The study of popular culture is incomprehensible without the examination of the representations in the mass media, such as television shows, music videos, advertisements, films and so forth. The Bechdel Test is a tool that allows for such an examination be conducted. Anita Sarkessian in her infamous blog Feminist Frequency suggests that The Bechdel Test can be used to gauge not only female presence in films, but also the representation of minority individuals.
Both versions of the test consist of three criteria within the evaluation framework. First, the movie must consist of at least two female characters and/or two racialized characters. Second, these characters are required to have names. Lastly, they should talk to each other about something
The movie is centered around the life of Ella, the daughter of an affluent Merchant. Ella is portrayed as a compassionate, carefree individual who befriends all the animals on her estate. However, her life is turned upside down after the passing of her mother, and the consequential, remarriage of her father. Ella does not only gain a step mother through marriage but also, two step sisters. After the sudden passing of her father, Ella is forced to take upon all the domestic responsibilities of the household, and is treated with servitude by her step-mother and her step-sisters. However, Ella does not protest their requests as her mother’s last words to always be kind and have courage echoes her ears. During one cold night, Ella sleeps next to the open stove and is covered in cinders while she serves breakfast to her step mother and step sisters. They mockingly name her Cinderella. Distressed with circumstances at home, Ella rides her horse deep into the forest, and meets the Kingdom’s next heir, but mistakes him for an apprentice learning a trade. The Prince is mesmerized by Ella and protests that the Kingdom Ball’s invitation be extended to “all the maidens of the land”, in hopes of meeting Ella. Despite her step mother’s disapproval, Ella goes to the Ball with the help of her fairy god mother and her animal friends. The Prince is taken aback by her beauty, but Ella must return back home just after midnight when the fairy god mother’s spell would wear off. In the hurry, Ella leaves back her glass slipper, which leads to a Kingdome wide search for Ella. Towards the end of the movie, Ella and the Prince are united and they live happily ever
...seems to have endured the most in his life. Not only did he spend his youth caring for his sick mother and then wife, but he now must live in the painful memory of how his life could have been if the accident never happened. The end of the book leaves the readers saddened and frustrated. Though the novella began with a plotline seemingly leading to an ending as cheery as that of Snow White, in the end, this beautiful maiden turned sour. In this storybook tragedy, “the lovers do not live happily ever after. The witch wins” (Ammons 1).
The media, through its many outlets, has a lasting effect on the values and social structure evident in modern day society. Television, in particular, has the ability to influence the social structure of society with its subjective content. As Dwight E. Brooks and Lisa P. Hébert write in their article, “GENDER, RACE, AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION”, the basis of our accepted social identities is heavily controlled by the media we consume. One of the social identities that is heavily influenced is gender: Brooks and Hébert conclude, “While sex differences are rooted in biology, how we come to understand and perform gender is based on culture” (Brooks, Hébert 297). With gender being shaped so profusely by our culture, it is important to be aware of how social identities, such as gender, are being constructed in the media.
For the next few years, Ella struggles to raise her children in Memphis, Tennessee. Her long hours of work leave her little time to supervise Richard and his brother. Not surprisingly, Richard gets into all sorts of trouble, spying on people in outhouses and becoming a regular at the local saloonand an alcoholicby the age of six. Ella's worsening health prevents her from raising two children by herself and often leaves her unable to work. During these times, Richard does whatever odd jobs a child can do to bring in some money for the family. School is hardly an option for him. At one point, the family's troubles are so severe that Ella must place her children in an orphanage for a few weeks.
...uch beauty, the maiden is chosen, married, and loved by the hero. This process leads not only to beauty by means of passivity, but also to security and happiness. Assertion equates not only with beauty, but ugliness and misfortune as well. Boys in turn develop a sense of responsibility and see themselves in the dominant role. In other words, they must save the day by getting the girl and then of course spreading wealth. For the young girls of the fairy tale audience to acknowledge that they must act out roles similar to the behavior of the heroines in the three tales under examination, thus guaranteeing eternal wealth and happiness. Boys will see the same roles played out and revert to the breadwinning hero role. Lessons portrayed throughout the story are epitomized by Marcia Lieberman to support the notion of love, success, and failure.
