Hardeeps essay summary..not finished yet tho!

Introduction:
·Number of females in action adv changed- 1970- “only 15% leading characters”
·But yet males still dominate it- cuz protagonist and drive the narrative
· Females – passive- “symbolically annihilated”
·“revolves around her physical attraction and the mating games she plays with the male characters”- Sharon smith 1992

Para 1:
· “In Hollywood films, then, women are ultimately refused a voice, a discourse, and their desire is subjected to male desire”- theory mostly for films from the 1950’s
· Females- “disempowered, degraded and subjugated”
· High Noon (1952) and Rear Window (1954)- females frightened and in need of protection
· Males opposite- confident and assertive- reflects patriarchal society
· Women had roles to fulfil- housewife, caring mother- also shown thru clothing e.g. sound of music
· 1950’s also portrayed women as sex objects

Para 2:
· Changed due to second wave feminism (1970’s) - women were fighting for equality rights, abortion, independence, media gender stereotypes and sexist oppression.- lead to “20-35 per cent” more women on screen, however “15 percent” in action adv genre.
· Bionic women, Charlies Angel- strong powerful females
· Alien- film “has been widely interpreted as a feminist text”.... ripley only surviving character and action revolves round her- she has masculine qualities...always has phallic symbol links to Freud’s theory of penis envy.
· “In 2008, only 6 of the top 50 grossing films (12 of the top 100 films) starred or were focused on women.”

Para 3:
· Bond girls are not only represented sexually but also as clever.
· Lynd (bond girl)- beautiful seductive, also intelligent as she on a mission, also portrayed as weak as she falls in love with Bond
· films, constantly confirm to Mulvey’s ‘Male gaze’ theory-seen thru camera shots (close ups on body parts)
· Catwoman (2004)- leather costume, lips are also bright red, which stimulates sexual arousal to the male audience- links to hypodermic needle model as passive audience wld feel the need to do the same.
· Audience then assumes that all action adventure films are targeted towards males, cuz of constant depiction of women as objects of desire. – “to be looked-at-ness”

Para 4:
· Looking at Bonds Groyne in the sea scene- ‘Men looking at women; women watch themselves being looked at’- attract a female audience- female gaze (zeitgeist)