In What Ways Have Movies Represented the Distinct Gender Roles of Men and Women? Paper Example

The main idea of this paper will be to answer the question related to the representation of gender in movies through the use of three different resources for analysis. There are many regulatory issues linked to the topic of gender; for instance, the recent fights for the rights of women has affected their illustration in movies. The films "Sex and the City, part one and two," Disney Princess and the award-winning animated film, "The Little Mermaid," will be used for analysis. According to current ratings, it is assumed that these movies have been viewed and liked by a significant audience, hence are a great influence on our culture. Supported by past studies on the roles of gender in media, arguments are that women and men are perceived differently. This perception continues to exist on how they are characterized, framed, and represented in distinct media forms. Previous studies concerning gender and media cover many types of media including; movies, cartoons, music, and the prime television. Most of these researches have proved that the research field involving movies has been expanded. A variety of methods has been used in these studies with the most common being the quantitative content analysis and the discourse analysis. Most modern Hollywood movies over time indicate that legal texts and conservatism can be seen in film, and have represented the notions and resistance of the social scheme in effect to the period (Gauntlett 91). They have created the same types of movies that conventionally represented gender and still seem to illustrate men and women in a way that still holds onto the patriarchal privilege idea.

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There is research that concerns femininity and feminism and focuses on the television show, "Sex and The City." The research is based on the books of Akass, McCabe, Arthurs, and Southard. The research was made by Stillion Southard and was done through the utilization of discourse analysis (FMovies n.d). According to this research, characters within these movies posses particular aspects and are mostly female whites who are financially independent and well learned. The study suggests that the shows occur in a post-feministic arena and that post-feminism is also anti-feminism. This statement has been accompanied by some arguments with others arguing that feminism changes and that there are many ways of viewing it in the theory of a television show. While femininity is inclusive of women's sexual attractiveness to men, it is also described as a target in motion that represents behavioral and cosmetic expectations of womanhood over a certain period (Gauntlett 96). This resource identifies that the movie; "Sex and The City," questions the current social norms and pushes the gender extremities in various ways. There are also multiple occasions where examples of scenes in these series have been given. However, the methods through which these scenes have been selected remain unclear, and it is also not precise whether the scenes chosen promote the author's ideas or are just random. In the case of this research made on the television series, "Sex and the City," there is no precise method and use of data analysis. There is a need to find out how men in these movies are represented. Questions that concern age is also vital since most characters in these movies are older than in other Hollywood films.

Another example of media where women are underrepresented in the study by Najwa Salsabila Azmi, on multiculturalism that shows a theoretical analysis on the portrayal of Disney Princess which compares changes over time. The research examines the gender portrayal of the princess in nine different movies. This study shows that in the early princesses' movies, women, in the case of princesses, had the most on-screen time as compared to men, princes. However, the study also shows that females generally are viewed with typical feminine characteristics, but duties have varied over time from the first movies to the last ones. Men are mentioned more little as examined about princesses and it is vivid that the focus on gender portrayal is mainly on female personalities. The center in these movies is usually on the association that man has about the portrayal of women, usually being a women's lover or savior (Fmovies n.d). It shows a significant gap when looking at how male characters are portrayed (Gill et al. 123). Most women are analyzed differently as compared to men with women identities being; flappers, mothers, and household managers. The arguments provided in this study are consistent with the period in which the movies have been created, but more research is needed to help point out the various ways in which Disney characters have been distinguished and represented in terms of their typical gender traits in a feminine or masculine way.

