class extra credit blog

I can honestly say I've never seen a movie quite like "The Piano". As a guy, I mostly only watch "guy" type movies. I am not a big fan of "chick flicks" or any movie lacking comedy and/or action for that matter. I would assume that I have almost never watched a movie directed by a woman. Jane Campion's film was my first introduction into the world of feminist movies and it was not what I expected.
I was so used to the “male gaze” perspective of viewing films that I was a little confused and yes, weirded out by Jane Campion’s ideas and methods. The “Female gaze” as it was presented in “The Piano”, portrayed us men in a negative light for the most part.
All of the male figures in the movie were shown as clueless brutes whose job it was to serve the women in a grudgingly manner. The movie began with the crew of the boat helping the Ada and her daughter to land by carrying them and all of their things. Ada’s new husband is gone most of the time doing work and other chores while Ada goes about doing whatever she feels. The Husband seems to be a stern, hesitant man who doesn’t have much care for his new wife’s needs. Baines comes across as a pervert who has no respect for women. The only positive male figure is ironically Baines in the end. Somehow, Ada falls in love with Baines. Afterwards, Baines is no longer a pervert, but a respectable gentleman.
I had a hard time understanding why the men were presented to the audience a more or less negative way until I realized that this movie is seen through Ada’s eyes, the “Female Gaze”. In this film, the camera looks through the female character’s eyes and the male character is looked at. Perhaps the female gaze is most noticeable when the film turns towards sexuality.
The first major instance is when Baines first acquires Ada’s piano. After seeing Ada play the piano, once she leaves, he strips off his clothes and slides his hand over the piano. The audience sees Baines fully nude. In most films, the male character won’t get naked unless there is to be sex and even then, we don’t see much of his body, it’s always the females. Later on in the film we will see Baines naked again, and this time we see “every inch” of his nakedness. Although we also see Ada nude, it’s not as prevalent and focused as it is with the male characters. One instance in which I winced was when Ada was stroking her husband’s backside. A male gaze would never focus directly on the male’s bare butt because the majority of guys don’t want to look at another man in a sexually provocative manner. I was uncomfortable looking at the husband in that way. I wonder if that’s how women feel in most movies where the camera focuses its lens on other females.
I believe that Jane Campion accomplished something with “The Piano”. It definitely changed my outlook on cinema and the portrayal of the sexes. I think that after watching this film, I will be able to better analyze all films in general, whether they were directed men or women.

Posted by Stephen Kuzj at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The other day in class, we discussed what both men and women are judged on and the “Normative Gender Expectation”. We compared the emotion and nurturing traits of women to the hard, “stone walled” traits of men. Although we discussed many more commonalities and difference between the two genders, the topic that I felt generated the most debate among the class was on the topic of body and beauty standards.

One female student spoke quite passionately on how much of what we judge women on is based on there outward appearance. She claimed that only the women that the media deems as attractive get on television and put on magazine covers. She added that men don’t have to deal with the same standards and expectations of beauty as women.

Another male student spoke up to counter his classmate’s view on men and beauty. He argued that men can face just as harsh criticisms on their appearance and style as women. He remarked that in major metropolitan cities such as Los Angeles and other high fashion places, men are judged by their look just as much as the women.

I felt that there was truth to what the students had to say and then a bit of exaggeration on both parts. I would like to break the concept of “beauty” and “style” down so we could get a clearer idea of where each student was coming from.

One point we as a class discussed was the concept of body composition. It was said that women in films are supposed to be tall, thin, and slim. This then works its way into society until all women are want to fit that particular image. Well, if you exclude the tall part, all women have it within themselves to be fit and in shape, although it often varies from person to person on the exact description of “fit”. This point is wrong because there are many female actors both in movies and in television that are not slim, or fit at all. Why? Because television shows and movies try to mimic real life (duh!). Most people do not have perfect bodies, that being, a majority of movie and show casts are made up of people with all body types. Just look at such shows as “The Office” or movies like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”.

Now magazines are different. On the cover of most popular magazines today you will see someone who is an example of perfection: their body seems flawless. Why? Because generally, if you’re reading Cosmo or other fashion magazines, their main message is about being healthy and in shape. Why would you put someone on your cover who doesn’t fit the theme or message of the literature? It wouldn’t fit. It’s the same way in every magazine whether it’s directed towards women or not. You wouldn’t put a clown on the front of a bridal magazine, nor would you put a runner on the cover of a body builder magazine.

Standards for men aren’t that much different from women’s. I read a magazine called Men’s Health and I can honestly say I’ve never seen a guy on the cover without a “6-pack”. The fact is, men face the same criticisms.
Where women are expected to be thin and slim, men are expected to be strong and athletic. Where women are expected to where make-up, men are expected to be clean shaven or have well groomed facial hair.

On the topic of clothing and attire, I would argue that men have it harder than women. When it comes to trying to look attractive or professional most women could get away with a nice dress and some fancy heels. Jewelry aside, a man’s wardrobe is much more complicated and expensive. A typical male has to wear a sport coat, slacks, a button-down, collared shirt and a pair of leather shoes in order to look professional.

Although standards might be similar for both sexes, it’s the females that we see more frequently used in commercials and movie previews. Attractive females appear more often than men in the media because they hold sex appeal for males and they can relate to women. Men are used less because it’s often other males that are the target audience and males want to see girls. I believe the reason why it seems females are judged more on their looks than males is because we see images of what the women shown in the media more than the men.

We live in a society that values attractive people, it’s quite simple. Standards are high for both sexes because we set them high. We are the ones who decide what’s in, what’s out. What’s attractive and what’s not. We all want to be attractive towards the opposite sex (or same sex). If we didn’t want to appeal towards one and other our standards would be much more relaxed.

Posted by Stephen Kuzj at 04:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't watch a lot of tv mainly because I'd rather be out doing things than sitting in wherever. If my name didn't give it away, I am a guy. I can attest that this list is accurate and truthfull! So don't try to call me out later for not including the Spice Channel in my list, that would have been number 11 incase you were wondering. -Is he joking?

Here's a list of the tv channels I watch most frequently.

1. Comedy Central - I like to laugh.
2. Discovery Channel - I like to learn, plus I have a crush on Carrie from Myth Busters.
3. History Channel - History can be Interesting too!
4. CNN - I'm a journalism major so I'm a bit of a news junkie.
5. ESPN - What guy doesn't watch some sports?
6. G4 tv - They talk about new technology, gadgets and games, all of which I find facinating.
7. Spike tv - There's nothing like sitting on your couch with a bag of cheetos after class and watching "The Worlds Scariest Police Chases."
8. Cartoon Network - I still got a little bit of kid left in me.
9. NBC - This channel hosts my favorite idol... Conan O'brien! Damn! I love that guy.
10. Food Network - Watching other people cook successfully is a constant reminder of all of my failures in the kitchen.

That was actually tougher than I thought it would be. I didn't think I could make it to a full 10. I should really watch more tv.

Posted by Stephen Kuzj at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)