Detailed Essay Plan:

1. A brief description of the film and the stereotypes covered.

* Milla Jovovich, the main character in the film is represented as an independent and strong female. Her character seems to be challenging the stereotypes that females are associated with e.g. weak, emotional, and sex objects. In the movie she is viewed as the hero 'who will save the day', this is a part which is usually taken by a male whereas in this movie a female character is positioned in this place, who is more masculine, for example the way she dresses, which therefore differentiates the film from other movies of the same genre.

* Jovovich is represented as powerful, mainly through the use of prop’s e.g. her gun. In the poster of the film she is positioned in the middle, holding two guns, also through out the film she carries a gun with her; this could be a symbol to portray her power and superiority. The film Resident evil clearly suggests that the representation of females within the film industry has changed, due to the reason that nowadays there are many female action stars whereas before females were only given parts which fitted in with their stereotypes e.g. housewife or object of sexual desire for the male. By Jovovich taking on a masculine role she is presenting females as more independent and strong. (RMI) (H)

2. Feminism

* The development of feminist film theory was influenced by second wave feminism and the development of women's studies within the academy. The emergence of feminism from the past 20years has had a huge impact on the way that women are presented on television. After feminism flourished women were given the chance to take on roles which they could not before, for example the character of Ripley in Aliens is strong and courageous. However before feminism emerged women were seen as inferior and incapable of taking on such roles.

* Mulvey’s essay, visual pleasure and narrative cinema was citied “as the founding document of feminist film theory”. (SHEP)

3. Representation of women in the past

* The representation of women in the past was usually negative. They were mainly presented as either housewives or as objects of sexual desire to the male gaze.

* “In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s only 20 to 35% of characters were female” (David Gauntlet. Thus suggesting that males were more dominant in the film industry, making it difficult for females to become successful. Additionally “in action adventure shows, only 15% of the leading characters were women” (David Gautlett).

* Other studies in the 1970s found that men were the more dominant characters and the decision makers, whereas women would be presented as the obedient housewife who is inferior and powerless. Oakley argues that film and television reflects society. Thus claiming that society is male dominated and that women are oppressed. (SH) (IR)

4. Women as victims and in need of saving

* Tuchman argues that women in films were often presented as “victims, as incompetents and inferior or having trivial interests”. They were usually presented as in need of saving by the male hero, for example in Indiana Jones, the female character relies on the male to save her and is seen as useless.

* However Resident Evil challenges this, and the female character is the one who saves the survivors, for example in the scene where the survivors are getting attacked by several crows, Alice arrives at the right time to rescue them. There are a variety of different shots used in the scene in order to make Jovovich look powerful and superior, e.g. the use of low angle shot and when the camera pans all around her presenting her as the main focus and the person who will “save the day”.

5. Films related to my text:

* Alien is one of the first films which was seen as a celebration for feminists due to the reason that it was one of the first action films which had a female protagonist. In the film women are p8ortrayed as independent and intelligent. She is given the role of an officer in the film and is in control most of the time. This was unusual during that era, because the main representation of females was as housewives.

* Kathi Maio in a book of her film reviews stated that “women are not only given less screen time, when were up there on the screen we are likely to be portrayed as powerless and ineffectual”. However the film ‘Alien’ seems to be challenging this statement as the main character of the film is female who is presented as rather strong and powerful. This is similar to resident evil: extinctions as the protagonist of the film is also female, and both films fall into the same genre category (action). In both films the female character is the only one who survives at the end; we can refer to her as the ‘final girl’ which is a theory developed by Carol Clover in her book ‘Men, women and chainsaw’s. However she found this to be most common in slasher films were the audience is made to identify with the resourceful young female (the Final Girl) who survives and ends the threat e.g. Ripley in Alien and Alice in Resident Evil: Extinctions.

* On the other hand the females are also shown as weak and emotional. For example in Alien, we see the female character crying at times e.g. when one of her friends is killed. This suggests that no matter how powerful women are they still conform to the stereotypes placed upon them. The film also objectifies the female character in a similar way to resident evil. This is done through the clothing; for example at one point the protagonist removes all he clothing and is only wearing a vest and underwear with the camera zooms on her body parts.

* Other films such as Tomb Raider, Kill Bill and Cat Woman, all have female action stars, which tend to end the threats. (RMIG)

6. Women are still presented as sexual objects

* As Jonathan Schroeder notes, 'Film has been called an instrument of the male gaze, producing representations of women, the good life, and sexual fantasy from a male point of view' (Schroeder 1998, 208). Even though women are given lead roles they are still objectified and portrayed as sexual objects for the male desire.

* An example of this is the film Cat Women. The female protagonist portrayed as strong, however is objectified through her tight fitted leather suit and whip. She is also portrayed as provocative at points. This is also evident in other films such as Tomb Raider, Kill Bill, Resident evil and Matrix.

* In a review by Rich Cline it stated that “Director Mulcahey uses the extensive flesh-and-gore make-up brilliantly, although the bigger special effects are more uneven. He also shamelessly indulges in rather a lot of female flesh, which will keep the fan boys coming back for more.” Suggesting that he only uses young and attractive females in lead roles in order to attract a male audience.

7. Laura Malvey – male gaze

* Mulvey’s essay “visual pleaser and narrative cinema” was seen as the feminist claim that men and women are positioned differentially on screen; men as heroes who drive the narrative of the film forward and women as objects if sexual desire and fetishistic gazing. Women are considered to be there in order to be “looked at, objectified and sexualized by the male protagonist”

* In Resident Evil Milla Jovovich is objectified through her clothing e.g. tightly fitted shorts and sleeveless tops. Similarly all the female characters in the film are young, good looking and attractive. Sharon Smith claimed that "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", implying that women are not really considered because of their intelligence but only because of their looks

Conclusion:

* Extinctions is the third instalment in the series of film adoptions based on the CAPCOM survival horror series Resident evil. All the sequences follow the same genre. The audience’s generic expectations of the film are fulfilled because to an extent the film conforms to the conventions of an actions/horror film. One of the main ideologies that could be underpinning the text could be the change in role of women in the film industry. The film could be portraying the fact that women are not just given "housewife" roles or are sexually objectified whereas they are now ranked much higher in the industry then they use to be for example the role of Alice, a strong and powerful Heroine. The film is therefore mainly attempting to challenge stereotypes that females are associated with through having a female protagonist for an action movie; other actresses such as Ashanti and Ali Larter are also used to challenge these stereotypes. However all these actresses are good looking and attractive and to an extent desirable to men, therefore the film could also be reinforcing these stereotypes. Feminists who watch the film may consider it to be presenting women in a pessimistic way e.g. sexual object because of the way they are dressed and positioned etc.