A 43-year-old woman pretends to be 30 years old and marries a younger man who doesn’t know her true age.…
Gender roles have been a theme for many films throughout time. One movie that particularly challenges the idea of gender roles in the horror genre is that of Halloween (1978). In many horror films, women are depicted as weak and rather ignorant victims of the killer that is coming to attack. That is very different from how Halloween depicts the heroine of the story. She is seen as an intelligent woman trying to protect both herself and her children in a way that is both smart and productive. Siskel and Elbert view the film as more of an upbeat horror film in their movie critique. They view it as a positive that the women are given a more dominant presence and therefor making the focus of the film something so much more than a senseless murder of a women who could not defend herself.…
The theme of deeply ingrained values is also present in A Nightmare on Elm Street…
For the most part, stereotypical gender roles exist because society chooses to accept them, but it is easy to say that the media is a profoundly influential source to the problem. We constantly see gender stereotypes in film and television, where the man is portrayed to be the strong, dominant character; he is the breadwinner and the hero, while the woman is a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. This type of representation of women is quite the opposite in film noir. The classic femme fatale of film noir is a strong and confident woman who disrupts traditional family values; she refuses to play the typical role that society prescribes. Instead, the femme fatale uses her beauty to manipulate men in order to achieve power and independence.…
Cinema and particularly Hithcock’s films use the image of woman in glasses as a signifier for the uncanny nature of the less-than-ideal female, the one with the threatening gaze. Miriam in Strangers on a Train, Ann Newton in The Shadow of a Doubt, Midge Wood in Vertigo and Dr. Constance Peterson in Spellbound offer excellent examples. Dr.Constance Peterson in a Psychiatrist usually an anomaly in a male dominated profession in the 1940s- which demands acute observation and male gaze - excels in it. The Freudian “bisexuality” ingrained in her character-the embodiment of both masculine and feminine in one individual as noted by Tania Modleski (qtd in Ditewig-Morris 1) is a fascinating character for analysis just like Miriam. A thorough analysis of these characters force us to come to the notion that the women in glasses challenged the patriarchal convention and hence Tania Modleski posited about Hitchcock’s “thoroughgoing ambivalence about feminity” where he seems afraid of women in glasses (qtd in…
Blake, CG. "Linear vs. Non-linear Narrative." A New Fiction Writers Forum. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://cgblake.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/linear-vs-non-linear-narrative/>.…
Movies and television always priority man as strong and dominate. There are not many media portrayals that change the character of male. Men are still glorified for the sexual actives, non commitment and re-lack attitude of life. There are limited amount of films that deceits man in a different stereotypical life than the macho man. However, movies like She’s Out of My League has a very timid, fragile and nerdy male lead. His character tries to get the attention of beautiful, successful and desirable woman. The gender role differences in the movies tries to show the progression in media depiction. The movie was different because the male is not outwardly attractive and very clumsy. His brother represents the typical meat headed, unintelligent…
For this week’s summary response I have chosen to do an article that relates to my essay assignment number three. Actresses on the Stubborn Sexism of Hollywood is an article from The New York Times written by Julie Bloom. Majority of this article is specifically written up with excerpts of conversations that she has had with many famous actors and actresses. However, the article began with Julie stating some facts/statistics about women and their presence in the Hollywood industry. The author claims that there is a lack of female presence in the Hollywood film industry, and that needs to change as we evolve in this society.…
Through this essay, I will attempt to examine various codes and character portrayals that contribute to the representation of women within the domain of film fiction. My intention is to review exactly how women are represented and investigate whether fictional characters play a part in perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Laura Mulvey will be intermittently mentioned as a pioneering figure of feminist film theory, her discourse will be applied and challenged within the following pages.…
The 1960s-80s saw the introduction of 2nd wave feminism - focusing largely on gender inequality within sexuality, family life and the workplace. It was quickly established that mainstream media was playing a large role in the production and reinforcement of the patriarchy, and so began an influx in the analysis of representations of women within the media; or lack thereof. Paralleling the popularisation of 2nd wave feminism, the 60s, 70s and 80s saw a prevalence of horror films within mainstream media; rendering the genre a target for scrutiny. In this essay I will discuss representations of gender in Stanley Kubrick's psychological horror, 'The Shining' (1980) and Wes Craven’s thriller, ‘Scream’ (1996).…
