In modern times, the idea of a successful career woman is not unheard of as some of the most successful people in the world are women. Women have dominated in a range of different careers such as world leaders, CEO’s and managing directors of major companies, actors, singers and journalists, but the idea of the successful career woman is still seen as a threat to masculinity and the ideals that the second wave of feminism challenged but the underrepresentation of women within the film industry has lead to, with the exception of the romantic comedy genre, most mainstream Hollywood films catering to men. This notion of the lack of female representation in Hollywood was defined as the “celluloid ceiling”, referring to the metaphor “glass ceiling” for the barrier that keeps …show more content…
A 2014 study, Women’s Leadership by the Numbers by Judith Warner found that although American women hold more than half of jobs and earn almost more than 60% of undergraduate degrees, they fall far behind men when it comes to representation in leadership roles. A Man’s (Precarious) Place: Men’s Experienced Threat and Self-Assertive Reactions to Female Superiors (Netchaeva, Kouchaki and Sheppard, 2015) found that male subordinates felt threatened by their female superiors and the high level of implicit threat causes men to demand higher salaries during negotiations with female managers and that men who have been made to feel emasculated in some way are later more likely to sexually harass a woman. These findings match that of a 2007 study, by Jennifer L. Berdahl, that concluded that sexual harassment is “primarily targeted at women who violate gender ideals” and it is this harassment that fuels the discrimination which keeps men and women separate, and ultimately, unequal at
Throughout time, women in movies and other similar texts are shown to be generally focused on men. This might make sense if every movie ever made was set in a time where women had absolutely no rights but of course, that is not the case. Older and more modern depictions of women in media, both show women whose lives revolve around men. Even movies that market their female characters as strong and powerful are still shown to be dependent on the male leads and puts them first. Also, since women in movies have more of a focus on men, female to female relationships suffer in the same films. There are very few exceptions to this unfortunate truth.
Film making has gone through quite the substantial change since it’s initial coining just before the turn of the 19th century, and one would tend argue that the largest amount of this change has come quite recently or more so in the latter part of film’s history as a whole. One of the more prominent changes having taken place being the role of women in film. Once upon a time having a very set role in the industry, such as editing for example. To mention briefly the likes of Dede Allen, Verna Fields, Thelma Schoonmaker and so forth. Our female counterparts now occupy virtually every aspect of the film making industry that males do; and in many instances excel past us. Quite clearly this change has taken place behind the lens, but has it taken
Since this winter, I can't watch television or movies anymore without critiquing how women and minorities are portrayed. One unexpected thing that I have picked up from taking this class is a sense of wariness when I counter any piece of written material. I have learned to be suspicious, if not directly critical of any particular part of the media as I experience it; I have been inspired to read and be influenced by some prolific female thinkers. It's all coming together for me, what I want to do; I just have to figure out how.
I was listening to an Elvis interview recently and the radio deejay asked Elvis who his favorite male actor in Hollywood was. He responded, fairly quickly, with three or four names and could list even more. He talked about the movies they were in and how great they were. The deejay then asked him who his favorite actress in Hollywood was. Elvis sat, pondered, and stumbled for a good minute before he listed only one leading lady. A moment later Elvis talked about how great a couple more women in films were, with ease. As if he suddenly remembered all the wonderful women in film, many of whom he had worked with. This is a reinforcement of the fact that ladies in Hollywood are less frequent than males. In actual movies and in the public knowledge.
The search for equality within the film industry has been very much a subject of contention over the years, and even now, is still a source struggle for all women within the industry. Whether women are actors or producers, directors or screenwriter, behind-the-scenes or talent, they knew that their dream of making it in the world of filmmaking will come with many obstacles. They would have to work twice as hard as men, only to be payed less than the majority of them.
In an article by Lisa Mooney about tension in the workplace, Mooney explains that there are many signs of sexual harassment in a place of business such as, the language men use towards their female co-workers, by referring to them as “ladies, babes or gals”, refers to there being a gender bias in the environment. Also if a man makes lots of physical contact with a co-worker of the opposite sex, there is an underlying assumption that he wants to have sexual contact with that person. All of these things and more make for tension for everyone around and also start cases of sexual harassment. Another form of tension is the power struggle between a female with a higher position than another male co-worker. If that woman is a no nonsense type of boss, then she is labeled as an evil boss rather than her just doing her job. These are some of the reasons it’s hard for a women to have and keep a job in the corporate world and why women everyday are fighting for better rights not only in the everyday real world but also just in the
Do you think the traditional limitations of gender been challenged in this film? In this film the traditional gender limitations have been overcome. The gender conventions have been manipulated as the main character changes roles from a female to a male to prove a point. What I really wanted to show was how individuals, males and females are socially accepted by society through the stereotypes, in between identity and gender identity.
Stereotypes in our society are not uncommon. We come across them every day without realizing it. It is in our human nature to create expectations of the people around us, which could be based upon their ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or other factors. Stereotypes help us categorize a vast group of people that we may not know anything about, to think that they are smaller and less intimidating. I believe that the blame for these cookie-cutter patterns can lead directly back to the media in every sense of the word. Media is all around us, and affects our opinions and ability to think for ourselves. Whether it’s the latest box office hit or the headlining news, we are getting assumptions from every point of view, which makes it hard to form our own. But I personally think that the biggest influence of our time are in the cinematic arts.
During the 1990s, feminism was flourishing like ever before through a plethora of films and through the music industry, with special efforts being made to reinforce empowerment and independence in women. Film was able to play the most influential role in doing so though, as many film directors were beginning to bring to light many of the issues women were still facing in society at the time. The repeated images and stereotypes of women depicted in films had gone on for way too long and started to see a drastic change in ‘90s Hollywood films. Many of the feminist films released during the ‘90s are deemed so influential because they still remain relevant to our present-day society and feminism. Such films were able to critique society through
Noted in Yvonne Tasker’s Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema, Goldie Hawn says this about women's role in the film business “There are only thee ages for women in Hollywood: Babe, District Attorney and Driving Miss Daisy” (1998, p. 3). While Haw...
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
Gender role in Hollywood is something that needs to be broke, by taking an all men cast movie and changing it too women it crosses a barrier that is hard to reach. It portrays that women are equivalent to men which is why it so negatively received. “Gillian Anderson and Priyanka Chopra were both suggested as possible replacements for James Bond following Daniel Craig’s retirement from the role” By even bring up that women could play a role where a very masculine man played a role as a secret agent and went through dire missions where he could have died, is crossing a barrier that America not ready for yet. In society women are still locked in the box of roles they can, and cannot play simply because they are female. They are supposed to the
Women have made progress in the film industry in terms of the type of role they play in action films, although they are still portrayed as sex objects. The beginning of “a new type of female character” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 1). 41-47) in the world of action films began in 1976 with Sigourney Weaver, who played the leading role in the blockbuster film ‘Aliens’ as Lt. Ellen Ripley. She was the captain of her own spaceship, plus she was the one who gave out all the orders. Until then, men had always been the ones giving the orders; to see a woman in that type of role was outlandish.
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 ...
Portrayal of Women in the Media Gender is the psychological characteristics and social categories that are created by human culture. Gender is the concept that humans express their gender when they interact with one another. Messages about how a male or female is supposed to act come from many different places. Schools, parents, and friends can influence a person.