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Female gender stereotypes in media
Female gender stereotypes in media
Women gender stereotype in movies
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Women’s genres are a popular category of television or film. Women’s centered genres are seemingly popular among women. This genre portrays women’s issue that the female audience can relate to issues include motherhood, men, and romance. These films typically contain emotional scenes and may be released on or around Valentines day. Women 's genres usually revolve around a female main character. These films appeal to women for a multitude of reasons. We may relate to a character, aspire to be or look like a character or simply find visual pleasure in watching these characters. Clueless is a 1995 romantic comedy featuring a melodrama genre. Cher, the main character comes from a wealthy family, her mother passed away while her strict father …show more content…
Additionally, she attempts to stop the love affair between Tai and Travis, an outcast. Cher tries to set up Elton and Tai this ultimately backfires because Elton is interested in Cher. Ultimately, Tai’s popularity grows and transcends past Cher’s. Additionally, Tai expresses her interest in Josh, this astonishes Cher and she suggests that Josh is too much of a “school nerd” for Tai. Ultimately, Cher has an epiphany and comes to the realization that she dismissed the idea of Josh and Tai dating because she has feelings for Josh. However, Josh is unattainable because Cher believes he and Tai have a connection. Ultimately, Josh and Cher reveal their feelings for one another and begin …show more content…
Josh. After Tai’s transformation, she begins to fall for Josh this creates envy because Cher believes Tai and Josh may have a connection. Individuals watching clueless view the characters as subjects, unconsciously the audience may sexually desire these “subjects”. Additionally, Mulvey illustrates that film signifies a sealed, private world. Moreover, the spectator is subdued resulting in a release onto the film. Furthermore, the viewer identifies with the protagonist, Cher. Additionally, individuals find pleasure in watching the characters because the spectator begins to recognize themselves within the character. Kuhn emphasizes that woman’s picture the storyline is consistently determined by the ‘enigma-retardation-resolution structure’. In Kuhn’s article she details how to understand women who enjoy women’s genres. Moreover, Cher is the ideal of social and gender norms. Cher is a straight woman interested in the opposite sex which is an example of a gender and social norm. Another signifier of gender norms is Cher’s long, blonde hair. Additionally, Cher is emotional which is projected throughout the film. Society considers gender norms for a woman to be passive, flirtatious, and innocent Cher is the
In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey states that, “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen.” (Mulvey 40). A woman’s role in the narrative is bound to her sexuality or the way she
and can only improve. Clueless is not my type of film and from what I
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.
Amy Heckerling’s movie Clueless focuses on an upper middle class 16-year-old girl, Cher, who lives in a nice neighborhood with her father and stepbrother, Josh. Cher and her friend, Dionne, take in a new girl, Tai, to help her fit into their high school. All of the major characters in the movie are in adolescence, which ranges from 10-19 years of age. In adolescence, teenagers undergo cognitive and emotional development. According to Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory, adolescents are in formal operational period from 11-20 years of age. During this period, adolescents develop abstract thinking and rational decision making. They experience two aspects of adolescent egocentrism, imaginary audience
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
Social division within the society is conveyed in the opening scene through a montage, displaying a satirical depiction of the commercial American youth culture: teenagers driving, swimming, partying, implying that it’s normal behaviour for adolescents in America. The use of music further enhances this image as “Kids of America” plays in the background, however it does not define the life of the majority, but only the wealthy children. Through voiceover Cher says ironically “Actually I have a way normal life for a teenager” contrasting the montage of her partying and using a computer program to determine her clothing. Social division, particularly within the school, is demonstrated through costume. The men’s fashion during the 90’s is described by Cher to appear as if “They just fell out of bed”. This is juxtaposed to when Christian is introduced through the use of slow motion and full body camera shots in the exaggerated scene portraying his perfect persona from his well groomed physical appearance contrasting him from other men. The notion of social division in Clueless is present through the cliques of modern society, defined by wealth, popularity and physical appearance which both reaffirms and introduces new insights due to the change of
Many novels are turned into movies, and they often times share the same name. However, some producers break this trend because Emma “was the basis for the plot” of the popular film “Clueless” (ASU’S JANE AUSTEN EXPERT). The 1990’s production brings a modern and inviting twist on one of Jane Austen’s best works. Both “Clueless” and Emma are centered around an affluent young woman who “make[s] the match” between acquaintances and beloved friends (J. Austen 38). In both the novel and the movie, the girls find themselves in unfavorable situations as a result of their involvement in other people’s business. Emma Woodhouse is not only known for her outspoken personality, but also she draws people’s attention when she walks into a room simply by her air. This is not to say that her wealth also allows her to spend money on extraordinary apparel. A short article in Vogue references this phenomenon: “Dreamy… Emma Woodhouses let their party shoes peek out flirtatiously” (“twinkle toes”). As a journalist, this allusion is subtle, yet fully addresses the fact that women need confidence to be different, but also they need to be willing to live on the edge from time to time. During one of the many balls Emma attends, she decides to dance with a close family friend, but she is careful not to “make it all improper” (J.
These movies allowed female characters to embody all the contradictions that could make them a woman. They were portrayed as the “femme fatale” and also “mother,” the “seductress” and at the same time the “saint,” (Newsom, 2011). Female characters were multi-faceted during this time and had much more complexity and interesting qualities than in the movies we watch today. Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is one of sexualization and dependence rather than complexity (Newsom, 2011).
Emma Woodhouse of the Jane Austen novel Emma, is part of the rich, upscale society of a well off village in nineteenth century England, while Cher Horowitz the main character of the movie version Clueless, lives in the upscale Beverly Hills of California. The Woodhouse family is very highly looked upon in Highbury, and Cher and her father are also viewed as the cultural elite. The abuse of power and wealth, arrogance, and a lack of acceptance all prove that the class status of these families plays a significant role in the shaping of both the novel and the video.
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.
...cher, and in his students as learners, can have a tremendous impact on each student that comes his way, regardless of where she comes from.
Film scholar and gender theorist Linda Williams begins her article “Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess,” with an anecdote about a dispute between herself and her son, regarding what is considered “gross,” (727) in films. It is this anecdote that invites her readers to understand the motivations and implications of films that fall under the category of “body” genre, namely, horror films, melodramas, (henceforth referred to as “weepies”) and pornography. Williams explains that, in regards to excess, the constant attempts at “determining where to draw the line,” (727) has inspired her and other theorists alike to question the inspirations, motivations, and implications of these “body genre” films. After her own research and consideration, Williams explains that she believes there is “value in thinking about the form, function, and system of seemingly gratuitous excesses in these three genres,” (728) and she will attempt to prove that these films are excessive on purpose, in order to inspire a collective physical effect on the audience that cannot be experienced when watching other genres.
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 ...