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More handpicked essays just for you.
Depiction of women in movies
Representation of women in television
Relating feminism to film production
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Harley Quinn Is A Feminist Role Model and Here's Why You all know of the wild and eccentric Harley Quinn from the Batman franchise. Many of you may know her from the smash movie hit "Suicide Squad." Regardless of how you know her, the fact remains that you must already know that she is one awesome baddie that really knows how to handle her own on the battleground. Harley is often portrayed in popular culture with a massive amount of sex appeal and a whole lot of crazy, and many people see that as a novelty. Not many would look at her and see a feminist icon, but that's because they aren't looking hard enough! I implore any young woman to dig deeper into Harley Quinn history and read more into her, the reason being, is that for young women everywhere she has inspired and changed lives. Ever hear of the Joker? I bet you have, he is probably the best known Batman villain in the franchise. In the 1990's Batman: The Animated Series, the Joker was given a love interest/sidekick. That person was the one and only Harley Quinn. What many people do not know about the Joker and Harley is that they are involved in an abusive relationship. It is Stockholm Syndrome in it's purest form. Harley falls in love with the Joker and therefore falls into his manipulative traps. For many years she allows the Joker to take full advantage of her, and even …show more content…
When you look at someone through rose colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags. Next time you look at Harley Quinn and simply see a gun-toting floozy, open your mind and remember her story. To anyone struggling with abuse, or recovery after abuse, you should certainly check out Harley Quinn comics. To push abuse to the curb and stand up even stronger than before takes an inconceivable amount of courage. This is why I believe Harley Quinn is a feminist role model, she has inspired myself and many young women to push
Marisa Meltzer from “The Last Feminist Taboo” describes her journey in life with family members giving excessive pressure towards Melter from losing weight and created opposite effects on her health. Which was not the right decisions she has made to get revenge back to her parents in return. When people give negative feedbacks there are always choices people can make to either accept or reject the ideas of another person’s statements. The positive decisions such as accepting the feedbacks from others to resolve the issue or refuse to believe in her parent’s criticism that she is overweight and prove it to them by doing something healthy in her lifestyle. She states her essay in a way of gaining weight was
Annie Oakley is regarded as the most famous and remembered woman from the western time period. She transformed the stereotypes that women were fighting against in the time period. Women faced pressures in their social and physical lives. Every thing they did was scrutinized by men and other women if not within the stereotype of a typical woman. Annie Oakley’s legacy after her death is that of a woman that stood out regardless of what others thought. She is remembered as the greatest woman shooter in history. She was “the first to create a picture of the cowgirl in the public mind” (Riley 34) Annie Oakley through her life and her accomplishments not only changed the stereotype of western women but also changed the way that women live their life.
They are not only trying to feed a queer audience that is starving for more characters that reflect them and their lifestyles- they are also addressing the need to break apart sexism and move towards gender equality. And these two subjects, sexuality and sexism, undoubtedly share a good deal of intersectionality. You cannot discuss one issue without having to consider the other, for example, the specific scene that I am focusing on shows both Ivy and Harley together in very casual comfortable clothing. They exchange looks and work together to stop Batman for interfering with them in on their home turf. Subsequently, the two women talk to Batman saying that they will never be defeated by a man. Ivy also mention being trapped in female domestic slavery (to men). This suggests that she not only wants to fight sexism but also typical gender norms and the idea that women must be attached to men.
Feminism is a word that is stock-full of implications, and has many misconceptions. Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti attempts to give a broad overview of what feminism is, and how you should feel about it (hint: it’s positively). The book is directed primarily towards the younger generation, and talks about a variety of issues relevant to the feminist movement today and in history. The weaknesses of the book include the casual writing, the assumptions Valenti makes, and the contradictory statements that are consistently made. The strengths include providing an entertaining, broad overview of feminism, and discussing ways to contribute to gender equality. Overall, the book is more likely to be a positive experience for high-schoolers that identify as women then college-aged individuals looking for a critical analysis of issues society faces in regards to gender inequality.
