COURSE BLOG for GWSS 3307: Feminist Film/Media Studies (Fall 2007)

This blog is a course blog for GWSS 3307: Feminist Film/Media Studies, in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Fall 2007.

The course has ended.

Please feel free to browse the site, and remember blogs happen in reverse chronology, so if you want to start at the beginning, click HERE and scroll to the bottom, or browse the links on the right-hand sidebar.

If you'd like to start at the beginning of this page (which is the end of our course), you will be reading/viewing summaries of our final papers and media projects like this collage project:

Read on and enjoy!

Posted by Rae at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my final project my partner and I created a large collage piece examining how the media uses products and the demand for products to make women’s bodies marketable for the benefit of capitalist patriarchy. We looked at how all of this is connected to normativity, fragmentation of the body, the issue of agency, performativity of gender, objectification, and use of a male gaze. We used theory about the implications of these forms of representation to argue that the media creates and reifies normative femininity as a product we unconsciously internalize and consume.

In order to do this, we tried to arrange the images in a certain way that created a progression through the piece. In the beginning, there are fragments of a woman's body arranged in a grotesque manner to create a "full" body. For us, this was representative of the ways the media attempts to reduce women's bodies to fragments before they try to piece it back together in a "proper" way. In conjunction with this beginning are the images of women's heads that go along the bottom. We were exploring ways the media relies on decapitation to silence women. The next section explored images that indicate the ways the media (specificially advertising) tries to sell women products in order to make them fulfill the requirements of normative femininity. The message is literally that femininity can be bought. The following section looked at images of women's bodies being objectified and sexualized in order to sell products. Only the bodies that have consumed the proper femininity are included in these images, because they are the only bodies that are visible. The final section explored what it means for a woman to become a literal product. In the images she is being held, consumed, gazed upon. The body is an object that is no longer connected to the individual.

In conclusion, we attempted to explore the possibility of creating a new space for feminism that exists outside of the realm of capitalist patriarchy in order to create a feminist form that supports the feminist content. This idea was in part inspired by Foucault’s discussion of hetertopic spaces. My paper discussed in detail what the piece was attempting to convey and presented the theoretical support.

This project proved to be a challenge and definitely changed throughout the process. We had to scale down many of our ideas due to budgetary and time constraints. At first this seemed unfortunate, but looking back, I think those constraints helped us to focus on the core message that was important to us at the time, and kept us form getting lost in extraneous elements.

The sources from my paper are listed below:

1. Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Great Britain: Routledge, 1990.
2. Currie, Dawn. Girl Talk: Adolescent Magazines and Their Readers. Canada: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 1999.
3. Doniger, Wendy, and Howard Eilberg-Schwartz. Off With Her Head: The Denial of Women’s Identity in Myth, Religion, and Culture. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1995.
4. Foucault, Michel. “Of Other Spaces, Heterotopias.” Architecture/Mouvement/Continuité. Oct. 1984.
5. hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1984.
6. Kaplan, E. Ann. “Is the Gaze Male?” Feminism and Film. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2000.
7. Wykes, Maggie, and Barrie Gunter. The Media and Body Image. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2005.

Some Pictures:

Posted by R.S. at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“I had to leave the house of fashion,
Go forth naked from its doors
Because women should be allies
And not competitors.
I had to leave the house of television
To start noticing the clouds
Its amazing the stuff you see
When you finally shed that shroud.”
-ani difranco

In my final paper/project I argue that in a media culture that perpetuates representations of the female body that reduce it to an exchangeable commodity, the female cannot find self-actualization or experience self-love.

Germaine Greer States:

-. “The media, which makes news as well as carry it, are the real sources of power in our pseudo-democracies
-“A woman’s body is the battlefield where she fights for liberation. It is through her body that oppression works, reifying her, sexualizing her, victimizing her, disabling her. Her physicality is a medium for others to work on”

I argue that the female body in advertising media is exploited in three ways:

1. She (the female body) participates in the perpetuation of self-hate to sell products for female consumption.

“As a way of inducing them (women) to buy products of no use or value, women have been deliberately infected with BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder).
Multi-million dollar industries exploit both her need for reassurance and her need to do something about the way she looks” (Greer 25).

2. Using the erotized female body to sell objects, sell commodities.The act of eroticizing the body is an act of silencing. It reduces the woman from “seer” to “seen.”

3. The media fully claims and oppresses the female form by transforming it literally into the sellable object. . This is a crafted representation, a ploy to dismantle female liberation under the guise of sexual freedom.

"If equality means entitlement to an equal share of the profits of economic tyranny, it is irreconcilable with liberation. Freedom in an unfree world is merely license to exploit."( Greer13).

Women must acknowledge that the institutions governing the media under which we function do not want our self-actualization, do not want our independence, these attributes take away from their control of our bodies. Take back the power, take back control, take back your body.

Posted by Alissa McCourt at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wrote a paper exploring the philosophy of behind the construction Boys Don't Cry – with regards to representation versus simulation. Baurdillard's theories of simulation destroying the representational subject came screaming to my mind after we watched the movie in class, and I wanted to use this paper as a chance to connect some of my thoughts.

A brief selection:

"Although the film tries to serve as a historical account, much of Boys Don’t Cry is actually pure fabrication. First and foremost, the leap from actual persons to scripted characters necessarily results in a series liberties being taken. Even if the person in question is totally compliant in being analyzed and recreated on film, the simple premise of an actor representing a subject automatically creates a gap between the “truth” and the “medium,” inevitably producing an imperfect duplication. Even the most iconic “method” actors who meticulously assemble their most memorable performances (for example, Don Cheadle as Paul Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda or Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in Capote) openly admit the impossibility of living up to the real thing. This gap is littered throughout Boys Don’t Cry; how accurate can the many private dialogues between John Lotter and Tom Nissen (the rapists/murderers who did not contribute to the film) and Brandon Teena (the victim who died long before preproduction began) actually be?"

"In the case of Boys Don’t Cry, the subject of Brandon Teena is realized by the medium of actress Hilary Swank. In her article “Branding Teena,” however, essayist Annabelle Willox illuminates some shortcomings of a representation that relies solely on a reconstructed subject. The filmic character of “Brandon” is based upon interviews from those who knew Brandon Teena but not Brandon himself, and without that authenticity as a frame of reference, his life, passions, and quest become “simplified and described in uncomplicated and unquestioned terms” (Willox 408). In this sense, Willox demerits the efforts of both Swank and Pierce, labeling Boys Don’t Cry as a film that only “attempts to show the complexity of the main character” but never actually succeeds (408). She also denounces the efforts of critics and audiences to fully understand the complexity of Brandon Teena through the film alone; they will “almost inevitably fail” (408)."

My quote from Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation:

"Something has disappeared: the sovereign difference…that constituted the charm of abstraction. Because it is difference that constitutes the poetry of the map and the charm of the territory, the magic of the concept and the charm of the real. […] This imaginary of representation…disappears in the simulation whose operation is nuclear and genetic. […] It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real… (Baudrillard 2)"

And my references:

• Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994.
• Dannenbaum, Jed, Carroll Hodge, Doe Mayer. Creative Filmmaking From the Inside Out. Fireside, 2003.
• Imdb.com. 11 December 2007. .
• Mitchell, W.J.T.. “Representation.” Critical Terms for Literary Study. Ed. Frank Lentricchia, Thomas McLaughlin. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. 11-22.
• Wikipedia.org. 11 December 2007. .
• Willox, Annabelle. “Branding Teena: (Mis)Representations in the Media.” Sexualities. Vol. 6. California: SAGE Publications, 2003. 407-425.

Posted by Christopher Kehoe at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On the perspective of women in the fashion world, designer Donna Karan once said, “Today, fashion is really about sensuality—how a woman feels on the inside. In the '80s women used suits with exaggerated shoulders and waists to make a strong impression. Women are now more comfortable with themselves and their bodies—they no longer feel the need to hide behind their clothes.” What Karan states is a true point concerning the fashion world today. Is it about women being more comfortable with their bodies, or are they rather simply being exploited?

