ESSAY PLAN
Jan '06b

Recent Developments in genre have included the emeregence of Parody, Pastiche and Hybrid forms. Show how such developments have influenced the nature of media texts.

• Talk About Parody , and how it has influenced Slasher movies , use examples such as scream and the parody of a parody scary movie.
• Talk About Hybrid, and i can relate that to slasher , through Jason X, which is a hybrid of Slasher and Sci-Fi.
• Pastiche - the guy who payed homage to alfred hitchcock , by modernisin Psycho , but every shot was the same
• Which leads on to Remakes , and how that has reivigorated the Slasher genre , as remakes is the thing to do now days .
• Talk about historical texts to , such as Friday the 13th and Halloween , briefy touch up franchising and the sequels that have come about due to this .
• I'll throw in some theory aswell , such as the auter theory and the studio system.

FINAL


“A giant, a genius, the hardest working …person in television … Joanna Eberhart.” [1]How are women represented in the media and how has their roles changed over time? Looking especially at ‘The Stepford Wives’ (2004)

‘Women weren’t bribed or brainwashed or seduced into becoming the perfect domestic and sex goddesses of suburbia’ [2] they evolved into such stereotypes, as the role of women in the media has changed significantly since the 1940s with the rise of the feminist movement and the change of attitudes. In today’s contemporary society women have progressively gained more power in the media industry, going from the passive characters to which they were condemned to the active characters which are bursting with success. Although today’s society is still a patriarchal one, and women are still seen to be oppressed by this male dominance, they are not as oppressed to the degree they once were, and within ‘The Stepford Wives’ (Frank Oz-2004) this struggle for power is highlighted throughout.

Since well before the 1940’s men have dominated the big screen, bagging up all the lead roles, men being represented as strong, dominant characters, such as James Bond, who has been such a success character that he has been played by numerous actors, and who can achieve anything, with the passive role being filled up by a woman. But this passive role was never credited for being anything more than a sexual object: she didn’t fight crime, she didn’t save lives, she attracted a wider voyeuristic audience. ‘James Bond’ (1962- present) is a prime example of how women were always represented as the ‘beauty who would wander out of the sea’ and catch Bond’s eye, and would end up sleeping with her, reinforcing the ‘Male Gaze’ theory by Laura Mulvey (1975) in which she argues that ‘the dominant point of view within cinema is masculine, especially where a woman is concerned. The female body is displayed for the ‘male gaze’ in order to provide erotic pleasure and ultimately a sense of control over her’[3] .Although this is challenged with the introduction of Joanna Eberhart, who is the main protagonist of the film, whom we follow on her journey to remain normal, she isn’t sexy, nor sassy, but memorably condemned by her husband as follows: ‘Only high-powered, neurotic, castrating, Manhattan career bitches wear black. Is that what you want to be?’[4] With her black suits, short hair, stern look and bitch attitude, it has been argued that Joanna is representing a male approach in a woman’s body.

‘None of the female respondents felt that males had a more dominant role in the media. They generally thought that roles between genders were becoming more equal.’[5] This is contradictory to the way that Joanna acts and thinks when it comes to power within her job, as there isn’t a trace of femininity about her and she is aware that to succeed and achieve something she must be one of the men. She is introduced by a female voice as ‘A giant, a genius, the hardest working … person, in television.’ The fact that Joanna is introduced as the hardest-working ‘person’, rather than ‘woman’, to some degree shows the continuing grip of patriarchal society that still firmly controls the world. A threat of complete female dominance is an un-nerving thing, so ‘woman’ is made invisible. ‘There’s still social pressure. Everyone’s looking at the guy whose wife makes more money, going “he’s the chick,” and straight white males act like the angry new endangered minority.’[6] This is what feminists argue that men have been afraid of all this time: that their manhood is at stake in relation to their female counterparts.

World War Two was a great social opportunity for women as the men were away fighting for their country, leaving their jobs behind, which needed to be filled, so the women were given a chance to experience having a job, other than that of raising the children and keeping the home nice, but it was only to experience it temporarily, as it was never intended to be a permanent fixture. They also got to exert their power and achieve higher status in society, as feminists fought grasp this opportunity with both hands. Prior to this it had been a hard struggle to get anywhere, even to be heard.

