“That’s the second time you’ve tried to kill me today…oh come on it was jus a little bomb”
How are women represented differently now compared with the past and negative stereotypes, paying particular attention to ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’?
When considering the ‘representation’, words such as ‘label’, ‘portrayed’, ‘image’, and ‘constructed’ are a few that come to mind. Representation as a concept is often concerned with stereotypes, which categorize a group of people or a place by only a few characteristics. Stereotypes of gender roles have dramatically changed within today’s society, as women today challenge themselves in taking up a range of opportunities which allows them to express themselves more fully. The action film genre is typically male dominated, where men take upon leading masculine roles, which entail playing the active part, while women take on a more passive role and are often only there were to be looked upon as ‘sex objects’, as Mulvey states: “why are so many women in films showgirls, strippers etc” However, award winning, action comedy film ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ (2005, Doug Liman, USA) seems to play around with the traditional roles. Both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt undertake challenging roles where Jolie plays the part of a ‘dominant powerful woman’, Brad Pitt still plays the part of an active character although seems often to be passive and subordinate towards Jolie. ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ significantly portrays women in a more positive way where they are seen to be taking on the active role in being dominant and are not being ‘labeled’ according to the fixed stereotype of a woman. This suggests that we could finally be in a post-feminist era.
By tradition, ‘Women are constantly portrayed in the media as sex objects of the male gaze’ Women have had no free control of their own actions and this would include them having control of the way they present themselves, the way they lead their lives and also even having control over their own bodies. Their restriction in society was based on and refined by the generalised ‘stereotyping’ of women, so this did not allow them to break free from the patriarchal and misogynistic view of women. They were generalised and discriminated against: an inferior social group who could not be left on there own to make there own decisions in society. Women have consequently been under-represented in films as it was only acceptable for a woman to be in a film. If she was being objectified ’20 to 35 per cent of characters were female in the 1950’s to 70’s ’. but a study showed by Cumberbatch showed how ‘the advertisers had seemingly become wary of showing women doing housework for example’ .The, with feminism, the number of women on screen increased by double by the 1980’s although women were still restricted by the ‘glass ceiling’ and there were still more men than women on screen according to David Gauntlett. But it also can be argued that the representation of women was increasing in the other film genres including the slasher genre. Carol. J. Clover introduced her work of ‘Men, Women, and Chainsaws’ this powerful book consisted of how women are becoming a character who plays an active part throughout a whole film.
Simply, the argument is that the audience is often stereotyped as a teenage boy who is placed to identify with the killer and the subjective camerawork especially in Halloween, (1978, Carpenter John) and Friday The 13th, (1980, Cunningham.S.Sean). However, Clover proposes that ‘this is the only case up to a point and that point is the Final girl’ .Characters such as Sally Hardesty and Laurie Strode is in the first Friday The 13th movie, there characters seemed to play a resourceful, unswayed by lustful pleasures and, rather than just females who are waiting to be saved by men, the ‘Damsel and Distress, conforming to there typical ‘stereotype. But these female charters confront the monster for the audience and have the courage and common sense to destroy, Carol states:’ It may be Donald Pleasence who fires the final shot, but it’s Jamie Lee Curtis who struggles with, stabs and unmasks Michael Myers in the last twenty minutes of Halloween’. At this instant, it Is recognisable the impact on female roles in film was increasing by the 1970s and the active part she played drew her away from Laura Mulvey and her theory slowly becoming invalid
However, women were still consistent as the society was changing due to the Second World War, which then entailed there being a need for women more as the men were fighting in the war. Women were encouraged to take on jobs at the factory to take their place working in factories. Women at this point found that they could break free from the norm and finally felt that they could be independent for once, this then continued when their husbands retuned back from the war. Nowadays, women are in control of how they perform and present themselves in society, from successful business women, lawyers and sportswomen to modeling for vogue magazine, and even in ‘Lads mags’ Nuts and Loaded. ‘Sleeping with a supermodel would be about as pleasurable as shagging a bicycle’ .Presenting women like this shows that they are in complete control of how they are presented in the society as it reflects their opinion on how they represent themselves. As women are aware that ‘sex sells’ But they like to see themselves in a complete different light to that, as prime example, Cate Blanchette ,current movie star, was presented in ‘Esquire’ magazine which images of her but not the stereotypical half nude images but presenting her with more character and not just a 2D label. An Article headlined ‘feminism’ had never been published although Natasha Walter’s – on the move quotes a section from this un printed article, talking how feminism turns the language of women’s liberation and present us with ‘I want to be judged on my achievements as an individual, not as a woman,’ she says. ‘We should not be categorized by our sex.’
As women talk about how they shouldn’t be categorized there has been a generalised representation on women as they either have been classified as ‘the whore’ which is the passive, inferior character and allows society to sexually objectify them and that makes hem victims of the ‘male gaze’. The ‘whore’ can be seen in ‘The girl next door, Greenfield Luke (2004) Elisha Cuthbert who plays Danielle conforms to a passive character who believes she cannot break free from the porno industry.’ the Madonna’ is the second group which shows women to be conducting domestic tasks which include cooking cleaning and being portrayed as a good ‘housewife‘. Women have often been stereotyped as a ‘dumb bimbo’ or the ‘housewife’ which then links back to the patriarchal society and how they categorised women, this then re impose the humiliating views upon their position in society.
‘Pretty woman, 1990, Marshall Gary’ is a major example of this as it was an introduction to try to represent women in roles typically given to men. As Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) has been represented as ‘the whore’ who reinforces the idealistic views of being controlled by the dominated male. Vivian represents the typical stereotype of a woman, degraded and being exploited as she plays the role of a prostitute in the film, which is, typical male preference, as it encourages the ‘male gaze’ as the woman has no control of her own body and actions’. Simply, ‘eye candy to appease the male gaze’ The male Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) in the film typically plays the rich, middle class white male, associating with the stereotyped male that would approach a ‘prostitute’ but in this case he approaches her in order to save her as he is only a man in a legal but hurtful business and needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets. Arguably, his character is making the decisions which reflect the society. Julia plays a woman that finds herself selling her body as she believes that that is the only way out, she is typically ‘promiscuous, stupid, uneducated and helpless’. Throughout the film she has been represented to be the woman that is living in a dangerous lifestyle, which is what men want theoretically, but then it can be argued that she has adopted a male tradition, as you would see the male within the similar position but it would be ‘pimping’ his women.
