Media Notes and Quotes
Wonder Woman (2017) – Primary Text
The changing representation of females in mainstream films.
Hypothesis: I do think that the portrayal of females in mainstream films has changed
over the years. The films before in the 20th century especially portrayed females
to be the weak, foolish and for sex appeal characters whereas now, in the 21st
century, it has changed a bit as more females are having the chance to have a
higher role in films like The Hunger Games. However, they are still sexualised
and the representation of females hasn't changed completely in a fair way.
How do films such as Wonder Woman reflect the changing representation of women in Hollywood movies?
The Wonder Woman film consists of a female protagonist that beholds power
and authority over mankind. She leads people and fights alongside men to end
all wars. The portrayal within the film is essentially a subversive portrayal
of females which is very unusual especially with mainstream films like Wonder
Woman.
Wonder Woman has reflected the change in portrayal of females in films in
the sense that it shows how much of a progress has been made in links with how
females are now being portrayed in many films. The film shows how females are
now given higher roles and are portrayed more in a subversive way than before.
Back more in the 20th century, there were many films like the Mice and Men
that represented females as worthless, foolish, vulnerable and for sex appeal.
Also, a film like The Inspector Calls which consisted of a victim that was a
female. Essentially, the progress of portrayal of females in films has changed
positively and Wonder Woman reflects that.
There are many other films like Wonder Woman that have a strong female
leading character. The Hunger Games is another movie that has a female
protagonist that beholds power. This film also reflects the change in portrayal
of females in films over the years. It shows how the portrayal of females in
films is positively changing and is yet to become better.
Genre
- Wonder Woman is a mixture of superhero, science fiction, action, fantasy and adventure film.
- It has major generic themes such as superheroes which belongs to fantasy and superhero film genre.
- Consists of brutal violence which belongs to action film.
- The female protagonist goes on a journey to find the villain which is a generic theme of adventure film.
- Iconography of blue lightning and chemicals being created by the doctor within the movie is what makes the film belong to the science fiction genre.
- The iconographic features of the text was costumes, locations and a female taking over.
- Essentially, the film
is unusual as in these types of genres, we don’t get to see females as the
lead actors and in Wonder Woman, we get that diversion pleasure.
Representation
- The subversive representation of females is dominated within the movie.
- Having a female protagonist that goes on a journey to fight against mankind and to stop war is unusual to see in mainstream films.
- Having saved the male American pilot in the beginning of the movie and having defeated the strong male villain, the females are shown to be very masculine in this film.
- This film became a huge hit with a unique representation.
- The representation was fair as not many females are casted with a high role that is portrayed masculine. It is right that the female was portrayed this way.
- It was accurate as it matched the strengths and abilities that the comic Wonder Woman had.
- Hopefully, the success
of this film will lead to more females having a higher role in mainstream
films.
Forms
- Costume: Wonder Woman’s costume and the villain’s costume to show identity.
- Lighting: Lighting when the fight scenes occurred, it was darker to make it more dramatic.
- Actors: Actors such as the female protagonist (Gal Gadot) has a deep relationship especially with the female audiences.
- Make-up: The make-up of the villain was significant to make him look dangerous.
- Propps: The weapons such as the lasso, shield, sword and the wrist shield is what made Wonder Woman very dangerous too.
- Setting: Variety of locations made this film very
interesting.
Narrative
- Narrative was very understanding for the audience and well put together.
- It shows the reasoning behind how the females ended up in the hidden island.
- Then it shows the growth of Wonder Woman in the hidden island.
- One day, an American pilot enters the hidden island on a cruising down jet.
- Wonder Woman goes with him into the outside world to stop all wars.
- At the end, she defeats
the God of War which ends all wars.
Institutions
- Warner Bros (presents) produced this film which gave the film more media coverage and more advertisement; essentially more success.
- DC entertainment, Atlas entertainment, Cruel and Unusual films, Tencent pictures, Dune entertainment and Wanda pictures.
- The way the film was
distributed was that they first released it in the cinemas then months
later, became available on streaming sites, apps and also on DVD and
Blu-ray.