Women shall no longer been confined to the ‘Dumb Blonde’ role which has previously seen Reece Witherspoon cast as in ‘Legally Blonde’ (Robert Luketic-2001) and also Cameron Diaz in ‘There’s Something About Mary’ (Bobby & Peter Farrelly -1998). Instead, they will grow and follow the lead of stars like Sigourney Weaver who challenged this once dominant patriarchal society when she took the active protagonist’s role in ‘Alien’ (Ridley Scott-1979). Here, her character is strong, determined and able to achieve what she wants. She is Similar to the characters of males on the big screen, but to give a female all this power and control throughout the film obviously seemed preposterous, so she is later saved and assisted by a male character. This is similar to ‘Charlie’s Angels’ (McG-2000) as Charlie, the man, owns the so-called ‘kick ass’ Angels, and this also ties in with ‘The Stepford Wives’(2004) as the film features two heroes: one being Joanna Eberhart, the heroine, and the other being her husband, Walter Kresby, the obligatory male hero. Even in today’s supposedly post-feminist society , woman are still controlled by men, even if they are ‘weedy, pathetic males’[7] as having this male equal in the film puts restraints on the woman’s freedom and narrative agency.

Women are successfully breaking out of the passive roles, but it is taking its time. ‘Tomb Raider’ (Simon West-2001) introduces the world to Lara Croft who is probably one of the strongest female protagonists the world has seen on the big screen. Lara Croft possesses ultimate power in both of the ‘Tomb Raider’ films. She is seen to defeat dozens of male opponents, with her physical strength, allowing her dominance to drive the narrative forward. She does not come with out a weakness; this being her love for her father, but determination keeps her set on achieving her goal, of revenge and of fulfilling her father’s incomplete task. Men are threatened by Lara Croft as she possesses the most feared weapon that a single person could have, that being a gun. This weapon is feared as it can take life with the pull of a trigger, but it’s also a symbol of power, male power, as it has phallic qualities. The power that the gun gives her is the reason for her success, which is similar to ‘The Stepford Wives’ as the phallic object is the ‘remote control’ that the men are in possession of to control their wives. This gives these ‘weedy pathetic’ men control over their wives. All were previously selfish, power-crazed women who played up to society’s worst fears of feminism, which suggests that ‘many men, even the good ones, are so insecure about strong, successful women that they’d gladly go back to a time when the ladies were subservient to the males.’[8] This takes us back to Laura Mulvey’s theory, as the robot women were beautiful ‘What ever we do, we always want to look our best, what would our husbands think?’ [9].They are objects of the ‘male gaze’.

Women have become very judgmental and critical upon one another, showing them to be their own worst enemies. Men are constantly blamed for women resorting to plastic surgery and make up and so on, but it needs to be looked at from another point of view, as women are always trying to better one another, as you’re a nobody if you’re not a somebody. ‘Mean Girls’ (Mark Waters-2004) is a great example, as students are superficially categorized and judged according to the way they dress, or where their interests lie. The media is to blame for this as young people with a low self esteem, are more likely to compare themselves to media images, which can make them feel even worse about themselves if they feel that they do not meet the same standard of beauty that the image they are looking at is representing.’[10] Women tend to be directly affected by what they read and see, such as in magazines like ‘Bliss’, which show girls what they should look like and how they can improve themselves. To earn respect amongst your peers you need to comply: a survey of over 900 females aged 18-24 was carried out in 1998 and ‘61% feel inadequate compared to the media’s image of beautiful women’[11] putting pressure on women to be perfect. The Wives of Stepford are not willing to do this, but they are forced to, as men have always been physically stronger than women, and this is what they will resort to if all else fails.

‘Bobbie Markowitz’ (Bette Midler) breaks the stereotypical trend that the film has already set by being over weight, out-spoken, loud, rude, and Jewish with a very strong, vibrant personality: ‘Or maybe I could just use hundreds of Pine Cones to spell out the words ‘Big Jew’ in letters 15 foot tall, on the snow in my front yard.’[12] Surely, she can’t be broken and changed? As Bette Midler is ‘Nicole’s ‘feminist’ ally in the suburban utopia of Stepford, sealing the lid on the ‘feminists as evil misanthropists’ stereotype’[13] and is one of the three ‘nonconformists’ of the film, accompanied by the gay republican, Roger, and the protagonist, Joanna, who are all seen as ‘troublesome’ and in need of change, especially as Bobbie seems to catch on: ‘Add it up. All the women around here are perfect sex-kitten bimbos. All the men are drooling nerds. Doesn’t that seem strange?’ [14] Significantly, Bobbie is made into a robot very quickly after this comment.