Women’s roles have changed dramatically since the early 1970’s when the activists were battling for women’s liberation and equal opportunities at a time of great unrest and social upheaval for many social groups. A lot of the modern film represents this especially as the 21st century celebrates female sovereignty and their position in being the same towards men in society. The society norms and values have been broken as films such ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ promotes the rising and change in the female character, as it highlights the female dominance and also challenges the patriarchy society. An example of this change would be careers that have women have adapted to, taking up jobs that fill up their whole lifestyle, where there is no room for a male figure.
‘Don't flatter yourself. What I did this evening was for Queen and country’ Thunderball, 1965, Young Terence. The James Bond collection has distinctive but then a very typical style, also representing the women in their films. Throughout the series of films, women were objectified as ‘sex objects’ for the males viewing pleasure. In the films, women would walk around in ‘revealing’ clothing which is used to seduce the men around them but in particular, Bond. The stereotype that follows up would be the stereotype of portraying an unmarried female who needs to be saved. This is similarly Snow White (Show White and the seven Dwarfs), Sleeping Beauty (Sleeping Beauty), Princess Zelda (The Legend of Zelda as they are fantasy Disney stories but they are in need of a male to save them as they are at their weakest, this then emphasises the traditional narrative where women conform to the ‘damsel and distress’ stereotype. Which then links Propp’s theory about how there is a male who consistently is the hero and the female who seeks the man who will save her and live happily ever after.
Angelina Jolie takes the challenge to take on a role in which consists of breaking the traditional qualities of an action film, she plays the woman that seems to be lonesome on a holiday, the police are looking for her, this indicates the that women are living dangerous lives and clearly, ‘unattached’. We could argue whether she is independent as when the police are looking her Brad Pitt is waiting at the bar, stealing away the typical position of a woman, she then approaches him typical position of the male which indicates the use of role reversal in film. Represents Jolie as the damsel is distress as she walks up to Brad Pitt in order to get saved by the police he replies ‘she’s with me’ Brad Pitt seems to have taken the role of the male that saves the ‘damsel in distress’, which portrays Jolie to be dependent on Brad.
Historical text ‘Bonnie and Clyde, 1967, use the same conventions, as Bonnie seems to be an independent she seems to be in the driver’s seat, this could be portrayed as a way of taking control in the relationship and by her controlling the gear stick it shows that she’s in control of the ‘phallic symbol’ which is big, long and hard which could be the substitute for the penis. At this point we know that Bonnie has ownership over Clyde, but then during the car journey they have an argument, Clyde decides to walk out of the car, at this point we identify with Bonnie as she feeling vulnerable and afraid of losing Clyde she then comes to her senses and explains to him that he is ‘the only one’ for her. Therefore, the ideology would be that in order for a woman to succeed, she needs the opposite sex by her side.
Angelina Jolie represents two kinds of women in the film, she firstly plays the ‘domestic’ woman, whose interests are family unity and duty, and she plays a woman that is secretive and commits activities that you would not associate with a woman. Jolie has her hair clipped back in curls; she is preparing food in the kitchen for husband Brad for when her returns home. Similarly done in adverts of the 1960’s where woman were all make up perfect, but in the kitchen ‘now if you can’t get to his heart, there’s no going wrong with a home baked pie’ and ‘‘Using women in the kitchen and Bathroom adverts Clearly we see an emphasis on that how women are only good for one thing and that’s performing domestic activities in the kitchen. Jolie conforms to these ideologies as she is performing these acts but the difference is that she represents a very strong minded person and seems to be almost equal towards her husband. Remarks such as ‘ Brad- would you pass the salt honey’ and her replying ‘it’s in the middle of the table’11 shows that she does not worship her husband at all, Jolie takes the role of being the one in control and speaking her mind.
At one point Jolie is dressed in a black coat with her hair tied back, Brad then asks ‘you going out’ she replies ‘only for a quick one’ usually the woman would be asking the question to the male but in the case they have switched the roles showing the women are dominant and independent. The connotations of the ‘quick one’ are sexual as it could represent that she may well be going out for a bit of fun. She approaches a club, where she is approached by a male, who then opens the doors for her, shows that she has authority. He leads her into a room and leaves her waiting, the camerawork shows Jolie has a low angle shot to emphasise her dominance. A male then enters and smiles she drops her bags, fast, she then undoes her buttons and rips of her jacket revealing a ‘strippers outfit’, she has conformed to the’ male gaze’ as the clothing is tight and revealing. Jolie is also wearing red lipstick, red connoting danger, and a woman living a dangerous lifestyle. Laura Mulvey states, ‘in film women is seen as other, as an object not a subject. In a way she represents the unconscious of the male because she is always the object he is looking at and never is able to speak for herself’ , Jolie signifies a woman that knows her positions in society, as even though she is seen as a ‘stripper’ she is also the one holding the ‘whip’ representing, ‘phallic symbol’, by Jolie whipping the male shows she’s got ownership of it. In ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ Bonnie clearly shows a role reversal ,where she is in the possession of money, and is distributed between four people, when she receives the less amount she now conforms to an dominant role towards Clyde as she speaks up to let him no that she received less amount of money, ‘I did as much work as she did, I should get more’ Bonnie now has shown her ‘girl power’, which highlights that she is not ready to settle for second best any longer.
‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ obviously challenges Laura Mulvey’s theory ‘Men as the dominant group have been the looker (the subjects; women the objects)’ her theory to be out dated as women are more the dominant and controlling one. Angelina Jolie has the characteristics of a male in the film.
