Waleed Malik-Opening Blog Post

           Society often has predetermined roles for both genders. These roles are often seen as the normal way in which a person should behave, and for the most part they are followed by the majority of people. However what society considers “normal” is subject to constant change, and there has been drastic changes in how each gender is viewed, and how each gender can act, in the past few decades. This has been the result of various movements, organizations and events that have paved the way for social change. For millennia the functions of each sex have remained constant, yet in the past 50 years, the dominant perceptions of what is normal behavior for genders has changed exponentially.

            Our group has decided to focus on how the portrayal of these roles in the media has changed from the 1950’s till the present day. We choose to begin with the 1950’s because we feel that it was a major watershed moment for the United States. People become wealthier, society became more integrated, and new technology allowed for new forms of media to develop. The framework for modern media was established in this time, with television becoming a common feature in homes, new news agencies coming into play, and sports becoming an integral part of American society. I think it’s obvious that our blog will focus on the Western world, as it is the only place that has enough media forms to actually write about.

            We decided that each of us would focus on one form of media. The sources we decided to blog on are television, film, advertisements, music and gaming (ranging from sports to modern video games). For each blog, one of us will focus on our form for a specific decade, starting with fifties and making our way to the present day. Each are present in all the decades we wish to focus on, so there will be plenty of material and information that we can research and write on.

            I myself have decided to focus on film because I am a fanatic when it comes to movies. I already have a large amount of knowledge on the medium and so I already know where to begin my research. I also think film is great form of media to write about, mostly because there is an overabundance of information. I also think it will have the most extreme portrayals of each gender, as there are a multitude of independent films and documentaries that are not subject to censorship and regulations. Almost every decade there is a controversial film that causes an uproar in society for touching on taboos that people choose to ignore.

            I have already decided upon the topic for my first blog. I have decided that I will focus on the American Film Noir genre that dominated Hollywood during the late forties and early fifties. All of the films in this category followed a certain formula when it came to male and female characters, and it seemed to be successful as the genre persisted for over a decade.

            On the male side I will focus on their appearance and personality. Often the male protagonist was characterized as being melancholy and innocent, that he was the victim of fate and his faults were forgivable. He would appear as the usual tall, dark and handsome made famous by actors like James Dean, John Wayne and Marlon Brando.

            For females, I will focus on their dialogue, body language and actions. Almost every noir film of the era portrayed as a femme fatale; she would be the male hero’s downfall. She was portrayed as a dark seductress who would undermine the protagonist while pretending to be on his side. This echoes the historical view of women by major institutions of male dominated society, that women are a source of lust and they are often at fault for problems in the family, hinting at the concept of the original sin of Eve and the blame that has been laid upon her since.

            In the first blog, I will compare and contrast two motion pictures of the era: Detour and A Streetcar Named Desire. Both share many similarities in style, cinematography and acting, but they have major differences when it comes to their portrayal of men and women. While Detour followed the more traditional views of the time period, A Streetcar Named Desire was near revolutionary in how it depicted family, love and gender relationships.

            I think the compare and contrast of several films is a method I want to follow for each decade. It will allow me to touch on all the views and thoughts of each decade, showing both the progression, reversion and stagnation of gender roles throughout the past 60 years. It might be difficult to find such direct comparisons for subsequent blogs, but it will be an interesting way differing perceptions that exist event today.

            Another form of media that I would like our blog to touch upon is literature. For centuries it was the only form of entertainment that people could rely upon. Novels such as The Awakening, which was released in 1890s to great controversy, often express views much too progressive for their time and they are also a major source of inspiration for other mediums of media.

I think a topic I would like our group to discuss at some point in our blog is whether the portrayal of genders in media is cause or effect of changing gender roles in society.. The answer to that question is currently unanswered and it will probably differ for each member of our group since our mediums are so different. In either case, media is a powerful, and sometimes essential, agent of social change.