3 Subverted images of women:

Three ways number of female directors can be improves:

1. Men can share the domestic tasks with females e.g. looking after children so that females also get a chance to become successful
   
2. Encourage young females to go into this profession e.g. through role models
   
3. Women can have award evenings in order to motivate them to do more

Five reasons why female directors are such a rare sight:

1. Film is a male dominated industry
2. Women have other responsibilities such as taking care of family, and its difficult if they have children to navigate hours.
3. There are gender issues about control and authority
4. Films were enormously expenses in the past, so of course it has gravitated to one essentially white, essentially male, middle class groups who get to speak and have their say.
5. Film industry is constructed in a way that there are just men in every level thus making it difficult for women to enter.

Five Female Directors:

Rebecca Miller:

Rebecca Miller (born September 15, 1962 in Roxbury, Connecticut) is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. In 1995, she went behind the camera, writing and directing her first film, Angela. The film was critically well-received, but did not garner significant attention or audiences.

Films:

- Personal Velocity: Three Portraits
- The Ballad of Jack and Rose
- Angela

Gillian Armstrong:

(born 18 December 1950) An award-winning Australian director of feature films and documentaries. Armstrong received six awards at the 1979 Australian film awards, including Best Director. Following the success of My Brilliant Career, which was nominated for an Academy Award in Best Costume Design, Armstrong directed the Australian musical Starstruck (1981)

Films:

- Death Defying Acts (2008)
- Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst (2005)
- Charlotte Gray (2001)
- Oscar and Lucinda (1997)
- Not Fourteen Again (1996)
- Little Women (1994)
- The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992)
- Fires Within (1991)
- Bingo, Bridesmaids & Braces (1988)
- High Tide (1987)
- Hard to Handle (1986)
- Mrs. Soffel (1984)
- Having a Go (1983)

Mary Harron:

Is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Born in Ontario, Canada, Harron grew up with a family that was entrenched in the world of film and theater. Harron moved to England when she was thirteen and later attended Oxford University. Whilst in England she dated Tony Blair, who would later become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She then moved to New York City and was part of its 1970s punk scene. She helped start and write for Punk magazine as a music journalist — she was the first journalist to interview the Sex Pistols for an American publication

Films:

- I Shot Andy Warhol
-American Psycho
- The Notorious Bettie Page

Julie Taymor:

an American director of theater, opera and film. Taymor's work has received many accolades from critics, and she has earned two Tony Awards out of four nominations, an Emmy Award, and an Academy Award nomination for her work. She is widely known as the first female to win the Tony Award for directing the musical The Lion King, for which she also received a Tony Award for her original costume designs.

Films:

- The Tempest (1986)
- Fool's Fire (1992) (TV)
- Oedipus Rex (1993) (TV)
- Titus (1999)
- Frida (2002)
- Across the Universe (2007)
- The Tempest (2009)

Jane Campion:

Is an Academy Award-nominated film maker and Academy Award-winning screenplay writer. She is one of the most internationally successful New Zealand directors, although most of her work has been made in or financed by other countries, principally Australia – where she now lives – and the U.S.

Films:

Sweetie (1989)
An Angel at My Table (1990) — based on the autobiography of Janet Frame
The Piano (1993)
The Portrait of a Lady (1996) — based on the novel by Henry James
Holy Smoke! (1999)
In the Cut (2003) — based on the novel by Susanna Moore
The Water Diary (2006)
8 (2008)
Bright Star (2009)

Fairy liquid advert- Ads in past

This advert is reinforcing stereotypes which females are associated with e.g. houswives etc. Women were rarely shown to be in paid work, they were usually presented as houswives and found to be concerned about beauty, cleanliness, family snd pleasing others. The female character in this ad is young and attractiver and she seems to be passing her norms and values onto her daugter, teaching her that womens place are in the kitchen (washing up dishes).

Persil washing up liquid-Contemporary

This advert could be subverting the stereotypes that men are associated with and it could be reinforcing the idea of the "new man", this is becuase we have a male character doing what a female does e.g. washing up the dishes. Also women were the ones which would usually know all about domestic work, however in this advert we have a man explaining about the cleaning product. Also at the end we find out that they are cleaning in order to impress the female which is something a women would do thus it could be showing that things are now changing.

Retromercial: Persil (1958)

This is an advert from the 1950s, where women were mainly presented as housewives, which is evident in this advert. At the beginning we have a male voice over, which is typical at that time where men were more likely to be seen in authority roles and the voice over presents them as dominant. The voice over we hear stated that "someones mum knows whats really white" therefore implying that women were the ones to be associated with cleaning, washing etc.The female character used, seems to be happy in the work she is doing (domestic) which could suggest that women belong in the kitchen and they should be happy doing domestic work.

Cadbury's Flake advert - 1985

Women in this era were usually presented as housewife's and were mainly shown to have interested in domestic products and cleaning etc, however in this advert she not presented how females were normally shown. The chocolate could be a phallic symbol which could be objectifying women.

Temptation- Adverts on women

At the begining of the advert we see the female character come out of her car, she is presented as a upper class, successful business women, from her house etc, however she is also objectified, from zoom on her particulr body parts, where she does not have any clothing on. The red night gown she is wearing at the end presents her as seductress which appeals to the male audience.

Women in comtemporary ads

Women are normaly presented very negatively in adverisment. They are normaly shown as objects o the male gaze (Laura Mulvey). The female character in this advert is depicted as vulnerable and obsessed, and from the way she is positioned on the bed, makes her look seductress as well as her facial expressions.

Terminator (1980s)

This film mainly presents the female characters as weak and as the victims of the film; whereas the male character is presented dominant and powerful and this is mainly through the prop’s e.g. the gun, which could be a symbol of his power, and the use of low angel shots which make the audience look inferior and the male character as superior.

