Female Heroines Of The Movie ' The Alien Films '

In Western genre, women are repeatedly portrayed as either the helpless damsel in distress or the wild saloon girl. Most Western movies have elements of a gunfight,rivalry, redemption, and/or romance written into the script. A large percentage of the stereotypes of the American West comes from these exaggerated characters and storylines. Very rarely do western films present a strong female lead. When they do, there is frequently a subplot of romance written into it. Few Western genre and cinema portray the true nature of what women in the West were like.

In Hollywood film women 's roles have varied quiet considerably between genres, geographical placement, and period settings. These factors contribute to the different representations of women 's roles in the film they are present in. The roles are diverse going from the traditional maternal role to that of manipulative murderer. Women 's roles in movies can be almost equal to the male roles, and the co-stars are not given the majority of the acclaims just because they are male. Society has set certain standards that women are supposed to follow. The most common image of women is that they are very passive and try to avoid conflict in any situation. More and more in society women are breaking down the social barriers that confine them to their specific roles. The films Rear Window and Resident Evil show women in roles that are untraditional for our society. These two movies help to show how women are rebelling against social norms and that they are taking more active and aggressive roles. In film noir’s we can see women represented as the femme fatale, a woman whose mysterious and seductive charms leads men into compromising or dangerous situations. In action movies we see the heroine who is strong both physically and mentally, and has the ability to use weapons. Women seem to be more trapped than men because they are supposed to live up to society’s standards dealing with beauty and size, which are more physical characteristics. These specific guidelines have been set by

The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies; A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarilythat of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. Men were typically employed, successful gentlemen, while the woman’s only job was a housewife. The film industry was mostly dominated by men. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had

This genre is typically modern, perky and upbeat, but the common narrative in all of them is that it features a woman who is strong and she overcomes adversity to reach her goals. There is also a message of empowerment that also struggles with a romantic predicament and using comedy to poke fun at the male characters. Industries are still producing soppy romantic comedies for the female audience but the divide between the standard chick flick and romantic comedy is slowly disappearing. Similarly to the beginning of this essay it is evident that institutions are moving in the direction of women’s place in culture in relation to this film genre; women are usually shown as the super power since they are made to appeal to the female audience. However

James Cameron’s 1986 film Aliens can be considered a tweener being made up of many genres including a maternal melodrama, woman’s film, war film, body genre, horror, and a science fiction film. Aliens manages to successfully change the classic horror and sci-fi movie to create a story that explores the place of women in these genres and challenges the roles they normally play. This is done by structuring a horror film to play upon the male fears of female reproduction and sexuality as core themes in the film so as to unnerve its dominant men. As a result, a woman’s film is created by placing its female character as the leading role. Aliens takes its central character Ripley, and places her into a position as the gender monster. Ripley is neither totally feminine nor is she totally masculine resulting in a motherly figure that is a true warrior. Even from her first appearance she is in command and a force to be reckoned with. In Aliens the roles of gender are clearly reversed, as Ripley is the strong female character who makes active judgements and survives what is trying to kill her. The male characters are largely submissive, most die quickly, others wait for her command. Ripley stands out as being a well-developed female hero who avoids the standard portrayal of women in horror films as passive, secondary characters, creating a woman that is in charge and motherly at the same time, thus producing a woman’s film.

In the media, gender is stereotypically represented by splitting both men and women into two categories. Within these categories are specific traits that have led women to become represented as inferior to men. Women are presented as sexual, emotional and dependant while men are portrayed as strong, reliant and independent. This causes males in the media to be the "hero" who has the capabilities to take on the active roles while women deal with the passive roles. The representation of both genders significantly influence the way that the horror genre is portrayed in today 's movies (Santili, 2007). A prime example is

The movies have always worked at staying current with or lead the times in which they are made. One way films accomplish this is by highlighting social tensions or cultural trends. These ideas are not new, and as the culture changes the movies we view and are interested in, change also. One trend that we have seen develop since the end of the second world war is the change in how women characters are portrayed. From grasping unnatural roles to powerful leaders of their families, women have shown that they have what it takes to survive in a man's world.