Another fairly recent film, although not an action film is ‘Erin Brokovich (2000), Steve Soderbergh, (2000)’, starring Julia Roberts. She adopts the characteristics of a male, as she seems to be women with empowerment being herself and not taking orders from anyone, as well as being attractive. However, she portrays a strong, feminist character’ as she gains an interview at a law firms where she gets interviewed by a male interviewee she manipulates him by talking about his office ‘I like what you’ve done with you’re office’ .Clearly showing that she needs to use her looks and charm to gain the position. We are almost made to believe that society is changing especially for the role of women.
Even though ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ portrays the woman in a changed light, we could say that the film was more to do with the success of ‘detective and assassin’ fans and not to do with the movement of women in society. Jolie plays a more ‘cross gender appeal’ Where the female audience are attracted to her for being a confident, intelligent women allowing her to be their role model but t the same time the male audience can be seen to be taking up on the idea of women actually being accepted to perform the same roles as they do and they then are forced to undergo ‘cross gender identification’
Furthermore, even though women are seen to be breaking free from the stereotype they will still overcome the fact the glass ceiling is still at present, as the more leading sex will always remain with the power, showing the patriarchal society. The women are seen either to be the main or supporting role as the first thing that we recognize is the presence and sexual charm ‘She is a failure if she is not beautiful’ Such examples include ’Kill Bill, Quentin, Tarantino (2003) with Uma Thurman, ‘Tomb Raider, Simon West, 2001) with Angelina Jolie and further. The sexual attracted gaze is available for the male audience, but then argue that the female also are ‘forced to objectify’ as they are placed as the one that is in the trap of ‘the gaze’.
Women may need to revert to the masculine beliefs in order to succeed in society. As women cannot succeed without having masculine qualities, this may lead to the respect as characters from the male audience and accepting the woman as an actress.
Concluding, it obviously has had an impact on today’s society and that there has been a turnaround in especially through Angelina Jolie’s representation in ‘Mr and Mrs Smith and also along with the other. As she is characteristically pinched away from the typical female role ‘damsel in distress’ and she challenges the typical stereotypes of a woman. The film indicates that the woman was known to be playing the one ‘inferior and passive’ but know has taken up the centre role and made the traditional values extinct.
Mulvey’s theory of active/male and passive/female is less applicable as mainstream Hollywood films are moving away from the predictable narrative structure, allowing women to gain acceptance in society. However, women still need to be wary as the glass ceiling still stands present in society and they are firmly attached in our allegedly post- feminist society.
Inderdeep Flora
3,193
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Self assessment
Attainment - 1
Effort -2, putting in more effort
Punctuality -1 always attend class
Submission and quality of homework -2- getting better
Ability to work independently -2- focused more
Quality of writing -2- improving slowly
Organisation of Media folder -2- good organised
Oral contributions in class -2-getting involved more :)
Contribution to the debate team -2
Extra-curricular work (film projects etc.)
Standard of Module 5 blog- 2 , its standerd :)
Standard of Module 6 blog- 3 could do with alot more news storys.
* med 6 blog needs to be sorted* try do some extra curricular activities* contribute more :)
goodness gracious me !!!!!!!!!!!!
It started as a radio series and then broke out on television, with four British Asian performers (plus 'token white' Dave Lamb) taking part in sketches that managed to be bred from their own backgrounds and yet relevant and (most importantly) funny to a wider demographic.
They set their stall almost immediately with the classic "going for an English" sketch, in which a group of Asians embody the loutish behaviour of lager swilling Brits in an Indian restaurant (one diner asks for something "really bland").
Like the best sketches, it was a simple idea done brilliantly, and their strongest ideas took Asian stereotypes but used them to illustrate comic ideas of universal appeal.
The reason it really worked though, was because it was essentially an exercise in character comedy: each character strongly defined and recognisable enough not to alienate the general viewing public.
They included a man who firmly believes everything has its origins in India; Smeeta Smitten, a preening Bollywood reporter, who was instantly recognisable as an irritating embodiment of crass showbiz journalism everywhere; and best of all, the Kapoors (pronounced Coopers), social climbers who were at great pains to deny any of their heritage, desperate to be seen as 100% British.
Goodness Gracious Me had a fine ensemble cast, was generally very well written and boasted a broad range of comedy styles - TV spoofs, slapstick and catchphrases were all present and correct - whilst not shying away from satirical content.
It justly won a number of awards and stopped before it ran out of steam, allowing its core players to go on to deservedly glittering careers elsewhere.
It started as a radio series and then broke out on television, with four British Asian performers (plus 'token white' Dave Lamb) taking part in sketches that managed to be bred from their own backgrounds and yet relevant and (most importantly) funny to a wider demographic.
They set their stall almost immediately with the classic "going for an English" sketch, in which a group of Asians embody the loutish behaviour of lager swilling Brits in an Indian restaurant (one diner asks for something "really bland").
Like the best sketches, it was a simple idea done brilliantly, and their strongest ideas took Asian stereotypes but used them to illustrate comic ideas of universal appeal.
The reason it really worked though, was because it was essentially an exercise in character comedy: each character strongly defined and recognisable enough not to alienate the general viewing public.
They included a man who firmly believes everything has its origins in India; Smeeta Smitten, a preening Bollywood reporter, who was instantly recognisable as an irritating embodiment of crass showbiz journalism everywhere; and best of all, the Kapoors (pronounced Coopers), social climbers who were at great pains to deny any of their heritage, desperate to be seen as 100% British.
Goodness Gracious Me had a fine ensemble cast, was generally very well written and boasted a broad range of comedy styles - TV spoofs, slapstick and catchphrases were all present and correct - whilst not shying away from satirical content.
It justly won a number of awards and stopped before it ran out of steam, allowing its core players to go on to deservedly glittering careers elsewhere.