As a group, we believe that popular culture does in fact perpetuates stereotypes. Television is a main source of information of popular culture. Television has forever changed how humans have interacted with another and introduce a world of diversity and knowledge. But with this profit, television has also harbored negative aspects. As a group, we studied how racial stereotypes are portrayed in television. In the history of television, different racial and ethnic groups have been widely underrepresented and television itself has been overwhelming represented by white figures. And when racial groups are presented on TV, the characters are often played in limited roles based on stereotypes. A stereotype isn’t necessarily untrue, but it is an assumption based on an incomplete and complex ideas that are oversimplified into something that isn’t what it meant to be, and it’s usually negative. For example, African Americans are often depicted as violent or involved in some kind of criminal activity. Their characters often portrays a person who is always sassy and angry or that isn’t intelligent and won’t succeed in life and inferior to whites in some manner. Asian characters are
First, the film is associated with the concept of gender, which emphasizes the physical, behavioral, and personality traits that are considered to be appropriate for men or women. Males are expected to be strong, aggressive, and competitive while females should be beautiful, emotional, and especially sexually attractive. Many girls and women feel deeply depressed when comparing their bodies to the unrealistic models’ bodies on advertising which is edited by Photoshop in many hours or even in many days. Those female characteristics presented in daily TV shows, movies, advertising, video games have become normal and widely acceptable. Also, the film associates with the concept of patriarchy which believe in male dominance. According to the misrepresentation of female role on mass media, women often see themselves in the roles of mothers, workers, models, or gold diggers. Women are valuated via their beauty and sexuality rather than their capability. Conversely, the appearance of males in heroes, executives, or political leaders in mass media makes men more powerful than women. The media generates the gender stereotypes and makes people believe in their gender roles. Finally, the sociological relevance of Miss Representation is that the media plays an important role in shaping male and female’s belief in their role and value. As the result, it is understandable for gender behaviors and gender inequality in the
The aesthetic approach, also known as the masterpiece approach, involves solely looking at movies as a whole. This approach coincides the movie to its own director. For example, the Auteur theory explains how the director is also the author of the film. Film as a social history approach includes issues such as, gender, racial, political, and environmental. For example, the feminist film theory conveys a negative approach toward women. As shown in movies, women are considered eye-candy, sexual, dumb, and have no authority. Laura Mulvey even coined the term that women are the “male gaze” of cinema. In result, the Bechdel Test was created; if a movie did not have at least two major female characters that interacted besides talking about men,
Over centuries of children have been enjoying the classic fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. The fanciful plots and the vivid details allow children to be entranced by characters and adventures that can only be found in these stories. One of the most beloved fairy tales, which both the Perrault and the Grimms have their own separate versions of, is Cinderella. Cinderella is able to show how both versions are able to feed off the same plots while personifying the century and social economic situation in which they have lived.
A young girl is forced to live with her step-mother and step-sisters after her father and mother die. She becomes the maid of the family, tending to their every need. Eventually there is a ball; she acquires a fairy Godmother, goes to the ball, falls in love with the prince, blah blah blah. All you really need to know is that she has a happy ending. A happy ending. No matter how much suffering she went through in her early years, at the end, it all came together and she had no more worries. And this is the problem. Cinderella is not realistic. It never was and never will be. Watching this movie when I was young made me believe there was a prince waiting for me somewhere. I grew up thinking that life was simple and uncomplicated, that I did not need to worry about the future because there was a man that would provide everything I wanted and needed. But as I got older, I realized this was not the case. I saw many of my friend’s parents divorce, people die, and the world fight with each other. My fantasy died off, and I realized I had to work hard for myself, and not others. The poem Cinderella by Anne Sexton made fun of the ending of Cinderella. She states, “Cinderella and the prince / lived … happily ever after … / their darling smiles pasted on for eternity. / Regular Bobbsey Twins. / That story.” (Sexton 11). Notice who she referenced and how she has a sarcastic tone. Cinderella and the prince smiled for others, trying to convince
The documentary Miss Representation identifies the numerous ways women are misrepresented in the media, including in news, advertisements, movies, and television. The title Miss Representation emphasizes that the way we portray women in the media is a misrepresentation, as in it does not do women justice and oftentimes, has a negative impact on the perception of women. Frequently in the media, women lack leading roles and complexity, are held to an unrealistic standard of beauty, and are subject to objectification and beautification (Newsom, 2011). These misrepresentations lay the groundwork for gender socialization, and therefore, shape how women perceive themselves and are perceived by others.
Anne Sexton’s poem “Cinderella” is filled with literary elements that emphasize her overall purpose and meaning behind this satirical poem. Through the combination of enjambment stanzas, hyperboles, satire, and the overall mocking tone of the poem, Sexton brings to light the impractical nature of the story “Cinderella”. Not only does the author mock every aspect of this fairy tale, Sexton addresses the reader and adds dark, cynical elements throughout. Sexton’s manipulation of the well-known fairy tale “Cinderella” reminds readers that happily ever after’s are meant for storybooks and not real life.
Movies, TV programs have been a major part of our life entertainment, as watching films in the cinema or on the living room couch with friends or families at leisure, while actually, the impact that the movies and TV programs have on this society has already reached further than just entertainment. Some people might conceive that the movies are just made for divertissement, which should not be taken seriously, and that a movie needs stereotyped characters to make it looks interesting, representative, and attractive. However, the fact is a diametrically opposite that the so-called entertainment media is exactly molding people’s mind and attitude towards social issues and towards the
The prince picked her up and off they went to the palace to get married. The aunt and her daughters gasped in surprise and asked ?you were that beautiful girl at the ball?? ?See I knew it was something about that girl hum!? said tiphisha ?why those things do always happen to weird people? Why?? moya said sobbing. The prince and Cindy got married and lived happily ever after.
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.
This movie follows the relationship of the two main characters from the time Léon saves Mathilda's life against his better judgment. This event causes both of their lives to take a detour that ends up giving meaning to both of their existences. She is trapped living in a dysfunctional family environment with an abusive father and step-mother, a hateful step-sister and her quite little brother with only a dismal outlook on her future. She is a precocious young girl who's life seems to have several parallels with the Cinderella story. Léon is a stoic, uneducated and an unremorseful killer that is totally unemotional and unattached to the world around him. He becomes the prince that saves her.