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Media and gender ideologies
Women in a patriarchal society
Female in mass media
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Recommended: Media and gender ideologies
The Transformation of Women in a Male Dominated World
An Analysis of “Mr. Robot” and “Game of Thrones”
It can be argued that the consequences of patriarchal ideologies on society forces women to change the way they interact in positions of power. “Mr. Robot” is a drama about hackers, written in a time when producers are notorious for taking liberties to make the mundane, time-consuming work of hacking appealing and attractive to a jaded audience. However, since its debut, “Mr. Robot” has earned much praise for its creator Sam Esmail’s devotion to accuracy and his dedication to its realistic handling of technology, but one underappreciated aspect of the show is how “Mr. Robot” treats its female characters, as well as how it analyzes the kind
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In a radically different world, “Game of Thrones” takes place in a medieval land, where kings, queens, lords, ladies, warriors, knights, servants, priests, priestesses and prostitutes all play a role in a political battle of wills, but its hard to ignore the harsh reality of life for women in Westeros. Both shows depict the struggle of women navigating their way through a male dominated world and the lose of their morals and virtues along the way. (Thomas)
In “Mr. Robot” one of the lead female protagonists is Angela Moss. She is Elliot’s best friend, working alongside him as a cyber security worker at one of the largest businesses in America. She is a tall and beautiful blonde and her physical appearance sways the audience’s first perception of her. She is not only cunning, but defiantly resilient. She endures intense sexism at her workplace. When Angela discovers a scandal at her job, she meets
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Their experiences do not make them sympathetic to women, with the mentality that if they survived and manipulated and came out on top, then other women must as well. The more power Cersei gains, the more vulnerable she feels, and she sees enemies in every shadow. She has been playing the game of manipulation her entire life, and she knows that everyone is waiting for the chance to beat her. The truth is she has been playing the game, and become so paranoid, because she is a woman. Not because women are naturally more inclined towards manipulation and other sneaky means, or any such nonsense like that, but because these are the only paths to power she has available to her. She must use her brains, and beauty, and her manipulative schemes and puppeteering to fulfil her pursuit for power, because if she ever went for the direct approach she would be shoved aside. (William
Over the course of time, the roles of men and women have changed dramatically. As women have increasingly gained more social recognition, they have also earned more significant roles in society. This change is clearly reflected in many works of literature, one of the most representative of which is Plautus's 191 B.C. drama Pseudolus, in which we meet the prostitute Phoenicium. Although the motivation behind nearly every action in the play, she is glimpsed only briefly, never speaks directly, and earns little respect from the male characters surrounding her, a situation that roughly parallels a woman's role in Roman society of that period. Women of the time, in other words, were to be seen and not heard. Their sole purpose was to please or to benefit men. As time passed, though, women earned more responsibility, allowing them to become stronger and hold more influence. The women who inspired Lope de Vega's early seventeenth-century drama Fuente Ovejuna, for instance, rose up against not only the male officials of their tiny village, but the cruel (male) dictator busy oppressing so much of Spain as a whole. The roles women play in literature have evolved correspondingly, and, by comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Wife of Bath's Prologue, we can see that fictional women have just as increasingly as their real-word counterparts used gender differences as weapons against men.
...that so much of the discourse is centered on women within fictional workplace sitcoms like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Murphy Brown, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation, I will examine how gender stratification in the fictional realm is a reflection of the real life gender stratification that continues today. I will examine case studies by reputable scholars that reflect gender preference of the people in positions of power at work as well as the reasons why. I will also review scholarly journals that discuss the expectations of gender roles, and how women are shamed or stigmatized for succeeding at tasks that are generally assumed to me masculine. This section will offer an explanation as to why successful, career oriented; females in positions of power are still preferred to stay within traditional gender roles, whether it is in real life or reflected on television.
As depicted through countless novels, there were two main female roles in society and neither created much opportunity for females. Whether a woman was a humble housewife or a mysterious mistress, there was controversy in every aspect of both roles. These roles also placed females in oppressive relationships that almost always decreased the qualities of honesty and loyalty that are necessary in relationships. From the beginning of the twentieth century all the way up until now, the treatment of females thrust into these roles has caused controversy and problems in countless marriages and throughout our society.
Game of Thrones is a fantasy piece, set during the medieval times, which takes place in a country called Westeros. Although it is set in a different time and place than where we are today, the show still has the same constructs, and built by the same fabrics that define our gender roles here in America. This show is a great example of gender roles, and what happens when people follow these rules or stray from them. Taking an in depth view of the season one opener, “Winter is Coming” helps reveal many of the social constructs not typically thought of that build our daily lives. This episode also portrays that gender roles are not just dependent on sex, but on social class, and physical characteristics.
The role of women in The Heart of Darkness is at first seen as one that is very much a backseat role to that of a man’s in the empirical
It is very common for several TV shows or movies to reflect real life society, depending on what genre. Game of Thrones, a TV adaptation of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series depicts our society very well; despite the fact that it takes place in a fantasy medieval-like land, called Westeros. This show puts an emphasis on both gender and sexuality, with men being dominant in that society while women are often referred to as the inferior. It also includes several double standards for men and women and comprises compulsory heterosexuality. The show also heavily focuses on class and social stratification: the differences between two of the main classes in the
While neither Machiavelli’s The Prince nor Shakespeare’s Henry V focus explicitly on gender roles, they both make assumptions and implications sufficient to illustrate their opinions about the nature and place of women in relation to men. In Machiavelli’s The Prince, men and women are depicted in traditional gender roles with women as tricky and unreliable, but ultimately yielding to men who are portrayed as tough and immovable. Shakespeare’s Henry V acknowledges these ideas, but also portrays women as able to influence events within the small domain they are given.
