During a review by Vox, of the gender biases in Hollywood that were reported by the data visualization website Polygraph, over 2,000 movies underwent scrutiny in determining why men have more dialogue in movies, even in those that are supposed to be focused on the lead female characters. In what was stated to be one of the largest analyses of script reviews of all time, it was determined that the male characters within the study overrule women in over 78% of the analyzed films. This was concluded through a cross-analysis of character information such as name, gender, and age, with the information reported by the popular movie database, IMDB. The results of their study are astonishing. In the 2,005 screenplays across all movie genres that were reviewed by Polygraph, only two movies were delivered 100% by the lead female character. Conversely, the male dominated list has not only the largest number of results; …show more content…
To prove their point, Vox used an opposing histogram graph of the top five characters by number of lines in the film, through the start of the film to the end of the film. In the data provided, three of the five characters were male actors who managed to overrule the two female roles, including the lead character throughout the entire film. Through a descriptive analysis without the use of any support through visual graphs, Vox went on to highlight some of their additional findings in review of the age gap problem in Hollywood. The percentile data provided still managed to provide a clear understanding of their results. For instance, male characters over 42 years old dominated the dialogue across any other age in 44% of all films surveyed by Polygraph; while only 23% of female characters aged 42 and over had an equivalent amount of
The film “Think like a Man” directed by Tim Story, centres around four best friends whose lives are shaken up when the women they are pursuing buy the book “Act like a Lady, Think like a Man”, written by Steve Harvey, and start taking his advice to heart. When the men find out about the book, they conspire to use its information in order to turn the tables against the women (Rotten Tomatoes , 2012). While watching this film, I noticed that it continuously emphasised gender inequality, in relationships and in an economic sense, as a discourse of human nature. Throughout the film, the viewer is exposed to scenes where, for a woman, stating that you have a successful career and earn six figures is a turn off as opposed to the fact that if it were a man, it would be considered a good thing. Other scenes are of how men and women differ in how they perceive relationships to be. For example, when the main female character believes she is starting a relationship with a man, the man actually sees it as a one night stand. In this essay, it is important to understand that human nature is a set of assumptions about motives, in an emotional and mental capacity, and psychic mechanisms which are considered as universal traits and characteristics possessed by all individuals living in human societies, whether they are civilized or primitive, modern or ancient (Wrong, 1963). In other words, by human nature, I refer to traits and characteristics expressed by individuals which are purely natural to humanity in any given context (Turnbull, 1973). How this became human nature, gender inequality, can be explained through examining how gender differences and stereotyping was formed, through biological phenomenon, as well as external, cultural, factors. ...
This study intended to observe the behavior of characters in Disney movies in order to examine their potential influence on the development of gender roles in society’s youth. First, we were interested in determining whether or not, Disney products do in fact contain characters that portray gender stereotypical behaviors as has been discovered in previous studies. If we were able to determine that stereotypical gender behaviors are present in Disney tales, then we would like to build off of previous studies. Therefore, next we attempted to analyze whether the characters in these movies have any fluidity in their behavior in that is either gender more likely to cross over and exhibit
...ue to the fact that she is so concerned with the gender aspect that she overlooks the reasons for keeping the categories separate. By having separate categories a male and female staring in the same film are both eligible to win an award, something that would be impossible if the categories were merged. She also disregards the fact that merging the two categories would lead to fewer nominees, which would force both male and female actors to be left out of the nominations. Her background in Women’s studies further impacts the overall effectiveness of this argument. Many readers may disregard the entire article because they feel that she is just using it as a means to promote Women’s rights. On the other hand, people who firmly believe in gender equality may be more inclined to accept her argument, even if they could care less about having separate categories.
A very diverse, broad, and extensive industry is the filmmaking industry. However, the unique aspect of the industry is that it is so expansive in all of the different categories and types of movies, but yet each film is individualized. A certain characteristic of a movie may appeal to one person and not another. Such characteristics may not only appeal to an individual but to a certain group of people. Could it be that characteristics of a film appeal to either the male gender or the female gender? Is there a difference in the category of movie that a male chooses as opposed to one that a female chooses? Such questions prove to be very interesting and ponderous. Upon thinking of such questions, I decided to revolve my research paper around the two concepts of movies and gender. My hypothesis for this research paper is “In determining a movie to watch, college-age males choose action and adventure movies while females of the same age choose romance or romantic comedy movies”. I feel that this topic is very interesting because many items today are marketed towards a specific gender. This can be viewed and noticed in such items as clothing, motor vehicles, and certain hobbies. This pattern may just as well carry over into the film industry. If it does, it may be reflected by the category of movie a certain gender selects to watch. Therefore, my thesis is: By used of an observation, a survey, an interview, and a personal history, I will prove that men choose action movies and women choose romance/romantic comedy movies because each gender relates to a different characteristic found in each type of movie.