For my final paper, I focused on three different fashion brands that implement various types of sexualizing + objectifying tactics in their advertising with women. For each brand I selected one advertisement to represent these tactics. From this advertisement I analyzed Brand History, Representation (Of the Model), Gender (Of the Model), Race (Of the Model), Gaze, Visual Elements, and Intended Product output.

The three brands I selected were Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein and Sisley.

A common misconception about fashion advertising is that they are only selling products. But rather, they are selling and portraying a lifestyle that they want their brand to be associated with. If you buy into their brand, you are participating in lifestyle that fits into a certain gender, race, class and so forth. Being a huge fan and follower of the fashion industry, I am very aware of the different representations for each brand. Given this inherent understanding, I found it easy to dissect each advertisement and relate it to this brand representation. I took these constructed lifestyles and used that to shape my critiques of the ads.

The results were that there is a common, underlying misuse of female bodies in fashion advertising. I found varying degrees of objectification and sexualization of females in these ads. Some, like the Dolce & Gabbana advertisement, were blatantly putting the female on a platter for pure objectification purposes. On the other hand, there are others, like the Calvin Klein advertisement, which displayed objectification and sexualization in a more subtle manner. It doesn't have to show a woman in a direct sexual situation in order for it to be considered misuse of the female body. There are many other actors that play into this determination, like the positioning, visual techniques of the ad, camera angle (gaze) and so forth.

Citations:

"Calvin Klein: Corporate." Calvin Klein. Phillips-Van Heusen. 2007 .

"Dolce & Gabbana: Coporate." Dolce & Gabbana. Dolce & Gabbana. 2007 .

Kaplan, E. Ann. “Introduction.” Feminism and Film. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Lindner, Katharina. "Images of Women in General Interest and Fashion Magazine Advertisements from 1955 to 2002." Sex Roles 51 (2004): 409-421.

Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Feminism and Film (2000): 37-38

"Overview: Who We Are." United Colors of Benneton. 24 Oct 2007. Benneton Group. 12 Dec 2007 .

Posted by Mr. Hilton at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I decided to write my paper on the idea that many filmmakers seek “real” stories to make their films about. I based the paper on the film Boys Don’t Cry, directed by Kimberly Peirce and distributed by Fox Searchlight in 1999. I analyzed the way Peirce used a construction of reality within Boys Don’t Cry in order to produce a representation of Brandon Teena’s true story. By analyzing Kimberly Peirce’s film Boys Don’t Cry as a constructed reality, I showed the relationship between real stories and the cinematic representations of them.

In analyzing the accuracy and process of cinematic representations of true stories, I considered a few important factors that I thought effected the Peirce’s construction of reality. One is Peirce’s auteurship in the production of film, and how this might effect the representation of the truth. Another is the context of the film, which is useful in determining how the circumstances the film was made in might have also effected its production. Also, the use of cinematography within the film’s construction of a true story can show how the depictions of the true story are helped or hindered by the cinematic affects. The use and understanding of the viewer’s spectatorship can additionally help establish how Perice might have changed her representation of the truth according the audience. Lastly, the (mis)representation of the subjects in the film, and the effects these representations have on an audience (especially when it is understood that the film is representational of a real story).

Bibliography:

Althusser, Louis. "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses.” Notes Toward an Investigation (1969).

Dannenbaum, Jed, Carroll Hodge, and Doe Mayer. Creative Filmmaking from the Inside
Out: Keys to the Art of Making Inspired Movies and Television. New York City,
New York: Fireside, 2003.

Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. UK: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Wang, Zheng. Plot Summary of Boys Don’t Cry. 2007. IMDb. 6 Dec. 2007
.

Willox, Annabelle. Branding Teen: (Mis)Representations in the Media. Cardiff, UK: Sage
Publications, 2003.

Posted by Timac at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My partner and I created a documentary-ish short film which strives to prove that feminist studies are still needed today. We had discussions, played games, debated, and enlightened two high school English classes. We wanted to record attitudes towards feminism coming from the youth of America. Also, we talked to several teachers, parents, a coach and a barista – all with intriguing responses to our questions.

We attempted to highlight all of the misconceptions that exist regarding the women’s movement, feminist theory, and gender equality. Throughout our film you can witness an abundance of misinformed responses regarding these issues. Some of the students thought a feminist was someone who dressed girly, another thought it meant she looked like a boy, she hates men, she’s an attention-seeker, and on and on and on. To be fair, there were of course several high school students who had a more legitimate grasp on feminism and recognized its role in gender equality. We also found that the students had extensive knowledge about actresses, models, and other celebrities, but couldn't name Roe v. Wade, female politicians, when women got the right to vote, and other questions regarding women in power and women's rights. It was blatantly obvious that our culture values and emphasizes a certain type of woman over the other.

In addition to footage of our interviewees in action, we have also included statistics, media images, and audio to enhance our arguments. For example, clips from The Devil Wears Prada and She's the Man were included. Also, statistics regarding the U of M's presidents and coaches (overwhelmingly male!) were highlighted. To further prove the necessity of women's studies, we talked about how only 12 of the Fortune 500 company CEOs are women. Title IX was also discussed and the regrettable state of women's sports. At Park High School, the women's softball team faced extensive neglect and had to file a Federal complaint to get an acceptable field.

I believe we captured and created several moments that stress the importance of still studying women and gender today. It was an incredibly challenging project which required hours of filming, editing, and re-editing – but it was an awesome first experience with film making.

Posted by Luna Lovegood at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I also wrote under Prompt #4. I tried to tie in the idea of “emotional reality,” which I think is very important, sort of the idea that you can have an emotional reaction that makes the cause seem real, even if it may not be. An example would be in Boys Don’t Cry, when Pierce keeps cutting down the rape scene, because the emotional reaction of the audience was more necessary than the fact that the scene was supposed to be longer. Also, in Watermelon Woman, how Fae was not a reality at all, but still helped Cheryl find herself as a woman and as a filmmaker. I consider these aspects of media just as important as to the factual evidence. Well… I suppose it depends on how truthful the media-maker is claiming to be. So I used this outlook, plus the idea of authorship, ethics, the gaze, spectatorship, and filmic construction to look at the differences between narrative films ‘based on true stories’, mockumentaries, documentaries, and reality TV. I think I should have started a lot earlier.

Posted by Magyar at 02:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wrote the final paper on feminist praxis in media.

Thesis: In this paper, I intend to explore the ways in which stereotypical representations can be challenged through feminist praxis activities and to discuss some areas where feminist praxis may be useful to challenge stereotypical representations.

My basic argument is that forms of media with feminist theory as an influence are more socially progressive and less stereotypical than other forms of media. For this reason, I determined that feminist praxis should be part of media studies. My paper focused on the concept of voice and especially on the concept of representation. I used The Watermelon Woman and NO!: The Rape Documentary as examples of 'positive' representations. These specific films construct identity in a new and interesting way, and their subject matter is very feminist. Additionally, the independent spirit of these productions, and Simmons' creation of a female production team are also feminist in nature.

I contrasted these representations with the representations presented in surgical reality TV shows. While this is an odd choice to make, given the obvious differences between the mediums, I thought it was a useful one. Many of the surgical reality TV episodes center on conception of self and how surgery will help make people "complete." Additionally, this is a different way of presenting reality in comparison to documentaries, or mockumentaries that seek to illuminate a social truth. I thought that feminist praxis could be useful in these kinds of shows, to highlight the racial and gender bias that drives many people to have cosmetic operations -- and to present a more honest, holistic picture of the recovery process.