Women have always been viewed as passive in real life and in films. They have a certain role they always have to play, whether it is a wife, mother, or the seductive woman out to get men. Gender stereotypes date back to hundreds of years ago when they were denied basic civil rights like voting or working. These unjust treatments have been established in movies as well. While men are the stars of the film, usually because of their appearance or dominance among others, women appear at the sidelines usually being admired for their beauty.

Since the 1940’s, movies have predominately portrayed women as sex symbols. Beginning in the 1940’s and continuing though the 1980’s, women did not have major roles in movies. When they did have a leading role the women was either pretreated as unintelligent and beautiful, or as conniving and beautiful: But she was always beautiful. Before the 1990’s, men alone, wrote and directed all the movies, and the movies were written for men. In comparison, movies of the 90’s are not only written and directed by women, but leading roles are also held by older and unattractive women. In this paper I will show the variations and growth of women’s roles in movies from the 1940’s though the 1990’s.

“It’s taken the fantasy genre decades to grow out of its image as a juvenile boys’ club obsessed with cleavage and crossbows” (Griner). Though science fiction has attempted to break the gender stereotypes against female characters, the genre still has a long way to go. Currently, the majority of female characters are still portrayed as over-sexualized, and dependent on male characters. When women are shown in heroic female roles, they are still belittled for not being a man. Seiter claims that “Many of the more stereotyped features of the portrayal of women…are also accurate reflections of the sexist reality of our society” (21). It is unfortunate that this claim is accurate, but it is. Science fiction is a fictional genre, providing an opportunity to break all stereotypes and create a world from scratch. But gender stereotypes have been ingrained into the world, making them difficult to break when producing fictional stories. Sexism has created a gender bias in science fiction that needs to be changed.

The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies. A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarily that of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had successful careers and did many activities outside of home. “Women were shown doing housework and men were the beneficiaries of their work” (“Women’s roles in the

Another element of films that noticeably hasn’t evolved is the difference between men and women’s television. In chick flicks and romantic comedies (conventionally women’s films) the women always ends up happily with the man that she has been chasing throughout the film. In contrast to this the narrative in men’s films do not conclude once they have found themselves a women; in any superhero movie the narrative has come full circle

Westerns connote images of dirt, dust, guns, horses, cowboys and heroes: physically strong, iron-willed, independent, resourceful, quick-witted men. Although the modern Western (the writings of Louise L’Amour, Zane Grey and the numerous films starring John Wayne, Roy Rodgers, Gene Autry) seems to focus on this ideal hero, the genre actually also provides women with strong, self-reliant, active roles. In fact, many texts that precede the typical modern Western had females as the main characters. However, the role of the heroine still differs from that of the hero; the role does not defeminize women but gives them depth as characters. These women still retain their femininity and domesticity, but they also rescue those around them, take care

Frequently, most superheroes in cinema are portrayed by male characters rather than women, creating a distinction between gender roles. Indeed, through the passage, “These results may suggest to viewers that women are less important, knowledgeable, and capable than men – and less likely to be a hero” (Miller et. al) women are much less likely to be featured as the hero within the film, and more likely to be featured as the “damsel in distress” of the story. Furthermore, women are much more likely to be depicted in a sexualized fashion, even when displayed in the role of hero. This feature of women with a lack of dominance defies feminism, as they lack roles in superhero films and they are portrayed with the sole purpose of boasting

on society and culture. But since the beginning, there has been trend of male dominance in entertainment. This has contributed to gender inequality by not giving young girls strong role models in movies. It has also created ideal gender images that young children and adults feel obligated to follow. In more recent years, with the rise of feminism and gender equality, many have begun to push for changes in movies and Hollywood. Gender inequality in film can be reduced by creating more roles for women, avoiding gender stereotypes such as the damsel in distress, and avoiding oversexualizing women.