Thursday, 7 February 2008
Independent study...
[1]“That’s the second time you’ve tried to kill me today…oh come on it was jus a little bomb”
How are women represented differently now compared with the past and negative stereotypes paying particular attention to ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’?
When considering the word ‘representation’ words such as ‘label’, ‘portrayed’, ‘image’, and ‘constructed’ are a few that come to mind. Representation is a stereotype, which categorizes a group of people by only a few characteristics. Stereotypes between gender roles have dramatically changed within today’s society, as women today challenge themselves in taking up a range of opportunities which allows them to express themselves on how they would like to. The action film genre is a typically male dominated, where men take upon leading masculine roles, which entail playing the active part, however women were to take on a more passive role and were only their to be looked upon as ‘sex objects’ as Mulvey states ‘why are so many women in films showgirls, strippers etc [2] However, award winning, action comedy film ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ (2005,Doug Liman, USA) seem to play around with the traditional roles. Both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt undertake challenging roles where Jolie plays the part of a ‘dominant powerful woman’, Brad Pitt still plays the part of an active character although seems to be passive towards Jolie, which is considered to be bizarre as you would not usually see this role change, as both characters have similar roles which represent the change in society as well as them seen to be more equal. ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ have significantly portrayed women in a more positive way where they are seen to be up taking the active role in being dominant and are not being ‘labelled’ to the fixed stereotype of a woman.
By tradition, ‘women are constantly portrayed in the media as sex objects of the male gaze’ [3], Women have had no free control of there own actions this would include having control of their own the way they present themselves, the way they lead their lives and also having control over there own bodies. There restriction in society was based on the generalised ‘stereotyping’ on women, so this did not allow them to break free from the Marxist view on women as they were generalised and discriminated, this then led them into being put into groups, women were the ones that were in the inferior social group who could not be left on there own to make there own decisions in society. Women have been under represented in films as it was only ok for a woman to be in a film depending on what society she had come from, basing it on how the society recognised women. ’20 to 35 per cent of characters were female in the 1950’s to 70’s’[4] but the number of women on screen then increased by double by the 1980’s but then women were still restricted by the ‘glass ceiling’ as there were more men than women on screen.
However, women did not quit as the society was changing due to the Second World War, which then entailed there being a need for women more as the men were of fighting in the war. Women were encouraged to take on jobs at the factory to take their place working in factories. This then gave more independence and women didn’t feel as if they had to follow any rules, which then led to them not feeling as if they had to do as there husbands said when they came back from war.
Their has been a generalised representation on women as they either have been classified as ‘the whore’ which is the passive, inferior character and allows society to sexually objectified and being objects of the ‘male gaze’, ‘the Madonna’ is the second group which shows women to be conducting domestic tasks which include cooking cleaning and being portrayed as a good ‘housewife‘. This has been an idealistic view of the dominant male audiences. Women have often been stereotyped as a ‘dumb bimbo’ or the ‘housewife’ 5 which then links back to the Marxist views and how they categorise women, this then re impose the humiliating views upon their position in society.
‘Pretty woman, 1990, Marshall Gary’ is a major example of this as it was an introduction to try to represent women in roles typically given to men. As Julia Roberts (Vivian Ward) has been represented to be ‘the whore’ which re enforces the idealistic views of the dominated male? Julia represents the typical stereotype of a woman, degraded and being exploited as she plays the role of a prostitute in the film, which is the typical male preference as it encourages the ‘male gaze’ because the woman has no control of her own body and actions’ ‘eye candy to appease the male gaze’ 6. The male Richard Gere (Edward Lewis) in the film typically plays the rich, middle class white male, associating with the stereotyped male that would approach a ‘prostitute’ but in this case he approaches her in order to save her as he is only a man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love. So it’s typically a male dominated society as he’s in control of what he wants. Julia Roberts plays a woman that can’t chose what she does it’s the fact that she has to perform these actions because it’s the only way to see light, she is typically ‘promiscuous, stupid, uneducated and helpless’. Throughout the film she has been typically represented to be the woman that is living in a dangerous lifestyle, which is what men want theoretically, but then it can be argued that she has adopted a male tradition, as you would see the male within the similar position but it would be ‘pimping’ his women.
Women’s roles have changed dramatically since the early 1970’s when the activists were battling for women’s liberation and equal opportunities at a time of great unrest and social upheaval for many social groups. A lot of the modern film represents this especially as the 21st century celebrates female sovereignty and their position in being the same towards men in society. The society norms and values have been broken as films such ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ promotes the rising and change in the female character, as it highlights the female dominance and also challenges the patriarchy society.
‘My dear girl, don't flatter yourself. What I did this evening was for Queen and country’ Thunderball, 1965, Young Terence 7. The James bond collection has distinctive but then very typical style in which they represent the women in their films. Throughout the series of films, women were objectified as ‘sex objects’ for the male’s viewing pleasures. In the films, women would walk around in ‘revealing’ clothing which is used to seduce the men around them but in particular Bond. The stereotype that follows up would be the A stereotype of portraying an unmarried female who needs to be saved. This is similarly Snow White (Show White and the seven Dwarfs), Sleeping Beauty (Sleeping Beauty), Princess Zelda (The Legend of Zelda as they are fantasy Disney stories8 but they are in need of a male to save them as they are at there weakest, this then emphasises the traditional narrative where women conform to the ‘damsel and distress’ stereotype.
Angelina Jolie takes the challenge to take on a role in which consists of breaking the rational qualities of an action film, as she plays the woman that seems to be lonesome on a holiday in which she is hiding from the police that are after her, this indicates the that women are being in control of their own actions as she is clearly ‘unattached’, we could argue whether she is independent as when the police are looking her Brad Pitt is waiting at the bar as a woman does and she then approaches him which is very ironic as you wouldn’t see this role reversal between the sex’s. This then represents the damsel is distress as she walks up to Brad Pitt in order to get saved by the police ‘she’s with me’9. Brad Pitt seems to have taken the role of the male that saves the ‘damsel in distress’, which shows that Angelina Jolie has to be rescued by the male (Brad Pitt) show the fact that she is supposedly a women that is independent shows that she does need a male to be by her side.
