Hollywood: What is the Role of Women in Films

577 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Depiction of women in movies

American film has always had female role models present within them. They have not had the title of “hero”, but they have always been role models. Women have been depicted as strong willed and minded characters since the early 1970s. The women that will spoke about in this argument will prove that women have been “heroes” all along they have just never had that title till now. Women have been saving lives, men, and worlds for decades.

Women of film have never been considered heroes due to the meaning of a hero. The definition of a hero is: a person who is admired for great courage, special achievements or noble qualities. (Houghton, Mifflin. American Heritage Children’s Dictionary (2007,2003,1998).Due to the idea of a hero being a man the women of film were not depicted as anything but either seen and not heard, damsels in distress, sex symbols, or as crazy people. In an article, I read the author spoke about the depiction of a woman character she had said “Starfleet women have always seemed so boringly underdeveloped and under-utilized. Maio, Kathi. “Women in Science Fiction Films.” Fantasy & Science Fiction. Sep95, Vol. 89 Issue 3, p77. 7p. Women in past films have been really down played and/or made to look like they are only good for one thing whether it be sex, being psychotic, or needing a man to rescue them. I believe women have so much more to offer and finally they are starting to acknowledge that in film.

Women have had many hero roles. The women in films like Alien, Tomb raider, Resident Evil, and Enough all were heroes that either saved the world, themselves, and/or their team of people around them. In Kalamazoo Gazette (MI) (2012) the author spoke about many recent female roles that have attracted big audiences ...

... middle of paper ...

...ald (MA) - Monday, October 8, 2007.

. Maio, Kathi. “Women in Science Fiction Films.” Fantasy & Science Fiction. Sep95, Vol. 89 Issue 3, p77. 7p.

Pippen, Tina. “Warrior Women of the Apocalypse: The Role of the Female in Some Apocalyptic Films.” Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2006.

Palmeri, Christopher. “Hollywood missing out on female heroes-‘Hunger Games’ Haul sets Hollywood searching for female action heroes- ‘Hunger Games’ success may pave the way for more action-oriented female lead roles.” Kalamazoo Gazette (MI) - Thursday, March 29, 2012.

Long, Tom. “Women heroes get in on the action.” Detroit News, the (MI) - Saturday, October 13, 2012.

Magoulick, Mary “Frustrating Female Heroism: Mixed Messages in Xena, Nikita, and Buffy”. The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 39, No. 5, 2006.

http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/erin-brockovich.html

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Julie O 'Reilly's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women aren’t represented as incompetent, but rather as limited. In “The Woman Precedent Female (Super) Heroism on Trial”, Julie O’Reilly analyzes the distinctions between the ways male and female superheroes are “put to the test” in narratives. She also describes how male superheroes are the ones who are accepted into the world of fighting and protecting against evil; while the females have to go through much more than males in order to be recognized for their efforts. “What really is on trial, then, is a female superhero’s ability to be a fully recognized subject” (O’Reilly 452). The “heroine in her own right” should be acknowledged just like how male superheroes are recognized. Female superheroes deserve the right of being able to do just as much, and possibly even more, than a male superhero can and they should be given the appreciation as well as the acknowledgment that they rightfully deserve. For example, one book written by Stieg Larsson called “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” depicts the life of a very strong female protagonist. The literature illustrates two people who are trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a young girl in the 1940’s but the woman isn't getting much credit or motivation as the other characters.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Elizabeth Alsop's Article: Why TV Needs 'Weak' Female Characters

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the current era of progressive feminism, a hotly debated topic has been what constitutes a strong woman, whether fictional or real. One side of the discussion argues that women must be shown as equal to men and therefore display manly or ‘macho’ traits. On the other hand, some women contend that, instead of filling the mold of what society deems strong (which often happen to be traditionally male traits), women should instead break that mold and redefine strength. In Elizabeth Alsop’s article, “Why TV Needs ‘Weak’ Female Characters,” she describes how female characters in some specific television shows today prove that other traits, particularly vulnerability, are just as important to display as strength. Alsop discusses how television shows

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Laurie Penny's 'What To Do When You Re Not The Hero Anymore'

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the first paragraph of Laurie Penny’s essay “What to do when you’re not the hero anymore” she tells the reader how she recently went to see the new Star Wars movie. To her surprise a female character, Rey, fought off a bad guy as an equal. Hollywood has incredible power in how messages are portrayed in books, TV shows, and movies. It is no secret that media representation normalizes the reality of white male power. Penny explores how it is becoming more common to see a women lead in books, movies, and TV shows, rather than the stereotypical male.

    Read More

  • Women in Film as Portrayed in the Movie, Double Indemnity

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women in Film as Portrayed in the Movie, Double Indemnity. Introduction American commercial cinema currently fuels many aspects of society. In the twenty-first century, it has become available, active force in the perception of gender relations in the United States. In the earlier part of this century filmmakers, as well as the public, did not necessarily view the female “media image” as an infrastructure of sex inequality.