Three men and a baby

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However this film contrasts due to the reason that here the men are not as dominant over the female character. They are shown in a mother role, where they are taking care of the baby, which can link to the feminist’s theory of “the new man”. Therefore this could be challenging the stereotypes that men are associated with.

Bibliography

1. Probert, David and Graham, Andrew: Advanced Media Studies. Italy
   
   “women are defined in terms of the sexual desirability of their bodies to men, rather then individuals” pg 141
   
   
2. Bennet Peter, Slater Jerry, Wall Peter: A2 Media Studies: The essential introduction. Italy
   
   John Berger- “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves” pg 106
   
3. Branston Gill, Stratford Roy: The Media Studies Students Book- Second edition (1999): Routledge
   
   “Gender differences are culturally formed =, they exist on the basis of biological, but build a huge system of differentiation over and above it” pg 126
   
   “Men were repeatedly represented s ‘housewives, mother, homemakers’. Men were often represented ‘in situations of authority and dominance over women’ aided by the use of male voice overs” pg 127
   
4. Lacey, Nick: Image And Representation- Key concepts in media studies (1998). United States of America: Macmillan Press Ltd
   
   “Stereotypes serve to naturalise the power relationships in society; they have a hegemonic function, so the fact the fact that women are often stereotyped as subservient to men” pg 139
   
5. Jenainati Cathia, Groves Judy: Introducing Feminism (2007). United Kingdom
   
   “if particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any law in which we have no voice, or representation” pg 22
   
   “since all cultural representative of the world around us have been produced by men, women read themselves in terms of masculine definitions and “dream through the dreams of men” thus women is required to accept her status of other, “make herself object” and “renounce her autonomy”. Pg 84
   
6. Oakley, Ann: Gender, women and social science (2005). Great Britain: Policy press, university of Bristol
   
   The an Oakley
   “The assumption that a women’s place is in the home implies that it is not in a career.” Pg 10
   
   “When women do take jobs outside the home, they find themselves almost always doing traditional ‘feminine work’ conforming to conventional ideas of gender roles (Klein, 1965, Sullerot, 1971)” pg 10
   
7. Smith, Sharon: women and film (1972)
   
   "The role of a woman in a film almost always revolves around her physical attraction, and the mating games she plays with the male characters" pg 48
   
8. Faludi, Susan: Backlash: the undeclared war against women (1991)
   
   "Women are being 'reduced to mute and incidental characters or banished altogether' in action movies like preditor (1987), lethal weapon (1987) and days of thunder (1990)"
   pg 48
   
9. Gauntlett, David: Media, Gender and Identity (2002). Routledge
   
   "Men are much more likely to be adventurous, active and victorious, whereas women were more frequently shown as weak, ineffectual, victimised, supportive, laughable, or 'merely token females'" chapter 3pg 42
   
10. Forgot the name of the book =(.. will find out soon :)
    
    Charlie’s angels (2001) “whilst playing with conventions of the action genre and making the women protagonist active, the camera is used to focus on how they look and in particular the attractiveness of their bodies” pg 247
11. Tim O'Sullivan, Brian Duttin, Philip Rayner: Studying the media(1944). Philip Rayner:Great Britain
    
    
    "The female body is displayed for the 'male gaze' in order to provide erotic pleasure (voyeurism) and ultimatley a sense of control over her (Laura Mulvey:1079)"
    
    "One of the strongest cultural values concerning gender differences is that women are judged by their looks more then men"
    
    Emanuel Levy(!990) concluded that physical looks and youth were far more important for the female star"
    
    "The median age for female stars was 27, compared to 36 for men"
12. Gill Branston, Roy Stafford: The Media Students Book-third edition (2003). Routlesdge: Usa and Canada
    
    "Women were repeatedly shown as housewives, mothers, home-makers while men were often represented in situations of authority and dominance over women" (pg95)
    
    
    
    

High Noon Trailer (1952)

12 angry men:


there are the trailers for the 1950s films, High Noon and 12 angry men. The fact that the films mainly portrays men and there isn't many women in the trailer clearly suggests that women were not seen as significant, which links back to 'Tuchman' who claimed that "Women have been 'Symbolically Annihilated". Similarly, due to the reason that their are a lack of females in the film, the female audience would have to identify with the male characters thus having to 'cross gender', and he guns can be a symbol of power for the males.

The Sound of Music - Original (1965) Trailer

This is a typical representation of women in the 1960s, where they were usually presented as housewife's and were portrayed as weak, powerless and inferior to men. In this film, the female character is seen as a mother figure for the children, and she is presented as the "Madonna", which has connotations of innocence and purity. The male voice over, suggests that men are dominant The female is nearly always shown with the children, which relates back to the maternal side and she is represented as caring.

This is also a film from the same decade (1960s), however in the trailer for this film, it is clear that there are no female characters and the men dominate the film and the swords can be a symbol for their power, this could relate back to Tuchman’s theory that "women are symbolically annihilated".

Alien (1970s)

This was the first film which featured an female action protagonist, and was therefore seen as a celebration for feminists. Ripley is represented as strong and individual. In the trailer where she is running, the audience is put in her postion and we are made to see from her point of view, this suggests that she is the main character of the film who is driving the plot forward. However this was not typical during the 70s, as men were playing the main roles of film, therefore showing the increase in womens roles.

Star Wars (1970s)



The trailer is mainly male dominated due to the reason the there are not that many females, this links to Gunter’s theory that the female characters are shown as “weak, ineffectual, victimised, supportive, laughable, or merely token females”.

Fatal Attraction..(1990s)

This is a trailer for a fatal attraction which is under the film noir genre. The film shows a negative representation of women and that they can be dangerous. The film shows the binary oppostions of the two female characters in the film, one as the "Madonna" and the other as the "Whore".

