Genders in films during the 2000s - Waleed Malik

The 1990’s showed that females had more to offer to film narratives than just generalized roles and stereotypes. The notion of the every-woman was created, and now female viewers could relate to the female characters they saw on screen. Filmmakers wisely decided to capitalize on this new trend and many of the successful films of the 2000s had female protagonists. Whereas woman leads in the 80s embodied various masculine traits, their counterparts in the 2000s where able to bring strength to their roles by showcasing their unique feminine side. These characters did not need assault rifles and toned pectorals to overcome their conflicts, rather they were shown as being strong willed and extremely resourceful. Their feminine nature was seen as a positive and not as a weakness. Examples of such heroines include Dr. Ryan Stone from Gravity, Catniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series.  During this time, there was a shift in the depiction of male leads. The Anti-Hero, a protagonist who does not have the traditional heroic qualities such as courage and honor, became extremely popular. More and more filmmakers decided to depict this dark twist in order to make their movies standout. The most glaring example of this trend is the character Patrick Bateman, played by the brilliant Christian Bale, from American Psycho. Bateman is the main character and narrator of his tale, yet he is far from a hero. He is revealed to be a demented serial killer and rapist who does not think rationally. He is consumed by thoughts of bloodlust, sex and drugs while maintaining a false veil of friendliness and formality. Bateman is just one of the many departures from the traditional hero that became a trend during the 2000s. The portrayal of both of males and females in film underwent a major overhaul in order to meet the demands of a changing audience. 

Genders in 90s Films - Waleed Malik

The 1990s was the golden age of film. Hollywood took a step away from the usual, action packed blockbusters and stepped into the realm of art. During this decade, films had much more complex narratives and deeper themes about the human condition. Movies such as these had been made for decades previously by independent and foreign film makers but never achieved popularity due to low budgets and extremely limited releases. Now, with the backing of major producers, unknown and unconventional directors such as Quentin Tarantino, The Coen Brothers and Christopher Nolan were able to bring their ideas to the big screen. The depiction of woman in film also took a major turn during the 90s. They were no longer the seductive femme fatales of the 50s, or the masculine heroes of the 80s. Instead female characters had unique traits and followed no particular stereotypes. Filmmakers began to show that woman were much more complex than previously depicted. Each female character was as unique as her male counterparts. In the sinister thriller The Silence of the Lambs, the main character is FBI agent Clarice Sterling, played by Jodie Foster. She seems shy and inverted, but as the movie progresses and she becomes more confident and realizes the nature of her responsibilities. Jenny Curan, the female lead of Forrest Gump, is shown as a caring and passionate woman who is not afraid to live on whims. The Matrix’s Trinity is a cold and ruthless warrior who will carry out her missions without question; however, she is not without her softer side as she deeply cares for her comrades. There is no clear label or pattern to these characters, which shows a shift towards more equality in Hollywood. Actresses were no longer given the same roles over and over again, instead they were expected to play much more diverse characters. 

1990 Sitcom

Unlike the previous two weeks, this week will be mostly focused on one sitcom that took place through out all of the 1990s. Full House is a sitcom that aired in the late 80s and ended in the late 90s. This show is a perfect example of a sitcom that is close to completely evening out gender roles. The show tells the story of a widower who has to raise three daughters after the death of his wife and enlists the help of his brother-in-law and a close family friend, both of which are males and have little family experience, to help him.  The show takes you through the lives of every member of the family living in one house in San Francisco. One of the main characters Jesse Katsopolis, played by John Stamos, has the mindset of some earlier beliefs we’ve seen in sitcoms, believing that men do the work and women raise the family and do the house work. As the show progresses, however, we see a significant change in his character. He soon realizes that being a parent to these three girls is what’s most important and that stereotypical gender roles shouldn’t be taken into consideration. We can also see this in his character in later seasons when he has children of his own. He tries to argue that his sons shouldn’t play with a doll one of his nieces gave them but his wife shows him that boys can play with dolls just like girls can play with trucks. Not only do we see a progression of gender roles in the adults of the sitcom but we also see them being influenced on the younger generation of children. In another episode the youngest of the three daughters is told by a classmate that she can’t race in a downhill derby because she’s a girl. Later in the episode they explain to her that girls can do whatever boys can do and vice versa. This is a perfect example of gender roles being equaled out and shown through television. The three men that volunteer to raise these three girls show that men can be just as loving and caring and supportive as mothers can and have the ability to raise girls just as well.

Music about woman’s right movement in 1990s

Dingmin Lin

Times New Roman

April 18, 2014

English 201

Blogger

Music about woman’s right movement in 1990s

              1990s in music is about more teen pop and dance-pop which had begun in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition, hip hop is still very high popular at 1990, with the continuation of the genre’s golden age. Aside from rap, contemporary R&B and urban music in still extremely popular throughout the decade. However, the music about the woman’s right has not being stop. In every decade, there are always famous female singers want to use song to express their desire to gain the freedom of equality. One of famous band Bikini Kill use their music to express their looking to defend and extend the promise of equality. Bikini Kill was an American punk rock band formed in 1990s. The group consisted of songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox and drummer Tobi Wail. The band is one of supporters of the riot grrrl movement. Riot grrrl movement is an underground feminist punk rock movement started in the early 1990s in Washington, D.C. Riot grrrl bands often address issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy and female empowerment. One of famous woman right’s movement by the Bikini Kill is “Rebel Girl” From its lyrics

“That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood

She's got the hottest trike in town

That girl she holds her head up so high”

This shows that a girl with great confidence that’s think she is the queen, and she can holds her head up so high. And this band want to express that not only man can play trike, but also woman can do what man can do too. Kathleen Hanna had been volunteer at a women’s shelter, a place to support for woman escaping violent or abusive situation.

Bikini Kill is “Rebel Girl” link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQr82COWQPY

1990s - 2000 Advertisements (Michelle)

As a result of the previous time era of women’s sex appealing character on advertisements, women’s body helped started their career in the nation. Many industries use women as a promoting image for both consumers of men and women.

In this 1992’s Maidenform’s poster, the company neglects the face of woman and instead, they uses their only the body parts. Maidenform is a seller of women’s lingerie where they are products of what women needs. The image on the poster uses women’s breast to promote their product of bra lines. In terms of women’s position, I would say women are the biggest targeting of this product because it gives them confidences when purchasing this product and using it. On the hand, husbands of women would urge wives to purchase this product to increase their sex interest. This advertisement is a great example that portrays the functioning of women in the future, where as their body structure functions as a sex appealing figure for both sexes.

 

This 2001 advertisement of Got Milk is another example of using women in sex appealing. The industry uses a famous Brazilian model, Gisele Bundchen as the promoting figure. The perfect body image of Bundchen greatly influences how the product will come out. The use of milk in this advertisement along with the perfect body urges consumers to become like her by using or consuming whatever she is holding in the poster.  

Not only women were considered sex appealing character, but men throughout the decades also progresses. They are also sex appealing characters to women. Just like this Emporio Armani 2009 advertisement of David Beckham, Beckham reveals his perfect trained body to advertise Armani’s underwear collection. Along with Beckham’s wife Victoria, both characters reveal the perfect example of both gender sexes appealing. 

The use of both men and women body structure to promote advertisement products has been shaped by previous time periods. The result of using sex appealing idea to promote products has helped companies to gain profit and also the celebrities in the advertisements. Everyone including sellers and consumers gain benefit from the advertisements.