Saturday, June 16, 2007
incomplete Essay on representation January 03b:
In the past, women have been represented as inadequately when compared with the portrayal of men. This is evident as women were once symbolic annihilated (Tuchman, 1975) meaning that women were invisible in the media. However, due to the increase in feminism; women have been able to challenge patriarchy and as a result have much more status now in society and the media then before. This is apparent in many different types of media; but then again it can be argued that although there has been an improvement it would not be fair to say women are represented equally to men.
Women are still being represented in stereotypical roles for example in the British soap Hollyoaks, Carmel is represented as the blonde bimbo. This is made clear to the audience as she is represented as attractive and popular but lacks common sense and academic intelligence. Possible reasons why she is represented in this way is because it makes it easier for the producers of the show to use as a short hand for the audience as it helps audience identify with the stereotype characters and can also give the producers the opportunities to challenge these stereotypes.
On the other hand, Monica subverts stereotypes of a typical woman as she is assertive and dominant over chandler. However, she conforms to the typical “housewife” role by her excessively cleaning; but then again this exaggeration of her cleaning obsession can be constructed to create humour for the audience. This demonstrates how sitcoms have progressed since the 1970s as Miles research states how sitcoms of the era showed equal number of men and women in them but the women representations were sexist.
Moreover, women in films are still placed in generic roles. These generic roles include the final girl in slasher films, the damsel in distress in action films and the femme fatale in film noir. A key example is Jane Greer in “Out Of the Past” (1947). The final girl in slasher films is represented with male qualities this typically includes short hair, masculine costume and not having a masculine name. An example is Laurie in “Halloween” (1978, John Carpenter). Moreover, an example of a damsel in distress in action films is the bond girl that is rescued by Bond. However, there has been a progression of this role throughout the years due to feminism as the Bond girls have develop by becoming strong characters with the resourcefulness and skills.
Women are still being represented in stereotypical roles for example in the British soap Hollyoaks, Carmel is represented as the blonde bimbo. This is made clear to the audience as she is represented as attractive and popular but lacks common sense and academic intelligence. Possible reasons why she is represented in this way is because it makes it easier for the producers of the show to use as a short hand for the audience as it helps audience identify with the stereotype characters and can also give the producers the opportunities to challenge these stereotypes.
On the other hand, Monica subverts stereotypes of a typical woman as she is assertive and dominant over chandler. However, she conforms to the typical “housewife” role by her excessively cleaning; but then again this exaggeration of her cleaning obsession can be constructed to create humour for the audience. This demonstrates how sitcoms have progressed since the 1970s as Miles research states how sitcoms of the era showed equal number of men and women in them but the women representations were sexist.
Moreover, women in films are still placed in generic roles. These generic roles include the final girl in slasher films, the damsel in distress in action films and the femme fatale in film noir. A key example is Jane Greer in “Out Of the Past” (1947). The final girl in slasher films is represented with male qualities this typically includes short hair, masculine costume and not having a masculine name. An example is Laurie in “Halloween” (1978, John Carpenter). Moreover, an example of a damsel in distress in action films is the bond girl that is rescued by Bond. However, there has been a progression of this role throughout the years due to feminism as the Bond girls have develop by becoming strong characters with the resourcefulness and skills.
Plan (June 03a)
Do stereotypes change over time? Answer with reference to specific examples.
Yes:
♥ Asians were considered hardworking but are now seen as terrorists due to September 11 attacks, London bombings- reinforces Nandy’s theory on “the other”.
♥ the role of the whore has changed as women are now allowed to have sex and is seen as more acceptable in society. However, if the women chooses to be promiscuous then she is still labelled as a “whore” this is evident in Christiana’s “can’t hold us down” song where she talks and about the disgust of the attitudes people have towards men and women and that how society still favour men.
♥ Damsel in distress has changed because bond girls over time have become more resourceful and skill full.
♥ Housewife has adapted to a certain extent women now tend to take on qualities of this role. For example Monica from FRIENDS enjoys cleaning making her conform to this role. However, her assertiveness and dominances over chandler makes her challenge this stereotype as a housewife in the pass is typically passive. Additionally, her taking on this role can be done to create humour as stereotypes create humour.
No:
♥ Women being represented as “blonde bimbos” still applies in contemporary soaps like “Hollyoaks” Carmel plays the bimbo
♥ Ladette played by Jacqui in “Hollyoaks” conforms to this role
Yes:
♥ Asians were considered hardworking but are now seen as terrorists due to September 11 attacks, London bombings- reinforces Nandy’s theory on “the other”.