Media texts
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman fight
scene: I found a clip on YouTube which shows a
ending fight scene between the female protagonist and the villain. The fight
was mainly dominated by the villain but the female protagonist was the
inevitable winner. This is something unusual as we do not really get to see
female protagonist or female actors in films defeat men nor portrayed mainly in
a subversive way. Essentially, the Wonder Woman film was diversion pleasure for
the audience as it isn't something usual in films.
Articles
1. Why Wonder Woman is a masterpiece of subversive feminism https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/05/why-wonder-woman-is-a-masterpiece-of-subversive-feminism
·
And yet, when she arrives in London to put a stop to the war to end all
wars, she instinctively obeys a handsome meathead who has no skills apart from
moderate decisiveness and pretty eyes. This is a patriarchal figment.
·
"but, in fact, her skills were: bullet-pinging with bracelets;
lassoing; basic psychology; great strength and athleticism; and being
half-god"
·
Yes, she is sort of naked a lot of the time, but this isn’t objectification
so much as a cultural reset
·
The woman who can fight is not new; from Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in
Alien, to Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in The Terminator, this idea has a long
pedigree.
2. Gal Gadot: "Either You're a Feminist or You're a Sexist http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/news/a57173/gal-gadot-feminism/
·
I've had my moments where I've felt like men were misbehaving - nothing
sexual, but inappropriate in a sexist way. Dismissive."
·
"Life wasn't always rosy and peachy for me as a woman in the
world,"
·
"People always me, 'Are you a feminist?' And I find the question
surprising, because I think, 'Yes, of course.
·
"Every woman, every man, everyone should be a feminist. Becauause
whoever is not a femist is a sexist,"
3. 12 Questions with Patty Jenkins, Director of Wonder Woman
·
"I’m stunned by the success of the film. But I’m also surprised how
rare it’s been."
·
"I can’t wait till enough women filmmakers have had a chance to make
movies of this size and scale and those movies have been successful. There will
still be conversation about smaller issues. But it will be nice that they can
just be filmmakers making films."
·
"There was a very difficult time when a female hero was a man in a
woman’s body. Hunger Games really changed that: a woman leading a non-woman’s
film in the action genre. I think Wonder Woman does that on a very big
scale."
·
"I’m as interested in exceptional characters as men are. It’s very
easy for me to be curious about what it’s like to be [killer] Aileen Wuornos,
just as I am about what it’s like to be Wonder Woman. And in both cases, I
think it’s about what you do with power. "
Common Sense Media (review) - "Born to play the role of "Wonder
Woman", Gadot proves that women can be fierce and loyal, as well as
empathetic"
Other Media texts
Hunger Games
Feminist analysis of the Hunger Games
"The Hunger Games reinforces this concept as it portrays the role of
males as thosein positions of power, and the skills associated with power;
strength, athleticism and prowessat hunting, are all skills which the heroine
possess. Even though Collins deliberately choseto have a female protagonist,
Katniss’ skills are traditionally masculine, reinforcing theconcept of ecriture
feminine." - Within the Hunger Games film, the female protagonist
"Katniss" has the qualities and abilities like the males which is
unusual to see in a mainstream film. It is a subversive portrayal of females.
And it shows how the female portrayal is changing in comparison to past films.
Cixous claims that it is our sexuality that is directly tied to how we
communicate in society. Katniss’ manner of speaking is more consistent with a
conversation between husband and wife, she is telling her mother to look after
Primrose, “No matter what you feel, you have to be there for her, doyou
understand? Don’t cry. Don’t. - Again, it shows how comfortable and strong
Katniss in the Hunger Games. She is the one that is comforting her mother. We
don't get to see that in many films as we mainly see the males taking over and
leading.
The representation of females are changing in comparison to how they
portrayed in the 20th century films and past films. More females are able to
have a higher and that masculine role that normally males would have in films
like The Hunger Games, Colombiana and Wonder Woman.
1. Why Katniss is a feminist character
·
"Hot-tempered, bow-wielding Katniss is fiercely independent, scornful
of feminine frills, and barred off to any emotion that could render her
vulnerable."
