1. Lesson 12Gender in Film Lesson 12: Gender in Film Professor Aaron Baker

2. Previous Lecture Movie and Stage Actors Stars and their Images Julia Roberts 2

3. 3 Today’s Lecture Hollywood and Gender Equality Film Representations of Women and Men Gender in Gas, Food, Lodging (1990)

4. Part I: Hollywood and Gender Equality 4

5. Women Underrepresented Women More than 50% of U.S. Population 2007: 15% of Hollywood Directors, Executive Producers, Writers, Cinematographers, Editors are Women (Martha Lauzen San Diego St. Univ.) 2006: Only 3 of top 50 earning Hollywood films were women focused (Entertainment Weekly) 5

6. Martha Coolidge Former President of Director’s Guild Director of Rambling Rose (1991), Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), Material Girls (2006): – "I'm not seeing the hiring of women directors improving at all. It's a terrible testament to where the industry is going.” 6 http://dir.salon.com/story/e nt/movies/feature/2002/08/ 27/women_directors/index. htmlwomen_directors

7. Historical Patterns Between 1949 and 1979, only 1/5 of 1% of the films released by the major Hollywood studios were directed by women. Only two women directors worked regularly in Classic Hollywood Period 1930s- 50s: Dorothy Arzner and Ida Lupino. --Historian Barbara Koenig Quart Ida Lupino

8. Socialization Women socialized to be passive, supportive Director’s Role Assertive, in Control Dorothy Arzner: –“If one is going to be in the movie business, one should be a director. ‘He’ [note her choice of subject pronoun] was the one who told everyone what to do. In fact, he [is] the whole works." Dorothy Arzner

9. Have Done Important Work Three main jobs that women have often done in the American movie business: –Screenwriters –Actresses –Film editors Thelma Schoonmaker

10. Appearance/Support These three roles fit traditional ideas of femininity: –Look good –Be smart, creative--but in a supportive role –Let men take the credit

11. Progress Toward Equality? Women More Authority in Hollywood in Recent Years: -Sherry Lansing, Former CEO Paramount -Oprah Winfrey -Amy Pascal, Chair of Sony Pictures 11

12. Why Still So Few Female Directors? “Women at the top in film are under the same commercial pressures as men and so most are similarly reluctant to take risks by employing other women.” --Critic Cherry Potter, The Guardian 2004

13. Michelle Citron, Choice for Woman Filmmakers: Control Own Films, Small Audiences or Compromise Within Industry 13

14. Allison Anders: "The only place for women directors in this [Hollywood] system is to not have personal vision; to do very big-budget romantic comedies or broad comedies.” 14

15. 15 Part II: Film Representations of Women and Men

16. Active Men More Roles Do More in Films “Many movies have active male characters who make the important decisions and perform the decisive actions.” ( Lehman and Luhr, Thinking About Movies p. 265 ) 16

17. 17 Theorist Laura Mulvey: Men More Active in Film Narratives Most films also look at their narrative world through male character’s eyes Female characters are generally: -Erotic objects for the male gaze -Problems in the way of male goals

18. Mulvey Uses Psychoanalytic Concepts Female characters often present a castration threat to the male character Male asserts his control by objectifying her as a sexual fetish Or by containing her assertive action 18

19. Mulvey: Narrative Cinema Uses Two Looks Scopophilic: We see women as sexually attractive—through male eyes. Narcissistic: We look at male protagonist as model of action and control. 19

20. Rear Window (1954) Photographer Scottie Breaks Leg Disinterested in Settling down with Lisa (Castration Threat) Suspects Neighbor of Murder 20

21. Lisa Contained She Investigates; Neighbor Assaults Her (Control of Assertive Woman) Scottie’s Interest in Lisa Increases Please watch this clip. 21

22. 22 These Gender Assumptions… Translate into two common roles for women in Hollywood films: –Supportive of men and/or children –Independent and selfish Out of the Past (1947)

23. 23 Rocky (1976) Adrian (Talia Shire) defines herself by how she supports her husband, Rocky.

24. Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) Mom, Kate (Bonnie Hunt), raises 12 kids, writes a book (about family) and returns early from her book tour to solve a family crisis. 24

25. 25 Mother/Whore This either/or representation of women is sometimes called the mother/whore dichotomy.This either/or representation of women is sometimes called the mother/whore dichotomy. Female characters are either pure and generous or sexual and selfish.Female characters are either pure and generous or sexual and selfish.

26. Femme Fatale Deadly Woman Challenges male control in narrative Male protagonists who don’t control femme fatale are destroyed by her 26

27. 27 Not Just in Hollywood In the Italian film, The Star Maker (1995), a woman has sex with a man she hopes will put her daughter in movies.In the Italian film, The Star Maker (1995), a woman has sex with a man she hopes will put her daughter in movies. This affirms both sides of the mother/whore dichotomy with one character.This affirms both sides of the mother/whore dichotomy with one character.

28. 28 Underlying Message Independent, sexual women create danger, violence. The society is more stable with women helping others and under the safe control of a man.

29. 29 Steven Neale: Action Films Exemplify this assumption about male activity, responsibility and ability.

30. 30 Representation of Male Body Not only do women and men play different roles in movies, they are shown differently.

31. 31 Neale: Male Characters Also Attractive But Hollywood films will often distract us from any objectification of the male body by emphasizing the productive activity or conflict in which he’s involved.

32. 32 Male Body as Erotic Disrupts the idea of men as active--rather than passively observed. The assumption that men look rather than get looked at.

33. Raging Bull In these scenes the idea of male body as sexual is raised and displaced by violence. “He ain’t pretty no more.” Please watch this clip. 33

34. Movie Representation of Gender Reflects, justifies social status quo Patriarcharchy: Men More Social Power Masculinism: Way of thinking that assumes what men do more constructive, important. 34

35. Theorist Jane Gaines Challenges Mulvey’s analysis Can women in movies only be seen, passive, or controlled by men? Are no other options possible for women in film?

36. Gaines: Psychoanalysis Effective? Elite discourse. Who knows it? Always arrives at same conclusion about gender relations: -Men concerned about castration (lost power) -Try to control, fetishize women But if gender not natural, socialized, can be changed

37. Narrative Patriarchal? Mulvey: Story films always about men Constructed by their looks, desires These looks see women as controlled Counter (Non-narrative) Cinema

38. Gaines Narrative not fundamentally patriarchal Stories can be about women instead Feminist movies need to be accessible Stories important way to understand world

39. Part III: Gas, Food Lodging (1992) 39

40. Allison Anders Writer, Director UCLA/McArthur Grant 1995 Uses Narrative But in stories about women’s lives/issues

41. Nora Single Mom Has had difficult experiences with unreliable men Struggling to raise two teenage daughters—to provide material necessities: gas, food, lodging Brooke Adams

42. Trudi (Ione Skye) Trudi: –Was sexually assaulted –Low Self Image –Looks for affirmation in attention from boys 42

43. Shade (Fairuza Balk) Wants a traditional family Looks for father has never had: John (James Brolin) 43

44. Media Images Both girls get ideas about identity and relationships from media images. Pictures on Their Bedroom Walls Shade’s Love for Mexican Melodramas 44

45. Shade Plays Olivia Newton John Shade tries to objectify herself for Darius (Donovan Leitch) in imitation of the media images of women she has seen. 45

46. Dank (Robert Knepper) Trudi finds a man who respects her and treats her well. His love of rocks symbolizes how he’s grounded in the real world. Why does Anders kill him off? 46

47. Anders Own Story Was sexually assaulted as a girl— like Trudi Met a British man on a Greyhound bus Moved to England and had a child The relationship didn’t last 47

48. Shade Visits Her Dad Goes to ask him for $50 to buy a nightgown for Trudi Wants to be able to rely on him Please watch this scene and her subsequent visit to Javier’s home. 48

49. Discussion Question What does Shade realize about her ideas of family from seeing her dad and then visiting Javier and meeting his mother? 49

50. End of Lecture 12 50 Next Lecture: Race in American Film