Gender inequalities exemplified and perpetuated by
today’s overly abundant and highly pervasive mainstream media have been central
to the themes of our studies thus far.
It’s apparent that many studies have attempted to analyze a variety of
content, both subtle and explicit, for unrealistic or disproportionate
representations of gender specific elements of sexuality. Despite slightly
different coding and measurement practices, most research ultimately tends to
confirm and reinforce the general ideology that media portrayals of gendered
sexuality, which appear with great frequency in both television and movies, tend
to cultivate unjustly stereotypical or inaccurate public discourse, with a
specific emphasis on both the objectification and subjugation of female
characters.
Considering the easily accessible and widespread
nature of modern media, there is an arguably innumerable plethora of content
capable supporting the aforementioned conclusions. That being the case I thought it might be interesting to
seek out and analyze sources that deviate from the norm or function in
opposition to the typical, male dominated, gender roles characteristic of most
media; devoid of or lacking instances of female objectification,
demoralization, or implied inferiority. The
best case scenario would be finding content not just lacking negative
connotations, but works that might ultimately cultivate predominantly positive
and more feministic views amongst observers. While searching for any existing literature pertaining to my
investigation, I stumbled upon a few publications pertaining to the matter.
The book Feminism and Film, by Maggie Humm,
borrows on concepts and ideals of a feministic approach, as opposed to the
usual dominant “male gaze” inherent of most content. Humm’s emphasis on the importance of feministic approaches to
thinking about film is rooted in cinema’s potential for drastic misfiguring of
traditional female characters.
Later she elaborates on feminist theory, claiming that “all variants of
feminist theory tend to share three major assumptions: gender is a social
construction that oppresses women more than men, ‘patriarchy’ fashions these
constructions; women’s experiential knowledge best helps us to envision a
future non-sexist society” (Humm, 1997).
Her writing focuses on two primary intentions: attacking gender
stereotypes and the necessity to construct new more desirable models of
femininity in cinema. Unfortunately,
feminist acknowledgement and criticism of the “male gaze” only identifies a
problem, ultimately exacerbating the perceived binary opposition between men
and women without offering any productive solutions to the problem. Humm often draws on the works of author, Jeffery Brown,
which explore how “recent action films challenge both cinematic and cultural
assumptions about what constitutes natural or proper female behavior,” as well
as making the claim that “the modern action heroine confounds essentialism
through her performance of traditionally masculine roles.” Accordingly, I sought to identify
and analyze cinematic works of recent decades in which women assume empowered
protagonist roles usually reserved for male actors.
Additional details regarding how these newly
empowered or heroic female roles can be broken down and characterized by one of
five female archetype variants.
The five archetypes he discusses are as follows: the dominatrix, the
rape-avenger, the mother, the daughter, and the Amazon. He explores each of these archetypes in
detail, explaining how the dynamics of female empowerment embodied by each
category are associated with the male castration complex that powerful female
heroes evoke in their male counterparts.
Later he expands the scope of these non-traditional archetypes to
include what he and others refer to as the “Final Girl,” or the strong
persistent female character that struggles to survive an ordeal in which other
characters often all die off by the end.
Each of these archetypal categories is designed to help female characters
avoid provoking the male castration fear.
The extent of female toughness or heroism can vary within each specific
category. In some cases the
masculine qualities applied to heroic or powerful female characters can
completely eliminate any lingering hints of femininity, essentially mirroring
the tough male persona typical of male action icons.
Numerous films released over the past few decades
exemplify this dichotomy of female hero archetypes and how each one helps
female actors to overcome the limitations usually imposed on their gender in accordance
with the notion of the “male gaze” discussed by so many feministic
theorists. One of the earliest and
most widely examined examples of this phenomenon can be seen in the film Alien,
starring Sigourney Weaver as the main character. None of the Alien films portray her character, Ripley, as
particularly feminine or sexually appealing. In the first film of the series, her archetypal role is that
of resourceful “final girl survivor,” sole survivor of the catastrophic events
of the film. She plays the lead
role amongst a cast otherwise comprised of men and subverts the usual
complications inherent of the male castration complex by avoiding elements of
excessive sex appeal, essentially becoming just another one of the guys, simply
fighting for survival in an isolated hostile environment. Interestingly, in the sequel, Aliens,
the director, James Cameron, chose to take her character in a different
more extreme direction, ditching her former archetypal role of the “Final Girl”
that barely escapes with her life from the first movie. Instead Ripley is transformed into a
badass, giant gun-toting, alien massacring machine, not just merely surviving
the ordeal but completely annihilating the eminent threat. This role falls under the mother
archetype, reinforced through the presence of a child she feels obligated to
protect.