My last example was FIRE (Feminist International Radio Endeavor. I thought it was interesting to use this form of media, because it is online and thus very widely available in Western contexts. Additionally, I thought that it was telling that a source dedicated to expressing the voices of Third World women, who are so often bearing the brunt of world conflict, features these women in such a disembodied form. So while it is certainly a problematic representation, I thought that FIRE was a really interesting counter-production in comparison to "ordinary news."

My conclusion was that given the differences in representation between feminist praxis projects and projects with no interest in feminism, we can hardly afford to not have feminist praxis in media.

Sources
From A to Z: A Conversation on Women's Filmmaking. Pat Aufderheide and Debra Zimmerman

A Black Feminist Statement by the Combahee River Collective

The War Against Black Women, and the Making of No! by Aishah Simmons

Feminist media coverage of women in war: 'You are our eyes and ears to the world' by Margaret Thompson, Maria Suarez Toro, and Katerina Anfossi Gomez (Gender & Development journal)

Television and the Domestication of Cosmetic Surgery by Sue Tait (Feminist Media Studies journal)

Posted by Heather Larson at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wrote my final paper on the three works of Baz Luhrmann: Strictly Ballroom, Romeo and Juliet, and Moulin Rouge, otherwise known as the Red Curtain Trilogy. I analyzed how the three films place female characters into stereotypical roles, such as the lover or the prostitute, follow the female bodies with a male gaze, especially in scantily clad dance scenes, and objectify the women for male gain. I also compared the three films to each other artistically, watching the patterns in filmic choices, including dramatic use of text, color, and frames of time. I really enjoy Baz Luhrmann's bold theatrical style, and it was very interesting to analyze him in through a feminist lens.

Posted by Katherine Schmieg at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my final paper I focused on the differences between real stories and media representations. I argue that the relationship between the viewer and the filmmaker is one of trust in which the viewer trusts that they are being given a true story and the filmmaker trusts that the viewer understands that the film is based on a true story. Therefore in my understanding of films inspired by life, it is the viewer’s responsibility to take that phrase to heart and see that the filmmaker may have employed artistic license in order to create a more coherent film. Therefore, an interested audience member should invest time into researching the events that the film was based on if they are really want to help bring light to the cause. The filmmakers main goal is to see that the issues that the true story represents and the struggle that person underwent are acknowledged by the general public. However, they are creating an artistic film at the same time and artistic license cannot be taken away. So, it is in the viewer’s hands to embrace the subject they are presented and look into the true events that inspired the filmmaker. I based my arguments on Kimberly Pierce's Boys Don't Cry and Lourdes Portillo's Senorita Extraviada. I also made small connections to films not screen in class also based on true stories such as North Country by Niki Caro, Erin Brockovich by Steven Soderbergh, and Iron Jawed Angels by Katja von Garnier.

Works Cited
Enríquez, Alejandro. “Lourdes Portillo’s Senorita Extraviada: The Poetics and Politics of
Femicide.” Studies in Latin American Popular Culture. 123-136.
Walker, Janet and Diane Waldman. “Introduction.” Feminism and Documentary.
University of Minnesota, 1999.
Willox, Annabelle. “Branding Teena: (Mis)Representations in the Media.” Sexualities.
2003. 407-425.

Posted by Katie at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I discussed the questions posed in Essay #4 for my final paper. I chose to focus on the interpretation levels by both filmmakers and theorists and the audiences that are viewing the text. I reviewed the process of representation and what the advantages and disadvantages of a real story vs. a cinematic representation are. I find that within cinematic representations, we as an audience cannot directly connect what issues and ideas are being conveyed without knowing the motives of the author of the work. This leaves many issues and topics to the audience discretion through interpretation. We must know enough about ourselves to choose what is being represented correctly and what is just propaganda within a story. And finally, nothing is ever as real as the real thing; cinematically, theoretically, or otherwise.

Posted by Nicole Berg at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For this project, my partner and I were trying to prove whether or not it is still important to have feminist studies. To prove this we went to a high school and talked with two eleventh grade English classes. We had the students engage in a wide variety of activities including: choosing which person was a feminist based on physical appearance when shown two pictures, react to a clip from “I Was a Teenage Feminist”, and asked them questions about women in popular culture and current news. We also went around to different teachers asking them their thoughts on feminism.

Initially, we believed that the students would be very uninformed about issues outside the walls of high school. However, after talking with the students we learned that we had undermined their intelligence. The students were aware of the inequalities that exist but they were also very uninformed about women that have been or are in power. For example, some did not know the current secretary of state, speaker of the house, or when women got the right to vote. They did know characters from Grey’s Anatomy and Friends, who played Michelle Tanner on Full House, at least one of the Victoria’s Secret models, and at least three of the names of the Spice Girls. Therefore, this shows that it is necessary for feminist studies.

We used a clip from “She’s the Man” to show the inequalities that many females go through with sports even though the federal government requires that the genders are treated equally. This shows that when money or demand is down, female sports or extra-curricular activities are the first to go. Also, it shows that many men today, still believe that women are not as physically strong as men. The clip from “The Devil Wears Prada” shows our culture still values the strong, ambitious male over the strong, ambitious female. Many students agreed that men can get away with sleeping around and being successful, but if a woman were to sleep around or be in a position of extreme power, she would be labeled a slut or bitch. Through this we can see that women who conform to the gender roles are valued over those women who are ambitious, strong, intelligent and successful.

It took us a little over two weeks to put this project together. We taped most of the footage in one day while we were at the high school. The majority of time was spent editing and discussing the message that we wanted to convey. I have made other videos before, but I found this one less stressful than the others for some reason I am unsure about. It was a great experience though, and shifted my view on high school students.

Posted by Tapex002 at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I also wrote on writing prompt #4. My writing was informed by the idea that all texts (films included) are a (re)presentation or (re)telling of a story (whether fictional or real). All films and media can do is reconstruct the real world on film, and we as viewers are responsible to judge the degree to which it is an authentic (re)presentation. I tried to explore the question of: do films and media need to be "real stories" to reveal truths or realities? I used the films The Watermelon Woman, Boys Don't Cry, and Live Nude Girls UNITE! as well as the television genres of news and reality television to illustrate different ways reality can be constructed on screen. I found that directors/producers/writers have a lot of power as intermediaries between real stories and any cinematic representation. (If one were to draw a picture it might look like this: REAL WORLD–>writers/directors/producers->MEDIA) In retrospect, I wish I had realized how ambitious this paper was and started it much earlier.

Posted by Eben Kowler at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My paper focused upon the relationship between the film's of Alfred Hitchcock and feminist theory. Both Laura Mulvey in her article Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema as well as Kaja Silverman in her chapter Suture use the films of Hitchcock as their primary source of example to exmaine issues of symbolic patriarchy and subjectivity. The film's in which I focused on were Psycho, for its brutal treatment of the viewer in its repositionment of subject relationships, Vertigo, for its sadistic handling of the its female character, and Rear Window for its treatment of voyeurism. I also explore the issue of sexual representations, specifically in how it relates to the Hays Code in its limitation of sexual content and the ways in which this leads to fetishization within the cinema.