·
" it’s easy to forget what keeps her alive is not superior strength,
speed, or intelligence, but rather a characteristic that no one else in the
arena embraces. Ultimately, it’s not the weapons Katniss wields but the
relationships she nurtures that save her life."
·
"And I’m convinced that she’s a feminist character not because she
wields a bow like Bella never could, but because while in the arena she learns
to recognize, value, and eventually embrace feminine strengths. It’s her
ability to find strength in other wome and
to support them in return that makes the girl on fire a feminist."
·
"The swiftness of Clove’s death after she makes her malice towards the
other women in the arena clear, and the contrast between her fate and
Katniss’s, almost seems to suggest that women who, like Clove, will not support
their sisters are punished for it. And in contrast, for nurturing a supportive
relationship with another woman, Katniss earns what no other woman in the arena
does: the right to live."
·
"Ultimately, Katniss is a feminist character not because she can put
an arrow through an enemy’s throat as quickly and cleanly as any man, but
because she learns to maintain that strength while opening herself up to the
power of mutual support and sisterhood. It’s that, perhaps more than anything
else, that makes Katniss an ideal role model for girls and an icon for feminist
readers."
Katniss vs Clove fight scene
Within this scene, you can summarise how the portrayal of females is shown
within the Hunger Games film. Females tend to be very masculine and they fight
very rough too without fear. It shows how the portrayal of females in action
and films in general is getting more subverisve and more females are becoming
lead characters now.
Salt (2010)
·
"Angelina Jolie's spy-fi movie, Salt, was originally supposed to star
a man. But after she came aboard, Jolie fought to keep her character from
turning into a stereotypical femme fatale. We talked to her about busting
heads"
·
"It's actually the opposite of every action movie I've ever done,
because there's never really been a female action movie based in reality.
They're always fantasy. "
·
"The big change... was, we said, "well we can't start to turn
this into a girl movie," because that's where, I think, people have failed
in the past. When they write something on purpose for a woman, it's always
about being a woman — using your femininity, all these kind of female obvious
things."
·
"So we said let's just keep all the things about it that are tough,
and it's about being what she is, it's about the journey. And if anything, we
have to make it darker and we have to make it meaner than the boys."
·
"Jolie's character is an entirely different sort of female lead - as
merciless as Jason Bourne and the recent, reinvented James Bond"
·
"In so many spy films women are femme fatales and we wanted to avoid
that. My character doesn't use her sexuality to get anything. It's the roughest
I've looked. When we fight, it gets ugly. Somebody breaks my nose in the film.
It's not pretty.'
·
"Years of intense training, handling weapons and honing fight techniques
have turned Jolie into a formidable fighting machine"
Moana (2017)
"Why Moana is actually a badass feminist movie"
·
"Moana’s story is really about her—Moana. There’s no suave, handsome
man swooping in to save her, to marry her, or to so much as express romantic
interest in her"
·
"she embraces
her role as leader, her village praises her ability and honestly respects her
as their queen."
·
" She is the
perfect example of a woman fending for herself, thinking for herself, and
succeeding in achieving her dreams through her own ambition."
·
"Too often
women are pitted against each other in Disney movies—the witch and evil
stepmother are common tropes. Moana, instead, has positive relationships with
both her mother and her grandmother in the movie that show mutual respect,
love, and connection."
Columbiana (2011)
Columbiana film which was released in 2011 has a female protagonist as same
with Wonder Woman and The Hunger Games. When she was young, she watched her
parents get murdered then 15 years later, she becomes the hunter of those
murderers. Essentially, within this film, the female protagonist was once
vulnerable but then becomes a violent and a dangerous being to mankind. This
movie also reflects the change in portrayal of females over the years.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Beauty and the beast is a animation film that was produced in 1991. It
consist of a fairy tale narrative which casts a female actor. The female
character is portrayed as both vulnerable but also smart and fearless.
Gender Theory
·
"Judith Butler’s work on gender is set out in Gender Trouble (1990).
In Butler’s terms the performance of gender, sex, and sexuality is about power
in society."
· "I think that every sexual position is fundamentally comic"
· "Butler argues that gender is performative. She says that no identity
exists behind the acts or performance that express gender, and these acts
constitute the illusion of the stable gender identity".
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