand out in today’s feminist dialogue and allows the viewer to empathize with the characters rather than judge
The 1970s was an era of great innovation in the television industry in regards to broadcasting politically and socially relevant fictional programs; however, despite its progress in representing social and political movements and more complex minority characters, television’s representation of women remained stagnant, if not regressive. In an era of highly visible second wave feminism, how can that be? One possible reason is evident in the case of The Mod Squad, in which the emerging contemporary crime drama genre renegotiates women’s role in television programs masking their immobility and rendering its regressive feminine politics of inferiority and adherence to traditional gender norms more overt through narrative and plot adjacency, thus
Media plays a large role in creating communal measures including news, publishing, radio, computer, television, and film, at this moment is almost everywhere in modern culture. Gender aspects, as an example, survive solely because civilization as a whole chooses to accept them, but they are maintained by the media. Noteworthy viewers must be conscious of what the media is presenting to them, and make sure they are not operatively partaking in a culture of unjust impositions or restraints. Even on young children, gender roles are being pushed through cartoons.
The documentary raises important issues such as women having no voice in today’s society because of the constant emphasis on their body, and body parts, which constantly dehumanizes them and sends out the message that they do not matter as a whole, in their complexity. Furthermore, the effect of their constant and ubiquitous dehumanization that exists in
First of all, in The Simpsons, the scene where we get into the actual plot of the story opens with Marge and Lisa walking into a department store that sells dolls. The gender stereotype that girls are only interested in playing with dolls is reinforced here as a huge selection of Malibu Stacy dolls is on display with a throng of screeching, bloodthirsty girls tearing the store apart. Lisa says, “I’m warning you mom, I might get a little crazy.” and immediately knocks down a girl and snatches another in a choke-hold to be the first in line for the new Malibu Stacy doll. In the very next scene we have the whole family in the car with Homer driving. He is baking a cupcake with an easy-bake-oven that he bought from the mall. Marge advises him that he should not be doing that. The stereotype here is that men are more impulsive as demonstrated by Homer and his baking while driving without any concern of his or his family’s safety; and that women like to play it safe and think before acting as demonstrated by Marge. Another noteworthy observation is the fact that Homer completes his gender stereotype as the bread-winner of the family. He works at the Nuclear power plant while Marge plays the role of the proud homemaker who is rarely seen outside the home and who has little friends. Homer on the other hand, is not confined to his domestic role and his frequently shown at Moe’s Tavern with his friends, at work, or doing something that is stupid and dangerous. This enforces the stereotype that women have few friends and stay close to domestic life whereas men have lots of friends, are more independent, and bring home the bacon. Moreover, Bart and Lisa are in accordance with their gender stereotypes as well. For instance, in the backseat, Ba...
The media is mostly governed by white men. “Women own only 5.8% of all television stations and 6% of radio stations” (Newsom, 2011). “The limited employment of women in decision-making roles is the key element in understanding how gender inequality is woven into the media industry” (Watkins & Emerson, 2000, p. 155). Collins (1999) points out that elite groups manipulate controlling images that marginalize specific groups. As a result, girls and women are encouraged to achieve men’s ideals, impossible beauty standards; young men who are used to such models are judgmental toward real women (Newsom, 2011).
Imagine if everything you did was labeled in a negative connotation. You eat unhealthy people say you are a slob, you eat healthy, and then you are conceited and care too much about your appearance. This is what happens to women through popular culture every day. Negative gender roles are fed to women through the media and subtle messages. Ladies are constantly compelled to be Barbie like and fragile. Young ladies are also frequently advised to have or embrace an easygoing nature so as to not be too masculine. To top it off women are viewed as objects of male sexual desire, rather than as a whole person in media very often. Young women are continuously, and often unknowingly, being exposed to gender stereotyping media that tells them to be
Sofia Coppola’s movie, The Virgin Suicides, 1999, brings to the forefront the reality of what life is like for five oppressed teenage girls living in suburbia in the mid-70’s. After examining numerous articles, a few of them made an impact on my perspective. The first of many articles is Todd Kennedy’s piece, Off with Hollywood’s Head: Sofia Coppola as Feminine Auteur. Kennedy discusses how Coppola has a tendency to lean toward directing films that cater toward females’ interest, either because of the visual imagery or women’s feelings of connectedness with the characters. The author reveals that The Virgin Suicides portrays women as becoming dominated by the environment surrounding them. The author gives an interesting point of view when he claims, “The film tells a story of the five Lisbon sisters whose identities exist only insofar as they are defined as the objects of the masculine desire” (44). Furthermore, the Kennedy asserts how the film serves as a prolonged exploration into the degree to which female characters are idealized, objectified, and defined by the image that the film- and their society- imposes upon them.
women in powerful positions on television. If girls are not able to see themselves in such
Throughout the 21st century we have been immersed in a world in which is almost wholly dominated by the media. It is appropriate to say that many ideologies have been indeed challenged by the media, including the ideology of feminism, which I aim to focus on in this essay. Firstly, it is necessary to think about what the founding concepts of feminism actually are and how the ideologies of post feminism and antifeminism are using the contemporary media to question feminism. Texts such as Bridget Jones’ Diary and Desperate Housewives are fitting examples of how post feminism has penetrated through the media challenging feminism. Similarly elements of anti-feminism are evident when looking at films such as the new adaptation of Cinderella .
Also, the film revealed women empowerment and how superior they can be compared to men. While demonstrating sexual objectification, empowerment, there was also sexual exploitation of the women, shown through the film. Throughout this essay, gender based issues that were associated with the film character will be demonstrated while connecting to the real world and popular culture.
The Representation of Men and Women in the Media Men and women are both represented differently in the media these days. Then the sand was sunk. Ironically it was even represented differently in the title of this essay. Men came before women! I am writing an essay to explain how men and women are represented in the media.
As a result it can be concluded that the general effect of the illustrations of women in the media to strengthen rather than condense injustice and stereotypes. The mass media in the United States has not made sufficient efforts to argue serious issues regarding women and arrange the women to play their correct and equivalent role in society. To alter this situation, it is required to observe the media and point out the qualities and faults constantly.
Portrayal of Women in the Media Gender is the psychological characteristics and social categories that are created by human culture. Gender is the concept that humans express their gender when they interact with one another. Messages about how a male or female is supposed to act come from many different places. Schools, parents, and friends can influence a person.
For example, In 2011, the Commission of the image of women in the media(Commission sur l’image des femmes dans les medias) in France, published an annual report. The commission was organized in 2009, in the social context that the women are not well represented in the media. The report tried to figure out the percentage of female ‘experts’ in the media including radio and TV. According to the report, 80% of the experts who appeared in the media were male. Considering the fact that the casting process is totally dependent on the decision of the production and their idea of ‘who is more likely to appear as serious and trustful person’, the result is quite shocking. It shows that the image of female in the media is rather a testifier or a victim, than an expert. The social position of women has been significantly improved in last hundred years, but how media treat them has not been pulled out from the traditional-patriarchal view point. This could be very dangerous because mass-media is accessible for people of all social classes and age groups, and for the most of t...