The male character in this film is shown as powerful e.g. through the guns and money, the female is shown as a token for his achievement, and as the whole trailer is based on him, it is clear that he is the protagonist of the film thus driving the narrative forward, which presents him as dominant.

David Gauntlett- Media, Gender & Identity

In the past ten or fifteen years, things have been changing quite considerably. Men and woman seen working side by side, as equals, in the hospitals, schools, and police stations of television lands.

Statistics:

- During the 1990's, gender roles have have become increasingly equal and non-stereotyped on television.
Prime-Time T.V shows in 1992-93 showed that men took 61% of the leading speaking roles, with women only taking 39% of the speaking roles.

1995-1996 study showed that men took 63% of the speaking roles, with women taking the other 37% of those speaking roles.

A small number of 18% of women took major female character roles, with two-thirds of those stars in domestic comedies.

A 1995-96 study showed that 43% of major characters were females.

In 1992-93, a study showed that only 3% of women were represented as Housewives, a major decrease from the 70's, with an additional 8% of women presented as homemakers.

Overall. the 1992-1993 study found that "the woman on prime time TV in the early 1990as was young, single, independent, and free from family and work place pressure."
(Elasmer, Hasegawa and brain)

Gender in contemporary movies:

Film in the past had tended to give men all the primary clever and resourceful roles, which made them the lead characters, whilst women usually got to be the love interests and helpers.

"Film... often and anxiously envision women stereotypically as 'good' mothers or 'bad' hysterical careerists[in the past, and today every Hollywood women is someone elses other]"

"Nobody every called Indiana Jones a 'bimbo' just because Harrison Ford took his shirt off, or because he sometimes used his seductive looks and charm to get what he wanted"

David Gauntlet- Media, Gender, Identity
The chapter is about the representation of gender in the media and is basically discussing how men and woman are presented in the media, for example in TV programmes and comedy shows and also in films. Looks at the representation of gender from the 1990s to the present.
Gunter- in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s only 20% to 35% of characters were female (speaking roles in TV shows) by 1980s there were more woman in leading roles, but there was still twice as many men on screen.

- In action-adventure shows, only 15% of the leading characters were woman.
- Various other studies in the 1970s found men to be the more dominant characters and the decision makers on TC.
- Men were more likely to be assertive while woman were more likely to be passive
- Men were more likely to be adventurous, active and victorious and woman shown
as weak, ineffectual, victimised, supportive and laughable (Gunter, 1995)

Dyer, 1987, stated that TV remained stubborn, with game shows not bothering to change their
‘degrading and views of women’, sports programming remaining the ‘preserve of men’, and
news programmes accused of tokenism or ‘window dressing’ by including some women in key positions whilst retaining a male dominated culture.

Woman and film, Sharon Smith:
“Women, in fully human form, have almost completely been left out of film. . . The role of woman in a film almost always revolves around her physical attraction, and the mating games she plays with the male characters. On the other hand a man is not shown purely in relation to the female character, but in a wide variety of roles”

Kathi Maio, 1990s:
“Women are not only given less screen time, when we’re up there on the screen we are likely to be portrayed as powerless and ineffectual...Where are the triumphant woman heroes to match the winner roles men play constantly?”

Hegomonic Model or Pluralistic Model?

Hegemonic Model or Pluralist Model?
The reception theory suggests that there are two types of audiences; one is active who create different interpretations of the text whilst consuming it, and one passive who consume the text without questioning it. I agree with the pluralistic model which suggests that the main function of the media is to please the audience. There isn’t only one person who owns large parts of the media for example Rupert Murdock however there are other entrepreneurs such as Paul Dacre who is the current editor of the Daily Mail, and Sir Michael Lyons who is the chairman of BBC. These are also people who control parts of the media and can be influential however due to the reason that there are a variety of different institutions such as Walt Disney, Sony, Virgin etc it increases consumer choices and also it wouldn’t be biased as the views would be differing and thus allow the audience to choose which views suits them best and wouldn’t have to accept one view.

Five things i have learnt from the study. . .

Five things I have learnt from the study:
1. Concept floe- good link made between key concepts, therefore I can follow a similar structure in order to make my paragraph better and to include more then three key concepts.
2. Women have been objectified through the way they were represented in historical texts as well; therefore their objectification is not new.
3. Women are willing to pose provocatively in photos and there’s an ideology that pictures reflect a majority of woman’s values in society, that this representation of woman is acceptable.
4. Woman’s purpose is to look appealing and attractive to a watching male population. This is something which I can include in my independent study as I am also studying the representation of men and whether they have changed or not.
5. Even though women are supposedly rising in status through the media ironically they are still objectified. I can also use this as an argument in my independent study.

Migrain Analysis Of Part 6 Of My Text. . .

