How Women are Represented in Science Fiction Films Today
Science fiction films have changed a lot since the days of rubber
monsters and fake blood. This is not only because of the advance in
technology but also in the brave character choices directors of films
are now taking. A prime example of this can be seen in T & T2 in
regards to the character of Sarah Connor.
The representation of women in Science fiction films has changed
dramatically the more traditional feminine role. Representation is the
act of representing, or the state of being represented. Fore instance,
something that represents an image or likeness of something. An
example of this in T2 is Sarah Connor who is represented as a really
strong, masculine and manly character who has all the qualities in a
film that a man would normally have.
In science fiction films, initially women are represented as wimpy,
vulnerable, and defenceless. Most films stereotype women into an image
of defenceless and needy person and they have to rely on a man or
someone much more powerful to save them from a dreadful situation.
Conventions are very important as they help the audience to understand
what genre a film is and why. It usually refers to the established
ways things are done within a narrative. The main conventions of a
science fiction film are that there is normally a short, catchy title.
One that can be glued in the audience’s brain, making sure they never
forget. Most characters are futuristic, alien and machine like. Their
costumes are ahead of their time and not like anything people wear
today. The narrative goes something like a mythical, unrealistic
creature comin...
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...stood in front of his
father and protected him from the bullet, the young boy started to
scream out, “NO! Don’t shoot my daddy! NO! Don’t shoot!”, then John (Edward
Furlong) came with the terminator (Arnold Schwarzenneger) and stopped
his mum from doing something she will regret.
The representation of women in science fiction films can be seen to be
both positive and masculine in some cases. The cliché that women are
peony, helpless and vulnerable people who can’t defend themselves is
wrong and although some people might fall into this category many
don’t. The movies like Terminator 2 and Alien prove that women can be
successfully represented in a both positive and masculine way.
Ultimately women can do everything men can do. If not better.
Ultimately all movies will portray women in their true
form…..hopefully.
Although animated cartoons have long been associated with children’s entertainment, the content of many cartoons suggest they are for adults as well. From character portrayal to perceived gender roles, cartoons such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby Doo both reflect societal values from their time periods as well as perpetuate the developed stereotypes. Cartoons produced more recently such as The Simpsons start to challenge these stereotypes instead of following blindly. Comparing the earliest popular cartoons to more recent productions, shows progress towards a less stereotypical character portrayal in regards to gender.
The Representation of Women in Some Like It Hot and Alien 3 This essay will be about how women are and have been represented in films in the past and how they are represented nowadays. I will be looking at the roles and representations of women in 'Some Like It Hot and Alien 3. Some Like It Hot was made in 1958. Marilyn Monroe starts in the comedy as Sugar Cane, a very feminine musician.
Women have always been on the fringes of the science fiction writing community. Not only have there been few female writers, but few female characters of substance have explored the universe, battled aliens, or discovered new technologies. Even in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), considered by some to be the first science fiction novel, Elizabeth, who is the major female character, does little more than decorate Victor's arm, snag his heart, and eventually contribute to his self-destruction. Women were virtually non-existent in the Golden Age SF (1938-1949) writings; except perhaps as trophies to be rescued, or smoldering, sexual beings that really didn't contribute to the overall plot other than as the hero's love interest. However, the female characters of cyberpunk are not damsels in distress; nor are they the mother earth goddesses or cyborgs of the feminist SF writings of the `70's. These characters are not quite the equals of their male counterparts; and in some cases, objectification is still blatant. But in general, there is twisting of traditional gender and sexual roles in cyberpunk writing that helps set it apart from previous SF. Two characters that particularly embody these radical differences are Molly Millions of Gibson's Neuromancer and "Johnny Mnemnonic" and Lizzie from Tom Maddox's "Snake Eyes."
The Scientific Revolution marked a major shift in Western thought between the 1500s and 1700s. Modern science emerged as a way of gaining true knowledge about the natural world. During the time, science was a field dominated by men. Women were believed to be incapable of anything outside their domestic sphere. There was a social stigma regarding women in science. Society had varying reactions toward women working in the sciences, the majority of which were negative. However, some were accepting of women and their contributions to science. The Scientific Revolution had little impact on the way society viewed women. Women continued to be subject to restrictive gender roles.
In conclusion, From all the points I have brought up it is easy to see that
Women around the world struggle with life because of the effect of how they’re perceived in the media. Why is this? Well Editor Ravneet Vohra explains in an article called Body positive warrior. The reasoning women believe their appearance such as body image needs to be a certain way. Before the women 's rights movement happened. The term femininity defined women and masculinity which is used to define males.
view. However, I believe that this is not the case and it leads me to
The females and stereotypes in Disney animated films gradually changed over the years; From the early 1900s, beginning with their first feature film Snow White (1937) to their most recent box office film Frozen (2013). Since the Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923, the way the roles of women were portrayed depended on the time period.
Finding a simple or concrete definition of gender maybe near impossible. Gender roles are what men and woman learn and internalize as the way they are supposed to act. These roles are commonly thought of as natural rather than a construction of culture. Gender is thought to flow from sex, rather then being a matter of what the culture does with sex. This theory is widely and exhaustively debated, according to Wood “Sex is based on biology; Gender is socially and psychologically constructed” (Wood 19). This statement suggests that culture’s discourses and ideologies form the complexities of gender and gender roles. It is easy to say that girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice and boy are made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails, but we are actually more intricate then that.
Women have made progress in the film industry in terms of the type of role they play in action films, although they are still portrayed as sex objects. The beginning of “a new type of female character” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47) in the world of action films began in 1976 with Sigourney Weaver, who played the leading role in the blockbuster film ‘Aliens’ as Lt. Ellen Ripley. She was the captain of her own spaceship, plus she was the one who gave out all the orders. Until then, men had always been the ones giving the orders; to see a woman in that type of role was outlandish. This was an astonishing change for the American industry of film. Sometime later, in 1984, Linda Hamilton starred in ‘The Terminator’, a film where she was not the leading character, but a strong female character as Sarah Connor. She had a combination of masculine and feminine qualities as “an androgynous superwoman, resourceful, competent and courageous, while at the same time caring, sensitive and intuitive” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47). These changes made in action films for female’s roles stirred up a lot of excitement in the “Western society” (Starlet, 2007). The demand for strong female characters in action films grew to a new high when Angelina Jolie starred in ‘Tomb Raider’ in 2001 and then in the sequel, ‘Tomb Raider II: The Cradle of Life’ in 2003 as Lara Croft. Her strong female character was not only masculine, but was also portrayed as a sex object. Most often, strong women in these types of films tend to fight without even gaining a mark. At the end of each fight, her hair and makeup would always be perfect. The female characters in these action films, whether their role was as the lead character or a supporting character, had similar aspects. I...
is an example of that. All these points simply prove that there are very many trai...
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 ...
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 ...
Portrayal of Women in the Media Gender is the psychological characteristics and social categories that are created by human culture. Gender is the concept that humans express their gender when they interact with one another. Messages about how a male or female is supposed to act come from many different places. Schools, parents, and friends can influence a person.