Superhero Comic Books Berlatsky’s article, “The Female Thor and the Female Comic-Book Reader” (2014), argues that girls are interested in reading superhero comics as much as boys; there has been a lot of speculation whether comic books were created to entertain only the masculine audience. In order to stop the sexism that has been going around in the superhero comic book industry, Berlatsky uses the logos Aristotelian appeal to inform the comic book audience that girls have been a fan of comics since decades ago. He also managed in using the hyperbole and aphorism rhetorical strategies to show that boys see girls differently and don’t belong in this industry. As a matter of fact, Berlatsky uses aphorism in one of the first paragraphs.…
Binary gender roles, and their perceived differences, are very prevalent in most cinema, but perhaps none are so stark and telling as those in torture porn. In his article, “The Problem of Saw: ‘Torture Porn’ and the Conservatism of Contemporary Horror Films”, Christopher Sharrett describes the role of the predatory captor as it relates to gender.1 Males almost always occupy the role, playing the part of vigilante as a “cruel but necessary father” who believes it is his duty to teach his moralities to his victims (34). Lockwood also points out voyeurism as a key characteristic of male captors, drawing attention to the focus the films give to the captor spying on the intended victim before their capture in some torture porn films (43).2 When…
The law is a hot profession to depict in Hollywood. We can all recall countless movies focused on the legal field. Hollywood has a tendency to exaggerate situations and only cast the most beautiful specimen. However, films do have a tendency to bring to light the issues of a layperson. Films such as Legally Blonde, Erin Brockocich, and The Verdict feature women in the legal field.…
In Paris is Burning (1990), Jennie Livingston explores the 1980s New York City drag balls with a focus on the African American and Latino gay and transgender society involved. The film begins with the purpose of the balls and the culture that surrounds it. Different key players in the drag world explain the aspects of a ball such as “voguing,” “realness,” and “houses.” Livingston reveals how the subjects dealt with the adversity of this lifestyle of poverty, racism, and homophobia. She shows the strength these people have to survive in society, by creating their own sub society where anything is possible.…
Throughout film history, the concept of the unruly woman has not been used until recent times. Before women were portrayed in the same light as men, they were portrayed as proper women who did not use obscene language and did not partake in irrational behavior. Women were usually seen as damsel’s in distress, they were portrayed as weak individuals that served to convey a male’s masculinity. In the recent years, audiences can now see women taking on ‘male characteristics.’ Actresses like Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock, are now the lead roles in comedic movies without having them portrayed as weak individuals, proper ladies, or women that rely on males in order to get through tough times, however, even though unruly women do have the…
In today’s media, specifically music videos, there are quite often distinct gender representations. This is shown in the music video “Girls on Film” by Duran Duran. This music video was published in 1981, expected to be played at night clubs and the “Play Boy” channel (Girls on Film, n.d., para. 4). The raunchy video created an uproar, and it was consequently banned by the BBC and heavily edited for MTV (Girls on Film, n.d., para. 4). This caused the band to gain more spot light and furthermore, making two different music videos (Girls on Film, n.d., para. 4).…
We live in the 21st century yet sexism or gender discrimination is still present everywhere, in every culture, in every country, in every workplace. Sexism is the belief that there are innate psychological, behavioural and intellectual differences between men and women. These differences create divisions that results to discrimination and inequalities. Also, these differences imply the superiority of one group, usually men and inferiority of the other, usually women. There is no country in the world in which women and men have equal right, there are countries where women are being owned by men in exchange for money.…
The poor misrepresentation of qualified women in leadership roles has shaped a gender gap that survives not only in academia but in countless areas within the workplace environment. It has been determined by society that only males as opposed to women make respectable leaders; consequently it remains to refute informal admission for women pursuing leadership roles since they don’t meet the standard. Women who strive for leadership positions encounter obstacles and most times surrender as they become overwhelmed in dealing with obvious…
primarily for data. It fits in with other sources that will be used in the paper as it explains the historical context of horror films, and how women have been depicted in horror film over the course of last few decades. It also delves into the way women are related to the genre of horror films as a whole. This source is different from the claims made in other sources, as it offers a unique perspective on the feminist movements of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s and links them to the way women have been portrayed in horror movies. The way Mehls traces these historic moments of resistance, this academic resources helps illustrate how women have withstood the test of time with the way they have been portrayed in horror movies, and why a variety of audience continue flocking to horror films even today.…
It has already been understood that women experience sexualization more often than men. However this does not mean that men do not face sexualization, but it means that men does face the same rate and level of sexualization like women. It is blatantly understood and debated upon in the world of comics. It can be seen from a character’s costume to that character’s performance in the scene whether he or she is rescuing someone or is the one being rescued. In modern times, the realm of comic have prospered from only being on paperback to transferring onto the live screen.…
“The Pro-Social Mission” If you think about what a superhero means to you, many answers may fly around like bravery, strength, or power. Very rarely do you ever hear about what exactly makes a superhero, super. In my opinion, I believe it is this pro-social mission that keeps them going on the never ending battle against the fight with evil. A hero can have as many powers or identities that they want to have, but the most important component of their being is that they have a specific goal in mind that will work for the greater good of not only the world, but the entire universe. These other two qualities, power and identity just reinforce who the superhero is.…
“All I want you to say is nothing at all. And all I want you to do is stare at the wall. I love your plastic hair and your plastic eyes. Marvel at your plastic breasts and your plastic thighs” (Genius Lyrics, 2017). The 1998 hit, “Polyester Girl”, by Australian band Regurgitator, flawlessly and ironically construes the confining and claustrophobic mould women of the 21st Century are expected to shape shift into (Wikipedia, 2017).…
Society tends to stereotype women and men through multimedia. Usually the commercials advertised depict woman as the home maker and the man as the provider. Take beer commercials for example, they typically show a man watching sports or out at the bar having fun surrounded by, but then a Huggies’ commercial shows a mother with a baby lovingly swaddled in her arms. (Gender Stereotypes in Media, 2009) Just recently we have seen shows start to break away from the stereo-type, with Tide showing commercials about a stay-at-home dad fighting to get the stains out of his daughter’s princess dress. Budlight Commercial -http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bud+light++commercial&&view=detail&mid=941285BC437468BACEF1941285BC437468BACEF1&FORM=VRDGAR…
In “The Female Link: Citation and Continuity in Watchmen” by Erin M. Keating, the author adds to the discussion of women in comics by negating that Watchmen was not an example of “the revisionary superhero narrative” because women were still being represented as conservative. Watchmen does not address the societal gender identities but rather it continues the gendered identities that were already in comic books. “In Adult Comics: An Introduction, Roger Sabin describes women in comic books as ‘‘invariably either plot devices (there to be rescued) or sex symbols (all plunging necklines and endless legs)’’. The author describes that Wonder Women was created as a sex symbol to appeal to male leadership by her creator, William Marston. Unlike Wonder…
The media are a global element which influence life by a wide range of platforms such as television, press, radio and the Internet, thus their content strike in many ways, through images, voices, music and role models’ behaviours. It is proven that mass media are gender – stereotyped which allows to manipulate receivers’ attitudes. It is, for instance, a threat to adolescents and young adults who shape their world view by consuming media, as an effect children are more likely to adopt negative attitude during the period of socialization. With an easy access to media they may decrease their self–esteem, as well as adapt gender role stereotypes (Centeno and Prieler 2013, ter Bogt et al. 2010). A focus of this essay is to prove that presentation…