QUESTION: Gender & Film

[Katie Shickman]

QUESTION:  I am currently going back to school (changing professions) to earn my teaching certification in English Ed.  I am taking a grad class on using film and pop culture in the classroom- I am trying to think of lesson ideas that explore how women are portrayed in film and TV.  Any ideas of films (fiction or nonfiction) to explore this idea?  I am looking for examples that have many different representations of females.

 

Thanks :)

[Frank W. Baker]

Check out the Institute of Gender in Media, spearheaded by actress Gena Davis who is working with USC or UCLA in an effort to conduct content analysis of film/TV and portayals of women and girls, and lack there of, in film.

[Katie Shickman]

Thank you so much for directing me to this site!  I signed up for the newsletter and I already received an e-mail that directed me to some great articles and websites that are really helping me with my research.  Thanks again!

[Katie Shickman]

Hi Uriah, 

As always, you provide me with interesting ideas that I never would have thought about without your input! Your ideas are awesome, but my focus is pretty narrow for this project and I am just sticking with modern pop culture for my wiki.  I will definitely keep your suggestions in mind for the future...I will be finding these films once our class is over :)

[Sean]

This is tough, but I think there's less gender role in current TV, than even in the 90s.  Look at Friends: Rachel=waitress, Monica=loves to clean and cook, Phoebe=ditzy beyond belief.  Then you take, say, Battlestar Galactica with a female president who comes to see herself as a prophet and savior of the human race; a female lieutenant who has the steotypical "male" qualities (likes to shoot, drink, smoke, and fornicate); a cylon (robot that looks like a human) who used her sexuality to eventually destroy an entire planet but showed incredible fortitude and regret, becoming more human than the humans; a cylon woman detemrined to be accepted as a human and live as a human, going as far as accepting killing her entire race (of cylons); one who seeks the truth as well as the face of God, which ended up having grave consequences for her.  The women are round, complex, and diverse characters, even when they are downtrodden and weakened.  I couldn't really give you a lesson, unless you jsut showed an episode every day of class!  But that's an example.  You see a lot more strong female characters throughout Sci-fi.  That might be something to compare: how women are treated onscreen by genres (including lead roles).  You also have in some of those, though, the villain being an evil witch (more so in fantasy films or cartoons).  I might be able to help if I knew what more specifically you were looking for.

[Katie Shickman]

I love your Friends idea!  I found some great clips on youtube that really illustrate the stereotypical roles... Phoebe discussing evolution with Ross and Monica vacuuming her vacuum!  I have never seen Battlestar- but I like the sound of the female lieutenant.  More specifically, I am trying to find movies and TV shows that have examples of many types of women: both stereotypical portrayals and more "authentic" portrayals of women.  If you have any more thoughts, I would love to hear them! Thank you!

[Sean]

I'll think up something good!

[Anne Gaspers]

How about the film Now and Then.  All girls grow up to together in the60s/70s and end up in many different roles later in life.  Also, A League of Their Own.  The fact that Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell are both in it may be a jumping point to talk about prolific media careers of women.  The Devil Wears Prada is another one that comes to mind.  Anne Hathaway's character changes who she is to fit into the fashion world.  Julie & Julia could be a good discussion of how two women are being supported by their husbands while trying to make their way in the world.  Real Women Have Curves is another good one that shows generational differences of Latina women in LA.

[Katie Shickman]

Those are great ideas!  I actually just wrote a rationale for including Julie & Julia in the classroom, but for some reason I totally forgot about it when it came time to think about this project!

[Zachary Ramsey]

Have you thought about women as agents of civilization or civility.  I'm thinking about True Grit and Mattie Ross' character.  I haven't seen the 2010 remake yet, so I don't know if it's suitable for the classroom.  If I remember right, there wasn't anything too risque in the old version with John Wayne.  Lots of Westerns portray women as civilizing influences. 

Another idea is to show an episode of the cartoon TV show Futurama.  The show has a couple female characters; one has overt masculine characteristics (she's pugnacious) and the other female is more "girly." 

[Katie Shickman]

I haven't seen True Grit yet- it is on my "to watch" list.  I will check out the 2010 version and see how usable it is!  Thanks!

[Ryan Goble]

From Frank in today's news...

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) - Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis joined Senator Kay Hagan and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to introduce a bill that would support efforts to improve the image of girls and women in the media.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/13/us-geenadavis-idUSTRE76C6...

[Katie Shickman]

I think the Killing Us Softly films are amazing!  Jean Kilbourne does an excellent job of explaining the heart of the issue!  I haven't seen Whale Rider before, but now I am definitely interested in seeing it. Thank you!