This is a scene from resident evil extinctions, in this scene the survivors are getting attacked by several crows and Alice who is the main character of the film comes to rescue them. The crows have connotations of evil and they are seen as the enemy to the survivors and the heroine of the film(Milla Jovovich). There are a variety of different shots used in this scene which include close ups mainly to emphasis the facial expressions of the characters e.g. Ashanti who looks shocked and terrified, this adds to the suspense and keeps the audience engaged. There are also high angles were the camera is looking down on the female characters, this could suggest that the females are inferior and that evil is more powerful. There is a use of both high key lighting and low key lighting therefore it creates different effects as the low key lighting create darker tones which adds emphasis on the horror and thriller genre of the film and conforms to it. There music in the scene is medium paced, and creates suspense to and also there's screams of the female characters which could present them as weak and could reinforce the stereotypes associated with females. To add to the tension and suspense of the scene the director chooses to use fast paced edits, therefore there is a lot of jump cuts. Under the original title of Resident Evil: Afterlife. Shortly after, the film and another planned sequel were officially announced by Sony Screen Gems on June 13, 2005. On November 7, 2005, Davis Film, Constantin Film and Screen Gems announced their distribution rights worldwide. The film was advertised on posters, television, Internet and cinemas. Constantin Film Distribution GmbH was founded by Waldfried Barthel and Preben Philipsen in April 1950 in Frankfurt, Germany. On December 21, 1964, the name of the company was changed to Constantin Film GmbH. The film was distributed through various ways, e.g. cinema, television, Internet, etc The genre of the film is mainly horror/ thriller/ sci-fi and action, therefore it is a hybrid as it consists of a mix of genres. the scene is conforming to the genre as it creates suspense and there is also action where the characters are fighting against the crows which are attacking them. There is also a use of guns in the film which add to the action aspect of it. The main representation which i would be looking at is of the female characters. In this scene of the film they are represented in two ways, firstly as powerful and strong and also as weak, which can be used for the other side of my argument. Characters such as Ashanti and Ali Larter and the main protagonist of the film Milla Jovovich are portrayed as strong, mainly through the action parts of the film where they are fighting and their weapons are used as a symbol of power. This representation would be seen as positive mainly because of the fact that previously females were represented as powerless and weak, on the other hand other female characters subvert those stereotypes e.g. when the girl starts screaming and the male character runs to save her, this suggests that males are still more powerful and that the females still need rescuing. Near the end of the scene it shows a long shot of Milla Jovovich looking up at the sky which is al fire. The fire could connote danger however she is presented as strong as the is fighting against that, and this is shown where the camera pans around her suggesting that she is the main focus and that she is the heroine of the film who will "save the day". The primary target audience for the film could be males mainly because they would be interested in the genre which is action, how ever we can also say that the primary audience is females as the protagonist of the film is a female. Therefore the audience could aspire to be like her, from the way she is represented which is powerful, independent and strong. Thus the film would be appealing to both genders. In a way the expectations of the audience i believe are fulfilled, this is because the film conforms to its generic conventions e.g. through the fighting and the propps used e.g. guns. The film can be seen as a success to woman to a active audience due to the reason that they are represented positively however a passive audience may not think this and may believe that woman are still being objectified. The main ideology behind this scene could be that the on screen roles of woman have changed and it could be challenging the stereotypes that females would usually be associated with, due to the reason that they are seen more physically stronger in the scene as they are fighting. On the other hand feminists would argue that they are objectified through aspects such as their clothing which is rather revealing and tight. The main purpose of the scene would be to entertain the audience as it creates suspense and keeps them engaged.
The main narrative theory which could be applied to this clip is Propps theory. Alica (Milla Jovovich) is seen as the hero/heroine of the film who saves the survivors, this is seen near to the end of the clip. We can also apply Levi Strauss's Binary oppositions theory, for example good vs evil, e.g. the crows are seen as the villain in this scene and Alice the heroine who saves the other characters, there's also a contrast in light and dark, there are some dark tones and some light ones. This particular scene follows a linear narrative however the whole film is non linear as it contains flashbacks to the other sequels e.g.resident evil 2.

Values && Ideology. . .

One of the ideologies that could be underpinning the text could be the change in the on screen representation of women. Previously woman were represented pessimistically, for example they were portrayed as sexual objects of desire and an objects of "the gaze" which is a term used by Laura Mulvey. For example is films such as King Kong the female character is presented as weak and helpless, however Resident evil could be showing the change in the role of woman and the fact that nowadays they are presented in more of an optimistic light, and this could be evident from the role that Milla Jovovich is playing in the text which i am studying, e.g. she is represented as superior, powerful, independent and strong, these are qualities that males are usually associated with, and therefore the film is subverting the stereotypes that are placed on woman.

overall it is a film which is attempting to challenge the stereo types that females would be associated with and is presenting the change in the on screen representation of woman.

Audience. . .

As i have discussed before, the primary target audience for this film would be mainly young teenage boys aged from 15-25, this is mainly because of the genre of the film which is action, and this is the genre which boys are mainly interested in. On the other hand due to the protagonist of the film being female it can also be argued that the primary audience can be females, as MillaJovovich can be seen as a role model for them. Whereas the females can also be the secondary audience for the film.

Uses and gratification:

This is "an active audience theory, developed by Jay Blumler and Elihu Katz(1975), that focuses on 'what people do with the media' rather then what the media does to people, arguing that audiences are free to pick and choose from a wide range of media products to satisfy their own needs"

The audience for Resident evil: extinctions may consume the text for various reasons.

• Division: they may consume the text for escapism.
  
  
• personal identity: they may be able to compare their own life with characters and situations portrayed and explore problems and perspectives
  
  
• Personal relationship
  

Catwomen. . .

Synopsis:
Catwoman is the story of shy, sensitive artist Patience Philips (Halle Berry), a woman who can’t seem to stop apologizing for her own existence. She works as a graphic designer for Hedare Beauty, a mammoth cosmetics company on the verge of releasing a revolutionary anti-aging product. When Patience inadvertently happens upon a dark secret her employer is hiding, she finds herself in the middle of a corporate conspiracy. What happens next changes Patience forever. In a mystical twist of fate, she is transformed into a woman with the strength, speed,agility and ultra-keen senses of a cat. With her newfound prowess and feline intuition, Patience becomes Catwoman, a sleek and stealthy creature balancing on the thin line between good and bad. Like any wildcat, she’s dangerous, elusive and untamed. Her adventures are complicated by a burgeoning relationship with Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt), a cop who has fallen for Patience but cannot shake his fascination with the mysterious Catwoman, who appears to be responsible for a string of crime sprees plaguing the city.