Posted by Robin Youngman at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My final paper was on a discussion of what is "reality". I talked about how films can be labeled "real" while they have completely excluded major occurrences. For example in "Boys Don't Cry" another murder was excluded from the film. I also discussed how most "real" films focus on people outside the social "norm" (white, upper-class, heterosexual males)

Posted by Amanda Amundson at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I chose to do my paper on prompt number one and really go into why women need to be studied. I chose to take a look at popular culture and discuss what so many people are missing when they watch the most seen shows on television and in cinema. I discussed the ideas of Bell Hooks, Laura Mulvey and ideas from other sources. I also discussed what people were missing and what they were buying into when they watched what popular television had to offer. Take the show, "Grey's Anatomy" this show has many stereotypes in it that ignore the ideas of feminisim. They display the many boxes that women are put intio such as, dumb and pretty, smart and ugly....They go on and on. The point is that this show puts out all of these ideas and is watched by many Americans regulary. These people may not know who the great feminist theorists are and what ideas they have to offer. Therfore they are being fed this garbage about what women should be. Until everyone is at least informed on these topics, there will be no change in how women are seen. This is why I felt women need to be studied.
I also looked into how these ideas connect to race, sexuality and gender ideals. I studied shows like "Real World" and "Will and Grace" reruns. In each one I found most of the same ideas. None of these groups of people had any place in television or in Hollywood that didn't include certian stereotypes or ideals of what and how we should act and think. Some of these people, especially when it came to race were kept invisable all together, giving them no voice at all. What is the public taking away from this, other than the fact that being a homosexual is shameful and funny, and people of color should not be seen. Looking at this, obviously there is still a need for feminist studies!!!

Posted by sketch at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My topic dealt with Ridley Scott’s films he’s directed focusing on minorities in the films Alien, G.I. Jane and American Gangster. Throughout his work there are patterns of traditional and modern roles for how women and people of color are portrayed. The male gaze is seen in all three of these movies, and it focuses on the female body being objectified by the viewer or another male character...

Scott also uses the camera and lighting to really emphasize the femininity or masculinity of each role. For example Demi Moore is shot with softer light and has more of a glow to her face with bubbles everywhere in the bathtub scene with her boyfriend, but when she is in the middle of combat the camera quickens and uses harsh lighting to emphasize her masculinity and battle wounds. Scott’s work also has the stereotypical female roles in his films, which is seen in American Gangster, and the lead female role is beautiful, feminine and passive. Again, in G.I. Jane the lead female role is really perceived as an outcast, who is masculine and aggressive, two characteristics that really go against the traditional characteristics of female roles.

You can also see patterns throughout Scott’s films dealing with the minority race. Many people have small, insignificant roles, or their role has been negatively portrayed by focusing on their lower social class and their involvement in sex, drugs or violence.

SOURCES
Cyber Diver News Network. "Navy SEALs Seek Racial Mix." CDNN. 19 Aug 2002. 8 Dec. 2007
.

Hirschman, Elizabeth C. (2007) "Consumer Behavior Meets the Nouvelle Femme: Feminist
Consumption at the Movies." Advances in Consumer Research 20:1. 41-47. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Host. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 8 Dec. 2007 .

Hooks, Bell. "Artistic Integrity: Race and Accountability.” Reel to Real. Routledge Pubg Inc.,
1996. 69-76.

Mulvey, Laura. (2000) "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Screen 16: 34-47.
Saco, Diana. “Feminist Film Criticism: The Piano and ‘the Female Gaze.” 1994. Document
created 30 Apr 1997.

Torry, Robert.(1994) “Awakening to the other: Feminism and the ego-ideal Alien.” Women’s
Studies. 23:4. 343-363. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Host. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 8 Dec. 2007 .

Posted by Cassie Setter at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In advertisements, artificial women are constructed to attract the female gaze, while portraying what is supposed to be the “ideal” woman today, in order to sell their product.

Advertisements in magazines that are targeted towards women are the ads that are the most prone to attract the female gaze, by using a constructed woman. High fashion magazines that are known to be the worst at portraying an unrealistic woman include Elle, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. In these magazines, it is known that the gaze is going to be from a female spectator, which makes it worse.
One lingerie company that could easily be known as the epitome of fantasy females is Victoria’s Secret. The ads consist of mostly naked women who are five feet-ten inches, about 120 pounds, with heavy makeup and perfectly tousled hair. They all wear towering stilettos which brings them well over six feet, and almost always have giant angel wings on their backs. These unrealistic ads seem to almost degrade women. Do women have to look like this to be sexy? Or are they getting to another message: If women wear Victoria’s Secret lingerie, then they will look like this ad. But apparently these ads are doing something right because Victoria’s Secret sales have gone up in recent years. Some could argue that the advertisements are also targeting men, to buy the lingerie for their significant other, but this argument is silly. When men look at the picture, they will be looking at it through a voyeuristic gaze, thinking about their own pleasures. Men will buy the lingerie because they want to see it on their girlfriend or wife, not because of who is modeling it.
The women in the ads are objectified; they are no longer seen as a real person but as an object of desire. In E. Ann Kaplan’s article, “Is the Gaze Male?” Kaplan touches on this subject: “Objectification may be an inherent component of both male and female eroticism.” Here, she talks about the female gaze towards the female: “Women receive and return a gaze, but cannot act on it. Second, the sexualization and objectification of women is not simply for the purposes of eroticism; from a psychoanalytic point of view, it is designed to annihilate the threat that woman poses.” (Kaplan 120) It is known that women often feel jealous or threatening of other women. But this is not the dominant feeling that the female spectators have towards the Victoria’s Secret ads. It may be an underlying feeling, but the dominant feeling that girls have towards the ads is envy; which is why they end up purchasing the product. They are not jealous of the model because she does not pose a threat; she is not reality. She is a fantasy or idea. Therefore, they do not feel threatened by the model because she is not a real person. Some girls realize this, but what about the other millions of girls who don’t realize this and they see the model as a real person: This is where the problem lies, because the model is not real, she is constructed.
Another series of magazine advertisements that are targeted towards women, and tell a unrealistic message at the same time are perfume advertisements. Perfumes are fragrances made for women, that are promoted by telling a woman that if they use a certain perfume then they will become something they are not now; for example, Clinique Happy. All of their ads are brightly lit, and contain women that are very happy. The underlying message here is, “If you use Clinique Happy, you will be happy!” A recent ad for Emporio Armani Diamond perfume has Beyonce Knowles promoting the ad. Everything from the lighting, to the setting, to Beyonce is constructed in this photograph. “If you use Diamond, you will be as glamourous as Beyonce.” Calvin Klein’s Euphoria perfume tell the target audience that they will be brought to some sort of euphoric state while wearing their perfume. The ad consists of a supermodel montage of her body wrapped in silk, touching her lips, and a purple background setting.
Almost all of the perfume ads contain the woman touching herself somewhere that is not too provocative, but does suggest something. Common places are around the mouth, hips, or chest area. These are very sexual places that would be more likely to appear in ads that target men. But these perfume ads are trying to get the spectator envious of the woman: Then, if they buy the product the will be just like the model!
Advertisements for reality TV shows do a very good job of portraying a very unrealistic view of something that is supposed to be “real.” The actual shows are already manipulated by the directors and producers, and then they go a step further by constructing misleading advertisements. The Real Housewives of Orange County is a show aired on Bravo that is supposed to let the audience in on what housewives of Orange County, California do in their lives. The advertisement of the show can be found on the back cover of the November 12th issue of US Weekly. This ad consists of five women wearing cocktail dresses and standing on a giant Monopoly board. Some of the props they are holding are an ipod, a martini, thousands of dollars worth of hundred dollar bills, and a huge shopping bag. The main subtitle reads, “CAUTION: Adults at Play,” suggesting that their life is a game board. Some of the spots to land on include, “Time for plastic surgery,” “New mansion,” “Engaged to a millionaire,” and “Celebrate your husband’s promotion.” These messages promote the idea of patriarchy by leading us to believe that they live off of their husband’s money. They are not celebrating their own promotion, they are celebrating their husband’s promotion. They are proud of the fact that they do not have to work to make their own money. All they need to do is look good by having plastic surgery, and stay hip with all the latest fashions that they buy with their husbands’ money. What the ad chooses not to focus on any problems that may arise. If they were to focus on any problem, then the show would loose it’s “fantasy” appeal.
All of these advertisements that were talked about contain women that have been digitally retouched. Their waists have been made thinner, their lips bigger, their hair fuller, and diamonds more shiny. They all look like Barbie, and they are like Barbie because they are all fake.