    Read More

  • Wonder Woman: A Symbol of the Feminist Movement

    3230 Words  | 7 Pages

    For over 60 years, Wonder Woman has filled the pages of her magazine with adventures ranging from battling Nazis, to declawing human-like Cheetahs. Her exploits thrilled and inspired many young girls, including Gloria Steinem. Through all of this, she has had to pilot her invisible jet through territories that her male counterparts have never had to. She is constantly pulled in two directions; her stories must be entertaining and non threatening to the male status quo, while simultaneously furthering her as the original symbol of 'Girl Power.' She is praised for being an icon of strength to women everywhere, but chastised for wearing a skimpy costume and tying men up, as if she were no more than a male fantasy. No comic book character has had to endure as much scrutiny as Wonder Woman. That's because Wonder Woman represents an entire gender, at a time of important social flux. Although she was created by a man to influence a male audience, Wonder Woman has evolved into an important symbol of the feminist movement.

    Read More

  • Up Close and Personal the Movie

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today's society there are many stereotypes of women in the media and what they are supposed to represent. This movie effectively portrays what women have to go through to be remembered for their story rather than their face. As a young reporter, Tally Atwater walks into the Miami station ready to do whatever is asked of her. Because her dream is to become a news ancho...

    Read More

  • Hispanic Culture in Like Water for Chocolate

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    The most important events of this film all revolve around the female characters. While there are some male charac...

    Read More

  • Two Ways A Woman Can Get Hurt By Jean Kiilbourne

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Men are looked at as brave, selfless people and are perceived as heroes all throughout society. Johnson addresses this point saying, “The idea of heroism, for example, has been appropriated almost entirely by patriarchal manhood. From movies and television to literature to the nightly news, our ideas of who and what is heroic focus almost entirely on men and what they do” (548). Since men have power in this world, they have generated a society that pleases them. Superhero movies are a huge money maker in today’s world. But, the most popular superheroes are exclusively men such as Batman, Superman, Captain America, The Flash and The Hulk. This media only feeds into the ideology that men are the heroes in the world and they are the ones making sacrifices for others. They see a world that appeals to them and do not see a reason to mess with the system. Kilbourne writes, “When power is unequal, when one group is oppressed and discriminated against as a group, when there is a context of systematic and historical oppression, stereotypes and prejudice have different weight and meaning” (499). Men now see patriarchy as natural and how life should be. They can look back at previous generations and see that they succeeded with patriarchy and feel they should do the same. Men see absolutely no reason as to why they should relinquish their position of

    Read More

  • The Little Mermaid Disney Film Research

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this research report I aim to explore the way in which gender roles have been represented in films through time and to analyse if the representation of each gender role has changed. More specifically I would like this report to acknowledge, in particularly, if women’s representations have changed over the years, and if so why or why isn’t this. I want to explore how these representations can affect the viewers of these films by the stereotypes that they create.

    Read More

  • Miss Representation Summary

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Screwball Comedy Films

    4993 Words  | 10 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Myth And Archetypes In Alien By Ellen Ripley

    1868 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cinema has been producing the same hero narrative for centuries. Hero films follow a ten-step sequence to properly set up and execute their story. These movies range from stories of transformations, searches, or a journey back home. Archetypes help to add variety and depth to these stories. Ridley Scott directed Alien, in which Ellen Ripley embarks on a journey where she must survive an alien who is out on a murderous rampage. Alien adds originality to its storyline by choosing a female lead instead of a male, but it still incorporates the same heroic attributes that make a story successful. In this “going home journey” film, Scott is able to incorporate the hero myth and archetypes towards the official hero Ellen Ripley.

    Read More

  • Star Trek & Gender Sterotypes

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...characters are not depicted as strong as the male leads. Hermione Granger becomes emotional during high stress battle scenes. Elizabeth Swann shifts to mainly a love interest for the male lead. Queen Amidala becomes emotional and a love interest for Anakin Skywalker. To some, the illusion of strong women signals how far we have come as a society in the last half-century. In reality, however, the film industry has only progressed enough to be able to give off an illusion of strong women. The lack of female directors in Hollywood gives way to a male-centric ideology that eroticizes and demeans women in films – often just subconsciously because the director is male. It is time to welcome more Kathryn Bigelows. More Julie Taymors. More Sofia Coppolas. Only when a balance among film directors is reached can many films finally break out of traditional gender stereotypes.

    Read More

  • Women’s Roles in Classical Hollywood Cinema

    2563 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Women in Movies

    1522 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. In the 1940’s women’s characters were stereotyped as sex objects. In the 1990’s women’s characters are stereotyped to be strong individuals. I am glad that women’s characters are now portrayed as they truly are, and not how men think they should be.

    Read More

More about Hollywood: What is the Role of Women in Films

Open Document