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| "Mr. Hollywood and the Women." Kim Voyner. http://www.moviecitynews.com/columnists/voynar/2009/090223.html "How Hollywood Made Its Heroines Weight-Obsessed And Man Mad." Amelia Hill. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/feb/08/hollywood-cinema-female-leads "How Hollywood Insults Women." Mike McGranaghan. http://blog.pennlive.com/projectionroom/2009/01/how_hollywood_insults_women.html The articles in this casebook address the issue of the portrayal of women in recent Hollywood mainstream films, raising questions and offerings opinions about whether women are being portrayed in a marginalized and demeaning manner. The Pre-reading Questions at the beginning of the casebook are designed to apply to all three articles, and the Journal Topics, Suggestions for Personal Research, and Multicultural Issues at the end of the casebook are also designed for all three articles. Each article is followed by its own Questions for Critical Thought and Vocabulary. Web links to additional articles, radio programs, and video clips of relevance are provided at the end of the casebook. While some of these deal specifically with women and Hollywood, others deal with stereotyped treatment of other groups, as well. Pre-reading Questions 1) The films mentioned in these three articles include a number of popular mainstream movies that the authors feel demean and marginalize women, portraying them as vacuous and immature or has helpless and needy: Confessions of a Shopaholic, Sex and the City, He's Just Not that Into You, Taken, Friday the 13th, Slumdog Millionaire, New in Town, Fired Up, Bride Wars, The Wedding Planner, Made of Honor, The Wedding Date, Because I Said So, Monster-in-Law, 27 Dresses. If you have you seen any of these films, what are your reactions to the female characters and to their relationships with the male characters? 2) How do you feel about the images of women you see in films and other media, including television, in general? Are there any stereotypes of the female gender that you frequently see? 3) How does the depiction of women in films and television compare to the depiction of men? Are men more likely to be portrayed as complex personalities, or do you think the treatment is roughly equal? 4) Can you think of any male stereotypes depicted in films and television that demean the male gender? 5) Are you familiar with older movies, including those made in what has been called Hollywood's "Golden Age" (the twenties through the fifties)? If so, what can you remember about how women were treated in those movies? Do you remember any strong, complex female characters? Do you remember any stereotypes? How were relationships between women and men generally treated? "Mr. Hollywood and the Women." Kim Voyner. Questions for Critical Thought 1) Voyner mentions "seven young women who were selected for Cosmogirl's 2024 internship program, whose stated goal is putting a Cosmo girl in the White House by 2024." As Poyner points out, "CosmoGirl is a magazine that makes its money off selling girls and women the idea that their physical appearance is paramount and that the primary interests of girls and women should be beauty, fashion and men. "Do you see a cynical contradiction in CosmoGirl's stated goal for its internship program and the way that it makes its money? Or is it possible to emphasize the importance of women's and girls' physical appearances and attractiveness to men at the same time that CosmoGirl advocates for women's greater political power? 2) Voyner states, "Movies have a tremendous reach and probably a greater influence over shaping the views of audience members than viewers want to admit or Hollywood studio heads would ever want to accept responsibility for." How much do you think our values and our ideas about appropriate gender role behavior are shaped by popular movies? 3) Voyner asks, ". . . do movies help determine and perpetuate gender roles, or are they merely reflecting the reality of the world in which they exist?" What do you think? And is it really an "either/or" issue? Could movies both reflect a reality that they have helped to shape, and at the same time reflect it while reinforcing it? And are they actually reflecting "reality"? Do you know a lot of girls or women who are like the women in these movies? Vocabulary disparate perpetuate stereotype elicit discern magnanimously patronizingly tony paramount patriarchal gross marginalize"How Hollywood Made Its Heroines Weight-Obsessed And Man Mad." Amelia Hill. Questions for Critical Thought 1) Dr. Diane Purkiss, a professor at Oxford University, argues that "Hollywood heroines are being increasingly portrayed as neurotic, idiotic and obsessed by men, weight and weddings." The movies she mentions as examples of this trend are comedies. Think back to the movies that you have watched over the years. Do you agree with her assessment of the mainstream comedies coming out of Hollywood? Are the female characters truly getting "dumber and dumber"? How about the male characters? Is there a similar trend? If so, could they cancel each other out, or are both sets of stereotypes potentially damaging? 