Gender Inequality in the Film Industry (Hollywood)
Added on 2021-05-12
21 Pages6263 Words249 Views
1 | P a g eGender inequality in the film industry (Hollywood)[Name of student][Name of the institution]
2 | P a g eContentsChapter 1: Introduction...................................................................................................................3Background..................................................................................................................................3Aim...............................................................................................................................................6Research questions......................................................................................................................6Objectives....................................................................................................................................6Significance..................................................................................................................................7Structure......................................................................................................................................7Introduction.............................................................................................................................8Literature Review.....................................................................................................................8Methodology...........................................................................................................................8Analysis....................................................................................................................................8Conclusion................................................................................................................................9Chapter 02: Literature Review.......................................................................................................10Feminist Theory.........................................................................................................................11Genre and Musical Theatre.......................................................................................................13Dance.........................................................................................................................................14Representation and Film...........................................................................................................15References.....................................................................................................................................17
3 | P a g eChapter 1: IntroductionBackgroundSince a young age, I have a passion for theatre and music; I have always imagined myself on thesets of my favourite performances such as Hairspray, Mamma Mia and Les Misérables. I am enthusiastic about small details while watching live and onscreen performances by my favouriteMeryl Streep and Christin Baranski.Stereotypes about Male dominancy and segregation do not even change in the movies; however, media is the main basis for the creation and continuation of stereotypes; that is why I thought that changing the way of representation of women in the Film industry will change the way and would be a great step towards the justice.I have chosen media and communication because of my keen interest in the film industry and culture; My project provides insights into a whole world of Feminist theory and criticism at the same time. The reason for choosing the project helps me to explore female characters created in musical films. My recent study will examine the image and portrayal of women in the musicaland for this purpose, I chose two remarkable movies; the first one is “Gentleman prefer blond” which is a classic Hollywood musical released in 1953, I have chosen “Burlesque” (2010) for my second analysis. These movies are enriched with unique and extraordinary female characters toanalyse. Moving towards “Gentlemen Prefer Blond”, the movie is about two girls adventure that rattles along. In the movie, I prefer to look for the popular dance number “Diamonds are the girl’s bestfriend” sung by Marilyn Monroe. The dance number provides insights into a lot of work and analysis for forming an argument. In the dance number, the leading lady is surrounded by
4 | P a g eseveral men; she is wearing a bright pink, boob-tube dress and covered in diamond jewellery; the men are constantly touching and lifting her; In the dance number, she is made to stand out and significantly contrast the man in a bright dress. On the other hand, the dance number's burlesque version is a bit different; she is wearing a black dress and imagining herself singing the song. Intrigued by exotic dances, Ali has decided to pursue a career on the stage. Both dance numbers help me to engage in the critical analysis of feminism towards empowerment. Reviewing the past literature of cinematography, I have researched that according to (Melnick 2012), in the rapidly changing media landscape, films and movies are an integral part of the American Culture; the methods of consumptions have changed, though; millions of Americans flock towards the theatres and every year they go to see the stories which are played on the silver screen with the gross collection of the $10.7 billion in 2018 (Borum Chattoo,2018);(Melnick,2012) indicates that the most prestigious cinematic awards draw million of the viewers annually. However, in the year 2019, many Americans and directors have not represented in the films, and subsequently, the segregation of cinematic representation has provoked several movements this year; the most noteworthy campaigns are #OscarsSowhite (Grant,2012); moreover, the movement results in the academy of the motion picture arts and sciences which vow to double the number of the people from different cultures and women in the academy membership. However, due to intense movements and hashtags, the industry is still segregated based on gender inequality; However, even with these social demands, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the entertainment world don't sufficiently address ladies on and off-screen. Stereotypic depictions and the absence of complex female jobs stay regular in Hollywood and the media in general (Balio,1985). These negative portrayals have suggestions that reach a long way past media outlets. Since the job of film in mainstream society and society, "movies generally reflect winning social mentalities about standards, perspectives and assumptions" (Movies and culture,2021). Along these lines, portrayals of minority bunches in film and the media can be powerful in the scattering of generalisations (Feuer,1993). These double circumstances and logical results frequently bring about an endless loop as cultural
5 | P a g egeneralisations impact principally male producers who make artistry that adds to said generalisations (Grant,2012).Another research by Marshall et al. (2000) shows that the media is misrepresenting, and the cycle is important to consider while evaluating the portrayals of the minorities in the movies. Although the representation of women in the film industry improves but the facts mitigates that there is only a 3 % increase in female employment since the year 1998 (Erigha,2015); From the data gathered by the Academy Awards, it has seen that just one woman in the 91-year history of awards. Furthermore, the top 30 movies in the year 2018 were directed by men, but in 2018, the top five live-action movies are directed by women (Lincoln and Allen,2004). The facts, as mentioned earlier, narrate off-screen and onscreen situations in Hollywood. I have mentioned the two musicals’ movies for building an argument about the representation of Female character in the movies; the content, images and depictions created by the directors are moulded for the viewers in the film concerning the dance sequences. According to (Simon 2019), the female character in the movies presents a narrative of perfectly slender and Flawlessmade-up women; the same goes for the movies “Gentleman prefer Blond” and “Burlesque”. The movies depict the phenomenon of moulding women in a particular mould, the mould created by the requirements and expectations of men.Only one woman has ever won an Oscar for best director, Kathryn Bigelow, for The Hurt Locker in 2009 (Atakav and Tasker,2010). However, according to Yen (2016), women are making progress towards equality in films, but the progress is slow. The research says that there are two-fifths of the films in the year 2019, which had a female protagonist, and the record is high compared to previous data. (DePatter etal.,2014) says that gender stereotyping persists in the way the females are being portrayed. Across the film industry, new measures have been found for combating gender imbalance. When reviewing the related literature, it has found that female plots and stories are typically different from stories narrated by male counterparts (Denzin,2005). The theories focused in thestudy are Feminist theory, critical mass theory and critical actor theory. The theory will help
6 | P a g eunderstand how women are portrayed in the movies and films for the consumption of male viewer for male attention. The theory highlights patriarchy and women in our society are subjected to “overwhelming tyranny of slenderness” subsequently, in the upcoming chapters, critical analysis helps to analyse the situation based on the theoretical framework. AimThe research aims to target the film industry, mainly Hollywood, for examining gender inequality. The purpose is to find out about the portrayal of Female gender in the film industry'spast and present states. Furthermore, the aim is to analyse the impact of female theory on women's empowerment in the industry. The study will comprise of review of critical mass theory and critical actor theory effect on the females. Further analysis will help to analyse gender segregation which outbreaks despite the massive success of the industry. Research questionsThe research questions for the topic below are:How do the movies (musical genre) in past and present portray the female gender?What is the impact of the feminist theory on the empowerment of women in the industry, and what role does it play on and off-screen? What role critical mass theory and critical actor theory plays in gender inequality in the Hollywood industry?How does gender segregation plague the Hollywood industry despite success? ObjectivesFollowing are the objectives of the study:To identify the difference between the present and past image of female actors in the industry. To identify the impact of the feminist theory for the empowerment of the female lead inthe industry.
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.