This is a text which i can use while discussing the other side of my argument, which is that even though females such as Milla Jovovich are presented as powerful, strong, independent, and it seems like they are progressing and that they are being represented more positively on screen, we can argue that they are still objectified to an extent. This is mainly through the female protagonists chosen and their costumes, for example the female characters that are used seem to be all very good looking and attractive, also in Catwomen the protagonist costume is tightly fitted, shes wearing red lipstick which presents her as seductive and shes also objectified in other ways e.g. in the trailer there's a part where shes sitting on the bed, the way shes positioned makes her look very provocative. Therefore i can argue that even though females are used as the protagonist in action films they are still sexually objectified.

Laura Mulvey(An introduction to film studies, third edition)

Laura Mulveys article "Visual pleasure and narrative cinema" emphasises the importance of the patriarchal view point in the cinema; that the pleasure gained from looking(scopophilia) is a male pleasure and

quote:

"The look in cinema is controlled by the male and directed at the female, this is often referred to as 'the male gaze'"

Scopophilia can be directed in two area's: first, voyeurism, that is scopopphilic pleasure linked to sexual attraction, and, second scopophilic pleasure which is linked to narcissistic identification. Mulvey argues that this identification is always with the male is is the pivot of the film, its hero, while the female is often seen as a threat.

Patriarchy and phallocentrism are intrinsically linked; the phallus is a symbol of power, of having(note that guns are used in films: guns=phallus=power). The women has no phallus, she is castrated which related back to Freudian theory that the woman is lacking and therefore inferior because she has no phallus.

Claire Johnston. . .

Claire Johnston's "Women's cinema as counter-cinema" (1973 is one of the earliest articles on feminist film theory and practice. She shows how women have been stereotypes in film since the days n the silent cinema and argues for a cinema that challenges such narrow conventions but which will also be entertaining. In mainstream cinema women is seen as an extension of male vision and Johnston criticises the narrow role she is given in film:

Quote:

"It is probably true to say that despite the enormous emphasis placed on women as spectacle in the cinema, woman as woman is largely absent" (ibid.: 214)

From: 'An introduction to film studies, third edition'

Sue Sharpes Theory. . .

Sue Sharp conducted an influential study of girls' expectations whilst at school in 1972 and in 1994 she replicated this study.
During the interval there were some background changes in society and the economy, such as (a) the passage of the Thatcher era, which presented possible new female role-models; (b) high levels of structural unemployment and corresponding increases in the number and diversity of training schemes. / . However, these background influences do not appear to have had much influence of girls' attitudes. The principle finding was that girls in the 1990s still expect to undertake work that could be described as 'women's work' � that is teaching, health work, air hostesses, beauticians, working with children and clerical work in banks.
However, there were some changes: (a) the expectation or desire to do office work had significantly diminished. This may be attributed to changes in technology; (b) diminished expectations to become shop assistants; (c) some interest in car mechanics, engineering or firefighting. Other findings were (a) a greater stress on equality with men, increased sense of assertiveness and confidence; (b) a greater emphasis on the importance of having a job or career and being able to support themselves, especially in the event of a breakdown of marriage; (c) no desire generally to identify themselves as feminists; (d) less positive attitudes to marriage; (e) the expectation to combine work and family life; the expectation that husbands or partners would help with housework and childcare. However, realisitically, the feeling that 'new man' was a bit of a joke. (f) Young women continue to "look forward to a future in which they are likely to end up juggling work and domestic life like their mothers before them."

My views:
This therefore suggests that women no longer see love, marriage etc as their main priorities, whereas they concentrate more on their careers and jobs and see it as a number one priority, therefore this suggests that females are becoming more independent, which could be a factor for the change in the on screen representation of women.

Site:
http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/2984.html

Historical texts related to my study. . .

Indiana Jones. . .


The film Indiana Jones has a typical representation of women e.g. weak etc, it follows the proppian narrative theory well, for example there is a hero, the girl is seen as the princess who needs saving and there's also a helper etc. Therefore i can use this film whilst talking about how women use to be represented in previous film compared to how they are represented now e.g. in resident evil and how has the on screen representations changed.

P.S I love you



PS. i love you, is a romantic film which represents women stereotypically to an extent, for example it suggests that women rely on men and that they are incomplete without a male, e.g. after her husband dies she doesn't want to do anything, or leave her house etc therefore i can compare this to resident evil, saying how females are now represented as strong both physically and emotionally and also very powerful

King Kong



King Kong is another historical text which i can use while making comparisons when talking about how the on screen representations of females have changed from what they use to be. For example in king Kong the female character is presented as weak and dependent on a male to come save her, which is a typical representation of women.

Provoked


This is a text which represents women as weak, powerless, sexual objects, etc this is shown when the male character says "your nothing, your a women", therefore it is a film which reinforces the stereotypes that females are associated with. The female character is abused and dominated by her husband. Therefore i can compare this text with Resident evil and talk about the change in representation.

xXx

Ten Key Words. . .

1. Active audience theory- This audience theory sees the audience as active participants in the process of deconding and making sense of media texts. This can be relevent to my study because while im talkin about audience i can say how they active audience would consume the text in different ways e.gg. feminist could say that females are becoming more powerful.
2. Binary oppositions- this is a term used by Claude Levi-Strauss as part of his argument that narratives are structured around oppositional elements in human culture. I can use this in my study while i am talking about the narratives that the film follow. For example there are many binary oppositions such as goog vs evil.
   
3. Male Gaze- A term used by laura Mulvey in her essay 'visual pleasure and narrative cinema' to descibe what she saw as the main point of view adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience. This will be relevent to my text because i will also be talkin about the objectification of the female characters therefore i can use this term.
   