The big screen has seen a shift in the balance of onscreen power and the battle of the sexes theme that runs throughout Joanna’s TV scheduling parallels the struggle in society today. This film highlights many of the wrongs that society is burdened with, especially in the media, as women were once oppressed to be nothing more than mere sex objects , with their passive roles, but like any human being , they want more and to better themselves, which is only right. ‘In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s only 20-35% of characters were females, by the mid 1980s there were more women in leading roles, but still there were twice as many men on screen’[15] Now in the 21st century this has significantly increased with films such as ‘Aeon Flux’(Karyn Kusama-2005) which also has a female director and ‘Resident Evil’(Paul W.S. Anderson-2002 and Alexander Witt-2004) leading the way, also expanding woman’s influence across different film genres.

Joanna is the mother of a son and daughter whom we see little of in the film. Many women in today’s society are not as interested in having a family so early on in life , if at all , as women are more interested in their careers. ‘Women still have to make a really hard choice between careers and families.’[16] Which Joanna represents as she doesn’t seem to have a motherly instinct in her, and to conform to the norms of society, she would surely have to be the ‘housewife’ and care for the children and her husband. This is often seen to be men’s image of the perfect life, but: ‘Women are happier when working outside the home, housework should be split 50-50 with their husbands, and couples should divorce when falling out of love. [17] Joanna is a 21st Century woman, with a 21st Century attitude and her career comes first, up until she is fired as one of her shows, ‘I Can Do Better’, goes horribly wrong: ‘Your whole attitude makes people want to kill you’.[18] This results in her having a complete nervous break-down, showing that high powered, high profile women are very strong-minded and can only really gain self-satisfaction from the success of their roles in their careers rather than their family life. The balance of power shifts, with Joanna admitting ‘You’re Right’[19] and women are once again being subordinated to the weaker role, although not entirely to a passive role.

The men of Stepford have a retreat known as the ‘Men’s Association’ which is at first glance a social club, with pool tables and so on, but with a secret lab, where the women are made to be ‘better wives’. This segregation of the sexes is also present throughout the whole film: the women and Roger would attend the book club, work out session and other events, and the men would just sit around, (showing the breakdown between male and female relationships), were talking of how great their wives were and how great their sex lives. Again women are reduced to nothing more than a pleasure provider, as none of the women have a personality nor two brain cells between them all, which reinforces the ‘male gaze’ theory, as beauty is seen to overpower personality in ‘The Stepford Wives’. The shallow minded men work for big businesses such as AOL, Disney and Microsoft who have big social and economical influences, which surely reflects the “dumbed down” nature of society. They aren’t interested in battling their wives for power; they simply want a beautiful woman who complies with their every wish. Society isn’t as bad as this, as feminists are hot on the heels of the dominant patriarchal establishment who lead the way and continue to seek to inject the world with their views. This attempt of control through the media is known as the hypodermic syringe theory.

The men become very obnoxious towards the latter part of the film and very sarcastic: ‘May I speak to the Man of the house’[20]. The men have realised they have become the dominant sex once again and in power and aren’t willing to let this slip: ‘Because I have a Penis’[21]. Men are aware that women ‘apparently’ are envious of the penis as it is a symbol of control and power, according to Freud, which men hold over women. The film now seems to be going in the direction of recreating the 1950s lifestyle which influenced the creation of Stepford as life was seen to be ‘perfect’ in terms on ‘the nuclear family’, although in this period of time and onwards we are witness to the ‘Madonna’ and ‘Whore’ representations in which woman were typically categorized.

The ‘Whore’ is the big breasted, blue eyed, blonde haired, beauty queen, with so much beauty and so little brains, seen for instance in ‘Clueless’ (Amy Heckerling-1995). On screen her passive presence is not lamented as she is what draws many viewers in, as she is the image of perfection: ‘Our perceptions of female beauty,… are dominated by young, flawless size 10 women staring out from the covers and advertisements in magazines, and in newspapers, films and television.’[22] Although this ‘male gaze’ has had a positive local effect as it has made these women more popular and ‘a’ list in the media as people demand beauty, and celebrity magazines give the masses what they want. But ‘it can be argued that the effect of these representations is cumulative’[23]. It is wrong to exploit women as mere sexual objects that fulfil the voyeuristic pleasures of men, as men and women should be on the same level; no factor can make one better than the other. Yet Hollywood remains to be vain as sex sells: ‘When a female star ceases to be ‘young and attractive’ she is seen in fewer and fewer screen roles… Male stars, however, go on well past their youth and prime, many working into their old age’.[24]

