Midterm Flashcards
Derailed Female Lead
a. A female lead that starts with strong goals, but loses sight of them for romance/sex with a man
b. Smith & Cook state that in most films females are portrayed as having a goal but are often short sided as they make unimaginable sacrifices for love.
c. Wonder Woman is not an example of this because Diana’s romance with Steve does not distract her from her original goals and intentions.
Hegemony
a. A dominant cultural group asserts power over a subordinate cultural group.
b. Lull discussed how the elite use media as a tool to make hegemonic assertions seem self-evident.
c. In Zootopia, the hegemonic group (prey) communicates a false narrative (“in their DNA”) about predators to maintain their social power and fear of anyone who may challenge it.
ISA (Ideological State Apparatus
a. “Ideological State Apparatus” – a “belief” not a person. Things that don’t have material affects but do affect the way we think.
b. Althusser discussed how society should be organized.
c. In the film Zootopia, the news made the citizens scared of predators and city hall was a big influencer in also sharing news of what was going on in the city.
Microagression
a. Subtle insults directed toward people of color, often automatically or unconsciously.
b. Sue Et. Al wrote about types of microaggressions, such as micro assault, microinsult and microinvalidation.
c. In the film Get Out, an example of a microinvalidation would be when Rose’s father tells Chris “If I could’ve voted for Obama again, I would’ve.” Because of his race.
RSA (Repressive State Apparatus)
a. “Repressive State Apparatus”; enforcement of ideological status quo.
b. Althusser argues repressive and ideological state apparatuses comprise the ideological tools available for states.
c. In the final scene of get out, police presence inspired fear for Chris.
Studio System
a. Defines the levels of production and distribution of films in the American context.
b. Belton discusses the studio system as he lays out the historical groundwork of modern American (aka Hollywood) film.
c. Because female-directed films are more profitable, the studio system has responded with a number of iconic films, like wonder woman, with female directors.
Suspension of Morality
a. Characteristic of wartime film; can kill, rape, murder, rob, turn back on friend and have it all justified in the environment of the war.
b. Belton details that the good guys actions are always justified, and the enemies aren’t.
c. In wonder woman, killing Germans is good but gassing Brits is bad; also the chief said “this is what happens in war, people die’”
Warrior Woman
a. Therefore, a heroic female figure that embodies and represents a hybrid idea.
b. Nixon discusses warrior woman as being recognized for the physical/mental strength she displays in the face of adversity.
c. In the film Wonder Woman, because Diane is traditionally sexualized but in control of the situation.
Hegemonic Masculinity
a. The maintenance of practices that institutionalize men’s dominance over women.
b. Bird reveals hegemonic masculinity in his articles by giving us three examples of it.
c. In Wonder Woman, Steve displays no hegemonic masculinity.
Ideology
a. The imaginary relation of people and the relations they live.
b. Althusser represents this imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence.
c. Ideological stance of race in Zootopia- how the races and minorities are portrayed in different ways as negative or positive.
Manhood Act
a. Meant to “imply a claim to membership in the privileged gender group.
b. Shrock and Schwalbe implies this term to have claim to membership in the privileged gender group.
c. In Wonder Woman, Diane is able to exhibit manhood acts to gain power for herself; she does this as she has to act with violence and force to gain respect from the men.
Nationalism
a. Things/acts that show honor to your nation.
b. Rowe argues that nationalism is having great respect for one’s nation while obtaining shared values.
c. In Wonder Woman, nationalism motivated Steve to behave in ways that would not normally be morally justified, and to think in a collectivistic fashion. The opposing soldiers’ sense of nationalism led them to ignore the moral implications of their actions (e.g. engineering poison gas).
Screwball Comedy
a. An early 20th century form of situational comedy that relied on slapstick humor and a “battle of the sexes” framework for the plot of films.
b. Belton discusses screwball comedy as he lays out the historical groundwork of modern American (aka Hollywood) film.
c. In Zootopia, a small fox behaves in a childish way, against the expectations of the audience to create a humorous effect.
Stereotype
a. Over-simplified conception, opinion or belief of a person, group, or issue.
b. Bird states that stereotypes are distorted images that do not represent details of reality.
c. In Zootopia, Judy Hopps being the only female cop would be an example of breaking the stereotype
Vertical Integration
a. A system in which studios owned all steps of film production and distribution; an attempt to monopolize the film industry.
b. Belton discusses vertical integration as he lays out the historical groundwork of modern American (aka Hollywood) film.
c. Because all of the films viewed thus far have come from the late 20th/early 21st century, film monopolies did not play a strong role in the production of any film.