4. Enigma codes- This is a narrative structure that involves the creation of riddles or problems to be solved by the resolution. I will also be using this while talkin about narrative because the film contains many narrative enigmas for example at the beggning she wakes up in a bath tub naked, this creates questions in the audiences mind as to why shes there, therefore making them want to watch more of the film in order to find out.
5. Feminism- This is a political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values, social constructions and socioeconomic practices which disadvantage women and favour men. I will be refering to feminism qiote a lot in my study and including a number of different feminist and their theories to support my argument that aswell as being represented as powerful women are still objectified in resident evil.
6. Vladimir Propp- Russian formalist writer and folklorist who analysed the structure of folk storiess in his work "The morphology of the folktale". This is relevent to my study because it is a narrative theory which is linked to my text for example Milla Jovovich as the herione and Iain Glen as the villian etc.
   
7. Protagonist- The leading character or hero in the film with whom the audience can identify and from whose point of view the action is positioned often set in binary opposition against the atagonist. This will be a term which i will be using throughout my essay when i refer to the main character who in my text is Alice(Milla Jovovich)
8. Representation- The process whereby the edia construct versions of people, places and events in images words or sounds for transmission through media texts to an audience. This is relevnt to my study because it is linked to my essay question, as i am focusing on the representation of women and whether it has changed, therefore i would be refering to this term quite alot.
   
9. Stereotypes- The social classification of a group of people by identifying common characteristics and universily applying them in an often over simplified and genralised way. This is linked to my study because i will be talkin about the stereotypes that the females in my text are associated with for example sexual objects etc.
   
10. Connotations- A meaning attributed to an image beyond the obvious denotation level. This is relevent to my study because i will be looking at the connotation of my text while analysing different scenes, and talkin about the symbols etc
    

SELF EVALUATION. . .

1. Attainment- 2
   I believe that my attainment is good at the moment, as i have attended all my lessons on time and have completed all my work.
2. Effort- 2
   So far i believe that i have put in alot of effort into my work and have ensured that all the homework's and class works which i have produced are to the best of my ability.
   
3. Punctuality- 1
   I have attended all my media lessons on time.
   
4. Submission and quality of homework- 2
   I have submitted all my homework's on time, and have attempted to insure that it is oh the highest quality
   
5. Ability to work independently- 3
   So far i have worked independently on my blog, and have completed all the tasks set on my own, however some time i do need help from the teacher to guide me or from my peers.
   
6. Quality of writing- 3
   The quality of my written work i believe is average at the moment, for example the migrain analysis i have done on my blog, however i can improve it more.
   
7. Organisation of Media folder- 1
   My media folder is well organised. I have dividers for different topics and separate folders for med 5 and med 6.
   
8. Oral contributions in class- 3
   So far i have contributed in class at times e.g. during presentations etc however i can maybe attempt to include my self more during class conversations.
   
9. Standard of Module 5 blog- 3
   I believe my med5 blog is of well standard. it is well organised, e.g. starts of with my proposal then migrain analysis of my text etc and it is up to date with all the work set.
   
10. Standard of Module 6 blog- 3
    So far i do not have much on my med 6 blog however i have completed all the tasks that were set and made sure that my blog is organised.
    
    WWW:
    -Complete all me work on time
    -Attend all lessons and arrive on time
    -Keeping med 5 blog up to date
    
    EBI:
    -Do more research for independent study
    -Contribute more in class
    -Do more work on med 6 blog
    

Action Plan. . .

1. I will need to watch the film at least twice in order to gain a better understanding of it, to help me answer my question, for example by watching it a second time i could maybe get new idea's for my study, which i might not have thought about while watching it the first time. Therefore it is crucial for me to watch the film again. I will be aiming to do this by: 25Th of October.
2. I will me aiming to broaden my understanding of a whole range of media issues related to my study. This would be helping me to achieve my assessment objective 3i as i will be showing application of ideas, debates and information relevant to my text. I will be attempting to reach this target by visiting the media guardian on a weekly basis and researching issues and debates which are linked to my study. I will be aiming to complete this by: 28Th of October.
3. My third target will be to research a few historical texts which i can compare my text with. For example In my study so far i have said how the roles of females have changed however i have not given examples of how they use to be before. Therefore I would need to do research on films that use to represent women as weak, emotional give them roles such as housewives. I will complete this task by: 31st of October.
4. My third target will be to do more research into my audience. I will need to research both the primary and secondary audience of my text and also research some audience theories, for example uses and gratification etc. This can also be linked to the self assessment of my blog, where it says i lacked information on audience. I will be aiming to complete this task by: 31st October.
   
5. My fifth aim will be to do more research on roles of women in film and also more research on different feminist theories. For example i have looked at Laura Maulvey, however i could also research Ann Oakley and her study of how women are represented etc. I have done some research on the roles of women and how they are represented in films, however in order to enhance my knowledge and gain a better understanding of representation i could do more book research etc I will complete this task by: 3rd of November.
   
6. I will need to cover Shep, which is a target i have set myself on my self assessment, therefore i would need to make references to historical texts, and the social, political and economic factors surrounding my text. I could do this by visiting the media guardian and also taking out books on women within film industry. I will be aiming to complete this by: November 3rd.
   
7. Research more no the institution of my text. This was a weakness which i talked about in my self assessment; while covering migrain i found that i hadn't wrote much about institution. Therefore my target will be to research the institution and also the film maker and the previous films that he has produced in order to give me a brief idea of whether he usually makes films with women being represented as powerful etc or whether he objectifies women in his other films. I could possible take out books from the library to help me. I will be completing this by: 31st October.
8. I also need to enhance my synoptic skills by doing more outside research, e.g. i could include some sociologists who talk about representation of women e.g. Ann Oakley etc and i could also do more migrain analysis of different scenes in my text using key concepts which we studied in module 2. I will be aiming to complete this by :26Th October.
9. Get more information on the other side of my argument, which will be that women are still objectified in a sense. I can do this by researching films that present women as superior but also as sexual objects e.g. catowomen, this is done through the way she is dressed. I can therefore research more on the representation of women in action films and in general. I will complete this task by: 28Th October.
10. Research into the values and ideologies of my text. I could write more on my blog about the ideologies and values behind my text and the reason produced and how it appeals and also about the stereotypes associated with my text. I will complete this task by: 26th Oct.
    