Historical text ‘Bonnie and Clyde, 1967, use the same conventions as bonnie seems to be an independent she seems to be in the driver’s seat, this could be portrayed as a way of taking control in the relationship and by her controlling the gear stick it shows that she’s in control of the ‘phallic symbol’ which is big, long and hard which could be the substitute for the penis at this point we know that Bonnie has ownership over Clyde, but then during the car journey they have an argument which then Clyde decides to walk out of the car, at this point we see that Bonnie is afraid of losing him and so she runs after him as she knows that he is ‘the only one’ for her. This emphasizes the fact in order for women to succeed; they need support from the opposite sex, which links back to the traditional and more aggressive action films.
Angelina Jolie represents two kinds of women in the film, She firstly plays the ‘domestic’ woman, who cooks and cleans for her husband making sure everything is perfect, and she plays a woman that’s secretive and commits activities that you would not associate with a woman. Jolie has her hair clipped back in curls when she’s preparing food in the kitchen for her husband brad when he comes home, this is very similar to the adverts that were produced in the 1960’s when the woman was done up but in the kitchen ‘now if you can’t get to his heart, there’s no going wrong with a home baked pie’ ‘Using women in the kitchen and Bather room adverts’10 clearly we see a emphasise on that women are only good for one thing and that’s performing domestic activities in the kitchen. Jolie conforms to this as she is in the kitchen making the food but the difference is that she’s very strong minded about it as the advert women worship their husbands whereas Jolie does the exact opposite. Remarks such as ‘ Brad- would you pass the salt honey’ and her replying ‘it’s in the middle of the table’11 shows that she does not worship here husband at all, Jolie takes the role of being the one in control which shows that the stereotype has been challenged by Jolie.
Jolie at one point is dressed in a black coat with her hair tied back, this is when brad asks her ‘you going out’ and she replies ‘only for a quick one’ 12 usually the woman would be asking the question to the male but in the case they have switched the roles showing the women are dominant and independent. The conations of the ‘quick one’ are sexual as it could represent that she may well be going out for a bit of fun. At this point she leaves the house. She approaches a restaurant/club, where she is then approached by a male, which he then opens the doors for her, showing the dominance, and respect she has. He leads he into a room in which he leaves her waiting, at this point Jolie has a low angle shot to emphasise he presence and dominance. A male then enters and smiles she drops her bags, fast, she then undoes her buttons and rips of her jacket revealing a ‘strippers out fit’ the conations for this are that she has conformed to the’ male gaze’ as the clothing is tight and revealing. Jolie is also wearing red lipstick as well as her outfit being black and latex. Red connoting danger this may well represent her life, as she is a woman living a dangerous lifestyle. ‘In film women is seen as other, as an object not a subject. In a way she represents the unconscious of the male because she is always the object he is looking at and never is able to speak for herself’13 Laura mulvey says that the woman is there seen as the other and she has no say in what she is representing, but I think Jolie represents a woman that knows her positions in society and she believes that she is the one In control as in the scene in which she is seen as a ‘stripper’ she the one holding the ‘whip’ which could also represent the phallic symbol, and is a substitute for the penis, and by Jolie whipping the male shows she’s got ownership of it.
In ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ Bonnie clearly shows a role reversal as she takes on a challenge where she is in the possession of money and it’s distributed between four people and when she receives the less amount she ‘s not passive towards Clyde as she shows her authority and makes him realise that he’s not right in giving her less amount, ‘I did as much work as she did, I should get more’14‘Girl power’15. Bonnie now has shown her girl power, which shows that she’s not letting anyone take control of her life even if it’s Clyde, as she knows where she is right.
Stereotypes being challenged in ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ when Jolie is an assassin killing people, blowing up things, jumping and running, sliding down ropes from tall buildings. This then feeds the woman audience, pleasures as the film demonstrates more of a woman in control and showing authority perspective. Jolie portrayed being better than men, this then encourages the positive recognition with her.
‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ obviously challenges Laura Mulveys’ theory ‘Men as the dominant group have been the looker (the subjects; women the objects)’ her theory to be out dated as women are more the dominant and controlling one’s. Angelina Jolie has the characteristics of a male in the film.
Another recent film, although not an action film is ‘Erin Brockovhich, Steve soderbergh, 2000’. Is one of the films that represents the woman as a strong-minded character, starring Julia Roberts. She has the characteristics of a male, successful as she works in the way she wants, being herself and not taking orders from no one, as well as that being sexy too. However, she portrays a strong, feminist character’ she’s in a interview and she’s telling the male interviewee that ‘I like what you’ve done with you’re office’ this clearly shows that even though she is playing a strong minded character she has to still please the male to linger him in giving her a job.
We are almost made to believe that society is changing especially for the role of women, but the question is that is it really changing or is it what women actually want? Even though ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ portrays the woman in a changed light, we could say that the film was more to do with the success of ‘detective and assassin’ fans and not to do with the movement of women in society. Jolie plays a more ‘ cross gender appeal’16 Where the female audience are attracted to her for being a confident, intelligent women allowing her to be their role model but t the same time the male audience can be seen to be taking up on the idea of women actually being accepted to perform the same roles as they do and they then are forced to undergo ‘cross gender identification’.17
Furthermore, even though women are seen to be breaking free from the stereotype they will still overcome the fact the glass ceiling is still at present, as the more leading sex will always remain with the power, showing the patriarchal society. The women are seen either to be the main or supporting role as the first thing that we recognize is the presence and sexual charm ‘She is a failure if she is not beautiful’18. Such examples include ’Kill Bill, Quentin, Tarantino (2003) with Uma Thurman, ‘Tomb Raider, Simon West, 2001) with Angelina Jolie and further. The sexual attracted gaze is available for the male audience, but then argue that the female also are ‘forced to objectify’ 19 as they are placed as the one that is in the trap of ‘the gaze’.
