Feminism In Star Wars Movies

883 Words2 Pages

The women’s suffrage movement and gender equality are things that have changed everything in our society, and changed them for the better. Compared to the past, when the role of a man and the role of a woman had a distinct difference, in today’s society the role and opportunities of both sexes in America are nearly equivalent. While when many people think of the key players in these movements as strong willed women such as Rosa Parks or national icons such as Rosie the Riveter who was a symbol for the women working in the factories during World War two, many other attributes had immense impacts on the movement. One of these attributes is pop culture, and in specifically the Star Wars movies. While they are not the most influential female characters …show more content…

She especially does this because she is the first female in the Star Wars saga who plays the role of the main character and hero. Erso shows that her strength is by all means equivalent to the strength of any males many times throughout the film, such as after successfully completing her mission of delivering the rebel alliance the plans of the death star, when accompanied by Captain Cassian Andor, when on the beach she didn’t run from the explosion of the death star, she sat there and embraced her death knowing the she was dying for a cause greater than herself. She also shows this bravery when before going into battle, she asks her fellow companions the question, “anyone not willing to risk being left behind?” (Emanuel and Edwards, 2016), showing she was willing to risk her life for the greater good. This role of the hero willing to risk everything including their life to support a cause is not typically played by a female, which is what makes Erso’s role such an influential detail of Rogue One. Erso, along with the leader of the alliance Mon Mothma, show that Women can be just as influential leaders as men can. Erso gave powerful speeches to motivate her fellow warriors to stay strong through lines such as “the time to fight is now.” and “We have hope. Rebellions are built on

Show More
Related

  • The Negative Connotation Of Women In Blade Runner

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    The film Blade Runner (1982) directed by Ridley Scott depicts women in a negative connotation. Blade Runner is considered a popular science fiction film and is seen to have shaped the genre, however, the film displays women as sex symbols and secondary characters, who are unimportant to the storyline. The film is centered around strong male leads who use their authority and power to abuse, belittle and sexualize women. The film’s misogynistic point of view gives the impression to the audience that this treatment of women is acceptable, which is offensive and completely inaccurate.

    Read More

  • Gender Theory In The Film Rebel Without A Cause

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie Rebel Without a Cause represents both gender theory and queer theory. Gender theory is how you present yourself, how do you move, small behaviors is more of a performance. The production code was in forced and forbade any mention of homosexuality. They were able to insert restrained references to Plato's homosexuality and attraction to Jim, by including the pinup photo of Alan Ladd on Plato's locker door, and Plato's adoring looks at Jim. Rebel Without a Cause is the story of a troubled new kid in town (Jim) caught in an escalating spiral of violence.

    Read More

  • Women's Roles In Disney Movie Mulalan

    285 Words  | 1 Pages

    Most children and adults come across a Disney movie whether it be Mickey and Minnie Mouse to Snow White and the seven dwarfs. Although these movies are inaccurate to represent historical events they show us the roles that were retained by genders for centuries.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Star Wars in Today´s Culture

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    Motion Pictures have always had a strong influence in today’s culture, but maybe none as prevalent as Star Wars. Originating with Episode 4 A New Hope, the series boomed from 1977 to 2005 with yet another addition coming in 2015. The strongest of the series was the original trilogy episodes 4, 5, and 6, all generally released in the 1980s. As one of the strongest film francaises still today, it’s impact within the 1980s was only the tip of the iceberg. Children and adults alike still anticipate the new edition of this seemingly endless journey. If any singular film series still holds prevalence in its future decades it is Star Wars: Original Trilogy.

    Read More

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

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Gender and Sexuality in Hollywood Films

    1553 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese was released December 25, 2013 and stars the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie. While on face value The Wolf of Wall Street looks like a film about excessive cocaine binges, long evenings filled with men with cigarettes, large portions of alcoholic consumption, having many sexual escapades with various women and even dwarf tossing from time to time, the film is deeply rooted in perception gender within the genre of The Wolf of Wall Street. The word ‘genre’ is rooted into a similar category as

    Read More

  • Have We Made Progress? Disney Films through the Decades

    2152 Words  | 5 Pages

    Is there a difference between a Carl’s Jr. Hamburger commercial featuring a scantily clad Paris Hilton and a Disney movie? Many would argue “Well, of course there is a difference!” Those looking through the lenses of feminism would see that both are highly sexualized and send a negative message to children. They teach young girls that they are only valued for what their beauty sells. In this age of technology, children are spending more and more time in front of their television. Whether it is an episode of an edgy situation comedy like Two and a Half Men or a serious, heart-to-heart episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, there is a very high chance that a child is learning about their gender role and what that entails. The trend of damaging stereotypical portrayal of women in animated films has not lessened and perpetuates poor role models for children.

