Final Post - Waleed Malik

The established roles and views of both genders have changed dramatically over the Past 60 years. Where society once perceived them to be the maintainers of the household, reliant on the finances of their male relatives, now they are seen as fully independent member of society, who need not rely on others for their livelihood. In the 1950s, men were meant be the hard working, tough and persistent. Today these “Manly” traits are still common and valued, however, there are other unconventional lifestyles that men can lead with much less scrutiny than they would have faced in the decades previously. The gradual changes that gender roles went through were well documented by media over the years. As American society changed, so did its depiction in books, movies and television.

As I said in my opening post, my blog focused on films from the 1950s till the present. When I choose this form I did not realize the expansive amounts of information it would cover. Every year, hundreds, if not thousands, of films are made by big budget studios, student directors and other film makers. They have varying genres, stories, styles and messages. Some of these films are much ahead of their time, highlighting many of the issues and disparities of contemporary society, while others are merely meaningless slasher horror films that are only meant to provide basic entertainment.

While doing my research, I decided that I had to focus on films from the middle of the spectrum. By this I mean mainstream Hollywood films that were widely watched but also had powerful dramatic functions that engaged the audience heavily. I thought I would find very few examples of such movies, but they were a lot more common than I initially believed. I discovered that many directors wanted to add messages to their films, but they had to work in the confines of Hollywood guidelines and censorship. Many of them took major steps to make their movies stand out from the rest, and this often lead to dynamic or controversial characters in the narrative.

As I wrote my blogs, and jumped from decade to decade, I began to notice a pattern in the depiction of the genders. In every decade, the changes that female characters went through was subtle. More and more portrayals deviated from the standard female characteristics that had defined Hollywood in the 1950s. Filmmakers began to realize that female characters were more than a just prop to drive a narrative and that they could touch upon on their conflicts as well. More and more films began to depict female protagonists. It was an entire side of the human condition that had yet to be explored by the medium and whichever director took the initiative often became successful.

In my opening blog post, I mentioned that I would attempt to draw a conclusion as to whether changing society caused the new depictions in the media, or if society shifted its norms after the media began to showcase more diverse portrayals. In my opinion, it seems to be a combination of both. A marginalized group in society would begin the cycle by adopting an unconventional lifestyle or practice. The movement would grow and face opposition which would to lead to it gaining some level of publicity. Eventually, the ideas of the group would make their way to Hollywood and filmmakers would incorporate them into their works. They saw themselves as artists who would shed light on the societal issues while also providing entertainment to the general public. These depictions would become common place in several films and other forms of media. It is a well-known fact that the media exerts great influence over society, particularly the youth. As more and more people see those films, they began to accept the previously unconventional depictions as normal, and this facilitates change in society. I am not saying this is how society always evolves, but film is a form of art, and the goal of art is comment on the world and try and change it for the better. A major example of this is how women were perceived in films during the 1980s. During the 60s and 70s, many feminist groups fought for equal rights and treatment in all levels of society. Feminists were eager to shed the weak and feeble image that had been attached to females. Eventually, their crusade paid off and one of their victories was Title IX, which prevented sex discrimination in schools and allowed female athletes to prosper. Then films began to depict females as being strong and independent, and as more and more viewers began to watch them, the views of the majority began to change.

While reading through my group member’s blog posts, I was particularly interested by what Michelle said about Advertisements today: “This poster portrays how the advertisement field sometimes accepts and wants women to be more powerful than men.” I think gender roles have changed significantly, and that the way society perceives the sexes has evolved at well. However, I do not believe that the Genders are, in fact, equal. The truth of the matter is that the males and females have stark differences which will be difficult to reconcile. There will always be disparities on how the media depicts and targets the two. Being unequal does not mean one is better off or worse. Rather, the fact that we have these differences is something to celebrate. Today, men and woman have the right to live their lives as they please; watch what they want, eat what they want, meet who they want. The genders are no longer held back by restrictions placed upon them by society.

All in all, I believe that our group covered our topic very well. We covered several forms of media from each decade and this allowed us to see the change gender roles went through as a whole. My research also allowed me to see films under a different light. I began to pay more attention to the characters, especially the females. I analyzed every word they spoke, and action they took to understand the filmmaker’s opinion of women. I re-watched many of my favorite films and began to appreciate the different characters much more.