Women may need to revert to the masculine beliefs in order to succeed in society. As women can not succeed without having masculine qualities, this may way lead to the respect from the male audience to as they will then accept the women only because they are used to being the one in control and having a woman perform the way in which they are used to is acceptable.
In close, it is quite obvious that their has been a turnaround in society especially through Angelina Jolie’s representation in ‘Mr and Mrs Smith and also along with the other. As she is characteristically pinched away from the typical female role of the ‘damsel in Distress’ as she challenges the typical stereotypes of a woman. The film indicates the woman, as she was known to be playing the one ‘inferior and passive’ but know has taken up the centre role and also who have control of what happens. There are also many other strong female characters in the film such as Uma Thurman, where she uses the sword that she uses to fight in order to kill people around her.
Overall, Mulvey’s theory of active/male and passive/female is becoming less applicable as normal Hollywood films are moving away from there predictable narrative structure and are allowing women to proceed and become more dominant in society as they are played leading roles and taking up challenging roles in order to succeed. However, there are still limits that women have to be careful of as the glass ceiling still seems to be present in society and they are firmly attached in our allegedly after feminist society.
Word count: 3,183
[1]Mr and Mrs Smith, 2005, Doug, Liman
[2] The gaze and visual pleasure and narrative cinema’ -Laura Mulvey
[3] Representation of women handout
[4] Gauntlet, David, ‘Media, Gender and identity’, 2002.
5 Representations of women, pg 82
6 Mulvey, Laura, ‘the gaze’ pg 109
7 Thunderball, 1965, Young Terence -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059800/quotes
8 IBMD- Disney
9 ‘Mr and Mrs smith’- IBMD- QUOTES
10 Gauntlet, David – media, gender and identity.
11 ‘Mr and Mrs smith’- IBMD- QUOTES
12 ‘Mr and Mrs smith’- IBMD- QUOTES
13 Mulvey, Laura, ‘the gaze’
14 Imbd - bonnie and Clyde quotes
15 Mucer, Campbell, Jervis and Lewis (2001)- Media common concern about ‘ladettes’
16 William, Kevin (2003) ‘understanding Media Theory’, pg. 134
17 Clover, Carol ‘Men, Women and chainsaws’
18 . Germaine, Greer ‘The whole woman’
19 Duttin, Rayner, and Sullivan (2003) ‘Studying the media’.
How are women represented differently now compared with the past and negative stereotypes paying particular attention to ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’?
When considering the word ‘representation’ words such as ‘label’, ‘portrayed’, ‘image’, and ‘constructed’ are a few that come to mind. Representation is a stereotype, which categorizes a group of people by only a few characteristics. Stereotypes between gender roles have dramatically changed within today’s society, as women today challenge themselves in taking up a range of opportunities which allows them to express themselves on how they would like to. The action film genre is a typically male dominated, where men take upon leading masculine roles, which entail playing the active part, however women were to take on a more passive role and were only their to be looked upon as ‘sex objects’ as Mulvey states ‘why are so many women in films showgirls, strippers etc [2] However, award winning, action comedy film ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ (2005,Doug Liman, USA) seem to play around with the traditional roles. Both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt undertake challenging roles where Jolie plays the part of a ‘dominant powerful woman’, Brad Pitt still plays the part of an active character although seems to be passive towards Jolie, which is considered to be bizarre as you would not usually see this role change, as both characters have similar roles which represent the change in society as well as them seen to be more equal. ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ have significantly portrayed women in a more positive way where they are seen to be up taking the active role in being dominant and are not being ‘labelled’ to the fixed stereotype of a woman.
By tradition, ‘women are constantly portrayed in the media as sex objects of the male gaze’ [3], Women have had no free control of there own actions this would include having control of their own the way they present themselves, the way they lead their lives and also having control over there own bodies. There restriction in society was based on the generalised ‘stereotyping’ on women, so this did not allow them to break free from the Marxist view on women as they were generalised and discriminated, this then led them into being put into groups, women were the ones that were in the inferior social group who could not be left on there own to make there own decisions in society. Women have been under represented in films as it was only ok for a woman to be in a film depending on what society she had come from, basing it on how the society recognised women. ’20 to 35 per cent of characters were female in the 1950’s to 70’s’[4] but the number of women on screen then increased by double by the 1980’s but then women were still restricted by the ‘glass ceiling’ as there were more men than women on screen.
However, women did not quit as the society was changing due to the Second World War, which then entailed there being a need for women more as the men were of fighting in the war. Women were encouraged to take on jobs at the factory to take their place working in factories. This then gave more independence and women didn’t feel as if they had to follow any rules, which then led to them not feeling as if they had to do as there husbands said when they came back from war.
Their has been a generalised representation on women as they either have been classified as ‘the whore’ which is the passive, inferior character and allows society to sexually objectified and being objects of the ‘male gaze’, ‘the Madonna’ is the second group which shows women to be conducting domestic tasks which include cooking cleaning and being portrayed as a good ‘housewife‘. This has been an idealistic view of the dominant male audiences. Women have often been stereotyped as a ‘dumb bimbo’ or the ‘housewife’ 5 which then links back to the Marxist views and how they categorise women, this then re impose the humiliating views upon their position in society.
