During the 1970s a researcher named Carol Clover researched films and novels using various methods to help make them more enjoyable and easier to understand for the viewer. Carol Clover is very active in her views. One particular view she stands for is feminism and believes in equality for everyone. The first theory Clover provides is an interesting one about equality. Clover relates gender research into her own work and also relates the situation to her personal life. A main item Clover researches is “slasher” films and the role feminism has in them. “Slasher” films are an exceptional choice to research feminism. Often times in “slasher” or scarier films females have a limited role. Often times in those cinemas females are being tormented …show more content…
As to what most expect the “fan” base was mostly made up of perverted men who looked to women suffering as a pleasurable entertaining method. After Clover comes up with that claim she then looks to apply it to further research. She then begins to research other films and notices that most of them follow the same theme as “First Girl” in that females just get treated like filth and will not defend themselves. Clover then looks for ways for women to defend themselves from harm in hopes of eventually ending female brutality. All in all, even though Clover’s research was conducted over forty years ago many of her claims still exist today. From my vantage point female harm is sadly still alive and well. Women are often harmed and tormented in order to satisfy men. Even though, not everyone will support that claim I often see headlining stories on the news and internet about numerous rapes and assaults that occur in women because it pleases men. I feel that Clover introduced the suffering of females in the world. Clover’s research became a launching pad for feminism and other equality beliefs. Female harassment may never end, but without Clover’s research the world may never have been exposed to it and the chance for correction may
The genre of melodrama has been fuelling debate for decades as it is being constantly redefined at a critical level. Rick Altman claims that melodrama has "a syntax but lacks a clear semantic dimension,” while Linda Williams sees it as a "mode" or a "tendency," its formal and stylistic motifs varying according to both its era of production and its medium.” (Griggs, April 1, 2007, p. 101). Melodramas are written for the enjoyment of women and aim to appeal to their sensitive nature and emotions. Bearing that in mind, the way by which women are represented in certain melodramatic films is interesting. From a feminist’s perspective, melodramas sit closely beside romantic comedies and chick flicks and it could be argued that they are in fact a combination of the two. It does seem though that these films are destroying everything feminists have been fighting for decades for. They tend to stereotype women, portraying them as desperate and incredibly reliant on men. An obvious example of this is Jane Wyman’s character, Cary Scott in Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows. Cary is a widow living in ...
Men and Women have played gender specific roles, which has been established from the creation of the world. In the cult classic “The Night of The Living Dead”, the portrayal of stereotypical gender roles were on display. George A. Romero’s film hinted at subtle references to the roles of Men and Women and depicted the stereotypes America held during the 1960s. Men played the role of protectors and enforcers, while the women played the passive role of homemakers. Romero’s film portrays the sexes, women and men, in their stereotypical behaviors.
For the past few decades, women’s positions improve significantly due to feminist movements, which can be presented through contemporary films. Instead of focusing on male-only heroes, an increasing number of filmmakers tend to create female heroines. Nevertheless, women have not yet achieved reproductive rights. In other words, different from men, who can freely express themselves, female’s actions are still limited by societal norm. Thus, female characters, as a reflection of contemporary females in society, demonstrate the fact that females are attempting to challenge gender stereotypes under societal pressures. Katniss, the heroine in Hunger Games, is presented as a role model. However, Marieme, the working class girl in Girlhood, seems
For the past five weeks we have studied gender and psychoanalysis in horror films. Over the duration of our studies, I have learned much more about the abject and how gender in regards to female genitalia is conveyed in some horror films. The object that I decided to write my object analysis about is the film Teeth directed and written by Mitchell Lichtenstein. The film surrounded most of its attention on the protagonist Dawn and the horrors created by her vagina. In the beginning of the film Dawn remains celibate and refrains from anything that will sexually arouse her, including movies and male friends. As the film persists, Dawn eventually is raped by her crush, Tobey, during their sexual encounter Tobey’s penis is suddenly chopped off from
This essay argues that the film Bridesmaids transcends traditional representations of feminine desire that exhibits women as spectacles of erotic pleasure, through the symbolic reversal of gender identity in cinematic spaces. By discussing feminist perspectives on cinema, along with psychoanalytic theory and ideological narratives of female image, this essay will prove Bridesmaids embodies a new form of feminine desire coded in the space of the comedic film industry.
First off, in Carol Clover’s novel “Men Women and Chainsaws” the narrative is focusing on how women overcome their challenges throughout varies films. Clover focuses
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).
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.
The overall purpose of Carol Clover’s essay “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film” is to illustrate the repetitive, predictable aspect that Slasher
Since the beginning of time, women have been seen as different from men. Their beauty and charms have been interpreted as both endearing and deadly to men. In the Bible, it was Eve’s mistake that led to humanity’s exile from the Garden of Eden. However, unlike in the Bible, in today’s world, women who drive men to ruin do not do so through simple mistakes and misunderstandings, they do so while fully aware of what effects their sexuality can cause. One thing remains constant through these portrayals of women, and that is that they are portrayed as flawed creations and therefore monstrous. It is a woman’s sex drive and sexuality that can lead to her monstrosity. The femme fatale is an enticing, exquisitely beautiful, erotic character who plays the ultimate trick of nature: she displays her beauty, captures the man and goes in for the kill. Films such as Adrian Lyne’s Fatal Attraction and stories such as Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale, and Sir Gawain the Green Knight use the femme fatale as a means of making a woman into a monster; the femme fatale can never win in the battle of the sexes. But what is it that makes the femme fatale such a dangerously character for the hero as well as the readers or viewers?
The reading by Barbara Creed titled “Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection”, is an in-depth examination on the role of women in horror films. Creed challenges the commanding patriarchal view, which frequently puts the woman in the position of the helpless victim. She argues that when the feminine is constructed as monstrous, it is frequently done in conjunction with its mothering role and function. Creed’s main thesis supports that the prototype of all cinematic definitions of monstrosity related to the feminine is linked to the woman’s reproductive body. Creed elects to use the term “monstrous feminine” instead of female monster, because for Creed it is the “femininity itself that is monstrous” (41). It has been unfairly
Carol Ann Duffy Carol Ann Duffy writes poetry, which reveal disturbing aspects of human behaviour and the human nature. I will be writing about these three poems, 'Salome', 'Before you were mine', and 'Stealing'. I will be going into deeper meanings with these poems showing what is revealed and how it is revealed. Te three poems all have more than one theme.
By dissecting the film, the director, Jennie Livingston's methodology and the audience's perceived response I believe we can easily ignore a different and more positive way of understanding the film despite the many flaws easy for feminist minds to criticize. This is in no way saying that these critiques are not valid, or that it is not beneficial to look at works of any form through the many and various feminist lenses.
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.
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...