The ‘Madonna’, on the other hand, is seen to be beautiful, but pure, innocent. She is basically, the complete opposite of the ‘whore’ and the ‘Madonna’ usually has the active role. Many of the female protagonists of 1970s and 1980s ‘slasher’ films are represented as the Madonna, as they don’t take part in smoking pot, or having sex, and are the virgin of the group. The idea that sex is bad is promoted as the couples who commonly go off for sex end up dead, whereas the ‘Madonna’ ends up being the ‘Final Girl’, who survives to challenge and often defeat the psychotic monster.

As the end draws near, the secret of Stepford is unveiled, and Joanna and Walter are brought closer together, when they are left to set right the wrongs that one mastermind has created. The audience believes this to be Mike Wellington, only to be surprised that he was a robot himself, so the film poses questions as to whether the creation was that of a robot, but we are soon informed that in fact Claire Wellington – a woman- is the creator. This challenges women’s struggle for equality, as Claire would surely want to be equal to her husband, Mike, but as it is, not all women want what feminists are constantly fighting for, some women were and are happy with how things are and don’t want change, as Claire puts it: ‘ Men should be men, and women should adore them’ [25]. Life was uncomplicated during the 1950s, when the roles of women were to care for the home and the children, with a clearly defined set of family values and norms, different to that of today’s more complex society.

In the film, the three main characters are 2-1 in favour of female roles, showing the change over time, as Stepford provides us with a representation of life revisited in 1950s from a 2004 point of view. Roles are clearly different, and this change reflects the change that society has gone through. The film seems to be in favour of classic and traditional morals and norms, and the change of women is highly significant as we go from a ‘back suit bitch’ to a ‘colorful housewife’ until we finally end up with a down to earth, nice 21st century women. Patriarchal society still dominates, but not to the degree with which it once did.

Word Count: 3,041


[1] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[2] Ellen Goodman: “ The Stepford Wives”
[3] Laura Mulvey (1975) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’
[4] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[5] Jen Albertson ‘ Social Scientific Foundations of Communication’
[6] Maureen Dowd ‘Stepford Wives Remake No Match for Today’s Botoxed Reality’
[7] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[8] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[9] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[10] EDA: Effects of the Media
[11] EDA: Pressure to be Perfect
[12] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[13] The F word-contemporary UK feminism ‘The Stepford Wives’
[14] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[15] David Gauntlett ‘Representation of Gender in the Past’
[16] Feminism and Tv/film expert discusses the remake of ‘ The Stepford Wives’
[17] W. Bradford Wilcox and Stephen L. Nock ‘The Return of the Housewife?’
[18] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[19] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[20] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[21] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[22] Media Ideology
[23] Media Ideology
[24] Reading The Media
[25] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script

Essay Plan, June ‘05a

The Audience may know what to expect, but are still excited by ‘genre texts’, to what extent is this true?

· Change in Technology, creating lots of different opportunities to keep a genre such a slasher, ever popular.
· Auteur Theory (1960s), Auteurship – personal touch , like Alfred Hitchcock’s – Macguffin
· Change in Audience expectations, so films need to adapt to the change in society.
· Scream – Post-modern , changing with the times, as final girl is no longer a virgin
· Scary Movie – Parody, again reusing the normal structure and changing it slightly, so the effect is still the same.
· Genres Are Dynamic
· Intertextuality – more so with the post- modern texts
· Reinvigoration
· Audience Response – Emotional , Visceral, Intellectual, Counter-culture
· Voyeurism, Escapism
· Rick Altman ‘ Film/Genre’ 1999, ‘before & after’

CHARANPALS COMMENTS


http://www.blogger.com/publish-comment.do?blogID=17760231&postID=113940754265187568&r=ok

INDEPENDENT STUDY

“A giant, a genius, the hardest working …Person in Television, Joanna Eberhart.” [1] How are women represented and how has their roles changed over time? Looking especially at ‘The Stepford Wives’ (2004)

‘Women weren’t bribed or brainwashed or seduced into becoming the perfect domestic and sex goddesses of suburbia’ [2] they were made into these perfect housewife roles, well in the case of Frank Oz’s remake of the hit film ‘The Stepford Wives’, where by if the men weren’t happy with their wives, they would simply turn them into robots, so their wives would all be ‘strikingly similar, with long flowing hair and a penchant for dressing like June Cleaver. And they all worship their husbands obsessively, showing obedience and compliance at all times.’ [3] Does this film reflect society 20 years ago? Does it reflect society to a certain extent today?, society has always been dominated by men and this was reflected in all aspects of the media, through film, television, magazines and so on and women were given the passive role in these forms of media, as its ‘A mans world’, and is not going to give it up easily.

