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
“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.
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...
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.
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
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
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.
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.
We have what they want. Catherine Breillat said that they chose the main actress, Amira Casar, because she has a body like you’d see in old paintings, “with a little belly and pearly skin.” He body is highlighted by lighting and the way she lays on her bed in such a way that you can almost see her as a painting. However, as you get closer, you see the actress’s body is very hairy which in turn, horrifies the man that is examining her because femininity doesn’t regard women with hairy bodies. We’re supposed to be clean, beautiful, delicate slates.
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.
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.
“Year after year, twenty-something women come to New York City in search of the two L's: labels and love” is the very catchy line that opens the film with Fergie’s ‘Labels or Love’ as the soundtrack and The Big Apple as its introductory shot. The scaling deduced from the bird’s eye-view-point of New York City, showing its Metropolitan atmosphere with skyscrapers and the famous Brooklyn Bridge; to the urbanites of the City; then to the lead actors of the film. A fifteen year-old girl watches the film, mesmerizing the ecstatic city while admiring the skinny white bodies of the ladies. And last but never forgotten, she gets carried away with the funky upbeat rhythm of the song emphasizing “Gucci, Fendi, [and] Prada . . .” That is the introduction of Sex and the City and the focus of its cinematography. With its elements, the movie can honestly influence teenage girls. Yet as much as critics such as Maya Gordon of Psychology of Women Quarterly say how media contributes to the sexual objectification and values women “based on their appearance,” this film should be an exemption.
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...