'The Question Is Will You Control That Power..... Or Let It Control You'
Women representation has drastically changed over the past years. It can be argued that females are still seen to be subordinate to males. Xmen 3 directed by Brett Ratner and written by Stan Lee, is a action packed movie that heavily discriminates females in comparison to males. Males have always been depicted to be dominant and active: ' Males have dominant roles in T.V' Media, Gender and Idenity, By David Gauntlett(1). This clearly represents that society at the time was prominantley patriarchal as males are portrayed to be be superioir role models. In contrast females are depicted to be passive, and are represented to be as sex symbols as Laura Mulvey quotes: ' Women are looked at by their looks' (2). This simply means that women are seen to be sex symbols and objectified as a result of this they lack their identity which therfore represents them to be passive objects in the society we are living in. This essay will be how females are seen to be inferioir through their powers and roles given in the text ' X Men 3'.
Independent Study Plan
Theorists To Include
Laura Mulvey - How females are seen to be inferior towards her theory and how male dominance has increase through the male gaze. Linking it to my text I will be describing how that has taken place.
Dyer - In Dyer's theroy i will be linking his theory to how fmelaes are taken eriously in films, and their roles, some times pretty females are used for an attraction for example Jessica Alber in Fantastic Four and Hally Barry in Xmen. Some people don;t take them seriously
Gunter - I will be using this theory to relate how females and male act on Tv and their differnt roles, for example theur speaking roles etc and how they differ. This can relate to the male dominance in the media.
Tuchman - The female annihilation of television and films. how females are wiped off and neva payed attention to (same as dyer's theory)
Davis - How females may be common in other genre of television and how they are represeneted in them.
Kaplan - How females in the media are not given a chance to speak and how they act how they are told to act.
Websites To Include
Representations of feamles and their roles, and how males are also portrayed the same.
How representation can be analysed and caused.
Power within women, relates to superior females.
A way in how female negative representations had been formed.
Notes on the 'gaze', Laura Mulvey.
Gender in the media.
Media gender, David Gauntlett.
Books To Include
- Phillip Rayner, Peter Wall & Stephen Kruger (2001) - A'S Media Studies: the Essential Introduction - USA & Canada, 'Routledge'
- John Price & Joe Nicholas (2003) - A'S Media Studies - United Kingdom , 'Nelson Thornes Ltd'
The Plan
In my independent study i have focused on the representation of females in the media and have chosen Xmen 3 as my text to resraech about how females are represented. The question i want to resraech on is how females are seen to be inferior to males today. using xmen three as my modern text i want show how females are seen to be inferior by their power within the film and the sue of their pwoers. Also i want to relate the film to how females can be represented negatively for example the male gaze; how females are seen as sex objects in the media.
The film is a modern text and shows how they are seen today in films etc. i have rsearched trailers and adverts on how they are represented in the media to exapnd my point. i have used youtube by doing this. In my first section of the study i will be relating to M,R,Id and N to show how they are seen to be inferior.
M - the costumes used, shots-angle's, lighting etc
R - how the females are seen within the fim, the types of powers they have to make them inferior, how they are used as the male gaze etc
Id - the ideologies put across through the male doinance and a patriarchle society
N - how the females are used in the narrative
In the secon section of my study i will relate to some other texts and advertisments etc, how females are represented etc. using this research will help me fufil part of the introduction. i will be inlcuding theorist that may come relevant and websites that may come in handy. some book resraech may be included in this section but not as much as i will be using most of the book research further ahead.
Historical Text
Wonder Women 1973
The reason i had chosen this text is because that the text include a female that plays a role of a heroine. In X-men 3 the females within the film are represented as inferior to males and the types of tight cloths and leather they wear connotes them as sex objects relating to the male gaze.
Watching the Wonder women trailer which was set in 1973 and made in the 1970's, the society and characters may differ but there are some similarities for example the male gaze stille exists.
Looking at the text, the first thing that came to my eye was the fact that wonder women was represented as a sexy female. She is still a sex object, the sex object of the 1970's. There is one scene where she has a miniture weapon hidin withinher nickers and she pulls up her dress to get the weapon and throws it 2 kill the enemy. The male eye will be focusing on something else whilst females may think something differnt, they may think negative of where she places her weapons, or the female audience may think that she is a great action fighter.
The good thing about the trailer is that is hows how females can be powerful for example, some enemies are males and wonder women is kicking their butts, but also the enemy is also a females which may not contridict my saying, as the enemy once was powerful, then the heroine in this case wonder women takes that power, and she is a female. so a female is atking anothers power. the point is the female has the power and not the male, making them more superior, also the fact they are kicking male butts increases that point.