Posted by Whitney Hanssen at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My final paper explored the question: In film is it still relevant to study women? politics? gender? I felt it was still necessary because in feminist theory and feminist film theory we are just begin gin to recognize that nation, religion, and politics play a part in a women’s life and in the stories she is trying to tell. For example in Water, the director told the story of the widows in the context of their nation and religion, instead of trying to mold it into something that fit western ideas of feminism. This is important as many, many women see themselves as more than women, but see themselves as women of a particular country or religion. Because I feel this 'west knows best' idea still stretches into feminist theory, there is still a lot of ground to be covered as women all over the world express their unique standpoint or viewpoint through film.
I would also like to mention how interesting I found the presentation on Pink Films to be. I'm a big fan of Quentin Tarantino's films and it was great to see an other genre of film that he bases his work on. Its also great to know where some of the critisims come about his films. So thank you!

Posted by Ashley Day at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my final project, I focused on the pre-approved question number four; real and cinematic representations in media. The films I chose to use for my paper are in Monster, directed by Patty Jenkins and Aishah Simmons’ NO!. I wrote about how both types of films are very different, but also similar. The directors are both directing a film that they are obviously passionate about, but one of the differences is the approach the directors choose to deliver their performances. One is an example of a more “traditional” documentary and the other is more of a “Hollywood” film and how each type of film has its advantages and disadvantages and what kind of audience is exposed to each.

Posted by Kristen Kramer at 01:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my final paper i chose to look at four films directed by Quentin Tarantino. i analyzed Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, and Death Proof.

i looked at the different ways he uses strong female characters, specifically as lead characters, and the ways in which he uses sex to sell the idea of a strong woman to his audience. the progression of more and more sexiness through each film was surprising and interesting to me. Jackie Brown was the least sexual of the four films, and by death proof he had his female leads in nothing but underwear at times. in my paper i argued that as far as hollywood films go, tarantino is as close to feminist as we are going to get, and that he has figured out that sex does sell. so if you want to make a statement it's gotta be sexy.

Posted by Emily Dolentz at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my final paper I discussed the representation of women in the cinematic adaptations of Frank Miller’s comic series Sin City and 300. Obviously, blatant stereotypes about women run rampant through Miller’s fictionalized worlds, but I was more interested in the ways in which these films expressed ideas of performative gender and the female gaze.

I studied gender as a performance in Sin City, noting in particular how Miller creates female characters as not just objects, but totems of feminine ideals: The Martyr [Wendy], The Angel [Nancy] and The Whore [Gail] (Note the conspicuous lack of motherhood, or the ideas of parenting at all). In the reviews and articles I read, many people defended Miller against the “feminist backlash” by claiming that the women had power in their own right. But when I really broke it down, the female characters used their power to stay in the sexualized realms they were already in. The prostitutes had guns to defend their rights to be prostitutes. Wendy uses her sexuality to gain a protector. These women perform as a certain type of woman in order to conform to the male narrator’s ideas of what is worth protecting/fighting for/etc.

In 300, I was most interested in the idea of the female gaze. Women went to this movie specifically to see Gerard Butler’s bulging pectoral muscles, or to see men running around in leather speedos sticking phallic objects into each other. But the characters in the movie followed this pattern as well. The very first scene is a male baby being examined to see if he is healthy or strong enough to be considered ‘good enough’ to live. I could go on and on, but the point is that by showing such an extremely polarized version of masculine vs. feminine, what Miller really did was create men as objects to be gazed upon.

A couple sources for this paper were Kaplan’s Is The Gaze Male? and Mulve’s Visual Pleasure in the Narrative Cinema, as well as various interviews and reviews of Miller’s two films.

Posted by Jessica Vaughan at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My paper revolved around women, gender, and politics in the media. I had multiple articles about women,gender, and the media. There are still many parts that need to be changed and studied. For example, the career that has grown so much for women is being a journalist, but even though there are more women in journalism, men still get the "better" stories. Men usually get the promotions, and men get the stories that are more challenging. Women in the journalism career have said to feel that they have to work harder to prove that they are capable of writing the challenging stories and it is a lot harder for them to be promoted. Another reason why we should still study the women, gender, and the politics in media is because media is such a powerful tool in this world today. Using media to help the study of women, gender , and the politics if the best way to reach people the quickest, to make a difference without physically being there. Some examples I used for what has changed since the study of women, gender, and politics is that more women are becoming CEO's, we not only have a man of color running for president but we have a woman running for president. Women have been the background workers for years now, and men would get the credit for it. Already, the media has changed so much. A woman is actually allowed to run for president. It is worth continuing on with the study and the analysis of women, gender, and politics because it is making a difference.

Posted by Padao Vang at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my paper I am writing about how Classic Disney (Cinderella, Snow White, Hercules, etc.) influences children into certain normative gender stereotypes. The normative gender roles reinforce Mulvey's gaze, and the patriarchal heteronormative society.

Posted by Ashley Pritchard at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my final project I choose to explore the film Northern Country that was directed by Niki Caro in 2005. For anyone who hasn't seen this film I feel like it is a very powerful and moving story, especially for women. The cast in this film are all very well known and do a great job in my opinion as far as reenacting what occurred back in 1989. I choose this film for the topic of my analysis because not only is it based on a true story but I wanted to examine how genders and classes of people are represented as a whole. I also thought it would be a good film to analysis how men are portrayed in male based jobs and what types of messages the film industry is selling to audiences. So I did this analysis by first watching the movie a few times, and taking notes on what was actually occurring and why. Then I told the story throughout my paper and used feminist theory to explain what I thought was really occurring. This was difficult because as a female I felt sympathy for the women experiencing the heart ships in this film. I felt like the film was made in good taste overall and was feminist media in a sense because it represented women coming together and using the union in their favor. Throughout my paper I used examples of how men were portrayed and how the women responded back to them. I also looked at how the characters had agency and what gave them their power. It was very interesting to look at how the gaze(s) were used in this film. So in my conclusion I feel like film and media can be feminist if done correctly. And without stories like these we may not have laws that protect us from sexual harassment in the work place today. Here’s a clip of North Country with some interviews so you can get a little taste of what I feel like feminist film is and about. Enjoy!

Posted by Jessica Haddrill at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I decided to analyze how women were and still are portrayed on album covers. I believe that this is an issue that is very relevant to feminist film/media studies because it exposes women through a certain type of media. I believe that for the majority of album covers that do include a woman or women on the cover, they are portrayed as some type of object, usually sexual.

The female stereotypes that we are exposed to everyday have become part of our culture. It has become something that doesn’t even shock us any longer because we are so immune to viewing these images and portrayals. When it comes to the portrayal of women in the media, studies have shown that women are portrayed stereotypically across all media types and more likely to appear as sex objects and less likely to be shown as professionals or in positions of power (Foust & Bradshaw). An example of a study includes Alison Poe’s 1976 examination of magazine advertisements showing women in sports noted that the portrayal of women was based on the following beliefs: “a) the woman’s place is in the home; b) women do not make important decisions or do important things; c) women are dependent on men and are isolated from their own sex; d) men regard women as sex objects; they are not interested in women as people” (Foust & Bradshaw). Beginning in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the second wave of feminism was launched, with liberal feminism bringing issues of women's equality into public and academic communication. The second wave of feminism saw women as an oppressed group who needed to stand up and escape the oppression for their own interests. Out of the second wave, the concept of patriarchy was developed. Women felt as though patriarchy was the central structural standard of society at the time. Women’s disadvantages also were credited by stereotypical images that were held by men and internalized by women through families, schools, and the mass media (Leahy). One major area of liberal feminist research is mass media images of women. Since the early 1970’s, liberal feminist research in mass communication has examined how women are portrayed through gender stereotypes. After looking and researching some of the history and women in the media, I wanted to take a closer look at how images of women in popular music varied from one style to another. I was wondering what exactly was created by the artist’s album cover and what kind of impressions it makes on the viewers. I firmly believe that advertisers believe that women’s bodies sell products and so therefore many images of women are entirely visual.
The album cover is one of the most direct and visible means used to establish a singer’s image and display it to the public. Considerable care must be taken to select the right photograph for a particular singer and album. The marketing campaign must always be thinking in terms of “the big picture” because the album cover is often reproduced in the form of posters and advertising companies. This is so it reaches a wider audience, who in turn form their opinions on the basis of the cover picture (Thaxton & Jaret).
Overall, I still more confidently believe that women are negatively portrayed through the majority of the mass media, especially on album covers. I am grateful that not all album covers that include a woman or women on them negatively portray women. However, even though women may not be the main visual images of some albums, they certainly are the main focus of the lyrics. Take for example songs like Nelly’s “Tip-Drill” or Snoop’s “Groupie.” There is still a long way to go when it comes to respecting women in all aspects of music. I think a lot of it has to do with the particular label that an artist signs with, because the artists do not get to make all the decisions. I am glad that there are many different types and forms of media today that does women justice and presents strong, independent, and sexy without the sexual exploitation.