on how Gender Inequality on TV and in Movies has a Powerful Impact on Kids." Wall
The movie “Fried Green Tomatoes,” Evelyn Couch visits a nursing home with her husband to see an elderly relative from her husband’s side. However, Evelyn’s husband’s side of the family is not fond of Evelyn so she waits in the sitting room for her husband to finish his visit. While waiting for her husband to finish up his visit with his relative she meets an elderly woman named Ninny. Ninny begins to talk to Evelyn and starts to recount about her sister-in-law Idgie who changed her life around and became an owner of a small Alabama café. Also Ninny mentions that Idgie shared a strong bond with her friend Ruth, who was completely the opposite of Idgie. However, a lifelong friendship formed from the differences the two had. Evelyn becomes inspired to change her life for the better after hearing all of Ninny’s stories. In the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes,” there were a significant amount of gender stereotypes throughout the film that can offend women in today’s society.
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
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.
Gender roles are something that society has only more recently brought to light, by the standards of basic human history. However, despite the every lasting desire for equality between men and women, the role of the man has been more dominant in a leadership or heroic role in entertainment business for as long as anyone can remember. This is clear in all forms of art and entertainment forms, from cartoons such as Superman to many historically famous books, like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, that the reader/viewer sees a man taking on the major role as the entertainment purpose of the story. This is also evident in the 1956 science fiction thriller Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as the basic plotline follows a man out to save the world that
As children, people watch all sorts of animated cartoons and entertaining TV shows. Children look for a good laugh and parents look for something partially educational. Of course, as young children, they do not pay attention to the true meaning behind the story or even look at the way the different characters are portrayed. Even more obvious, children do not pay any sort of attention to the differences between the male and female characters or the differences in the ways the genders are portrayed. But, as children grow older they learn to analyze simple things such as movies and TV shows more closely. When people do analyze more closely, they often find a different way to look at the same TV show or film. A good example of a movie that includes many details which are often overlooked, but can later be analyzed to uncover a hidden meaning, is the film Finding Nemo.
Critics have warned the public audience about Disney programming’s affect on the “invasion and control of children’s imagination” (Ross 5). These movies express the typical gender roles “such as males being physically strong, assertive, and athletic, and females being prone to overt emotion, inc...
Whenever you're watching a movie or a sitcom there always seems to be some form of stereotype incorporated within their concept, it could be either good or bad. The cultures that are associated with this assignment are Latin and Greek American cultures which has four screenings. The four movies include Fools Rush In, The Wedding Planner, Dora the Explorer, which are a part of the Latin American Culture, My Big Fat Greek Wedding which was a part of the Greek American culture. In the movie Fools Rush In, you see a fiery latina played by Salma Hayek who comes from a very religious family, her family is also very big and when they celebrate they go all out just so they can have some fun. Isabel’s love interest Alex is from a completely different
This research can be used to further research in scholarship on Star Wars, femininity in non-feminine film genres, and low culture media impact on children. In addition, this research can be applied to the creative processes involved in film making. Smith et al.’s study on gender related portrayals has previously shown that males being shown more frequently in film than females may lead to the belief in young girls that their stories are not as important as that of their male counterparts (2010, 775). If referred to prior to or during the script writing process, this research will show the effects that non-gender role stereotyped characters like Rey have on young girls and may lead to the creation and inclusion of more characters like her. Furthermore, it will provide evidence that Star Wars and genres like science fiction have a potential fan-base among children and adolescent
The films Shaun of Dead and Hot Fuzz directed by Edgar Wright on the surface appear to be comedic genre films. However, they are not simply parodies, but rather satires of social discourses reproduced by the film genres. One of the most prevalent theme in these films is the focus on male relationsh...
Johnson R. Kimberly, and Holmes M. Bjarne. "Contradictory Messages: A Content Analysis of Hollywood-Produced Romantic Comedy Feature Films." Communication Quarterly 57 (2009): 1-22. Print.