How do female directors portray female characters within the Romance genre in relation to their portrayal as a whole?
In our modern day society, it would be fair to say that media has largely influenced our perception of ourselves and others. This global medium has for years showcased idealistic qualities and values and moulded the way in which the public functions, whether it is through print media, television, radio or film. With an estimated ---- hours spent watching movies a ----, it is hardly surprising that the film industry is one of the largest today, bringing in 9? million annually in the UK alone, and therefore playing the leading role in the unbalanced and unfair portrayal of women today. Apart from their dominance on screen, men also comprised 76% of all directors, writers, producers, cinematographers and editors in 2014-2015 indicating that there must be a link between stereotyped gender roles and the heavy male creative team. Therefore, understanding whether female directors challenge these gender roles by creating multidimensional, independent female characters can help conclude whether more females in the industry can fully eradicate these stereotypes.
In 2013, ------- Southern California University conducted a study in attempt to break down the 100 top grossing films of that year and decide whether the portrayal of women was fair and balanced. As concluded by similar studies they conducted in previous years this was not the case with only 29.2% female characters out of the 4,506 speaking characters studied. These figures suggest that the average ratio of male to female characters is 2.43 : 1 with only 2% of films featuring more female than male characters. It appears that the percentage of balanced casts, 16%...
... middle of paper ...
...fe back into ---, he teaches her about the "--- marriage" And it would be unfair to say that the two are simply friends or simply lovers as their relationship is an innocent and pure combination of both. They support and need each other during their 9sleepless nights but also deep down feel a connection with the other person.
On the surface, some would argue that Coppola has made a film that is "longer on atmosphere and observation than on story"( Ty Burr) and still portrats Charlotte in a way that supports the Male Gaze. The establishing shot consists of Johanson lying on her side in see-through underwear facing away from the audience, here the cinematography objectifies her and presents her as passive which is seen thorugout he film as Johanson walks around waring underwear and a tee-shirt. The costume choices aid to present Charlotte in her sexualtised form
It is not often that a strong and significant female character is introduced in a movie and/or book as the main character. Pan’s Labyrinth, though not the typical fairy tale, introduces the viewer to three females that prove controversial and necessary to the plot, which passes the Bechdel Test, designed to identify gender bias in the media. There is Carmen, the loving mother, Ofelia, the supposed princess/innocent girl, and then there is Mercedes, Captain Vidal’s maid and rebel spy. These three women show different portrayals, different characterizations, of how women should defy the gender bias in films.
Today’s culture sees a gap between the male and female gender. This is evident in everything from the films we watch, music we listen to, and even in our everyday lives. Historically, this issue has seen an even larger gap, and can be observed in the films that were made during that time. Vertigo and Citizen Kane both show the objectification of women by controlling them, writing them in supportive roles, and placing their value in the way that they look.
Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is
Considering that traditional society looked down on women as inferior to men, the female roles in each work challenge the status quo and make their audiences’ eyes wearier to the society they might have previously backed without question.
Movies are a big part of people’s lives; everyone has a favorite movie, or set of movies. They have impacted people’s lives since they were first made, and continue to do so today. In recent years, movies have cast women to play the roles of heroes. Although women have been playing heroic roles recently, they have always been role models in movies, which have set examples for future generations, empowered women, and have shed light on the feminist movement in the U.S.
