Independent Study Proposal

Title:

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.