♥ the role of the whore has changed as women are now allowed to have sex and is seen as more acceptable in society. However, if the women chooses to be promiscuous then she is still labelled as a “whore” this is evident in Christiana’s “can’t hold us down” song where she talks and about the disgust of the attitudes people have towards men and women and that how society still favour men.
♥ Damsel in distress has changed because bond girls over time have become more resourceful and skill full.
♥ Housewife has adapted to a certain extent women now tend to take on qualities of this role. For example Monica from FRIENDS enjoys cleaning making her conform to this role. However, her assertiveness and dominances over chandler makes her challenge this stereotype as a housewife in the pass is typically passive. Additionally, her taking on this role can be done to create humour as stereotypes create humour.
No:
♥ Women being represented as “blonde bimbos” still applies in contemporary soaps like “Hollyoaks” Carmel plays the bimbo
♥ Ladette played by Jacqui in “Hollyoaks” conforms to this role
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Plan: January 03b Representation
How does media represent a social group (women) that you have studied? Illustrate you answer with examples.
Television:
Theorist:
♥ Gunter (1995) 1950-1970s showed 25-30% of women on TV
Point:
Women are stereotyped
Evidence:
Hollyoaks:
♥ Carmel-“bimbo”
♥ Jacqui “Ladette”
♥ Michaela “troublemaker”
Explanation (reason why):
♥ Stereotypes are a short hand as producers of the show do not have enough time to go into too much detail for each character.
♥ Helps audience identify with the character
Point:
♥ Women are not stereotyped
Evidence, explanation and theorist:
♥ Daphne in the animated series Scooby Doo plays the role of the Damsel in distress as she is the one female in the group who is most likely to get kidnapped, tied up, and left helpless this role is really typical in action movies to.
♥ Madonna vs. whore/vamp- Bollywood films (binary opposition)
Mere Jeevan Saathi (2006):
Anjali takes on the role of the Madonna represented as pure and innocent
Natasha takes plays the role of the vamp by taking on the role of the whore this is illustrated as she sleeps with Anjali’s boyfriend and in the end is punished by her commit suicide
♥ Final girl in slasher films
Typical had masculine qualities this is noticeable to the audience through their costume, short hair or them not having boyfriend.
Explanation (reason why)
♥ Audiences have expectations that needs to be fulfilled
♥ Audience find it easier to identify with these characters
♥ Audiences don’t like change
Adverts
Theorist:
Laura Mulvey (1975, Visual pleasures and narrative cinema)
Point:
Women are castrated
Evidence and Explanation (reason why):
Women are presented with phallic object or fetishised – substitute for a man and to take away the male spectators anxiety
Music
Point:
Women are shown to be powerful, independent and autonomous but are still objects of the “male gaze”.
Evidence:
Pussycat dolls
Christina Aguilera
Spice girls
Explanation (reason why)
It could be argued they are not objectifying themselves but doing this to make themselves look good and feel proud of themselves as they have the power to tease a man.
Magazines
Point: women are allowed to get the same pleasure as men from sex
Evidence
Cosmopolitan promote girl power and how women these days are allowed to gain the same pleasure as men.
Explanation (reason why)
Feminist theory
Television:
Theorist:
♥ Gunter (1995) 1950-1970s showed 25-30% of women on TV
Point:
Women are stereotyped
Evidence:
Hollyoaks:
♥ Carmel-“bimbo”
♥ Jacqui “Ladette”
♥ Michaela “troublemaker”
Explanation (reason why):
♥ Stereotypes are a short hand as producers of the show do not have enough time to go into too much detail for each character.
♥ Helps audience identify with the character
Point:
♥ Women are not stereotyped
Evidence, explanation and theorist:
FRIENDS: Monica subverts stereotypes of a typical woman as she is assertive and dominant over chandler. However, in a way she is stereotyped is by her confirming to the typical “housewife” role by her excessively cleaning; but then again this exgeration of her cleaning obessession can be constructed to create humour for the audience. This demonstrates how sitcoms have progressed since the 1970s as Miles reseach states how sitcoms of the era showed equal number of men and women in them but the women representations were sexist.
Film
Humm (1997):
Fatal attraction (1987)
Women are “bad hysterical careerists”
Point:
♥ women take on generic roles
Evidence:
♥ Femme fatale- film noir
Film
Humm (1997):
Fatal attraction (1987)
Women are “bad hysterical careerists”
Point:
♥ women take on generic roles
Evidence:
♥ Femme fatale- film noir
Jane Greer a film actress best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in Out of the Past (1947).
♥ Daphne in the animated series Scooby Doo plays the role of the Damsel in distress as she is the one female in the group who is most likely to get kidnapped, tied up, and left helpless this role is really typical in action movies to.