Often, in action films, females play a secondary role. The main female characters are often present just as "token chicks" so that women do not feel underrepresented, or they are present as a romantic interest. It is rare to see a female lead take charge and exercise her intelligence instead of utilizing her gender as the main tool to avoid or get out of tricky situations. In Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope, directed by George Lucas (1977), Princess Leia can be seen as a female symbol of empowerment through her image, personality, and her actions. Princess Leia’s representation in the Star Wars universe establishes her as a figure of feminism because she is one of the few females in the entire movie. Not only that, but she is extremely capable and has genuine leadership qualities amongst other good qualities. She is also the only female lead, and there are no supporting female characters. The stormtroopers are all male and even the robots (droids) are portrayed as male.
Oliver kept Deborah in check through violence and the use of physical threats. They entered the honeymoon period after Oliver impregnated her. Deborah felt safe and believed the abuse would be over. However, the honeymoon period did not last long, and the abuse worsened (Herrera, 2013). This is a cycle of violence domestic dispute. Often the victim of the abuse would forgive the abuser during the honeymoon period, only have a short period of peace. Tension would build up in the relationship and a violent release of anger by the abuser. This cycle can go on for years. The victims are oft...
For over 60 years, Wonder Woman has filled the pages of her magazine with adventures ranging from battling Nazis, to declawing human-like Cheetahs. Her exploits thrilled and inspired many young girls, including Gloria Steinem. Through all of this, she has had to pilot her invisible jet through territories that her male counterparts have never had to. She is constantly pulled in two directions; her stories must be entertaining and non threatening to the male status quo, while simultaneously furthering her as the original symbol of 'Girl Power.' She is praised for being an icon of strength to women everywhere, but chastised for wearing a skimpy costume and tying men up, as if she were no more than a male fantasy. No comic book character has had to endure as much scrutiny as Wonder Woman. That's because Wonder Woman represents an entire gender, at a time of important social flux. Although she was created by a man to influence a male audience, Wonder Woman has evolved into an important symbol of the feminist movement.
Taylor Swift’s influence over young girls ultimately leaves her in a position of power and responsibility. Swift is a role model, and as such, she is expected to empower her listeners with messages of independence, strength, and equality. Until Swift is able to utilize these tactics in her music, it is imperative that people do not buy her music, listen to her music, tweet about her, go to her concerts, write about her, or watch videos of/about her. As an alternative we highly recommend listening to Beyoncé’s works in order to incite discussion and eventually bring forth positive change in regards to feminism.
Hip-hop and rap music are commonly criticized for its anti-feminist lyrics and degrading exploitation of women in music and music videos. (Sharpley-Whiting ) Many feminists have taken action against the music industry, which produces these messages in the music they release. However, in the hip-hop genre there are plenty of successful female rappers promoting feminist views, artist such as Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige have made the choice to condemn the derogatory culture towards women. (Oliver, 382–384) However others female hip-hop artist, such as Lil Kim or Rihanna, have decided to provide no resistance towards the deleterious depictions of women in their music and in turn sometimes exploit themselves. Due to her extreme fame, success, and controversial image, at the front of this discussion is female rapper Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj is challenging the common view of women in hip-hop by proclaiming feminist ideologies through the art of reclaiming the genres negative undertones towards women and by providing an opportunity for women to be seen as equals rather than objects.
The Scarlet Letter can easily be seen as an early feminist piece of work. Nathaniel Hawthorne created a story that exemplifies Hester as a strong female character living with her choices, whether they were good or bad, and also as the protagonist. He also presents the daughter of Hester, Pearl, as an intelligent female, especially for her age. He goes on to prove man as imperfect through both the characters of Dimmesdale and of Chillingworth. With the situation that all the characters face, Hawthorne establishes the female as the triumphant one, accomplishing something that, during Nathaniel Hawthorne’s time, authors did not attempt.