Works Cited

Foust, James C. and Bradshaw. "Something for the Boys." Journalism History Summer 2007 [p93-100]. 26 Nov 2007.

"Funk up the Web." Ohio Players. Mar 2002. Raz-Up Inc. 10 Dec 2007 .

Ginsburg, Sandra. "Liberal Feminism Theory and Women's Images in Mass Media." Cycles of Favor and Furor 10 Sep 1999 .

Harding, Deborah, and Nett. "Women and Rock Music." Atlantis 10(1) (1984): [60-76].

Leahy, Terry. Second Wave Feminism: The Opening Debates. 1990. 10 Dec 2007 .

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Feminism and Film 16(1975):

Nelson, Michelle, and Paek. "Cross-Cultural Differences in Sexual Advertising Content." Sex Roles 53(2005): [371-383].
Thaxton, Lyn, and Jaret. "Singers and Stereotypes: The Image of Female Recording Artists." Social Inquiry 55(1985): [239-263].

Posted by Rachel Kyllander at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My final paper was written in response to question one; this question refers to whether we still need women studies today in politics and media. My response was yes we do.

I took a stance in representing the move towards an individual attitude as woman and not necessarily as a gender against men. What does it mean to be a woman today? Do we need to hyper-masculinize to fit into a corporate system where men are hired more often? I wish to say no. I analyzed a couple of pieces of feminist theory and post-feminist theory and agree more with the latter’s wishes. One example is the move towards the heroine portrayed in movies. The heroine is not necessarily pro-feminine. She has a barely-there outfit and is never ugly. But she is the protagonist of the film. She is the hero, the person fighting to save the day. Lara Croft is an example of this. This project opened my eyes to see that there is a large part of intersectionality and individualism in being a feminist today. We all seek equality, but how it is gained and represented is something personal. That is what I feel previous times of feminism dismissed. And yes we still need to study feminism because in film I feel we are starting to view a more ambiguous gaze (mostly outside of Hollywood). In other scenarios of life, for the first time in forever a woman is being considered for presidency in the United States. We need to continue proving that we deserve this equality.
As for this class, this is the first class I have taken that discusses feminism and also film. Both sides of the course offered me a lot of knowledge and wisdom. I used to think that feminism was good, but past its time. Now I realize that it is not and media is a display of what can improve. Thank you to everyone in this class because the ability of seeing many points of view is what makes this class interesting. Thank you for allowing me to write a final paper agreeing that feminist study is ST

Posted by Lindsey Peck at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My paper is focuses on why it is still important to study media with a feminist perspective. Media is where everyone turns to for entertainment and information therefore holding an immense impact on society and shaping social norms. For these reasons, it is paramount to study feminist theory in relation to media making. My paper studies the messages and images that the media portrays of women, race, and sexuality. It outlins why feminist theory still needs to be studied in media making by examining what problems exist and need to be addressed in media according to feminist theory.

The major themes in this paper will focus on four distinct areas of the representation of women in the media: woman as object, stereotypes, patriarchal images, and intersectionality; and explain why these images/ideas are negative and need to be addressed.

I basically mentioned different forms of media (ie.films, TV shows, music videos, commercials, advertisments, news) that fit into each theme of writing.
1.Woman as object: women being objectified, highly sexualized: advertisements, music videos- Byron Hurt's documentary Beyond Beats and Rhymes
2. Steoreotypes surrounding women: woman as dumb, domestic, highly materialistic & how this affects society: films like Mean Girls and reality shows like Newlyweds with Jessica Simpson, and advertisements/advertisements/TV shows with Paris Hilton. Also the TV show Desparate Housewives and many disneychannel original movies, and Miss Congeniality.
3. Patriarchy: how men are represented as being dominant/superior to women in media: violence against women in advertisement photos/ television/ pornography. Movies like Overboard and TV shows like Beauty and the Geek.
4. Intersectionality: how "women of color" are represented differently in media: Asian= exotic, domestic; African American= highly sexual, welfare queen: movies like Goldeneye, Karate Kid II, American Pimp, Idiocracy, TV shows like I love New York, and music stars like Beyonce.

Sources:
Joanne Hollow's Feminism, Femininity, and Popular Culture
Paul Martin Lester, Susan Dente Ross: Images That Injure: Pictoral Stereotypes in the Media
Byron Hurt's Beyond Beats and Rhymes

Posted by Magda Bilska at 12:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ashley and I studied the roles of women in Star Trek: the Next Generation season 1. Our thesis was that, despite the fact that the series takes place in the future (24th century), women are still fulfilling basic 20th century roles. We looked at the 3 main character women: Deanna Troi, Tasha Yar, and Beverly Crusher. Deanna Troi fulfilled the sexy, empathetic woman's role. Tasha Yar was supposedly masculine yet overly emotional and sexual. Beverly Crusher was the ship's mother figure.

We used the book by Robin Roberts, Sexual Generations. Also, we used an article by Lynn Joyrich, called "Feminist Enterprise? Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Occupation of Femininity". Otherwise, we used E. Ann Kaplan's article on the male gaze.

On a side note, discussing the oppression of women in one of my favorite childhood television shows was a sort of depressing activity. Now I can't stop doing it and I'm beginning to annoy my friends.

Posted by Karin Fisher at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my final paper, I looked at the ways in which realness was embodied in the film, "Paris is Burning." The film was amazing to view and I really enjoyed critiquing it through my newly educated, film fanatic gaze that I obtained through this class. "Paris is Burning" is a film about the ball scene in New York City. It tells the lives of the families taking place in balls and their battle of being accepted in society because of their sex, race, gender and sexual desires. The film is directed by Jennie Livingston. I used a lot of citations from Judith Butler's scholarly pieces. It was a great way to notice the reality of the troubles people face with their gender and the society they live in.

Posted by Greta Fay at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my and my partner’s final project we analyzed the three main women’s roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season One. We chose season one because there are seven and doing the whole series would have been too much work than we had time for; plus we believed the three women are categorized and shown in very stereotypical roles even though the program was supposed to be progressive. Our working thesis during this project was even though this was placed in the 24th century the women (Tasha Yar, Deanna Troi, and Beverly Crusher) were all portrayed in very feminine 20th century roles.

We discussed each of the three women’s portrayals in the episodes and touched on other alien species and their depiction of women (being subordinate or openly mocked for being a maternal society.)

We used three articles to help with our thesis. The in class reading was Kaplan and the gaze. The two out of class articles were Lynn Joyrich’s “Feminist Enterprise? Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Occupation of Femininity” and Robin Roberts’ “Sexual Generations, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Gender.”