‘Pretty woman, 1990, Marshall Gary’ is a major example of this as it was an introduction to try to represent women in roles typically given to men. As Julia Roberts (Vivian Ward) has been represented to be ‘the whore’ which re enforces the idealistic views of the dominated male? Julia represents the typical stereotype of a woman, degraded and being exploited as she plays the role of a prostitute in the film, which is the typical male preference as it encourages the ‘male gaze’ because the woman has no control of her own body and actions’ ‘eye candy to appease the male gaze’ 6. The male Richard Gere (Edward Lewis) in the film typically plays the rich, middle class white male, associating with the stereotyped male that would approach a ‘prostitute’ but in this case he approaches her in order to save her as he is only a man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love. So it’s typically a male dominated society as he’s in control of what he wants. Julia Roberts plays a woman that can’t chose what she does it’s the fact that she has to perform these actions because it’s the only way to see light, she is typically ‘promiscuous, stupid, uneducated and helpless’. Throughout the film she has been typically represented to be the woman that is living in a dangerous lifestyle, which is what men want theoretically, but then it can be argued that she has adopted a male tradition, as you would see the male within the similar position but it would be ‘pimping’ his women.
Women’s roles have changed dramatically since the early 1970’s when the activists were battling for women’s liberation and equal opportunities at a time of great unrest and social upheaval for many social groups. A lot of the modern film represents this especially as the 21st century celebrates female sovereignty and their position in being the same towards men in society. The society norms and values have been broken as films such ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ promotes the rising and change in the female character, as it highlights the female dominance and also challenges the patriarchy society.
‘My dear girl, don't flatter yourself. What I did this evening was for Queen and country’ Thunderball, 1965, Young Terence 7. The James bond collection has distinctive but then very typical style in which they represent the women in their films. Throughout the series of films, women were objectified as ‘sex objects’ for the male’s viewing pleasures. In the films, women would walk around in ‘revealing’ clothing which is used to seduce the men around them but in particular Bond. The stereotype that follows up would be the A stereotype of portraying an unmarried female who needs to be saved. This is similarly Snow White (Show White and the seven Dwarfs), Sleeping Beauty (Sleeping Beauty), Princess Zelda (The Legend of Zelda as they are fantasy Disney stories8 but they are in need of a male to save them as they are at there weakest, this then emphasises the traditional narrative where women conform to the ‘damsel and distress’ stereotype.
Angelina Jolie takes the challenge to take on a role in which consists of breaking the rational qualities of an action film, as she plays the woman that seems to be lonesome on a holiday in which she is hiding from the police that are after her, this indicates the that women are being in control of their own actions as she is clearly ‘unattached’, we could argue whether she is independent as when the police are looking her Brad Pitt is waiting at the bar as a woman does and she then approaches him which is very ironic as you wouldn’t see this role reversal between the sex’s. This then represents the damsel is distress as she walks up to Brad Pitt in order to get saved by the police ‘she’s with me’9. Brad Pitt seems to have taken the role of the male that saves the ‘damsel in distress’, which shows that Angelina Jolie has to be rescued by the male (Brad Pitt) show the fact that she is supposedly a women that is independent shows that she does need a male to be by her side.
Historical text ‘Bonnie and Clyde, 1967, use the same conventions as bonnie seems to be an independent she seems to be in the driver’s seat, this could be portrayed as a way of taking control in the relationship and by her controlling the gear stick it shows that she’s in control of the ‘phallic symbol’ which is big, long and hard which could be the substitute for the penis at this point we know that Bonnie has ownership over Clyde, but then during the car journey they have an argument which then Clyde decides to walk out of the car, at this point we see that Bonnie is afraid of losing him and so she runs after him as she knows that he is ‘the only one’ for her. This emphasizes the fact in order for women to succeed; they need support from the opposite sex, which links back to the traditional and more aggressive action films.
Angelina Jolie represents two kinds of women in the film, She firstly plays the ‘domestic’ woman, who cooks and cleans for her husband making sure everything is perfect, and she plays a woman that’s secretive and commits activities that you would not associate with a woman. Jolie has her hair clipped back in curls when she’s preparing food in the kitchen for her husband brad when he comes home, this is very similar to the adverts that were produced in the 1960’s when the woman was done up but in the kitchen ‘now if you can’t get to his heart, there’s no going wrong with a home baked pie’ ‘Using women in the kitchen and Bather room adverts’10 clearly we see a emphasise on that women are only good for one thing and that’s performing domestic activities in the kitchen. Jolie conforms to this as she is in the kitchen making the food but the difference is that she’s very strong minded about it as the advert women worship their husbands whereas Jolie does the exact opposite. Remarks such as ‘ Brad- would you pass the salt honey’ and her replying ‘it’s in the middle of the table’11 shows that she does not worship here husband at all, Jolie takes the role of being the one in control which shows that the stereotype has been challenged by Jolie.
Jolie at one point is dressed in a black coat with her hair tied back, this is when brad asks her ‘you going out’ and she replies ‘only for a quick one’ 12 usually the woman would be asking the question to the male but in the case they have switched the roles showing the women are dominant and independent. The conations of the ‘quick one’ are sexual as it could represent that she may well be going out for a bit of fun. At this point she leaves the house. She approaches a restaurant/club, where she is then approached by a male, which he then opens the doors for her, showing the dominance, and respect she has. He leads he into a room in which he leaves her waiting, at this point Jolie has a low angle shot to emphasise he presence and dominance. A male then enters and smiles she drops her bags, fast, she then undoes her buttons and rips of her jacket revealing a ‘strippers out fit’ the conations for this are that she has conformed to the’ male gaze’ as the clothing is tight and revealing. Jolie is also wearing red lipstick as well as her outfit being black and latex. Red connoting danger this may well represent her life, as she is a woman living a dangerous lifestyle. ‘In film women is seen as other, as an object not a subject. In a way she represents the unconscious of the male because she is always the object he is looking at and never is able to speak for herself’13 Laura mulvey says that the woman is there seen as the other and she has no say in what she is representing, but I think Jolie represents a woman that knows her positions in society and she believes that she is the one In control as in the scene in which she is seen as a ‘stripper’ she the one holding the ‘whip’ which could also represent the phallic symbol, and is a substitute for the penis, and by Jolie whipping the male shows she’s got ownership of it.
In ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ Bonnie clearly shows a role reversal as she takes on a challenge where she is in the possession of money and it’s distributed between four people and when she receives the less amount she ‘s not passive towards Clyde as she shows her authority and makes him realise that he’s not right in giving her less amount, ‘I did as much work as she did, I should get more’14‘Girl power’15. Bonnie now has shown her girl power, which shows that she’s not letting anyone take control of her life even if it’s Clyde, as she knows where she is right.
Stereotypes being challenged in ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ when Jolie is an assassin killing people, blowing up things, jumping and running, sliding down ropes from tall buildings. This then feeds the woman audience, pleasures as the film demonstrates more of a woman in control and showing authority perspective. Jolie portrayed being better than men, this then encourages the positive recognition with her.
‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ obviously challenges Laura Mulveys’ theory ‘Men as the dominant group have been the looker (the subjects; women the objects)’ her theory to be out dated as women are more the dominant and controlling one’s. Angelina Jolie has the characteristics of a male in the film.
Another recent film, although not an action film is ‘Erin Brockovhich, Steve soderbergh, 2000’. Is one of the films that represents the woman as a strong-minded character, starring Julia Roberts. She has the characteristics of a male, successful as she works in the way she wants, being herself and not taking orders from no one, as well as that being sexy too. However, she portrays a strong, feminist character’ she’s in a interview and she’s telling the male interviewee that ‘I like what you’ve done with you’re office’ this clearly shows that even though she is playing a strong minded character she has to still please the male to linger him in giving her a job.
We are almost made to believe that society is changing especially for the role of women, but the question is that is it really changing or is it what women actually want? Even though ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ portrays the woman in a changed light, we could say that the film was more to do with the success of ‘detective and assassin’ fans and not to do with the movement of women in society. Jolie plays a more ‘ cross gender appeal’16 Where the female audience are attracted to her for being a confident, intelligent women allowing her to be their role model but t the same time the male audience can be seen to be taking up on the idea of women actually being accepted to perform the same roles as they do and they then are forced to undergo ‘cross gender identification’.17
Furthermore, even though women are seen to be breaking free from the stereotype they will still overcome the fact the glass ceiling is still at present, as the more leading sex will always remain with the power, showing the patriarchal society. The women are seen either to be the main or supporting role as the first thing that we recognize is the presence and sexual charm ‘She is a failure if she is not beautiful’18. Such examples include ’Kill Bill, Quentin, Tarantino (2003) with Uma Thurman, ‘Tomb Raider, Simon West, 2001) with Angelina Jolie and further. The sexual attracted gaze is available for the male audience, but then argue that the female also are ‘forced to objectify’ 19 as they are placed as the one that is in the trap of ‘the gaze’.
Women may need to revert to the masculine beliefs in order to succeed in society. As women can not succeed without having masculine qualities, this may way lead to the respect from the male audience to as they will then accept the women only because they are used to being the one in control and having a woman perform the way in which they are used to is acceptable.
In close, it is quite obvious that their has been a turnaround in society especially through Angelina Jolie’s representation in ‘Mr and Mrs Smith and also along with the other. As she is characteristically pinched away from the typical female role of the ‘damsel in Distress’ as she challenges the typical stereotypes of a woman. The film indicates the woman, as she was known to be playing the one ‘inferior and passive’ but know has taken up the centre role and also who have control of what happens. There are also many other strong female characters in the film such as Uma Thurman, where she uses the sword that she uses to fight in order to kill people around her.
Overall, Mulvey’s theory of active/male and passive/female is becoming less applicable as normal Hollywood films are moving away from there predictable narrative structure and are allowing women to proceed and become more dominant in society as they are played leading roles and taking up challenging roles in order to succeed. However, there are still limits that women have to be careful of as the glass ceiling still seems to be present in society and they are firmly attached in our allegedly after feminist society.
Word count: 3,183
[1]Mr and Mrs Smith, 2005, Doug, Liman
[2] The gaze and visual pleasure and narrative cinema’ -Laura Mulvey
[3] Representation of women handout
[4] Gauntlet, David, ‘Media, Gender and identity’, 2002.
5 Representations of women, pg 82
6 Mulvey, Laura, ‘the gaze’ pg 109
7 Thunderball, 1965, Young Terence -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059800/quotes
8 IBMD- Disney
9 ‘Mr and Mrs smith’- IBMD- QUOTES
10 Gauntlet, David – media, gender and identity.
11 ‘Mr and Mrs smith’- IBMD- QUOTES
12 ‘Mr and Mrs smith’- IBMD- QUOTES
13 Mulvey, Laura, ‘the gaze’
14 Imbd - bonnie and Clyde quotes
15 Mucer, Campbell, Jervis and Lewis (2001)- Media common concern about ‘ladettes’
16 William, Kevin (2003) ‘understanding Media Theory’, pg. 134
17 Clover, Carol ‘Men, Women and chainsaws’
18 . Germaine, Greer ‘The whole woman’
19 Duttin, Rayner, and Sullivan (2003) ‘Studying the media’.
Friday, 25 January 2008
Task 15 B
This is an excellent focused introduction Nazi.
Www-
- A clear, focused research on the background information on Asians in today’s society.
-The use of quotes linking to what you’re explaining was good as it backed up what you wre talking about in your topic sentences.
Ebi-
-maybe mention what awards it has been awarded...this may show the influence and the recognition the audience have on either the subject matter or even the success of the film.
- Also if you want you could show the success through box office veiwings it had in the opening weekend.
I can't really think of any more changes as it is straight to the point and focused... :)
This is an excellent focused introduction Nazi.
Www-
- A clear, focused research on the background information on Asians in today’s society.
-The use of quotes linking to what you’re explaining was good as it backed up what you wre talking about in your topic sentences.
Ebi-
-maybe mention what awards it has been awarded...this may show the influence and the recognition the audience have on either the subject matter or even the success of the film.
- Also if you want you could show the success through box office veiwings it had in the opening weekend.
I can't really think of any more changes as it is straight to the point and focused... :)
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