My Presentation. . .

WWW:
-Used bullet points on sildes
-Ivolved audience by asking questions
-Talked about both sides of argument
-Highlighted key points

EBI:
-Be abit more confident
-Slow down
-More detail on analysis of how women are represented in the trailer

Targets:
-Research historical development
-Watch the film atleast two more times to gain a better understanding of it

=)

Self-Assessment of blog work. . .

AO1-

I believe that i have analysed my text well using the key concepts. While watching my text i was taking notes covering MIGRAIN which helped me while i was writing my analysis for my summer research project. I found the media representation easier then most of the other concepts, as i wrote about the the representation of females within the film and how they have changed and also linked it to the stereotypes that are associated with females. I also covered media language and forms quite easily, as i talked about all the connotations and denotations and the different angles used in the film etc. However i still need to do more research on the institution for the film. I couldn't find allot of information on the institution on the Internet which is why i didn't write alot, therefore in order to achieve this i could go to the library and take out books on the institution and get information on their history and the types of films that they have produced previously, i can also do more research on the producer of the film to help me cover this concept. Overall i done a detailed migrain analysis of the film however one of my targets could be to research the institution for resident evil by doing book research and also searching the Internet.

AO2- So far i dont have any reference to zeitgeist on my blog however i will soon be doing research on him to put up on my blog. I havent coverd shep yet but i will be applying it to my text to cover assessment objective 2 e.g. could make a few references to historical texts talkin about how females use to be gives roles such as houswifes etc. therefore one of my targets is to do more research so that i am able to cover shep. I could do this by visiting the media guardian and also taking out books on women within film industry.

AO5-

So far i have searched many websites which have articles on the representation of women within the film industry and how they have changed e.g. previously women were viewed ad sex objects in films and were mostly given roles such as housewife etc whereas now they are equal to men and many film tend to have female action stars which suggest that women are progressing. I have also went on many websites and got reviews on Resident evil: Extinctions e.g. from the media guardian, channel 4 etc which have different views about the film, and also most of the reviews talk about the representation of the female character in the film. My question will be based around the representation of women within the film industry focusing mainly on Resident evil. I am unsure about the way i will word it yet but i have formulated two question which i have to chose between. My hypothesis is detailed as it includes information on how i will be writing my essay and the arguments which i will be talking about. It also includes information on the theories and theorists which i will be making references to in my study and the related texts e.g. Tomb Raider, Kill Bill etc. I have researched some debates which are surrounding my study for example there can be two sides of the argument for my topic, one is that the role of women within the film industry has changed and they they are now presented as more powerful and superior, on the other hand it can also be argued that females are still objectified e.g. through the way that they are dressed. However i still need to do more research on the issues and debates which are linked to my study. I have done a Migrain analysis of the whole film and attempted to talk about the key concepts in as much detail as possible, however i still lack information on the institution of my text. Similarly i need to analyse different scenes/sequences from the film as it would be useful in the future while writing up my essay. I have also done a detailed migrain analysis of the trailer of the film, and covered all the key concepts and linked it to my questions. I also researched different theories and theorists which are relevant to my study, for example Propp, Levi Strauss, Laura Maulvey, Ann Oakley etc Some of these are feminist theories e.g. Maulvey, this would be useful because they talk about factors such as the 'male gaze' which is linked to my topic. I have viewed my text only once so far but have watched clips of different scenes and analysed then in detail. I am aiming to watch the film three times so that i know it well. I have also done some research on other texts which can be related to mine e.g. Kill Bill, Tomb Raider, Cat women etc these are similar to my text as they all include female action stars and are all from the same genre. So far i have kept all the links to the websites that i have gathered information from e.g. i have kept the website addresses to where i go the reviews from as i will be quoting some of the info therefore i would need to say which source i got it from.
WWW:
-Researched different theories and theorists e.g. Maulvey
- Detailed textual analysis of film
-Researched other texts related to my study and analysed then
EBI:
-More research on institution- i will achieve this by going to the library and taking out books on the producer and the institutions.
-Watch the film more then once
-Formulate my question better

Synoptic Ability-

While analysing my text, my med 2 study from last year was useful as i knew how to use the key concepts and draw up a detailed analysis of the film. Also some of the narrative theories which i will be using such as Propp and Levi Strauss are theorists which we studied last year for med 2. I can therefore use my knowledge from med 2 and apply it to my study.
My study can be linked to my med 4 module as my topic is on the representation of women in the media, which is what we are studying at the moment therefore this could be useful as i can gather information from what we are studying and apply it to my study. At the moment we are studying different types of institutions in med 6. This is useful for my independent study because at the moment i am struggling with the institution for my text therefore i can apply my knowledge from med 6 to my study to help me. So far i haven't researched any stories on the media guardian that are relevant to my study therefore one of my targets will be to visit the media guardian regularly and research articles and stories which is linked to my study.

WWW:
- Applied knowledge from med 2 to my independent study, for example Migrain analysis, key concepts, narrative theories etc.
-
EBI:
-Research dominant values and ideologies that might influence the production of my text.
-Get more stories on my topic- could do this by visiting the media guardian more often and researching stories on the representation of women.

