By Dimi Ivanov
In a socio-cultural context, the way women are represented in film has always had significant impacts on the prevalence of gender stereotypes. American media exhibited widespread stereotyping and gender bias throughout the 1960s, and the notion that a woman should live to care for her husband and family became the central image. Rather than simply suggesting characteristics of a housewife films at the time couldn’t help but transmit the housewife stereotype across the nation. The effect of such portrayals is interesting because people’s opinions on the matter alternate across different generations. The key is to understand that the concept of the 1960s housewife is given either a positive or a negative connotation depending on the circumstances involved. If a person had a happy life in the 60s it is easy to put a nostalgic, positive spin on the portrayal of the 60s housewife. Likewise, such a portrayal seen today would carry an objectifying or demeaning connotation. Some will point out that women have made too many advances in society since then that it would be unjust to embrace anything that connects them to a period some view as restrictive of their potential in life.
In past years the stereotypical woman in film has always been cast a supporting role for a male heroin. It was thought that the woman should only be there to exaggerate the strength of the male part by acting as a damsel in distress. This role of women became almost like a cliché as it was so over used. A suitable example of this portrayal is the film King Kong, in which the only female character seen throughout the whole movie is represented as nothing more than a helpless victim. So the damsel cliché typically makes men the “subject” of the storylines while demoting women to the “object.” This is a form of objectification because as objects, women are being acted upon, most commonly becoming a prize to be won or a goal to be achieved. In order to promote the subverting of gender norms, women in film should no longer be portrayed as victimized or objectified, something that sadly is still occurring to this day. We still see the archetype of a damsel in distress appear in popular culture, however this particular gender depiction has definitely undergone change over time.
There has been a cultural push going on for years now to get female characters in mainstream films some self-respect, confidence, and capability, in order to make them more than victim and the eventual trophies of 1980s action films. Female characters don’t have to take over the story to give the impression of being self-reliant, but they do have to have some sense of purpose. Too bad the typical Hollywood narrative gives the heroin absolutely nothing to do. Even when strong, confident female characters do manage to contribute to a male-led action story, their contributions are likely to be marginal at best. Many female heroes are still objectified but there are more progressive roles for women in action, horror, and science fiction cinema than there used to be. Gender depiction in film has undergone significant change over the course of the last half-century, however there will always be room for further improvement.
In a socio-cultural context, the way women are represented in film has always had significant impacts on the prevalence of gender stereotypes. American media exhibited widespread stereotyping and gender bias throughout the 1960s, and the notion that a woman should live to care for her husband and family became the central image. Rather than simply suggesting characteristics of a housewife films at the time couldn’t help but transmit the housewife stereotype across the nation. The effect of such portrayals is interesting because people’s opinions on the matter alternate across different generations. The key is to understand that the concept of the 1960s housewife is given either a positive or a negative connotation depending on the circumstances involved. If a person had a happy life in the 60s it is easy to put a nostalgic, positive spin on the portrayal of the 60s housewife. Likewise, such a portrayal seen today would carry an objectifying or demeaning connotation. Some will point out that women have made too many advances in society since then that it would be unjust to embrace anything that connects them to a period some view as restrictive of their potential in life.
In past years the stereotypical woman in film has always been cast a supporting role for a male heroin. It was thought that the woman should only be there to exaggerate the strength of the male part by acting as a damsel in distress. This role of women became almost like a cliché as it was so over used. A suitable example of this portrayal is the film King Kong, in which the only female character seen throughout the whole movie is represented as nothing more than a helpless victim. So the damsel cliché typically makes men the “subject” of the storylines while demoting women to the “object.” This is a form of objectification because as objects, women are being acted upon, most commonly becoming a prize to be won or a goal to be achieved. In order to promote the subverting of gender norms, women in film should no longer be portrayed as victimized or objectified, something that sadly is still occurring to this day. We still see the archetype of a damsel in distress appear in popular culture, however this particular gender depiction has definitely undergone change over time.
There has been a cultural push going on for years now to get female characters in mainstream films some self-respect, confidence, and capability, in order to make them more than victim and the eventual trophies of 1980s action films. Female characters don’t have to take over the story to give the impression of being self-reliant, but they do have to have some sense of purpose. Too bad the typical Hollywood narrative gives the heroin absolutely nothing to do. Even when strong, confident female characters do manage to contribute to a male-led action story, their contributions are likely to be marginal at best. Many female heroes are still objectified but there are more progressive roles for women in action, horror, and science fiction cinema than there used to be. Gender depiction in film has undergone significant change over the course of the last half-century, however there will always be room for further improvement.
Works Cited
Kaplan, E. Ann. Women and Film: Both Sides of the Camera. London: Routledge, 1983. Print.
"Mythology and Archetypes- "A Damsel in Distress"" HubPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2015.
"I Love That Film: Feminist Analysis of Terminator 1 and 2." I Love That Film: Feminist Analysis of Terminator 1 and 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2015.
Kaplan, E. Ann. Women and Film: Both Sides of the Camera. London: Routledge, 1983. Print.
"Mythology and Archetypes- "A Damsel in Distress"" HubPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2015.
"I Love That Film: Feminist Analysis of Terminator 1 and 2." I Love That Film: Feminist Analysis of Terminator 1 and 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2015.