2) Purkiss also mentions female characters in dramas that achieved critical respect, but she complains that "Now, the only way for a woman to have a complex character on screen is to be depressing, tormented and self-sacrificing," in contrast to Golden Age heroines who could be "fully formed characters at the same time as being funny and entertaining." Think about the mainstream Hollywood movies that you have seen over the past few years. Do you agree with Purkiss's assessment? Can you think about any recent films that offer any contradictory evidence in the form of complex female characters that are not depressed, tormented, or self- sacrificing? And how are complex male characters portrayed? Vocabulary neurotic regressive misogynistic emancipated inane nadir feisty vapid glut explicitly titillate complicitTerms for ClarificationBridget Jones. "Bridget Jones" is a fictional character who originally appeared in a column in a British newspaper, The Independent, in 1995. The column satirized women's obsession with magazines like Cosmopolitan and the superficial values they promoted. The column was later adapted into a novel, which was then adapted into a film. Elizabeth Bennet. The protagonist of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. While her sisters and acquaintances are obsessed with getting married as soon as possible (it must be remembered that the vast majority of the women of their class had no real professional possibilities), Elizabeth is an independent and intelligent young woman who is willing to marry only if she can find someone whom she can truly respect and love--and who will genuinely respect and love her. BAFTA Awards. BAFTA is the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. BAFTA's film awards are the British equivalent of the American Academy Awards. The BAFTA Awards differ from the Academy Awards in that they do not limit Best Film of the Year nominations to films from their own country. "How Hollywood Insults Women." Mike McGranaghan. Questions for Critical Thought 1) In this article, the author asks the question, "To what extent does Hollywood perpetuate gender stereotypes and the objectification of women?" This is essentially the same question raised in the other two articles, but McGranaghan, unlike the columnist writing the first article and the expert quoted in the second article, is a male. Noting that women have "few intelligent options on the screen," he states that he has "little doubt that these same ticket buyers would vastly prefer to see a more mature, honest portrait on themselves on screen. But when Hollywood is reluctant to make those kinds of pictures, what are the ladies to do?" Do you think that he is correct in his assessment of what women would prefer to see when they go to the movies? Why or why not? 2) At one point, McGranaghan states, "Oh, wait--I forgot. . . there are no homely actresses. Hollywood doesn't allow them" You can probably think of actresses who might be considered "homely," but are they ever the protagonists of major Hollywood films? Are they ever romantic female leads? Can you think of successful male actors who might be considered homely rather than conventionally handsome who have become stars and who have played romantic leads? What trends can you identify? What messages do these trends send to audiences? 3) At least one major Hollywood film introduced "homely" romantic leads, both male and female: Shrek. In Shrek, movie and fairy tale clichés are overturned when the green ogre, Shrek, fails to transform into a handsome prince, and the beautiful princess instead transforms into a green ogre. Why do you think that Hollywood generally seems reluctant to flaunt clichés about physical attractiveness with non-animated films? 4) McGranaghan also says, "When the occasional movie comes out and portrays women with even a modicum of complexity . . . it often becomes a box office blockbuster." What movies can you think of that do this? Why do you think that more movies like this aren't made? Vocabulary contempt venue chick flick perceptive perpetual homely insurmountable fetsihizingTerms for ClarificationJune Cleaver. A fictional character in the TV sitcom Leave It to Beaver. June and her husband, Ward, are two of the archetypal perfect, middle-class, white, suburban parents of the 1950s. Like other model television housewives of the day, including the character Donna in The Donna Reed Show, June didn't work outside the home; was always patient, nurturing, and unendingly supportive to her husband and children; kept a perfect house; and was always perfectly groomed, with attractive clothes, hair, and make-up, at all times of the day. Journal Topics 1) Explore your own feeling about the depiction of women in movies. Do you agree with the viewpoints expressed in these three articles? Do Hollywood movies demean women? If you agree that they do, is it at all important? Do you think these movies shape people's perceptions, or are they just mindless fun with no cultural impact? 2) Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights to political, social, and economic equality with men. How do you feel about feminism? Do you agree that women should have equal political, social, and economic rights? How do these three areas differ? How do you feel about each? 3) In the third article, the author mentions Sex and the City as an example of a movie that depicts women with at least a "modicum of complexity." That is one of the movies that the author of the first article mentions as an example of movies that show women as "obsessed with fashion and shopping" and "their relationships with the men in their lives." Have you seen this particular movie? If so, how do you feel about it? Which author do you most agree with? Is it possible that they are both right? Suggestions for Personal Research 1) Research how gender roles are inculcated in girls and boys. How much is "nature" (biology)? How much is "nurture" (socialization)? How important are media like the cinema and television? 2) Research the effects of depictions of stereotypes in gender roles in movies. (You could include research into the depiction of gender stereotypes in other media, particularly television.) What do studies show? Have any results been considered conclusive? 3) Dr. Diane Purkiss asserts that the depiction of women in movies actually got worse over the last five decades, in contrast to portrayals of women as strong and complex in Hollywood's Golden Age. Research Hollywood movies of that period and contrast them with movies made during a recent time period, such as the last decade, or even the last two or three decades. 4) The three articles criticized Hollywood films. Do some research on films from other countries or on American "indie" (independent) films. What are the major differences? Do women and girls tend to be portrayed as stronger, more mature, and more complex outside of Hollywood? If so, how well do these films do with audiences? Is the greater commercial success of Hollywood films due to the content or to the power of major studios to ensure wider distribution and to pay major movie stars with known audience appeal? 5) A great deal of media research has focused on gender stereotypes in film and other media and on their effects on viewers, but the role of viewers' responses to and enjoyment of these media depictions is also relevant because entertainment is often targeted specifically to either male or female audiences. How do men and women differ as audiences? Do stereotypes affect the genders differently?Multicultural Issues 1) The movies named in the three articles focus on middle-class white women and men; indeed, they show no consciousness of gender stereotyping in films with other types of characters. Is this because Hollywood isn't particularly interested in making films focusing on non-white protagonists? Or do you think it reflects the unconscious biases, experiences, and expectations of the authors (or interview subject)? 2) How does mainstream Hollywood depict women and gender roles in non-white groups? Are black, Asian, and Hispanic women and men and people from other ethnic and cultural groups portrayed according to gender role stereotypes? If so, do the gender role stereotypes differ from those of the white American middle class? Has Hollywood recently made any movies that depict minority women as protagonists? If so, were the heroines clichéd or complex? 3) If you are from another country, how pervasive do you feel gender role stereotyping is in the film industry there? How does it compare to that of the United States? Additional Articles, Radio Programs, and Video Clips"Hollywood's Six Favorite Offensive Stereotypes." Juan Arteaga. http://digg.com/d1Nwri"The Economics of Gender Stereotyping." http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_economics.cfm "Jezebel Stereotype." Jim Crow Museum. http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/jezebel/ "The Mammy Caricature." Jim Crow Museum. http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/mammies/ "Latinos Work To Change Stereotypes In Hollywood." Elsa E. Isais. http://www.epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/15_latinos_change_stereotypes.htm "Hollywood's Stereotypes." John Stossel and Frank Mastropolo. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/Story?id=2412723&page=1 "Filmmakers Shatter Arab Stereotypes in Hollywood." Renee Montagne. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6064305 "Hollywood Shuffle: An Actor Imagines, in Vignettes, How Hollywood Stereotypes His Race." http://www.mefeedia.com/feeds/41301/hollywood-shuffle "Movie Industry Builds, Challenges Black Stereotypes." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18776377 Excerpt from and discussion about Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/clip.php?cid=739 Clips from Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Feature Films. http://www.deepfocusproductions.com/HollywoodChinese/index.html "How Hollywood Stereotyped the Native Americans." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hJFi7SRH7Q |