Critical Autonomy-

i have been quite self motivated for example i update my So far i have been working independently on my study, i have been researching my topic, and have also looked at other peoples blogs who are studying similar topics to help me. I have also looked at previous med 5 blogs to help gain some ideas. However i have also been coming up with some of my own ideas and arguments which i will be putting forward in my study. i update my blog regularly and while surfing the net, if i find something relevant to my study then i would post it on my blog as i might find it useful in the future.
WWW:
-Self motivated

EBI:

Quality of written communication-

My work on the blog so far is well structured and organised. For example i first started of with my hypothesis, i then done a short migrain analysis of my clip, i included a synopsis of the film so that people are aware of what the films about and i also included a trailer. Then some research about women in the film industry etc. I have attempted to use media terminology wherever suitable e.g. while analysing clips from the film. After writing my analysis i always spell check in order to see if there are any mistakes and i also check if there are any punctuation mistakes, this way i ensure that my work is presented well. However i need to start highlighting key points from research that i copy and paste on my blog because it would make it easier for me.
WWW:
- Work is presented clearly and is well organised
- Media terminology used
-Blog is well structured
EBI:
-Highlight key points from research

Other useful blogs:

http://www.representationofwomensuperheroes.blogspot.com/

http://www.rishikillbill.blogspot.com/

http://cbjuicyfruity.blogspot.com/

Research- From other peoples blogs...

In the early nineteenth century, we typically associated the male to be the protagonist/ dominant figure in film, thus society was exceptionally patriarchal. Women usually tend to be represented as emotional, sexual, beautiful and passive. Theorist Laura Mulvey argues that cinema audiences look at films in two ways: voyeuristically and fetishistically. This led to objectification and narcissistic towards women. However, now in the twentieth century women are seen more active then passive, more stronger then delicate allowing them to be just as equal as men. With the help of feminists, and World War Two taking an important role, women are becoming less subordinate and more prevailing and controlling in both the media and society. David Gunlett agrues that since the rise of ‘girl power’ in the media, through identities constructed by music artists such as Destinys Child, as well as contemporary actresses such as Uma Thurman, demanding more active than passive roles: women have become more powerful and dominant. The movie ‘Alien’ (1979), directed by Ridley Scott, had the first female role in a action genre, this has opened many opportunities for women as it has helped produce films such as ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004) by Quentin Tarantino.

http://killbill-volumetwo.blogspot.com/

-This would be useful for answering my question becuase its based on a similar film to mine and is also concentrating on the changing roles of women in the film industry. I agree with the statemtent because females have now become equal with men and are now seen as more powerful and superior.

Research...

• Typically ‘under a patriarchal regime, women are, by definition, excluded from positions of power and authority’[4]. Women were depicted as passive objects and were seen to be ‘inferior’ towards the males, as they were seen to be ‘breadwinners’. Women are dependant on the males, as they are biologically stronger then women, and the females are physically seen to be inferior towards them.

• Throughout Provoked and many Asian films, the male are depicted as active, both physically and mentally. Whereas the women as passive and inferior to the men ‘… masculinity confer a privileged position of power and authority… to which woman is the Other’. This is seen in ‘Provoked’ where there is a high angle shot of Andrews beating Rai and she is sitting on the floor crying. This connotes Andrews is superior and has power over Rai. The high angle also connotes him being given the God like authoritative. An image in the Eastern culture, which exists, is the husband should be seen as a god like figure. The low angle shot on Rai crying shows that she is subordinate to her husband and retains no power over him.

• 'Second Wave' was coined by Marsha Lear, and refers to the increase in feminist activity’[11]. This was the period, in the late 1960’s where females wanted to increase their status and make their identity of their own. It can be seen that Asians are trying to achieve this now. ‘Second Wave Feminism did not just strive to extend the range of social opportunities open to women, but also, through intervention within the spheres of reproduction, sexuality and cultural representation, to change their domestic and private lives’. The purpose of this act was to give females a better right and say, in which they can be seen to be equal between the two sexes.
  
  
• During the Second World War ‘Women were also conscripted to civilian war work in factories’. This was the stage when females had to take over masculine jobs, as the men’s had gone to war. It can be said that females are seen to be superior and had gained their new identity by proving that they can do men’s job and not just sit at home and be typical housewives.

http://www.provoked-provoked.blogspot.com/

Kill Bill...

This is the trailer to Kill Bill, which is similar to the text which i am studying. Both the films include female protagonists who are challenging the stereotypes that females are associated with.

In the trailer the first shot of Uma Thurman is a low angle therefore the camera is looking up at her which could portray her as superior and powerful. This is common throughout the trailer as most of the shots of the female actions stars are low angle, as they are looking down at the camera, this makes the audience feel inferior to them. In the trailer Uma Thurman is holding a sword most of the time, this could be a symbol of her power and strength. At one part there is a group of men "Crazy 88" surrounding her and shes on her own, the men are all dressed in black which clearly have connotations of evil in contrast to Thurmans costume which is all yellow, which could have possible connotations of power. Also as she draws her sword back all the men move one step back, this implies that they are afraid of her, this could be challenging the stereotypes that men are more powerful and physically stronger then women, as she is the only female fighting the "crazy 88".

Assessment objectives. . .

AO1- Key concepts:
One target that i can set my self is to do more migrain analysis on different types of texts to improve my ao1, for example i can analyse different clips from the film that i am studying for my independent study.

AO3ii-Compare & account for similarities and differences:
To improve on my comparison skills i could set my self a target of comparing two texts during my spare time and analysing the differences and similarities taking into account the other assessment objectives.

AO5- Research techniques:
As well as using the Internet as a research source i will visit the library as well to find some books that can help me with my independent study

AO3i-Knowledge and application of wider context:
One of my target to help me improve this assessment objective is to visit the media guardian on regular basis and check out articles that could be linked to my topic.

AO3i-Issues debates & theories:
For this target i will research different theorists that are linked to my study e.g. feminists and also research issues in the media that are linked to my topic.