Posted by Ashley Abel at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When I began this class, my only expectation of it was that I would have a better understanding of women filmmakers and would be able to see some of these different perspectives that normally aren't in the "spotlight" of major Hollywood films. Um...I couldn't have been MORE wrong. This class hasn't changed just the way I watch commercials, (because I definitely can't do that anymore without thinking about "the gaze" and how poorly the company is representing race, women, gender, sexuality or all of the above) it's changed the way I interact with other people and the way I view social situations.

Every time I go out, I see men gazing at fragments of women's bodies shamelessly--like they've been conditioned to believe that this fantasy life that the camera portrays actually means that they have a shot at any woman they see--as if each one is an available "product" to be sold to the highest bidder. I'm not saying I'm completely cynical, but as a person highly involved in DFL politics, it's interesting to see where our country is headed in terms of social politics. More and more, I do hear people scoffing at any type of attempt at "feminist" representation--like it's outdated, passe; a phase.

That's the idea I had in mind when I wrote this paper--not just whether the study of feminism through film and media is still relevant, but how the academic discipline as a whole contributes to the discussion and the effects it has on real-world politics and pop culture. In my reading, I read account after account of feminists talking about the different "waves," and how new groups are entering the discussion and new battles are being fought on multiple fronts. Even if the feminist name isn't attached to the tagline, you can bet it's in the bedrock of the discussion.

In my paper, I worked to incorporate the proposed questions about leading academic feminist and queer theory regarding the case for studying these topics through film and what makes it relevant for today. In making my point about why it's relevant today, I consistently pointed out how feminism has been on the forefront of almost every major sociopolitical debate in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and how these same major debates that have been fought in full view of the public consistently crop up time and time again with a new guise. I work to prove how the study of feminism has incorporated these major battles into its study, and how studying this gives this field the unique ability to detect and predict underlying cultural and political trends, and actually effect the outcome of these events by providing an academic check on the patterns they detect.

The majority of the criticism, I point out in my paper, comes from those either working to silence and marginalize groups or those who can't see that this area of study is so precious because of it's consistency in it's ability to interpret and even alter events not just in pop culture, but in the political atmosphere as well.

I worked to show that due to the chameleon-like ability of the program to shape and shift with relevant civil rights issues of every generation and every decade, the discipline is more relevant than most other static academic programs that are limited to the study of one aspect and is not as readily able to ebb and flow with political and cultural tides.

Before taking this class, I didn't understand how much this program stretches into so many areas that are constantly in the limelight of public policy and culture. However, studying it has enhanced my ability to read people, situations and interpretations of social and political atmospheres in a much more dynamic way.

In short, history repeats itself. If we don't continue to study the patterns of social and cultural psychology through a media venue, we neglect a study that is able to detect underlying aspects of every major cultural and political issue. Further, we would be doing a disservice to communities relegated to the sidelines of the social and political arena by not providing them with a forum to voice their ideas and put an academic check on the priorities of our leaders and the media.

Posted by J Kriegs at 08:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reading the Women’s Press that we were given in class a few weeks ago I feel that the main articles in the paper point heavily toward a need to continue our women studying.

The front page article about the play “Shipside” and the tragedy of women killing their children was one such article. The vulnerability of women in our society is an important topic that women’s studies does focus on and is in need of social implementation. Single women of color depending on a system that does not help them raise their children, that does not offer support for mental illness, that did not give them the resources of education or health services in the first place is something that needs change. I am in a psych of women class that uses women’s studies to analyze the effects of social pressures in order to better treat and understand the reasons behind feeling that killing yourself and your children is the only way out.

The profile on Susan Hubbard entitled “Recycling rules!” was another example of what different facets of women’s studies is involved with. Hubbard and many around her have battled cancer, and our lack of conscious in dealing with issues of pollution is largely to blame for this. The things that we are putting into our environment are not only killing it, but killing us and our children. I took a class with Professor Jacqueline Zita this semester; she is one of the women interviewed in the “Is Women’s Studies Still Relevant?” article. Perhaps it is because of her and her involvement in environmental issues that I do believe that awareness of what we are doing to our world is a feminist issue.

In short, yes, women’s studies are still relevant. And I think that the changes being made inside of the discipline are largely positive ones. A movement cannot be effective without encompassing the problems that we have deal with in constantly changing world.

Posted by Katherine Holton at 07:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I did my final paper on the history of the Best Actress award at the Academy Awards. I discussed how the roles for women have changed over time. One point I mention is that the average age of the women who have won the Best Actress Oscar is significantly younger than the average age of the men who have won the Best Actor Oscar. I also noticed that there has been a tendency for woman who played either some form of prostitute, actress, or woman with a disability seemed to win often. Particularly in the earlier years the roles for women were very limited. The films I use in my paper are: A Streetcar Named Desire, A Touch of Class, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Boys Don't Cry, Butterfield 8, Caberet, Coming Home, Driving Miss Daisy, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Mary Poppins, Million Dollar Baby, Monster's Ball, Norma Rae, On Golden Pond, Places in the Heart, Seventh Heaven, Silence of the Lambs, Street Angel, Sunrise, The Accused, The Farmer's Daughter, The Lion in Winter, The Piano, The Sin of Madelon Claudet, The Three Faces of Eve, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Women in Love.

The citations for my paper:
A Streetcar Named Desire. Dir. Elia Kazan. Perf. Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, and
Kim Hunter. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1951.

A Touch of Class. Dir. Melvin Frank. Perf. George Segal, Glenda Jackson, and Paul
Sorvino. Burt Productions, 1973.

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Perf. Mia Bendixsen, Ellen
Burstyn, and Alfred Lutter III. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1974.

Boys Don’t Cry. Dir. Kimberly Pierce. Perf. Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, and Peter
Sarsgaard. Hart-Sharp Entertainment, 1999.

Butterfield 8. Dir. Daniel Mann. Perf. Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, and Eddie
Fisher. Afton-Linebrook, 1960.

Caberet. Dir. Bob Fosse. Perf. Liza Minnelli, Michael York, and Helmut Griem. ABC
Pictures, 1972.

Coming Home. Dir. Hal Ashby. Perf. Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern.
Jerome Hellman Productions, 1978.

Dittmar, Linda. “Performing Gender in Boys Don’t Cry.” Sugar, Spice, and
Everything Nice: Cinemas of Girlhood.

Driving Miss Daisy. Dir. Bruce Beresford. Perf. Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, and
Dan Aykroyd. Majestic Films International, 1989.

Filmsite.org. Oct. 2007. 9 Dec. 2007. .

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Dir. Stanley Kramer. Perf. Spencer Tracy, Sidney
Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn. Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1967.

IMDB. 1990. 30 Nov. 2007. Amazon.com. .

Kaplan, E. Ann. “Is the Gaze Male?” Feminism and Film. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2000. 119-138.

Mary Poppins. Dir. Robert Stevenson. Perf. Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and
David Tomlinson. Walt Disney Productions, 1964.

Million Dollar Baby. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Perf. Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and
Morgan Freeman. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004.

Monster’s Ball. Dir. Marc Forster. Perf. Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, and Taylor
Simpson. Lee Daniels Entertainment, 2001.

Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Media and Cultural Studies.
Ed. Meenakshi Gigi Durham and Douglas M. Kellner. Malden: Blackwell
Publishing, 2006. 342-352.

Norma Rae. Dir. Martin Ritt. Perf. Sally Field, Beau Bridges, and Ron Leibman.
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, 1979.

On Golden Pond. Dir. Mark Rydell. Perf. Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Jane
Fonda. Universal Pictures, 1981.

Places in the Heart. Dir. Robert Benton. Perf. Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, and Ed
Harris. TriStar Pictures, 1984.

Seventh Heaven. Dir. Frank Borzage. Perf. Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, and Ben
Bard. Fox Film Corporation, 1927.

Silence of the Lambs. Dir. Jonathan Demme. Perf. Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins,
and Scott Glenn. Orion Pictures Corporation, 1991.

