Australia By Baz Luhrmann Essay

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The feminist reading, is a reading of a piece of media that is based around the feminist theory. The reading will sometimes criticise but still be informative.
The film Australia directed by Baz Luhrmann displays several aspects of feminism. The features that we see most prevalent in the film are misogyny normalisation, the sexual objectification of women (‘the male gaze’) and to some degree, stereotypes. Each of these aspects of feminism have a link to the patriarchy of how society is controlled and led by men. We are also shown the definitive gender differences between female and male characters which then reinforces the social construction of gender stereotypes.

Throughout the film Australia we are exposed to the sexual objectification or as theorists like to call it ‘the male gaze’ which is a sexualised way of looking that “empowers men and objectifies women”. In the male gaze, women are often placed in a frame as an “object” of a male’s desire. The feelings, thoughts and own sexual drives of the women are less …show more content…

Nullahs mother then follows a few seconds after and what she is wearing is not what you would see any other native Aboriginal woman wearing everyday. Her breasts are partially exposed. She has been ‘framed’ in this scene with the use of costuming to be an influencing factor to the sexual objectification of Nullahs mother. She looks at Fletcher as she walks out of the house, he doesn't even look at her and acts as though nothing has happened by touching his hair and ruffling it. This shows he has no care for Nullah and just uses her for his sexual desires. She is portrayed in a sexualised way that empowers men and objectifies women. Again Baz Luhrmann has portrayed another woman as an object instead of an equal to men and has made the feelings of a woman less important than the desires of the

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