Friday 29 August 2008
Women in horror films: Ripley, the alien, and the monstrous feminine
Female Protagonists
KEY LINE:
"we can see the development of an impressive variety of female characters and protagonists. One might even argue that by comparison with Hollywood, British cinema, with its perennial concern for realism, its desire to speak about ordinary lives and social concerns and its comparative lack of emphasis upon superficial beauty and glamour, has permitted a greater breadth of female representation. "
"While a number of famous female protagonists have been presented as strong models of motherhood (as in Poor Cow (d. Ken Loach, 1967) and A Taste of Honey (d. Tony Richardson, 1961)), we have rarely seen women whose priority is to pursue and develop their ambitions, talents or vocations (see, for example, The Red Shoes (d. Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger, 1948), Educating Rita (d. Lewis Gilbert, 1983), and Little Voice (UK/US, d. Mark Herman, 1998)). Female characters who are uninterested in motherhood and domesticity are frequently depicted as lacking something or paying a price for their success. Those who do pursue larger ambitions are often portrayed as being in some sense naïve, manipulated by other (male) characters in the pursuit of their dreams."
"female characters play a larger part in propelling the narrative forward"
"confined their female characters to motherhood and domesticity, leaving the male protagonists to speak out about larger social concerns, many contemporary social realist films allow female characters greater power over their own destinies."
"The representation of women in film depends as much on issues of production, institutions and genres as on social, political and historical contexts"
Research
http://books.google.co.uk/books?pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=females+in+films&sig=p2C1wBc37f-s8pHmAQKt4Zkg664&ct=result&id=H2hRAVkc0nMC&ots=gWgJoGgiQr&output=html
Warner Bros says “No More Female Lead Characters”?!
Link:
http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/10/07/warner-bros-says-no-more-female-lead-characters/
My View:
Warner Bros say female lead films do "poorly at the box office" however it is not true, because films such as, Catwomen and Tombraider and Alien (which is one i am focusing on) do well
However you can also that many of the screenwriters are male, and may not know how to write the best script for a female?
Batman The Drak Knight
Director: Christopher Nolan
Release Date:24 July 2008 (UK)
Genre: Action
Tagline: Why So Serious?
Plot: Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits.
Media Representations
Who is being represented?
Rachel
•Rachel is presented as a strong female. This is because she of her occupation, she becomes an Assistant District Attorney.
•However she is also presented as a sexual object. This is because there are two males in the film who like her- Bruce/Batman and Harvey Dent.
Why is the subject being represented in this way?
She is seen as a ‘prize’ almost. There seems to be a competition between Bruce and Harvey.
• Is the representation fair and accurate?
•Yes. Because she is a female who is high in status, yet is presented as glamorous. She is shown to be fair, because she picks Harvey, because she loves him and not Bruce because is his Batman.
Media Languages and Forms
•What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?
- Her clothes show her as beautiful and almost heroic. When she is in a shot with Bruce, they are usually close up or medium shot, and is very intimate. Whereas when she is with Harvey the atmosphere is different.
What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings?
- The shot with her and Bruce on the balcony, suggests they have a connection and she is seen as his ‘lover.’
Narrative
What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?
- The music in the film is important, as it makes the film dramatic. For example, the fast paced scene when Batman is catching the Joker by car, is shown to be exciting becasue of the music used.
Genre
The text belong to the genre- Action and Superhero
What are the major generic conventions within the text?
Superhero/Villain
What are the major iconographic features of the text?
The costume of Batman and his car and the Joker
Media Institutions
What is the institutional source of the text?
Warner Brothers
In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution which produced it?
It is a well known distributor. It has been doing so since 1900
Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?
The source is commercial, therefore it would advertise as much as it can. Through posters, billboards, TV adverts etc
How has the text been distributed?
Through Cinema
Media Audiences
To whom is the text addressed? What is the target audience?
The film targets Batman fans, as this is a sequel
Males and Females- B/C/C1/D aged- 13+
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Independent Study Proposal
To what extent does Genre have an affect on the representation of women, in film?
With focus on Genres: Action, Romance, Comedy and Horror.
Possible films:
Action- Batman, Spiderman, Wanted, Hellboy, The Matrix, Batman Begins, Alien, Resident Evil, James Bond, Kill Bill, Star Wars, My super ex-girlfriend
Romance- Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Casablanca, Dirty Dancing
Romance/Comedy- The break up, Sex and the City, What happens in Vegas and 27 dresses, There’s something about Mary,
Horror- The Grudge 2, Saw 3, House of Wax, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,
Hypothesis:
The representation of women differs due to the genre of the text, presenting each female differently. They are presented as sex symbols, stereotypical housewives or others. Do these genres give a negative or positive representation of women?
MIGRAIN:
ML-
Long shots of the women together to show how glamorous they are
Montage of the city- making a reference to the title
Close up of SJP with villainous music in the background, presenting her as a beautiful villain.
IN-
New line cinema and HBO
G-
1. Romantic Comedy
R-
1. Stereotyping females- shot of SJP in underclothing, reinforcing females as sex symbols
A- People who watch the series
I- Progressive values, equality, feminism, patriarchy, matriarchy etc.
N- Female voice over, Narrative roles- Hero/Heroine, villains
Theories/theorists:
I will be making reference to some of the theorists I already know such as Laura Mulvey and Propp. However I will also be researching some new theories and theorists that would relate specifically to my topic.Where to and what to research:
In terms of research I will be mainly looking at books to do with the representation of Women, internet websites. Watching many films from my chosen genres.