Assessing Representations Of Contemporary Hollywood Using The Bechdel Test

“Miss Representation” is a film released in January 2011, which shows the various ways the media represent women. In the short trailer it starts by showing quotes, various statistics, and input of various influential women, on how women are misrepresented in our society. Some statistics include on how women are vastly outnumbered by men in leading positions in the workplace and in government. It also claims that the media only uses women’s sexualized image for money, not because it is what consumers want to see in advertisements. For example, in a video explaining oversexualizing in young children Geena Davis comments, “…in G-rated animated films the female characters wear the same amount of sexually revealing

Representation refers to the construction of media languages which are used to portray a particular type of filmic world to an audience (slide). This essay shall outline different treatments of filmmaking used to establish certain societal groups from the critically acclaim superhero film The Dark Knight (2008) directed by Christopher Nolan. This sequel film follows Batman, with help from Lieutenant James Gordon, and new district attorney Harvey Dent eradicating crime from Gotham city until a crazy mastermind criminal, the Joker appears in Gotham, creating chaos. The first paragraph introduces the stereotypical representation of masculinity in superhero film through the aspects of mise-en-scene and acting of the male protagonist. Storyline and mise-en-scene help establish the representation of pretty, leading- female characters that semi-disrupts the damsel in distress stereotype. Before lastly describing the representation of menacing villains through cinematography decisions, sound and an actor’s performance.

People of all races enjoy a good film or tv show but, they sometimes are not being represented equally. Representation matters because, it is important to teach the younger generations about their race’s worldview on what they find normal. Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted a psychological study where, “children were shown two dolls, one black and one white. They were asked to choose which one they preferred, which one was ‘bad’ and which one was ‘good.’ The results were the same across races: the children generally preferred the white doll and saw that doll as ‘good’…. but it is really no surprise if you look at the media these children are consuming”(The

Over the years television has been known to be one of the major educating and socializing institution in America. Television in today’s society is able to play a powerful key through which individuals can be informed, hold forums, and voice their opinion‘s. Television is also important because it offers us glimpses into minority life and minority figures. When sociologists examine minorities in television they document how minorities are portrayed and how those portrayals have changed over the years. Through time, minorities in television have been able to make moderate gains whether they are in front of or behind cameras. However, they continue to remain significantly underrepresented as leading actors in films, as writers, and as TV show creators. Even though minorities are significantly underrepresented in today’s society the TV industry has been pushing to give an opportunity to many minority groups in succeeding in the media. Several TV shows and commercials have succeeded in the TV industry to try and change how minorities are underrepresented, however, there are also shows that reinforce stereotypes and are prejudice towards minorities.

Research Paper: You will choose a specific group in American society (gender, race, etc.). You will then explore how that group is represented in a variety of media (television, film, music, video games, etc.) and what affect that has on our society and on members of

African Americans have been represented in the media with harmful stereotypes which were founded in the slavery era (Cartier, 2014)(Carpenter, 2012). This negative representation invites bias from those who accept the images, the distortion of which is accentuated by both sexism and racism. Black women are the least represented group in cinema, making it easier to rely on stereotypes which encourage societal bias. From these stereotypes, like the Jezebel and Sapphire, stem the “real world” stereotypes of the welfare queen and the crack mother (Carpenter, 2012), showing that media portrayals have shaped public perception regarding black women. While certain genres have seen a rise in portrayals of diversity, overall Hollywood as an industry remains unchanged, inaccurately representing minorities (Smith et al., 2016).

Women are deemed as a “minority” yet make up 51% of the world population and in 2014 made up only 12% of protagonists in films. And that is just on-screen, the percentage decreases as you go farther and farther into behind-the-scenes positions such as directors, cinematographers, and writers. Add race and ethnicity and those characters' percentages decline even more (Lauzen, 2015.) Women in film and television are often portrayed with emphasis based on their body type and in advertisement are largely objectified. The large objectification and misrepresentation of women in the media has led to an offset psychological view of women from growing up to adulthood.

The documentary “Miss Representation” delves into how the media and society. The viewer is exposed to how the media builds an expectation of how women should look and act. When the media portrays women as the perfect weight, height, and behavior for the target audience, it lowers the self-esteem of the females watching that cannot hope to compare to a fictional character. Men exposed to these types of advertisement and entertainment are taught to objectify women. It distorts societies and male expectations of how real women should look and behave. The documentary also discusses the lack of female protagonists in television and movies. There is a distinct lack of female heroines in our world today. This shortage further diminishes the hopes

It is known that one of the industries that reflect a multitude of human stereotypes is in the cinema. Although this may be true, to some people it is not completely obvious; especially if the stereotyped individual in the film is different from the person watching. The 2009 remake of the movie Fame has numerous moments that represent mediated stereotypes between different races. Using examples from Ramirez-Berg in his piece, “Stereotypes in Film”, the stereotypes I recognized were much more clear. Additionally, cinematic devices such as scripting, costuming, and sound effects played a role when discussing oppressed populations (Ramirez Berg).

In their pieces on the Smurfette principle, Pollitt and Ellis both discuss the idea that gender representations have intense effects on the children who absorb certain types of popular entertainment. Although we are hesitant to accept it, we are all influenced by the media in a very powerful way. Whether it be through TV shows, billboards, movies or the news. One thing that we commonly wonder about is if the adult female population is as influenced by the stereotyped gender roles present on TV or are we shaped at a young age and carry that perspective with us throughout our lives. This Smurfette principle has been around for almost two decades. It was introduced by Katha Pollitt and is unfortunately still present in our current 21st

Although genre and identity are not inherently related, historical contexts within different genres reveal patterns and shifts in gender representations over time. For example, the sitcom genre achieved the most diverse and successful portrayal of women in the 1980s with The Golden Girls, which passed The Bechdel Test, transcended the anti-feminist backlash of the time, and addressed progressive ideals that are still relevant today. On the other hand, current science fiction programs, like Stranger Things, do not pass The Bechdel Test as the women portrayed adhere to strict tropes and lack meaningful interactions with one another, which does not coincide with reality or the current push for women in science related fields. Other genres, such as soap operas and legal dramas, vary their representations of women and often include contradictory messages, creating ambiguity in their

This review will also evaluate the quality of the films and focus on areas of strengths and weaknesses within both films. Summary German

Films have the power to both influence and reflect society. The stereotypes prevalent throughout American culture are reflected in most films. While the United States is becoming an increasingly diverse country, this diversity is not portrayed within American cinema. Minority figures often occupy

It only takes a second to attach a strong feeling or idea to a character in a movie, advertisement, or video game. Many characterization used are based on the assumed stereotypes, and are usually one-dimensional characters. Typically, these characterizations usually come from inherited family values, education, and the media. While stereotypes existed long before mass media, the media machine certainly helped to accelerate the cultural growth of all kinds of stereotypes. It is beyond this paper to answer why magazines employ these gender stereotypes, instead this research is designed to analyze

Books, plays, and movies that depict culture and social life often make statements about social issues such as gender roles, racism, and class distinction. Stories set up a context in which characters relate, often representing “stock” characters chosen from society and placed in situations where their stereotypical behaviors—and sometimes their breaking of these stereotypes—are highlighted. As feminism became a popular movement in Western countries in general and the United States in particular, female voices were naturally heard through fictional characters. Social and political issues commonly fuel entertainment; feminism, racism, and classism—recurring themes in entertainment through the 20th Century and into the modern day—have