Leaper, Breed, Hoffman, and Perlman (2002) reiterates Junn (1997) findings that compared to women, men are overrepresented (Leaper, Breed, Hoffman, & Perlman, 2002). Leaper et al. conducted a time-based structured observational study by evaluating a total of 12 different child target television shows. They selected 3 shows from each of the following categories: traditional adventure, nontraditional adventure, comedy, and educational/family (Leaper et al, 2002). In addition, Leaper et al examined the number of characters in each film while also looking at the amount of time each character exhibited predetermined behaviors (talking fear, negative, physical aggression, victim, romantic, directive, politeness, and support) throughout the show (Leaper et al., 2002). At the conclusion of the study, Leaper et al. reaffirmed that female characters are underrepresented. In addition, however, Leaper et al. found that one genre, traditional adventure (“emphasizing a central male hero”) was more likely to contain gender stereotypical behaviors (Leaper et al., 2002, p. 1655). Ultimately, Leaper et al.’s conclusion can suggest to children that male characters’ overrepresentation in child-targeted media is because men are at the top of the hierarchy and are more important in society than women (Leaper et al.,
Decades ago Katha Pollitt realized there were not enough women is the television industry and preschool aged children were the ones being effected the most. From Pollitt’s article the Smurfette principle was developed and spread worldwide. This principle has helped lead the way for women in the media, but has it been enough? In her dissertation about how female characters are represented in Hollywood, Reema Dutt (2013) points out that “Animated children’s films tend to focus on male characters, with females as ancillary accessories...” Young girls are the most impressionable at the preschool age, yet Hollywood allowed men to dominate the big screen for so many years. Dutt (2013) goes on to explain “This is particularly disappointing given the fact that these films target impressionable children, who are being fed normative and antiquated portrayals of women at a young age.” Pollitt’s outlook was not erroneous, however the differences in television between 1991 and 2016 are astounding. There are twenty three years between Pollitt’s article and Dutt’s dissertation and many aspects still hold true. Over those years there has been much headway made for women in television. According to a study in HuffPost Women Nina Bahadur (2012) reported that “…44.3 percent of females were gainfully employed — compared with 54.5 percent of
Smith, Jeff, and Chloe Beighley. "Normalizing Male Dominance: Gender Representation in 2012 Films." Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy. N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
natural form isn’t good enough to play their roles. Women in movies discuss how finding a
Some people might say that these movies provide entertainment and transport families into the lives of princes and princesses. Many critics have said that the films have amazing soundtracks and have detailed and interesting plots. Still, however entertaining the films may be, the way women are viewed and treated outweigh any enjoyment that a viewer could have. The subliminal lessons young women learn from these films have lifelong repercussions and negatively affect the female
Williams, Linda. "Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess." Braudy and Cohen (1991 / 2004): 727-41. Print.
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.
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. 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. This was an astonishing change for the American industry of film. Sometime later, in 1984, Linda Hamilton starred in ‘The Terminator’, a film where she was not the leading character, but a strong female character as Sarah Connor. She had a combination of masculine and feminine qualities as “an androgynous superwoman, resourceful, competent and courageous, while at the same time caring, sensitive and intuitive” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47). These changes made in action films for female’s roles stirred up a lot of excitement in the “Western society” (Starlet, 2007). The demand for strong female characters in action films grew to a new high when Angelina Jolie starred in ‘Tomb Raider’ in 2001 and then in the sequel, ‘Tomb Raider II: The Cradle of Life’ in 2003 as Lara Croft. Her strong female character was not only masculine, but was also portrayed as a sex object. Most often, strong women in these types of films tend to fight without even gaining a mark. At the end of each fight, her hair and makeup would always be perfect. The female characters in these action films, whether their role was as the lead character or a supporting character, had similar aspects. I...
Contrary to popular believe, gender is referred to the attitudes, behaviours and emotions linked with a specific sexual group. There are two dominant perspectives that illustrate two different viewpoints of gender inequality. The functionalist perspective, by Talcott Parsons, believed that both men and women possess specific qualities that make them excellent at specific events, and these qualities are not interchangeable (Brym, 2014). The Marxist-Feminist perspective; however, viewed qualities for men and women as to being dependent on social conditions rather than being inherited (2014). In order to further illustrate the presence of gender inequality in the present society; the film Missrepresentation, by Jennifer Newsom reveals the lack of female presence in lead or authoritative roles in media, in comparison to men (Newsom, 2011).
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 ...