Street Angel. Dir. Frank Borzage. Perf. Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, and Alberto
Rabagliati. Fox Film Corporation, 1928.

Sunrise. Dir. F.W. Murnau. Perf. George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor, and Margaret
Livingston. Fox Film Corporation, 1927.

The Accused. Dir. Jonathan Kaplan. Perf. Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, and Bernie
Coulson. Paramount Pictures, 1988.

The Farmer’s Daughter. Dir. H.C. Potter. Perf. Loretta Young, Joseph Cotton, and
Ethel Barrymore. RKO Radio Pictures, 1947.

The Lion in Winter. Dir. Anthony Harvey. Perf. Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn,
and Anthony Hopkins. Haworth Productions, 1968.

The Piano. Dir. Kimberly Pierce. Perf. Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, and Sam Neill.
New South Wales Film & Television Office, 1993.

The Sin of Madelon Claudet. Dir. Edgar Selwyn. Perf. Helen Hayes, Lewis Stone,
and Neil Hamilton. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayor (MGM), 1931.

The Three Faces of Eve. Dir. Nunnally Johnson. Perf. Joanne Woodward, David
Wayne, and Lee J. Cobb. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, 1957.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Dir. Mike Nichols. Perf. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard
Burton, and George Segal. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1966.

Women in Love. Dir. Ken Russell. Perf. Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, and Glenda
Jackson. Brandywine Productions Ltd., 1969.

Posted by Brigitte Bartholdi at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My final project was on Japanese Pink Cinema or Pinku Eiga (as most of you know because I presented it in class). The most significant characteristics of Pink Cinema are the combination of ultra violence and sexuality. Commonly the plot of these films is about a woman or a young girl who has had something wrong done to her, such as betrayal or rape, and thus she seeks revenge on the men who did her wrong by using her sexuality and extreme violence. Pink films are commonly described as soft core porn or sexploitation films. However, Pink Cinema offers a much more complex product than adult film in the United States due to the distinct art house style of the films, the regulations of Japanese cinema, and the complexity of the representation of gender. In my paper I argue that due the limitations on Japanese filmmakers, the sex scenes in pink films are often long, drawn out and present the female and her body in a repressed context.
In my presentation I analyzed a pink film from 1972 titled Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion directed by Shunya Itso. It is a part of a series of “women in prison films” called Scorpion.
These are the sources I used for my paper:

Burch, Noel. To the Distant Observer: Form and Meaning in the Japanese Cinema. University of California Press, 1979. 351-354.
Desser, David. Eros Plus Massacre: an Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema.
Indiana University Press, 1988. 99-107.
Harritz, Pia D. “Consuming the Female Body: Pinku Eiga and the case of Sagawa Issei.”
in media res 1.2 (2005) 5 December 2007
.
Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Feminism and Film. Ed. Ann E. Kaplan. Oxford University Press, 2000. 34-47.
Turim, Maureen. “”The Erotic in Asian Cinema.” Dirty Looks: Women, Pornography, and Power. Ed. Pamela Church and Roma Gibson. British Film Institute, 1993. 81-88.

Posted by MacKenzie Duffy at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I chose to write on prompt one, which asks if we still need to study women? Gender? Politics? with regards to media making and analysis. I took a very supportive stance on this subject, because after this semester I realized the importantance of analyzing women in the media. My thesis covered the ideas of people being uneducated about women's studies and the slim number of educated people supporting women's issues. I took a look at women in the media today, even though they are more present than 50 years ago I looked at what is still needing and lacking attention. I used our class on reality televsion, which shows many of the problems that women are still facing in the media. I also brought up the combining and expansion of women's studies with other programs such as gender and sexuality studies. Even though, there is the possibility of this taking focus away from women's studies I showed that it will actually open many opportunities and aid the women's movement.
I used many readings from class like: the newspaper aritcle from the Women's Press "Is Women's Studies Still Relevant", Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", and Mollie Gregory's "Women Who Run the Show". I also used many websites like our very own Unversity of Minnesota Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies site and the National Organization for Women's site. From all these sources I found tons of information that backed up my thesis.

Posted by Marial Weidner at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I also wrote a paper on the Dove Real Beauty Campaign.

Borrowing theory from Judith Butler, Susan Bordo, Sandra Lee Bartky and Laura Mulvey I was able to argue that the Dove campaign is working to perpetuate a heteronormative society, stressing the importance of a conscious consumer and target market.
Though I am a fan of the Real Beauty campaign I was able to point out that it relies on the normative image of women fed to us in a heteronormative society to sell its products. Our need to be soft, tan, cellulite free and young beauties in order to be real women is exactly what Dove is selling us, just in a more inclusive way. It is a great strategy that seems to be working, I like to buy Dove products.
Unilever owns not only Dove, but Axe as well. I am sure most are aware of the Axe effect on women, we are rendered helpless sex toys in the presence of such a manly product. I used this fact to point out that the company that sells us empowering images of women is also relying on a degrading and stereotypical depiction of objectified women to market to men. Strengthening my point on the need for smart consumerism.
Reading this, I am crossing my fingers that it all came through in my paper. It was one of the more fun ones I've been asked to write.

Posted by Katherine Holton at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My final paper was entitled “Studying Gender and Identity Politics in Relation to Media and Feminist Activism.” As implied by the title, I addressed how alternative media could be used as a vehicle for feminist activism and as a means of reinvigorating feminism itself. I discussed the absence of representation of diverse identity positions in the mass media, as well as the lack of global issue coverage. In a world where we are increasingly relying on media and technology, it seems atrocious that the mass media still refuses to tell the stories of serious global issues such as AIDs epidemics and war that are facing people around the world. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to find non-stereotypical representations of individuals from diverse identity positions in the mass media.

I also addressed the apathy that seems to be found among today’s students toward feminism. There seems to be a growing lack of commitment and a reluctance to identify with feminism among young people and students. In fact, before I took this course, I myself was beginning to feel a discontentment within the feminist movement and stagnancy in GWSS department courses. However, exposure to alternative or independent films such as Water that use art to creatively address current local and global issues facing women and other marginalized groups, helped to renew my commitment and excitement toward feminism. In such a way this class helped make feminism sexy again, by exposing me to media that challenges essentialist, patriarchal, heteronormative notions of reality. This exposure, coupled with a new understanding of and respect for women and minority media creators, has allowed me to envision a new wave of global feminism that could use media and technology as a way to reinvigorate feminist activism. I attempted to explain with my paper how such a new wave of global feminism could unite students, educators, artists, activists and others who are committed to using media creations as a vehicle to raise awareness and generate social change around important issues facing women and other marginalized groups around the world.
I also state that in order to make a feminist activist art movement effective, it is imperative for activists to understand and challenge the disparity and inequality that faces women directors and artists both in Hollywood and the independent film industry. I cited the Guerrilla Girls as an example of feminist activist artists who have challenged the film industry’s sexist hiring and promotion practices. I also cited and discussed examples of films which have already been, or have the potential to become tools for global feminist activism. I cited Lourdes Portillo and Deepa Mehta as a few examples of directors who have used their work to bring awareness to important global issues facing women. Specifically, I discussed how Señorita Extraviada succeeded in moving audiences to political activism.
Another issue that I discussed is how alternative media makers have chosen protagonists for their films that give agency to the most marginalized individuals in patriarchal society. Specifically, I referenced The Watermelon Woman as a film in which director Cheryl Dunye uses herself as the protagonist in a way that serves to address the intersectionality of her unique identity categories as an African American, lesbian, female filmmaker. I also referenced Boys Don’t Cry as an example of a film that gives agency to the marginalized of society while simultaneously raising awareness of the very real issue of hate crimes.
I also addressed the importance for students to understand their role as critical spectators. I argue that it is through such spectatorship that we can not only resist and challenge mainstream media representations but also decide what feminist media means to us and create our own representations and meanings of reality.

Posted by Rose Coleman at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)