The article expounds upon the characters: Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. The author discusses how these female fatales were seen as a threat because of their power and authority. They are objectified because they used their sexuality in order to achieve their goals. For example, Batman recounts to Albert, his butler how Harley Quinn used her sexuality in order to advance her goals to become a psychiatrist during graduate school. In the franchise, the characters exhibit a defiance of societal norms. As a result, the women are portrayed as dangerous and monstrous. However in order to survive in society, they each rely on their displays of sexuality and seduction to advance their motives. For example, Poison Ivy uses her feminine symbols such as kisses and flowers for destructive purposes. The author adds how there are differences between male and female villains, especially when it comes to verbal connotations of labeling. They are often underestimated, especially when fighting men, who are hindrances in the women’s path. However, they are also punished when they are seen as “too powerful”. For example, the Joker punishes Harley Quinn when she comes closer than hi to defeating Batman. These female fatales exemplify what
Before she was known as the infamous Harley Quinn, the jester themed accomplice of the Joker, she was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist interning at Arkham Asylum. Her origin story, first featured in “The Batman Adventures: Mad Love” (Dini & Timm, 1994), states that her original intention upon joining that particular field of applied psychology was her desire to learn what drove her father to become a con man, who used his charm to ruin the lives of others and her family. It is no surprise that these traits eventually drew her to the Joker in whom she found a supposed “kindred spirit” and a lover. Their relationship was one founded on lies, manipulation, and abuse. However, much to chagrin of the audience, Harley Quinn will continuously return back to the Joker despite his
Abuse has become so common that some people do not realize they are being abused. It is important that this topic is studied because there are many gaps of knowledge to what all an abusive relationship can entail. The goal is to help someone somewhere get out of an abusive relationship before its too late. Whether its emotional or physical abuse, neither is healthy for a person to maintain in. So seeking relationship advice from outside sources, such as popular press articles may be a usual for tool for people who are looking for insight as long as they know to check up on the research involved in the article. This paper will compare and contrast the findings from the article I have chosen to the scholarly research that has been conducted on abusive relationships.
Feminist theory was derived from the social movement of feminism where political women fight for the right of females in general and argue in depth about the unequality we face today. In the aspect of cinema, feminists notice the fictitious representations of females and also, machismo. In 1974, a book written by Molly Haskell "From Reverence to Rape: The treatment of Women in Movies" argues about how women almost always play only passive roles while men are always awarded with active, heroic roles. Moreover, how women are portrayed in movies are very important as it plays a big role to the audience on how to look at a woman and how to treat her in real life due to the illusionism that cinema offers. These images of women created in the cinema shapes what an ideal woman is. This can be further explained through an article 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' written by a feminist named Laura Mulvey in 1975. She uses psychoanalysis theories by Sigmund Freud to analyze 'Scopophilia' which is the desire to see. This explains how the audience is hooked to the screen when a sexy woman is present. In a bigger picture, where Scopophilia derives from, 'Voyeurism' is also known as feeling visual pleasure when looking at another. Narcissism on the other hand means identifying one's self with the role played. It is not hard to notice that in classical cinema, men often play the active role while the women are always the object of desire for the male leads, displayed as a sexual object and frequently the damsels in distress. Therefore, the obvious imbalance of power in classical cinema shows how men are accountable to moving the narratives along. Subconsciously, narcissism occurs in the audience as they ...
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author who has received numerous awards and distinctions. Her main argument is that everyone should be a feminist not because of our gender, but because it is what is right. Adichie has been featured in Beyonce’s song, “Flawless”, spreading awareness to the idea of feminism. “We Should All Be Feminists” is a book about her experiences in Nigeria, where men are more powerful than women. The intended audience of the passage is each and every person residing in heavily patriarchal societies. Hesr thesis is “we should all be feminists”.