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Women rights and feminism equality between men and women
Women rights and feminism equality between men and women
Women rights and feminism equality between men and women
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Gender Issues in Legally Blonde
In many ways today's society, even though women have come a long way, we still live in a patriarchal world. There are many examples of this in everyday life, whether it be that there aren't very many women CEO's or the mere fact that we've yet to have a woman president. No matter where you live, there is the presence of a male dominated world. It especially extends into the working fields. There are professions that are categorically 'women's' jobs like nursing, school teacher, or secretarial jobs. The rest of the professional world is mainly male dominated, i.e. engineering, CEO's of major companies, and Law Firms. Which brings us to the movie I picked to watch, Legally Blonde.
In the movie Legally Blonde the male dominance over the legal field is everywhere. This movie is based on a typical ?good looking? girl. Reese Witherspoon?s character Elle Woods is a tall, thin, blonde haired, blue eyes girl, the typical female in which society sees as ?perfect. Along with these things Elle also is rich, is in a sorority, and is portrayed as a ?dumb blonde? with no common sense. The bulk of the movie is based around Elle going to Harvard Law School in hopes to impress her high society boyfriend. Throughout this movie the gender biases and the male dominance over the legal and field is so blatantly obvious you can?t miss it.
The main reason I selected this movie was because of its obvious gender biases and its very blatent patriarchal society from which Elle comes from initially and proceeds to go to at Harvard. In this movie the males are good looking, successful, rich, and are attending or previously attended Harvard. With an exception of a few, the males of this movie act as if the women are object to be played with rather then to be taken seriously. The first example of this is when Elle is on a date with her, at the time, current boy friend Warner, they?re at a restaurant and Elle thinks he?s going to propose but instead he breaks up with her because she isn?t ?serious?. Here is where I must mention that Warner falls into the generic gender role of a male, he is tall, good looking, wealthy, not dramatically buff but not scrawny either. When I was watching this scene the main thing that popped into my head was that to Warner Elle was good to look at but wasn?t what he thought of as smart and good enough for ...
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...s is a good motivator. I believe that the purpose of this film is to show people that no matter who you are or what people tell you, you can always do what you set your mind to. No matter how many people tell you that you can?t do something for whatever reason, you yourself have the ability to prove them wrong, if you have the will power and the motivation you can get anything you set your mind to.
My overall critical assessment of this movie is that it is a little over the top to get the point across. I did enjoy the movie it wasn?t a hard movie to watch and in the initial viewing it didn?t take a lot of analyzing to see the gender stereotypes or gender roles because they were practically spelled out and stamped on everyone?s foreheads. From Elle the typical blonde bombshell to Warner the tall, handsome, rich male, to Callahan the professional lawyer at the top with no female lawyers in his firm, who also uses his power to try to get in bed with Elle, there was Emmett who wasn?t self centered and didn?t try to make unwanted passes at Elle but at the same time he wasn?t ugly. So this movie Satirically pointed out many stereotypes that are very real in our society today.
In conclusion, this show focuses on many aspects, particularly gender roles and sexism. Although this show could have more diverse characters, it focuses on male and female stereotypes very well. I appreciate that there are several strong female characters who aren’t afraid to stand up for themselves and perform typically masculine
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.
In 1996, the Wachowskis wrote and directed the noir crime thriller, Bound. In this film, the directors turned some of the archetypes of film noir on its head. Most notably, the role of women in film. Film theorist, Laura Mulvey, claims that the main role of women in film is to function as a source of pleasure, to be objectified, to be passive and at the command of male fantasy. This relationship of looking and being looked at causes each gender to have a particular presence within film; the male is active and the female is passive (Mulvey, 1975). However, in Bound, the character Violet, who is obviously objectified by the gaze of the male characters, does not hold a passive role within the film itself. Violet is a force that acts upon the narrative, manipulating events and scenes to her favor, along with actively controlling male gaze and using it to her advantage. Film theorist, Tania Modleski argues that there are passive and active roles within films that have connotations with “femininity” and “masculinity”, but these roles do not have to apply to the gender or outward appearance of characters that they align with. Modleski focuses more on the actions, not the outward appearances, of the film
...vie, the actresses that played them actually fit the role. Women usually do not have impacts on things, but in this novel, major things happened as a result of these women. These things include dishonest marriages, love affairs, wealth, power, and jealousy. This goes to show that women are not always the innocent ones in novels, or any other type of literature.
Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is
...wer struggle for sexual domination through the characters of Scottie and Madeline, and also with the use of certain colors. Vertigo shows the loss of masculinity or the impotent male because of a lack of female submissiveness. The main image of the film is that of a downward spiral. This image perfectly illustrates the idea of women as man's downfall that is stressed throughout the entire film. Vertigo also tries to support gender norms for women with some of the female characters. This film is an ideal example of the sexual confusion and anxiety felt by much of American society at this time, proving that film is a cultural product.
...he main character and the portrayal of women; however, when I asked males for their opinion about the film, they had nothing but praise for the movie stating that it was “inspiring”. The ability of the film to be interpreted various ways also fits my personal definition of art because I believe that upholding multiple interpretations and not having a clear right or wrong interpretation is art’s defining factor. Lastly, the surrounding space heavily influenced my judgement because the theatre’s massive size filled with multiple individuals magnified my uncomfortableness due to the film’s abundant use of nudity which directly influenced my judgement. My uncomfortableness affected my judgment negatively and highlighted more of the aspects I disliked such as the sexism in the film instead of positive aspects such as the superb and diverse background music that was used.
