But for that moment, she suggests, Cleopatra Jones spoke to the yearning of many black women for more complex and empowered black woman representations. As a sister sitting behind Sloan at the movie’s end declared, “Damn. That movie felt good.” An iconic actress from the Blaxploitation movies is Pam Grier, who fit perfectly both the roles of a sex icon and a “supermama” vigilante. I will consider two of her films that differ in certain areas when it comes to portrayal of the black female and the permissiveness they use - Foxy Brown and Sheba, Baby. Pam Grier’s heroines are shown as women who go through hell and triumph at the end. They are icons for taking matters into their own hands, while looking the part of sexually adaptive and comfortable …show more content…
Foxy Brown is above all a heroine, a “Black Power – era influenced heroine” according to Dunn (2008), a vigilante figure that will avenge for the injustice befallen her lover. She is “baad” and not afraid to stand her ground. She knows the male gaze and is brave enough to use it in her advantage which gives her sexual power on screen, however, one can argue that the camera also takes on that male gaze which makes her conceptually incongruous sexual object and subject at the same time. Dunn (2008) analyses Foxy Brown as an extremely sexualised persona. Examples of this would be the opening credits sequence of the film where Pam Grier is shown dancing, which is enough to see that she is wearing nothing but a bathing suit that emphasises her famous curves. The opening scene of the film and other scenes later focus the camera on parts of her body for example her breasts or her whole naked body to sexualise and contribute to the sexual appeal of the character. This point of view shifts when she knowingly strips, attracting the gaze of Steve (Peter Brown) thus making the male gaze her own and using her sexuality as a weapon or a tool of …show more content…
(King & McCaughey, 2001 p: 2) Foxy Brown fits the description of a Blaxploitation film as in the end Foxy does win over the white patriarchy by taking away the phallic advantage and castrating the man and therefore removing the power of Miss Catherine who was responsible for the misery of Foxy herself and the people she loved. There are, however, some main differences between Foxy Brown and Sheba, baby. One of them being the difference in the rating as Sheba, Baby is rated PG. Understanding the hyper-sexualisation and objectification of her persona, but also the importance of it, Grier was involved with the creation of characters like Coffy and Foxy (Quinn, 2012 p:2 70) and even Sheba as she admits in the documentary on Blaxploitation – Baadasssss Cinema (Isaac Julien, 2002). Moving onto PG rated film, like Sheba, Baby Grier plays a persona that keeps the narrative of a strong black woman vigilante, but tone down the sexualisation and objectifying of the character, which, however is still present despite the lack of nudity. The presence of the “baad bitch” who is this time “Hotter 'N' "Coffy" Meaner 'N' "Foxy Brown"” as announced by the tagline of the film, is still important. Her style in this film, however, had changed as she appears in sophisticated tailored suits that also
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
“Bootycandy” is astonishing, shocking and appalling in a thought-provoking way that makes you question our society. O’Hara uses theatrical comedy as a gateway to share these stereotypes and struggles that minorities experience daily.
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.
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).
It is no secret that there is an obvious difference of how women are portrayed in the media versus men. This movie discussed female characters never having lead roles and stated that when they did it ended in the women depending on, loving, or having to have a man. One young high school girl said, “Women never play the protagonist. The girls are
Unlike the other women, the camera goes directly to her face and is at a level angle, which in cinematology creates the feeling of power or equality for the viewer. Her active female presence continues throughout the video. The next scene she appears in is when Kendrick Lamar and a bigger male are fighting over her, as they fight she stands behind and watches, then eventually interferes while laughing splitting up the fight (TDE Films). Which then leads into her taking Lamar's hand, and them “melting” into the road (TDE Films). This scene demonstrates the power a women holds over a man, and the use of visual effects emphasises the active female’s power.
Despite the fact that the character of Phyllis as the “tough as nails” perpetual, intentional aggressor is a valid attempt to obliterate the image of women as the oppressed, one interpretation of this role is that she ultimately seems to misrepresent herself, and females in cinema, anyway. Janet Todd, author of Women and Film, states that, “Women do not exist in American film. Instead we find another creation, made by men, growing out of their ideological imperatives”(130). Though these “power girl”characters are strong examples of anything but submissive and sexual females,the...
Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. As a result of the changing societal norms, women have experienced more transition in their roles than any other class. During the period of classical Hollywood cinema, both society and the film industry preached that women should be dependent on men and remain in home in order to guarantee stability in the community and the family. Women did not have predominated roles in movies such as being the heroin. The 1940’s film Gilda wasn’t an exception. In Gilda, the female character mainly had two different stereotypes. The female character was first stereotyped as a sex object and the second stereotyped as a scorned woman who has to be punished.
Madison, D. Soyini. "Pretty Woman Through the Triple Lens of Black Feminist Spectatorship." From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1995. 224-35. Print.
Another option for African-American women included the purchases of skin lightening products to allure to an “interracial” appeal of acting that boomed in the late 1950s into the early 1960s (fig. 17). The film was also heavily assessed for its frequent sexualized scenes. Sexuality in the “Classic Hollywood” era especially in the 1950s was suggestive through various innuendos given the various production codes. But in Carmen Jones, Carmen’s sexuality is blatant and pointedly represented when she unabashedly throws herself at Joe in a way that no white actress would have. This follows the “Jezebel” archetype, in association with impureness, shamelessness or being a morally unrestrained woman, which throughout history was synonymous with certain stereotypes of black women.
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.
From hunting and providing, to getting beat up, to possessing a bag of her dead father’s hands, Ree is depicted in a way that is not common for women in film to be
When asked in an interview for some of her reasoning behind the film, the director, Catherine Breillat said that she is an entomologist. She is someone who needs to closely examine things to really see them. The woman in the film pays a gay man to watch her do “unwatchable” things in her bedroom. She has him examine all things that make us a woman. From her body parts to her menstrual cycle; she takes him into the “off limits” places of her female body.
...f women & individuality, the sense of fashion, and the passion in a sexual act distinct it from being sexually objectifying. Similarly, this type of film also needs a higher cognitive skill that could reason and reflect upon the tricky features in the entire picture.
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. 1). 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.