Suicide Squad: Female Characterization In The Media
“Female characterization in the media is almost always in the form of a trope, a fetishized or one-dimensional character that we are almost expected to act out in our every-day lives," says Kaya Masler, Director of the Women's Student Assembly at the University of Southern California.
It seems that no matter where you look, women are being made into sexual objects. Movies, television shows, music videos and video games heavily focus on women’s physical appearances especially their sexual attributes as being their most significant assets. Women tend to be depicted in demeaning ways portraying them as objects in positions of inferiority and low social power. With little representations of women in the media that a “real women” can relate to, we are limited only to a hyper-sexualised image of women that are misleadingly being portrayed as empowered. That is, for women to be even slightly considered successful, they must in turn be sexualised. …show more content…
A recent example of this is in the DC Comic’s film, Suicide Squad. As a woman being a lead actress in this film, it is assumed to be a main selling point that Margot Robbie was cast for her abilities as an actress, but on the contrary, more-so because the producers know she is desired and that sex sells. The sexuality of this film is derived from the portrayal of Harley Quinn who is psychotic and what seems to be accentuated is her provocative nature and attire. Seemingly being empowered by beginning the role as a Physiatrist, later then to be demeaned into the role being described as “vapid, silly and prone to pratfalls” (Blaylock,
It seems that no matter where you look, women are being made into sexual objects. Movies, television shows, music videos and video games heavily focus on women’s physical appearances especially their sexual attributes as being their most significant assets. Women tend to be depicted in demeaning ways portraying them as objects in positions of inferiority and low social power. With little representations of women in the media that a “real women” can relate to, we are limited only to a hyper-sexualised image of women that are misleadingly being portrayed as empowered. That is, for women to be even slightly considered successful, they must in turn be sexualised. …show more content…
A recent example of this is in the DC Comic’s film, Suicide Squad. As a woman being a lead actress in this film, it is assumed to be a main selling point that Margot Robbie was cast for her abilities as an actress, but on the contrary, more-so because the producers know she is desired and that sex sells. The sexuality of this film is derived from the portrayal of Harley Quinn who is psychotic and what seems to be accentuated is her provocative nature and attire. Seemingly being empowered by beginning the role as a Physiatrist, later then to be demeaned into the role being described as “vapid, silly and prone to pratfalls” (Blaylock,