In Feminism and Fairy Tales, Karen E. Rowe asserts that “popular folktales” have “shaped our romantic expectations” and “illuminate psychic ambiguities which often confound contemporary women.” She believes that “portrayals of adolescent waiting and dreaming, patterns of double enchantment, and romanticizations of marriage contribute to the potency of fairy tales” makes “many readers discount obvious fantasy elements and fall prey to more subtle paradigms through identification with the heroine.” As a result, Karen Rowe contends “subconsciously women may transfer from fairy tales into real life cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues suggest that culture’s very survival depends upon a woman’s acceptance of roles which relegate her to motherhood and domesticity.” It is undeniable that numerous folk tales implant male chauvinism into women’s minds and thus convey an idea that woman should obey and depend on men. However, Rowe neglects the aspect that many other folk tales, on the contrary, disclose the evil and vulnerable sides of man and marriage and thus encourage women to rely on their own intelligence and courage other than subordinating to man. The Fairy tales “Beauty and Beast” and “Fowler’s Fowl” challenge Rowe’s thesis to some extent and exemplify that some fairy tales motivate women to be intelligent and courageous and to challenge patriarchy.
Traditional female characteristics and female unrest are underscored in literary works of the Middle Ages. Although patriarchal views were firmly established back then, traces of female contempt for such beliefs could be found in several popular literary works. Female characters’ opposition to societal norms serves to create humor and wish- fulfillment for female and male audiences to enjoy. “Lanval” by Marie De France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer both show subversion of patriarchal attitudes by displaying the women in the text as superior or equal to the men. However, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” also incorporates conventional societal ideas by including degradation of women and mistreatment of a wife by her husband.
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
The context in which the show is set is argued to to have an influence on the depiction. It takes place in Medieval Europe, although a fantasy version. Martin detailed on how the book and series reflects the patriachal society, "The Middle Ages were not a time of sexual egalitarianism. It was very classist, dividing people into 3 classes. And they had strong ideas about the role of women." The argument in relation to sexism in Game Of Thrones is not simplistic. The show has been widely critisized for its frequent nudity and sexual violence against women. Despite the critique, some of the strongest characters on the show are female. In the sense that they are often rebelling against the systematic and hegemonic abuse of the society. Brienne of Tarth defies the typical gender roles in the society. When introduced to the series, it is not made immediately obvious what gender Brienne Of Tarth is; she is a skilled swordsmen, having bested Jamie Lannister and self admitted rapist Sendor Clegane, who perfers chainmail to silk. Arya Stark is similar in taking up an interest in sword fighting from a young age and despite later losing most of her family, she is nobodys ' victim. In addition to that, Danerys Targaryean is one of the most iconic characters on the show, who is female. She was first introduced as a victim as she was sold into a warlord 's marriage bed, but however, she ended up outliving him and conquering numerous cities that were previously involved in slave trade. Cersei Lannister is a complex character that also challenges the patriachy. She is incredibly power but being female seems to stand in her way at every turn. She tells Sansa once that she could not understand how when she and Jaime were children, he got to go off and be a knight whilst she was stuck learning how to sing, curtsey and please. It is interesting as to how she responds to this; Cersei
Don Draper, the protagonist of the show, is emotionally isolated yet narcissistic, trapped in a suffocation of his own ego. Yet he seems to be the most liberal when it comes to serious female contribution in the workplace, although continues to sexualise those who haven’t proved their worthy capabilities to him. He is able to view Peggy and Joan as women who have alternative purposes than to please his sexual desires. Despite this modernist ‘transition’ of observing woman in a new light, he is still the one who gets to make the decision of what use each female character is to him. The male characters expectantly possess the dominating role within the show, as they did in 1960s society. In Mad Men, everyone chain-smokes, every executive starts drinking before lunch, every man is a chauvinistic pig, every male employee viciously competitive and jealous of his colleagues, with the endless succession of leering junior execs and crude jokes and abusive behaviour. (Mendelsohn, 2011, 5) The men are consumed within the competitive environment of the advertisement agency, adultery, drinking and smoking just accessories to the life-style of the alpha male. The female characters are ultimately more complex because they have less freedom.
A nameless servant, bed mate to a war hungry lord, waits for her husband’s return; this is the average interpretation a modern day woman will have of women of the Middle Ages. As a woman of the Old English era, many believe that the influence of women was not valued. However, the relevance of culture is an important factor in the address of the typical female figure. While old tales depict more negative views on women such as, adulterous, hags or servants; females actually served a much greater and accepted purpose. Although it is inevitable that some women were not pardoned by men due to their discrepancies toward them, most women maintained dignity within the household. In the story of Beowulf the accepted roles of women revolve around remaining loyal and serving men.
Oprah Winfrey, Diane Sawyer, and J.K. Rowling are some of the most influential and powerful people in America. These women are known for how they exude their confidence and independence. This is contradictory to how women were perceived during the Renaissance. The women of this time period were given no rights and had no power to do anything. In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the female characters are presented as strong women, who are not confined to the ideal woman position of the Renaissance and serve as independent characters.
Throughout time and across many cultures, women have had the lowest status in society. In a patriarchal world, women have consistently been viewed as weaker and inferior to men. As a result, it is no surprise that men have found themselves in places of power and admiration. However, this does not mean that society completely neglects the impact of women; in Greek lore, women take on passive yet important roles, weaving the destinies and doom of many men and earning themselves a reputation as banes of manipulation and deception. Negative as that portrayal may seem, other societies have defined the roles of their women differently. Anglo-Saxons also flaunted the heroics of their men, as exemplified