The Female Characters Of The Film, By Pan 's Labyrinth

In the play, Bernarda can be considered the “regime”, but in reality this could be a symbol of the growing threat of fascism and the first stages of the civil war in 1930s Spain.

Patriarchy is described as a general structure where men hold the position of power of women. This could include being head of the household, ‘upper level’ in the workplace, or leader in society. Cinema falls under this patriarchal institution by constantly constructing ideological images of women. Since the beginning, women in film are “made to conform to the ideal image that the man has of them” (Smelik, 496) by power or sexual desires. Essentially, Hollywood cinema is structured for the male audience, therefore majority of films are classified as patriarchal. A lot has to do with how female characters are portrayed and if there is a male gaze in the film. Although the film has a female lead and focuses on women, Pan’s Labyrinth is constructed

Set in post- Civil War Spain, Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) offers the audience diverse perspectives on the situation of women during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. Each of the three female characters that the audience is immediately exposed to embodies the traits that were expected of them at the time: Carmen, the pregnant mother; Ofelia, the pretty young girl and Mercedes, the housewife and servant. Del Toro shows the evolution of the characters based on whether they choose to respect each of these ideals, and how this compares to the history behind the film.

This essay will be discussing how gender is portrayed in the films Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother) and Tacones Lejanos (High Heels), both directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The use of the theatre and performance, along with the audiences that come with it, enables these films to explore the manner in which gender is unstable. Gwynne Edwards writes that Almodóvar often pays tribute to the stage . Almodóvar dedicates All About My Mother “to all the actresses who have played actresses, to all women who act, to men who act and become women” , which is also relevant to High Heels. He uses the stage setting as a platform to show the instability of gender, not only on a physical stage but also in the characters’ lives: “The dialogue of his films has the cut and thrust, and very often wit, of stage plays. There are also soliloquies, and one of them – in All About My Mother – is even delivered to the audience from the stage of a theatre” . Russell Jackson suggests that this is done as a method for the characters to “find the sometimes onerous ability to deal with and describe their past, and to create a future in the face of death and desertion.” The character ‘La Agrado’ in All About My Mother as well High Heels’ Femme Letal (Letal), will be considered - both the manner in which they carry themselves throughout the film, as well as the their performances on stage. In the following paragraphs, I will illustrate how performance and the stage are vital in Almodóvar’s exploration

In El Laberinto del Fauno, Guillermo del Toro uses the theme of obedience to illustrate and condemn two repressive components of fascism: patriarchy and the coercion of free will. This essay will look at two examples of obedience in the film which reveal the abhorrent nature of these aspects of fascism and the importance of resisting them. These are, respectively, the relationship between Captain Vidal and Mercedes and Ofelia’s refusal to compromise her own integrity.

The role of the patriarchal society and its impact on the oppression of female characters

In conclusion, the film She’s the Man shows the audience how gender gets represented in films. It shows the traditional femininity as well as the traditional masculinity. This illustrates that gender has impacts on power and gender relations to contribute gender inequality. Gender norms are enforced in films which maintain the power inequality difference between both genders. These issues confine the way modern films represent gender and gives a direct effect to the

This paper will look at how the movies portray women in a way that women can relate to regardless if it’s an insulting

The concept of gender is evolutionary and difficult to define, though it can be argued that traditionally females have been predominantly defined by their desirability, and males by their masculinity. The way a director presents gender in film can either inspire social change and conversation, or alternatively it can further reproduce social norms. In the case of the film’s discussed in this essay, it is clear that Baz Luhrmann captivates a younger audience and intentionally uses actor selection and the presentation of gender to transform a well-worn Shakespearean story into something new and evolved to inspire a younger audience. On the other

Moving onto gender roles and ideas, these characteristics in genders are needed in any sort of story to suit the values and attitudes of the people of that time. Gender stereotypes are a major piece to the puzzle of a film. Women are generally seen as less dominant, pushovers, the cares of everyone and that they have no independence. Whist men are seen as the more dominant, masculine, heroes, brave and courageous. This is across all genres of movies, the girl is the damsel in distress and the boy ends up saving her at the end of it.

At first glance, J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan appears to be an innocent literary depiction of a young boy who wishes to never grow up—thus, remaining a child. Peter Pan, the story’s main protagonist, poses as the mischievous and youthful boy who spends his eternal life seeking adventures and leading the Lost Boys through the make-believe island, Neverland. Peter acquires the company of a young British girl by the name of Wendy Darling and her two little brothers, John and Michael Darling. In the company of the British children, Pan travels back to Neverland to primarily utilise Wendy for her motherly-expertise. Further inquiry and literary analysis of the 1904 novel leads readers to believe there is more to the story than what can be seen at first glance. Peter Pan is one of many novels subject to feminist literary criticism; the novel displays an array of male characters with very few female characters to contrast. Furthermore, female characters can be seen as passive, and frequently submit to paternal authority. In Peter Pan, women are assigned specific roles that mirror the responsibilities of those in the Victorian Era. The demeaning and gender-stereotypical interpretation of women coupled with the encouragement of male dominance places the story under criticism for its subjugation of women. In essence, the female characters are subject to the gender stereotypes and societal norms of the Victorian era in which they are

I chose gender criticism this theory to analyze the gender roles and the gender expectations displayed in “Lady Susan”. I chose this theory because “Lady Susan” mainly discussed the relationship between males and females, and the interesting gender roles the characters played. Thus, gender criticism theory can help me to understand and comprehend the underlying meanings of different characters’ conducts and personalities as females.

The male gaze puts his fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled, in a unique sort of way. In this traditional exhibitionist, role women are continuously being looked at and their appearance is delivered to the male gaze in such a way as a strong visual and erotic impact and provides male desire. The presence of a woman in a normal narrative film is the key of the movie. However, the key of the narrative film works against the development of the story-line and stops the action due to the erotic gaze. Butt Boetticher said: “What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance”.

Filmmakers use traditional gender stereotypes to produce characters audiences can easily identify with by portraying conventional images of a person with identifiable characteristics. In previous years, the dominant representation of a women in film has been the passive, subjugated protagonist. However, through the development of female empowerment and added feminist representations of film, the female heroine transformed to become strong and independent women in her own right, as an individual character.

In society, women are often perceived as the weaker sex, both physically and mentally. In modern times women have leveled the playing field between men and women, and feminism is a highly discussed topic, but for years, women faced discrimination and prejudice both in life and in the workplace, due to their sex. This way of thinking flooded into the world of film. In their works, the authors of each of the various sources address the limitations and liberations of women both on and off the screen in nineteenth century Film and Cinema. Not every source is completely filled with information related to the research topic, but they do cover and analyze many of the same points from different perspectives. Prominent points addressed in each