♥ Madonna vs. whore/vamp- Bollywood films (binary opposition)
Mere Jeevan Saathi (2006):
Anjali takes on the role of the Madonna represented as pure and innocent
Natasha takes plays the role of the vamp by taking on the role of the whore this is illustrated as she sleeps with Anjali’s boyfriend and in the end is punished by her commit suicide
♥ Final girl in slasher films
Typical had masculine qualities this is noticeable to the audience through their costume, short hair or them not having boyfriend.
Explanation (reason why)
♥ Audiences have expectations that needs to be fulfilled
♥ Audience find it easier to identify with these characters
♥ Audiences don’t like change
Adverts
Theorist:
Laura Mulvey (1975, Visual pleasures and narrative cinema)
Point:
Women are castrated
Evidence and Explanation (reason why):
Women are presented with phallic object or fetishised – substitute for a man and to take away the male spectators anxiety
Music
Point:
Women are shown to be powerful, independent and autonomous but are still objects of the “male gaze”.
Evidence:
Pussycat dolls
Christina Aguilera
Spice girls
Explanation (reason why)
It could be argued they are not objectifying themselves but doing this to make themselves look good and feel proud of themselves as they have the power to tease a man.
Magazines
Point: women are allowed to get the same pleasure as men from sex
Evidence
Cosmopolitan promote girl power and how women these days are allowed to gain the same pleasure as men.
Explanation (reason why)
Feminist theory
Plan:June 02b
Can we determine genre from mise en scene alone?
Agree:
Clamps=costume, lighting, angles, make up, props, setting
C:
Mask for the killer
Masculine clothing for the final girl
L:
Low key lightening
Under lightening
Back lightening
A:
Point of view shots
Enigmatic shots
M:
Blood
P:
Phallic objects: Hook, Gun, Knife, Chainsaw
Corpses/dead bodies
S:
Isolated location
Bad weather
Parallel sound/music
Low budget- grainy effect
Disagree:
Conventional iconography is needed for the audience to identify this includes generic characters such as failed authority figures
Narrative should have no closure and should end with an open narrative
Ideologies of the text help the audience know what the genre is e.g scream explicitly states the rules of the genre
Sex= death
Other ideologies the films don’t mention but are ideologies to help the audience establish the features of slasher genre are:
White flite/flight
Patriarchy making the phallic symbol present in every film which therefore supports the conservative values. However, the impact of feminism is shown through them slowing establishing a final girl (Carol Clover, Men, Women and Chainsaws 1992)
Directors can be known for certain genre films for example Alfred Hitchcock is known for his thriller films and take the title “master of suspense”.
Auteur theory e.g. trantino has his only style and uses post modernism making it more innovative
Scary movie- post modern text uses similar mise en scenes to previous slasher films but instead mocks them.
Dark castle is an institution that helps with horror remakes from 1950/60s
Conventional iconography is used in other mediums e.g. music industry where Eminem wears the Jason’s hockey mask and carries leatherface’s chainsaw.
Genre does not fit into neat categories
Horror/slasher changes
Agree:
Clamps=costume, lighting, angles, make up, props, setting
C:
Mask for the killer
Masculine clothing for the final girl
L:
Low key lightening
Under lightening
Back lightening
A:
Point of view shots
Enigmatic shots
M:
Blood
P:
Phallic objects: Hook, Gun, Knife, Chainsaw
Corpses/dead bodies
S:
Isolated location
Bad weather
Parallel sound/music
Low budget- grainy effect
Disagree:
Conventional iconography is needed for the audience to identify this includes generic characters such as failed authority figures
Narrative should have no closure and should end with an open narrative
Ideologies of the text help the audience know what the genre is e.g scream explicitly states the rules of the genre
Sex= death
Other ideologies the films don’t mention but are ideologies to help the audience establish the features of slasher genre are:
White flite/flight
Patriarchy making the phallic symbol present in every film which therefore supports the conservative values. However, the impact of feminism is shown through them slowing establishing a final girl (Carol Clover, Men, Women and Chainsaws 1992)
Directors can be known for certain genre films for example Alfred Hitchcock is known for his thriller films and take the title “master of suspense”.
Auteur theory e.g. trantino has his only style and uses post modernism making it more innovative
Scary movie- post modern text uses similar mise en scenes to previous slasher films but instead mocks them.
Dark castle is an institution that helps with horror remakes from 1950/60s
Conventional iconography is used in other mediums e.g. music industry where Eminem wears the Jason’s hockey mask and carries leatherface’s chainsaw.
Genre does not fit into neat categories
Horror/slasher changes
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