“Roll cameras, and ACTION!” We should see the roles that deal with politics and our managers normal, and not an exception. Along with actresses, female directors face a strong bias in landing any major roles in the film production. Like many advocates, I hope to be an influential director one day, therefore I will fight for equality but not a separation in Hollywood.…
Since the inventions of television and film, media influences have become extremely important in modern society with people constantly being inundated by images and messages that come from film, television, magazines, internet and advertising. Researchers and theorists such as Carol J. Clover and Jean Kilborne believe that the fact that people are going to be affected by the media is absolutely unavoidable. Films can act as guides to how people, particularly women, should act and look. Women in horror are typically shown as the ‘damsel in distress’ and are usually attacked by the killer after committing a sinful act like having sex or misusing drugs or alcohol. The females are usually very attractive, slim and quite often blonde. These characteristics are usually reinforced by seductive body language, heavy make-up and vulnerability giving the message that women are unable to take care of themselves and have to look a certain way to fit into society. Many directors have tried to change the messages in horror films my introducing the ‘Final Girl’ where it is a female who is a virgin and does not do drugs or consume alcohol that fights back and becomes the ‘hero’ rather than a male, giving the unrealistic message that if people don’t do wrong, nothing bad will ever happen to them but horror films are notorious for presenting women in a particular way, often making them victims of sexualisation. The representation of women not only influences the way that females think they have to be or the way males think that women should be but they also have a great impact on the values in society. Sexualisation in the representation of women is predominantly obvious in horror films, specifically Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Rosemary’s Baby, directed by Roman Polanski and Scream, directed by Wes Craven. All three movies display sexualisation using gender stereotyping, victimisation and the male gaze.…
A bold statement for recognition of talent, the Oscar Award has become one of the most coveted awards in the film industry. Simply being nominated for an Oscar carries it's own prestige. Every year, actors, film crews and fans alike anticipate nominations and winners for each category. A curious trend continues to arise with the annual Oscar nominees and winners. Not since 2004's Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby, has a film featuring a strong lead female character won their Oscar nomination. In fact, of the eight nominees for Best Picture every year, 3 films – at most – featuring strong female leads are nominated. The use of female stereotypes in films could account for this continued trend. The film industry perpetuates stereotypes of females…
The most sensitive and controversial topics from time to time is gender representation. Gender representations in media often portray male and female stereotypically, in which they are depicted differently (Doring 2006, p. 173). Even though the representation of gender in media has already been developed lately, but women’s representation in media are still portrayed stereotypically in various ways. According to Amancio (1993), he stated that gender stereotypes are seen as social representations or collective ideologies defining model of behavior. Media do not simply reflect the reality in society about the gender stereotypes; it supports the ruling class’ ideology of patriarchy which controls the issue of gender all over the world by producing…
Being the film industry powerhouse that it is, Lucas film has a crucial role in fixing the erroneous cultural image of women and their role in society that has been generated by all types of media. Not only female characters constantly dominated by and presented as weaker than their male counterparts, they are also heavily outnumbered by them. Women are also still relatively rare in top media management positions. Furthermore, they are in large part excluded from the technical aspects of film production that span from directing to editing. Although Lucas film have come under heavy criticism for their portrayal of women through characters such as Leila in the star franchise Star Wars, they have made steps to work against gender discrimination. For example, a substantial part of the studio s leadership roles is occupied by women. However, many more tracks can be explored to try to further breach the gap. With the help of UN Women, measures should be taken such as education on gender inequality and potential financial incentives to push Lucas film to create more projects with female protagonists. Lucas film can also promote female involvement in the technical production sectors like visual effects, possibly through scholarships or the…