    Read More

  • Miss Representation Summary

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mainstream movies are about men’s lives, and the few movies about women’s lives, at their core, still also revolve around men (Newsom, 2011). These female leads often have male love interests, looking to get married or get pregnant. Strong independent female leads are still exist for the male view, as they are hypersexualized, or the “fighting fuck toy,” (Newsom, 2011). This depiction has created a culture where women are insecure and waiting for a knight on a horse to come rescue and provide for her as well as the acceptance of women

    Read More

  • Princess Leia: A Figure of Female Empowerment

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    The portrayal of women in this film gives the impression that women are fighters and not just people who need saving, Princess Leia’s image is not defined by the other men in her party (Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker), but by her own merit. In relation the image portrayed by the men in this film, Princess Leia also possess’ some of their qualities. The governance system in the Star Wars universe, called the Empire, can easily be seen as a dominant patriarchal figure in the movie, with a predominantly male presence especially in the higher rungs (people in higher command). More women are represented in the Rebel Alliance and it is in this population that Princess Leia’s image as a feminist icon really stands out and has meaning. Not only is she a prominent figure ...

    Read More

  • Impact of Gender in Media and Film

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...role of Femininity and Masculinity come to mesh together when some films and media are analyzed with these concepts in ones forethought. While media has always been a great instrument to disseminate concepts and new technology traditional roles and concepts of society govern how and what the writer and film producer are capable of communicating to the public at any one point. A film like “The Way We Were”, intermingle the Marxist concepts of an ideological society and oscillates between femininity and masculinity of the protagonist while concentrating on the group orientation and goals. One day science, media, and history may come together to explain the formal interrogative of our roles in society, family, government and media. For me I am satisfied believing some members within the media community produce films and books for the simple intent of entertainment.

    Read More

  • Hegemonic Masculinity In Film Star Wars: The Force Awakens

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    The commonalities between the ways men are portrayed in American film can be damaging to both woman and men due to hegemonic masculinity and manhood acts. Hegemonic masculinity refers to the way that men are raised to compete to be the most masculine and use that masculinity to put themselves above others. Sharon Bird’s definition of hegemonic masculinity is “the norm to which men are held accountable despite individual conceptualizations of masculinity that depart from the norm” (Bird, 120). This idea of masculinity projects it’s ideals in three different concepts; emotional detachment, competition, and the objectification of women (Bird). Because this theme is so prevalent in American cinema,

    Read More

  • The Influence of Disney Films on Society

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    of influence in both the characters and gender roles of people in our society. The films have brought about the shaping of morals, behaviors and characters of not only children, but also adults in todays society, through engaging them in a constant series of unthinking consumption. In addition, most of the films in Disney bring out many different gender roles and people who grew up watching them have been influenced greatly by the content in the films (Blum 13). This paper will involve the various roles played by the characters in the films and how their roles have influenced the society at large.

    Read More

  • The Representation of Women in Action Films

    1897 Words  | 4 Pages

    Journal of Popular Culture, 32(2), pp. 79-89. Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&sid=64cd7df8-8ea3-4d9a-ad60-1deef7e616e6%40sessionmgr114&hid=103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=aph&AN=1585569 Starlet C. (2007). Women in action movie empowered role models or chicks with guns.

    Read More

  • Feminism and the Movie Industry

    1785 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feminism is a movement that supports women equality within society. In relation to film, feminism is what pushes the equal representation of females in mainstream films. Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist that is famous for touching on this particular issue of how men and women are represented in movies. Through her studies, she discovered that many films were portraying men and women very differently from reality. She came up with a theory that best described why there is such as huge misrepresentation of the social status quos of male and female characters. She believed that mainstream film is used to maintain the status quo and prevent the realization of gender equality. This is why films are continuously following the old tradition that males are dominant and females are submissive. This is the ideology that is always present when we watch a movie. This is evident in the films from the past but also currently. It is as if the film industry is still catering to the male viewers of each generation in the same way. Laura Mulvey points out that women are constantly being seen as sexual objects, whether it is the outfits they wear or do not wear or the way they behave, or secondary characters with no symbolic cause. She states that, “in traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote it-be-looked-at-ness.”(Mulvey pg. 715). Thus, women are nevertheless displayed as nothing more than passive objects for the viewing pleasure of the audience. Mulvey also points out through her research that in every mainstream movie, there is ...

    Read More

  • Feminism In Movies Essay

    1848 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feminist theory was derived from the social movement of feminism where political women fight for the right of females in general and argue in depth about the unequality we face today. In the aspect of cinema, feminists notice the fictitious representations of females and also, machismo. In 1974, a book written by Molly Haskell "From Reverence to Rape: The treatment of Women in Movies" argues about how women almost always play only passive roles while men are always awarded with active, heroic roles. Moreover, how women are portrayed in movies are very important as it plays a big role to the audience on how to look at a woman and how to treat her in real life due to the illusionism that cinema offers. These images of women created in the cinema shapes what an ideal woman is. This can be further explained through an article 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' written by a feminist named Laura Mulvey in 1975. She uses psychoanalysis theories by Sigmund Freud to analyze 'Scopophilia' which is the desire to see. This explains how the audience is hooked to the screen when a sexy woman is present. In a bigger picture, where Scopophilia derives from, 'Voyeurism' is also known as feeling visual pleasure when looking at another. Narcissism on the other hand means identifying one's self with the role played. It is not hard to notice that in classical cinema, men often play the active role while the women are always the object of desire for the male leads, displayed as a sexual object and frequently the damsels in distress. Therefore, the obvious imbalance of power in classical cinema shows how men are accountable to moving the narratives along. Subconsciously, narcissism occurs in the audience as they ...

    Read More

More about Feminism In Star Wars Movies

Open Document