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Women portrayal in movies
Feminism theory and movies
Essays about film sexism
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Recommended: Women portrayal in movies
What comes after understanding how female characters are mistreated and mishandled when compared to men, is understanding how they are when men simply are not a factor. ‘The Girlfriend Flick’ as feminists have started referring the ‘chick flick’ as, is a subset of films that focus solely on women and what they do, with men not always having to be a factor (Winch, 2012, pg. 70). It is considered the next logical step in films focusing on women, and it allows us to see women as people (Winch, 2012, pg. 70). Women are as varied in the world as men are, and yet female characters don’t seem to be as varied on screen in other films, this type of film gives a better perspective of that variation (Winch, 2012, pg. 78). Women, when presented outside …show more content…
For a long time men were the heroes and women the damsels, always needing to be rescued, but over time that changed towards an almost equal representation of male heroes and female heroes (Wright, 2012, pg. 407). Female heroes were allowed to be muscled, to fight with swords or magic, and to go on adventures with their male counterparts in several 1980’s sword and sorcery films (Wright, 2012, pg. 407). And while the women were free, the villainesses were much freer in their ability to be sexualized without consequence to their purity (Wright, 2012, pg. 407). The problem, though, with that is it is relative of the ‘good girl’ and ‘bad girl’ representation in slasher films where women who are sexualized are ‘victims’ or in this case ‘villains’ and then those female heroines whose sexuality is noted as rather ‘masculine (Wright, 2012, pg. 407 and pg. 408). Women are once again punished for sex while men are reward and looked up to for the same things, this dichotomy is problematic in that it exists in the culture and thus is seemingly inescapable (Wright, 2012, pg. 408). Something that is truly important, though, is that the films of the eighties have led way to the films of now which are much more accepting of strong female heroes, who are not noted for a masculine nature and rather are noted for being …show more content…
70). Women simply are, and that should be the goal of filmmakers. Female characters should be representative of women, but no single female character should be expected to represent women as a whole. Women have a niche in Hollywood that seems to be limited because of their gender but it is being dealt with, albeit not as quickly as it should be going. For now, should women simply be happy that they are represented at all or should women and men alike fight for a better representation of half the human population? Three female figures shocked the world when their films were some of the highest grossing of 2012, but are they the best we can do or is there more that can and should be done (IMDB, n.d., “Most Popular Feature Films Released in 2012”)? Three genres manage to diversify women while still limiting them in most regards, but these three characters didn’t fall into that pitfall. However, women are not fully represented in the world of film and that is something that should never be given up on. It is time for women to be more fully realized on the screen, as more than the hero’s girlfriend or the girl next door. Women in film and other media should be just as diverse as their male
It is not often that a strong and significant female character is introduced in a movie and/or book as the main character. Pan’s Labyrinth, though not the typical fairy tale, introduces the viewer to three females that prove controversial and necessary to the plot, which passes the Bechdel Test, designed to identify gender bias in the media. There is Carmen, the loving mother, Ofelia, the supposed princess/innocent girl, and then there is Mercedes, Captain Vidal’s maid and rebel spy. These three women show different portrayals, different characterizations, of how women should defy the gender bias in films.
It is no secret that there is an obvious difference of how women are portrayed in the media versus men. This movie discussed female characters never having lead roles and stated that when they did it ended in the women depending on, loving, or having to have a man. One young high school girl said, “Women never play the protagonist. The girls are
In the first paragraph of Laurie Penny’s essay “What to do when you’re not the hero anymore” she tells the reader how she recently went to see the new Star Wars movie. To her surprise a female character, Rey, fought off a bad guy as an equal. Hollywood has incredible power in how messages are portrayed in books, TV shows, and movies. It is no secret that media representation normalizes the reality of white male power. Penny explores how it is becoming more common to see a women lead in books, movies, and TV shows, rather than the stereotypical male.
Considering that traditional society looked down on women as inferior to men, the female roles in each work challenge the status quo and make their audiences’ eyes wearier to the society they might have previously backed without question.
