Presentation of Lara Croft in the Film Tomb Raider

Presentation of Lara Croft in the Film Tomb Raider

Women have always had a certain classification in society. You can

call it discrimination if you like. This discrimination went on for

quite a while and as a result women were not given chances to do a lot

of things from jobs to education. But now things have changed,

especially in the world of films. Previously you would see a man

saving a woman repeatedly from the hands of an evil monster. Yet

nowadays, it's the women who are in control - saving the men from the

hands of gangsters. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) proves my point. She

takes full advantage of the opportunity she has and does it well.

Women usually have conventional roles in films. They are portrayed as

being beautiful, weak and always in distress - having to be saved by a

'knight in shining armour' (Melanie Lewis, Women in the world of

films).

When we first see Lara, she's wearing a black bikini, which is very

sexy and revealing. In the past women were meant to be virginal and

wearing white which meant that she was a good girl and men would

respect her. But on the other hand, if she was wearing black she would

have been seen as being evil and perverse. The writer has totally

broken the stereotype for the role of Lara.

Another stereotype the writer reverses is when Lara gets into the boat

and says "Hello boys. You're all wet". Now this would usually be a

line of a male. It is a stereotypical sexual fantasy for men to see

women in wet clothing. It sticks to their bodies revealing their body

parts. If you watch the movie closely, you'll see that when Lara makes

that remark, she has a big grimace on her face and it's...

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...appearance is big and strong with muscles. It is a real

big shame because nowadays, it is like women have to look masculine to

be respected in their profession. This is also another reason why I

admire this film. Lara does not look masculine at all. In fact, I did

not see any muscles on her at all. Yet as virtuous as this film is, I

do not believe that the message has got across the people of today.

This sexism still goes on in our society today, even in our classrooms

where you would have a teacher say something like "I need a couple of

'strong boys' to come and help me do something". Honestly I do not see

why women can't be strong and feminine at the same time. Lara Croft

(Tomb Raider) 'The cradle of life' has supplied me with a different

outlook on women in the world of action films. I would recommend it to

anybody.