Media outlets during the post-identity era would depict women in the workplace but did not underline any of the issues they faced in corporate America such as doubt and sexual harassment. In a scene from “Legally Blonde” Elle is having a discussion with Warner on how much harder law school will be when she’s taking on both classes and Callahan’s (her professors) internship to which he exclaims, “Oh, Elle, you’re never gonna get the grades to qualify for one of those spots.” Warner believes that woman can not posses such feminine qualities and still be successful which illustrates Elle’s struggle to be taken seriously in corporate America. Her character is combating the image of feminine women not being able to excel in such a respectable career fields (lawyer). In another incident Elle deals with a common issue “feminine” women deal with in the workplace, sexual harassment. She encounters this problem when her professor, Callahan, attempts to make a sexual proposition toward her so she can guarantee a spot on next year 's summer internship. Elle is completely taken aback by Callahan 's offer and handles it in a realistic way when she becomes so uncomfortable and discouraged that she contemplates quitting law school. These two scenes demonstrate how women are not exposed to the same working environment as men and the negative effect
Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl, are two very famous stars who represent America’s acting industry as two of the most highly regarded feminine and masculine actors. Both are thought to represent femininity and masculinity and very. It comes as no surprise that these two characters were chosen to play the parts of Abby and Michael within The Ugly Truth. The Ugly Truth displays a lot of stereotypes of men and women or what is expected to be masculine and feminine. According to Gendered Live: Communication, Gender, and Culture by Julia Wood, “A stereotype is a generalization about an entire class of phenomena based on some knowledge of some members of the class” (Wood, 2011, 122). Stereotypes can cause a lot of problems in society if individuals don’t fit the particular mold or idea of what it means to be feminine or masculine. Within The Ugly Truth, the first stereotype which arises is that women in powerful roles cannot have a relationship (Luketic, 2009). As an example, this particular stereotype causes a large amount of trouble for Abby when she takes to...
The way I have come to understand what the Matrix of Privilege and Oppression means, is that everyone everywhere feels both privilege and oppression at the same time, and how much they feel of it depends on where they are on the scale of oppression and what position in society that they are in. This could mean that a Black man whom is judged by his skin color every day and it heavily oppressed in many ways, ends up getting into a college over a white man because of the school wanting to be a more diverse campus. The white man does not get judged by his skin color on a regular basis, but it did not work out well for him while applying to schools.
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.
After reading this week’s study material, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wanted to increase his non-violent protest because he believed that there is injustice in Birmingham. Birmingham is known for one of the most racially segregated city in America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr believed that “non- violent tension is necessary for growth” (Rawls, 2016, p. 450). This was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr way of showing his beliefs and freedom. There are two values that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr felt that were worth giving his life for; those two values are his freedom and his beliefs. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr had gotten the chance to talk with the leaders of Birmingham’s economic community. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr had requested “to move the stores
Women are usually targeted because they are seen as the inferior gender in society. They are often displayed as sexual objects in the media, such as in porn and video games. Because of the way women are portrayed in society, they do not have the same opportunities as men. Many people may think that sexism is not an important issue anymore because women are making their way to the top. For instance, Mary Berara, the CEO of General Motors says “There are more women in more senior roles than in 1980 when I started. But from my career perspective, I don 't go into a room and take count. I want to be recognized for my contribution and for what I do” (nymag). Women are pushing themselves to work in higher positions, to prove that they have the same ability as men. Although women are becoming more and more powerful, sexism is still a huge issue today. Women may have higher positions, but they are paid less than men. According to a news article, “In 2012, the median earnings of American women working full time year-round were $37,791. American men earned a median income of $49,398. The gender wage gap has hovered at about 77 cents on the dollar since 2007” (huffington). This proves that sexism is present today since women working in the same jobs as men are paid a lower
King’s peaceful protests with intimidation and violence. They have bombed his home almost killing his wife and child. They have assaulted his person. They have arrested him seven times-for “speeding.” “loitering” and similar “offenses.” And now they have charged with “perjury”-a I under which they could imprison him for ten years. Obviously, their real purpose is to remove him physically as the leader to whom the students and millions of others—look for guidance and support, and thereby to intimidate all leaders who may rise in the South. Their strategy is to behead this affirmative movement, and thus to demoralize Negro Americans and weaken their will to struggle. The defense of Martin Luther King, spiritual leader of the student sit-in movement, clearly, therefore, is an integral part of the total struggle for freedom in the
Most reviewers overall enjoyed the movie very much. Christopher Null gave the movie four out of five stars and said it was “perfection and a good memorable film”. Steven Rhodes also says it is a good film “It's the sort of film that will leave you exhausted but glad you came.” (http://www.imdb.com/Reviews/210/21041) However from a woman’s point of view the film was barbaric and violent, “it's socially irresponsible and repellent in its graphic depictions of extreme violence and brutality,” says Susan Granger. (http://www.speakers-podium.com/susangranger.) I, however, even though I am a female I enjoyed the film very much. It has become one of my favorite movies because I feel like I can relate to the topic very much because I wish I was just able to let go and do what I really want to do. Everyone has his or her own opinion of things so you should see the movie and see how you react to it.