Pretty Woman, 1990s Hollywood movie, embodies many new as well as old values and ideologies. I was surprised when I saw that, the old themes and sexual stereotypes are not completely abandoned, but the old portrayals of gender stereotypes are transmuted.
Gender and the portrayal of gender roles in a film is an intriguing topic. It is interesting to uncover the way women have been idealized in our films, which mirrors the sentiments of the society of that period in time. Consequently, the thesis of this essay is a feminist approach that seeks to compare and contrast the gender roles of two films. The selected films are A few Good Men and Some Like it Hot.
Disney has portrayed women in movies by the use of animation characters for over a century since the 1900s. There has been a very big change since the early 1900’s to modern day in Disney’s depiction of the personalities of the women, their attitudes and ideologies towards men, and the way they are portrayed in the movies. This progression has had a distinct development, from passive damsels in distress in need of the help of men, to being superheroes. Therefore, the evolution of women in Disney movies will be analyzed through the use of university level feminist essays, as well as a research paper written about gender roles in Disney animation. The evolution will also be analyzed through examination of the clips of the movies themselves.
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
The 1990s were arguably the best time for Romantic Comedies and the birth era of the popular “chick-flick.” The ‘90s brought us directors like Gary Marshall and Nora Ephron whose feel-good films left our hearts warm and stars like Julia Roberts with her clumsy relatability and Richard Gere with his suave demeanor. The ‘90s also brought Kathy Maio, a feminist film critic. Maio’s 1991 book Popcorn and Sexual Politics is a collection of analysis of popular ‘90s films—, especially Romantic Comedies. Popcorn and Sexual Politics aims to examine the role and portrayal of women on-screen.
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.
Some people might say that these movies provide entertainment and transport families into the lives of princes and princesses. Many critics have said that the films have amazing soundtracks and have detailed and interesting plots. Still, however entertaining the films may be, the way women are viewed and treated outweigh any enjoyment that a viewer could have. The subliminal lessons young women learn from these films have lifelong repercussions and negatively affect the female
By dissecting the film, the director, Jennie Livingston's methodology and the audience's perceived response I believe we can easily ignore a different and more positive way of understanding the film despite the many flaws easy for feminist minds to criticize. This is in no way saying that these critiques are not valid, or that it is not beneficial to look at works of any form through the many and various feminist lenses.
Picture yourself as a woman in the 1940s. Life is rather mundane, you’re nothing but a housewife. You cook, clean, raise children, and dote upon your manly husband, your behavior is reinforced through film – an industry dominated by the patriarchy which stresses what a woman should do, and how a woman should act. Now, imagine you’re about to change all that. Picture yourself as the Femme Fatale. The Femme Fatale’s role in film, especially that of film noir became the ultimate reflection of the everyday defiant woman seeking equality. Therefore, in film noir, the femme fatale was able to significantly transgress the status quo of the societal norms of femininity and gave a voice to women which can be seen through her emergence post-WWII, the prewar norms of femininity and how she changed them, and her influence on women of the time.
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.
Feminism is a movement that supports women equality within society. In relation to film, feminism is what pushes the equal representation of females in mainstream films. Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist that is famous for touching on this particular issue of how men and women are represented in movies. Through her studies, she discovered that many films were portraying men and women very differently from reality. She came up with a theory that best described why there is such as huge misrepresentation of the social status quos of male and female characters. She believed that mainstream film is used to maintain the status quo and prevent the realization of gender equality. This is why films are continuously following the old tradition that males are dominant and females are submissive. This is the ideology that is always present when we watch a movie. This is evident in the films from the past but also currently. It is as if the film industry is still catering to the male viewers of each generation in the same way. Laura Mulvey points out that women are constantly being seen as sexual objects, whether it is the outfits they wear or do not wear or the way they behave, or secondary characters with no symbolic cause. She states that, “in traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote it-be-looked-at-ness.”(Mulvey pg. 715). Thus, women are nevertheless displayed as nothing more than passive objects for the viewing pleasure of the audience. Mulvey also points out through her research that in every mainstream movie, there is ...