Although the females ahve the power, some scene when the females are fighting, they are fighting in their bikinies, this connotes once again the male gaze.
Laura Mulvey's Theory
Her Theory:
The theory that i focused on is the Male Gaze. This is how males Gaze at females that are represented through the media negatively. For example, the females will be Objectifed for sexual imagery, like Sex Objects. This can be done through the type of clothes the female is wearing and the type of pose is used. Also she can be objectified by the use of products she is advertising, for example perfume bottles can be shown as a Phallic Object; this is when an object has the same feature as a male 'penis'.
This can lead to males gaining pleasure out of looking, the term for this is Scopophilia. There is no reason why females are always seen as sex objects, there is also a term called the Female Gaze, this is when females look at males as sex objects. Females are more often found to be sex objects as within films a Misogyny is formed. This is when the hatred of females is produced and that fema;les are worthless, the use of females in films are not to cause a mend in the storyline, it is so that men can feel arowsed.
How it is linked to my study:
Looking at laura mulveys theory, i had used the Male Gaze to relate to my text, as within Xmen3, females are shown as inferior, they are there to be looked at, the key term is the Misogyny. The films shows male more powerful and show a Patriarchal society. a more male domonant societ and the hatred of females.
The theory that i focused on is the Male Gaze. This is how males Gaze at females that are represented through the media negatively. For example, the females will be Objectifed for sexual imagery, like Sex Objects. This can be done through the type of clothes the female is wearing and the type of pose is used. Also she can be objectified by the use of products she is advertising, for example perfume bottles can be shown as a Phallic Object; this is when an object has the same feature as a male 'penis'.
This can lead to males gaining pleasure out of looking, the term for this is Scopophilia. There is no reason why females are always seen as sex objects, there is also a term called the Female Gaze, this is when females look at males as sex objects. Females are more often found to be sex objects as within films a Misogyny is formed. This is when the hatred of females is produced and that fema;les are worthless, the use of females in films are not to cause a mend in the storyline, it is so that men can feel arowsed.
How it is linked to my study:
Looking at laura mulveys theory, i had used the Male Gaze to relate to my text, as within Xmen3, females are shown as inferior, they are there to be looked at, the key term is the Misogyny. The films shows male more powerful and show a Patriarchal society. a more male domonant societ and the hatred of females.
"Women In Advertising Conclusion"
Looking at all the advertisments, depending on the product advertised relates to the representation of the females and males, for example looking at the diet coke advert, the product is aimed at females, so the advert entices the female audience by producing a male as a sex object.
Looking at the chewing gum advert, the product is aimed at all ages, mainly teenagers as they would eat the product, but within the advert they use a hetrasexual couple. The advert can;t use a female as a sex object to persuade people to buy the product, as the advert may be viewed before the 'Watershed'.
Overall, depening on the product will relate to how the individual will be represented.
Looking at the chewing gum advert, the product is aimed at all ages, mainly teenagers as they would eat the product, but within the advert they use a hetrasexual couple. The advert can;t use a female as a sex object to persuade people to buy the product, as the advert may be viewed before the 'Watershed'.
Overall, depening on the product will relate to how the individual will be represented.
"Women In Advertising"
Puffa Puffa Rice Advert Late 60s LOLZ
In this advert, the female is represented as a type of sex object, the use of editing from the cereal product, they do a straight cut to the female dancing now and then. The reason for this is to show where the product is from. Also, looking at the male when he is advertising the product, he is in his swin suit which also relates to him being a sex objective, he is half naked etc. Although a female is represented negatively, so is a male.
In this advert, the female is represented as a type of sex object, the use of editing from the cereal product, they do a straight cut to the female dancing now and then. The reason for this is to show where the product is from. Also, looking at the male when he is advertising the product, he is in his swin suit which also relates to him being a sex objective, he is half naked etc. Although a female is represented negatively, so is a male.
"Women In Advertising"
Chewing Gum Advert Late 70s
In this advert, it focuses on a chewing gum product. It contains a male and female couple which also relates to hetrasexual couples. This portrays the two as a 70s couple spending time together at the end. Looking at how they are adresses, the female is complete positively shown compared to the late 80s coke advert. Looking at how females began to be objectified, looks like it began in the 80s.
In this advert, it focuses on a chewing gum product. It contains a male and female couple which also relates to hetrasexual couples. This portrays the two as a 70s couple spending time together at the end. Looking at how they are adresses, the female is complete positively shown compared to the late 80s coke advert. Looking at how females began to be objectified, looks like it began in the 80s.
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