Another great example of female empowerment in
cinema in recent decades is exemplified in the film Terminator, also the work
of James Cameron. Linda Hamilton
is cast as Sarah Connor, the future mother of a man destined to lead the entire
human race to victory in global war between man and machine, ultimately
preventing the extinction of the human race. Initially she exemplifies the traditional female role of
most films, perhaps initially just a “Final Girl,” but as the plot escalates
her archetypal role is more representative of the strong willed heroine and
mother. By the end of the film her
male protector counterpart dies leaving her to vanquish the unstoppable
murderous robot all by herself. Ironically,
just as Ripley’s character in the Alien series undergoes a dramatic
transformation in terms of toughness between films, we can see a very similar
transformation of Linda Hamilton’s character in the second terminator film. She sheds almost every remaining
feminine characteristic present in the first film, and instead has become an
extremely muscular and masculine figure.
Everything about her appearance from her clothing selection to her buff,
masculine physique, tells the viewers that she is “one tough bitch” not to be
trifled with. Suddenly her
character is a tactical weapons expert, almost never without some intimidating
guns or utilitarian military apparel.
Again her archetypal role is that of the protective mother willing to
stop at nothing to ensure the survival of her offspring, the future savior of
mankind.
Both Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hamilton’s
characters undergo a radical transformation between films. This can be attributed in part to
increased acceptance or even preference of viewers regarding female action
stars over time, suggesting a progressive acceptance of tough heroic female
protagonists among spectators.
Alternatively, these transformations and the advancements they represent
occur under the vigilant watch of the male director, James Cameron. This helps to demonstrate and reinforce
the idea that cinema is an industry predominantly shaped by males. However, in this situation James
Cameron could be viewed as an advocate of the empowered female role in cinema,
attempting to challenge conventional practices of film and the associated
stereotypical view of women.
Continuing with the idea that male directors can act
as advocates for the progression of feminist cinema, another individual,
Quentin Tarantino, is well known for featuring strong and empowered women in
his films. The best examples of
this are the Kill Bill films for which he is best known. His choice to cast Uma Thurman as the
main character and hero of the films was extremely deliberate. In both volumes of Kill Bill, Uma is a
remorseless killing machine hell bent on revenge. Her character is an archetypal hybrid, a combination of the
rape-avenger and mother, topped off with certain dominatrix qualities. While her role may challenge the
conventional role of women in cinema, it simultaneously incorporates certain
traits encompassed by the “male gaze.”
Although her behavior infers both power and vengeance, the intended
function of her appearance does not diminish her physical female
attributes. Her costume, usually a
skin tight leather jumpsuit, consists of bright and contrasting bold
colors. While these qualities are
not relevant to the overall story line, they partly reinforce some level of
female objectification. One could
argue that these seemingly contradictory characteristics cater to both sides of
feminist film theory simultaneously challenging the usual paradigm and while
still partially adhering to and reinforcing long established practices of
spectatorship.
While
certain films are considered to positively challenge stereotypes and push the
limits of conventional content, there exists a genre of films featuring
powerful and heroic female protagonists that many consider harmful to the
feminist cause. Anybody can blame
the patriarchal film industry for the exaggeration of the “male gaze” and other
inaccurate stereotypes, but unfortunately as long as demand for such content exists; it seems likely that a supply of content will exist
to fulfill such demand, especially when there is potential for significant
financial gains. Capitalizing on
opportunities of this nature will not simply go out of style even if females dominated
the film industry, an unfortunate result of the production of exploitation
media. Some potential examples
might include Charlie’s Angels and Tomb Raider. Both films feature supposedly
empowered women; however their portrayals in these films also rely heavily on
sex appeal and commodity fetishism. The desire for easy money often times
results in film remakes and cinematic reimagining of popular games. Unfortunately, this practice still
generates profits and therefore probably isn’t going away anytime soon, but
rather has begun to occur more frequently.
Hopefully, in the not to far away future, emergence
and dissemination of empowered female cinematic content can help facilitate the
cultural changes necessary to one day dismiss or lessen the stereotypical
“gaze” of male viewers and any other negative associations resulting from
current masculine dominance of the film industry. Could these problems potentially be resolved through the
integration of females into the film industry in which they hope to affect
change? Perhaps, but even with
women fully represented in the film industry, unless somehow convinced
otherwise, both sexes will likely continue to produce content that coincides
with their own particular stereotypes or spectatorship practices. Overall, it would appear that a
combination of challenging traditional stereotypes with new content and
understanding how both male and female viewers derive meaning from what they
see is the most important mediating factor in determining the future discourse
of cinematic equality across gender divisions.
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