Feminism

Question 1

Mulvey

Answer 1

• male gaze to characterise the cinema as an instrument to male spectatorship
• women are presented as passive objects in the media to cater to the male gaze
  Eg. Transformers (females in the film are sexualised using suggestive angles which has no direct relation to the storyline)

Question 2

Wolf

Answer 2

• women are socialised to conform to and buy into the beauty myth referring to the idea that women. Feel pressure to conform to male image of what a women should look like
• ideal representation of femininity as a backlash against the women’s movement and potential developments that have been made
• these ideologies ensure women develop false consciousness that distracts the, from see,img to improve their position in society
  Eg. Cosmopolitan magazines show images of women wearing heavy makeup and have been airbrushed to look like perfection is a normal goal to achieve

Question 3

Whelehan (recent)

Answer 3

• men’s magazines override the message of feminism
• promoted laddish culture where women are objectified and changes in gender roles can be dismissed as an ironic joke
  Eg. Loaded magazines include pornographic material with women depicting them in an unnecessarily sexualised way

Question 4

Mcrobbie

Answer 4

• magazines have impact on identities of readers
• discourse of western enlightened values present throughout magazines and suggests western version of femininity is promoted as ideal
• magazines have distinct focus on fashion, lifestyle, love and beauty promoting hegemonic femininity
  Eg. Article themes on front cover of magazines heat and closer that could have negative impact for their female readers “new celeb diets”