Walt Disney's award-winning animated Film, "The Little Mermaid," shows an embodiment of women dependence on men for individuality. This film shows the Mermaid is an unmarried woman, and a housewife (Fmovies n.d). The film portrays the dependence of women and the independence of men. Whenever the media portrays women to work outside the home as career women and live their lives, they obtain little attention. The characters might have titles like doctor and lawyer and still seem irrelevant to society. The society will still see women as homemakers, wives, and mothers. The conception of entertainment has had great implications in the way in which gender has made sense in the most popular texts. Judith Butler argues that one of the key concerns of feminism centers on the ideological construction of gender. It aims to oppose the view that feminist conception is something that should be termed irrelevant. How feminity is portrayed in the text of this popular movie forms an important part of how gender is made, in the wider, cultural world. The body of the film, "The Little Mermaid" is constructed as an extreme form of idealized white feminity. The nature of this presentation means that there are instances where contradictions are revealed, some texts leak, and the consequences are rendered unstable and discursively constructed. The film promotes a popularly understanding of both feminism and feminity. The male and female distinctions in this movie do not offer criticism of the limitations of acquired ideas of gender. The female groups illustrate some wrong feminine forms because, in their performances, they aim at glorifying themselves. It is clear that their quality and personalities are manufactured. From the readings of Judith Butler, gender should arise from a fixed, internal truth, and not a processed illustrated truth (Gill et al. 128). If gender is constructed from a deep level, then no individual action can be thought of as resistance.

Summary

The central manipulation of the gender roles in the media is carried out through a process where the media clients come up with a variety of information where they elucidate attitudes concerning whatever that is suitable or not for males and females. Defining gender and sex confuses so much as they are regarded to be similar things. However, gender is concerned with psychology and culture whereas sex entails to genetic and bodily features.G ender gets characterized by defining the masculine and feminine nature of an individual which are continuously built up through social interactions. The society at large has various prospects for every gender describing the suitable and non-suitable characters for both males and females. A study shows that we all grow into our gender responsibilities by a process that is called gender-typing. Children incorporate characteristics and principles that are termed to be suitable in our own culture for both females and males. The method of developing gender uniqueness commences when one is either two or three years old. Maternities, peers, educators, and broadcasters influence the social growth of an individual. Earlier literature has discussed the role of gender in some common types of media encompassing television programs. The positions of gender in media display that females are characterized with abilities to nurture, moderate, concern, and being sensitive to other individuals whereas; males are regarded as logic, competitive, self-governing, self-assured, monetary breadwinners, and experts in entrepreneurship as well as dominating on females. In the media, the representation of females is more harmful than that of males. Males are understood to be hardworking, giving instructions, and substantially violent. Women are displayed as pleasant, earnest, compliant, inert, and feeble. Also, women experience affection, partaking, philanthropic, and get concerned about others, unlike men. The likeliness of women to be used as sex substances in media is high. That is, video playoffs mostly sexualize female characters by exposing their big breasts especially for the ones who are not major characters in such videos. Other research display that women are not only used in such videos due to their beautiful body but also because they are good-looking, fresh and distinct in comparison with men. It has also been confirmed that women usually dress provokingly and they are emphasized as a result of how they appear physically in their dresses. The teenage ladies that are displayed on the television are passive and obsessed accompanied by their insincere matters like errands, looks, and getting involved in relationships as well as the ideas of criticizing those who engage themselves in serious issues like education and vocations. Matters about occupation are also displayed differently on media between men and women. Men occupy the most important jobs that pay highly while women hold inferior positions.

Nevertheless, men are showed in higher social rank circumstances, unlike women. Research confirms that men have, more chances than women to be displayed in career scenery in general attention fortnightlies globally. In this case, women are only presented in more vague, local, and ornamental acts within the society. Equally, during the prime time on Television shows, women are displayed in matrimonial duties, unlike men who are portrayed in occupational responsibilities. There's a contradiction to this study where single women have specialized careers than married women. It is imaginable that these kinds of changes are caused by an increased number of women who pursue an advanced bachelor's degree. It is also essential to comprehend that the marital condition of a woman is variedly known than that of men and those women play parental tasks more than men. Therefore, when women are used as main characters, they can get involved in romance or make a family. Media films have contributed immensely to gender roles and perception of gender itself.

Works Cited

"Result for 'Disney Princesses' Movies - List Movies Of Disney Princesses." FMovies | Watch Movies Online Free on FMovies.to. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2019.

"Result for 'The Little Mermaid' Movies - List Movies Of The Little Mermaid." FMovies | Watch Movies Online Free on FMovies.to. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2019.

Gauntlett, David. Media, gender and identity: An introduction. Routledge, 2008.

Gill, Rosalind, and Rosalind M. Gill. Gender and the Media. Polity, 2007.

Result for 'Sex And The City' Movies - List Movies Of Sex And The City." FMovies | Watch Movies Online Free on FMovies.to. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2019.