Since the 1940’s men have dominated the big screen, bagging up all the lead roles, men being represented as strong, dominant characters, who can achieve anything, with the passive role being filled up by a woman, but this passive role was never credited for anything more than a sexual object, she didn’t fight crime, she didn’t save lives, she attracted a wider audience. James Bond is a prime example, the women were always represented as the ‘beauty whom would wonder out of the sea’ and catch Bond’s eye, and would end up sleeping with her, reinforcing the ‘Male Gaze’ theory by Laura Mulvey (1975) in which she argues that ‘the dominant point of view within cinema is masculine, especially where a woman is concerned. The female body is displayed for the ‘male gaze’ in order to provide erotic pleasure and ultimately a sense of control over her’ [4] although this is challenged with the introduction of Joanna Eberhart ( Nicole Kidman) she isn’t sexy , nor sassy but described by her husband as ‘Only high-powered, neurotic, castrating, Manhattan career bitches wear black. Is that what you want to be?’ [5] in fact Joanna isn’t at first there to look at, but more to get under the audiences skin she is represented as a strong, determined, dominant, over powering bitch, with her black suits, short hair, stern look and bitch attitude, it has been argued that Joanna is representing a male, as there isn’t a trace of femininity about her and that she is aware to succeed and achieve something she must be one of the men, she is introduced by a female voice as ‘A giant, a genius, the hardest… Person, in Television.’ As she is not noted as the hardest working women it can be inferred that to mention the word woman would be almost shocking, even to a 21st century audience, which again reflects society today.

‘There’s still social pressure. Everyone’s looking at the guy whose wife makes more money, going “he’s the chick,” and straight white males act like the angry new endangered minority.’[6] This is what feminists argue that men have been afraid of all this time that their man hood is at stake to their female counter part. World war two was a great opportunity for women to exert their power and achieve higher ground in society, as feminists grasped this opportunity with both hands, as it had prior been a hard struggle to get somewhere, even be heard. Women shall no longer been confined to the ‘Dumb Blonde’ role, they would grow and as Sigourney Weaver shows a gap in this once dominant patriarchal society and takes the active role of ‘Alien’ (1979) in which her character is Strong, determined and able to achieve what she wants, similar to that of the characters of males on the big screen, but to give a female all this power and control would seem preposterous, so she would later be saved and assisted by a male character similar to that of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ (2004) as Charlie the man, owns the Angels, which ties in with ‘The Stepford Wives’(2004) as the film features two heroes one being Joanna Eberhart the heroine and the other being her husband Walter Kresby the hero, even in today’s society , woman are still controlled by men, even if they are ‘weedy, pathetic males’ [7] and aren’t as free as many people seem to think, as having this male equal puts restraints on the woman’s freedom.

Woman are successfully breaking out of the passive roles, but it is taking its time, ‘Tomb Raider’ (2004) introduces the world to Lara Croft who is probably one of the strongest female protagonists the world has seen on the big screen, Lara Croft possess ultimate power in both ‘Tomb Raider’ films as she is seen to defeat dozens of male opponents, with her physical strength, allowing her dominance to drive the narrative forward, although she doesn’t come with out a weakness , being her love for her father, but determination keeps her set to achieving her goal, of revenge and fulfilling her fathers incomplete task. Men are threatened by Lara Croft as she possess the most feared weapon that a single person could have, that being a gun, this weapon is feared as it can take life with the pull of a trigger, its also a symbol of power, male power , as it has phallic qualities, the power that the gun gives her, is the reason of her success, which is similar to ‘The Stepford Wives’ as the phallic object is the ‘control’ that the men are in possession of to control their wives, this gives these ‘weedy pathetic’ men control over their wives whom all were previously selfish, power-crazed women who played up to society’s worst fears of feminism, which suggests that ‘many men, even the good ones, are so insecure about strong, successful women that they’d gladly go back to a time when the ladies were subservient to the males.’ [8] Which goes back to Laura Mulvey’s theory, as the robot women were beautiful ‘What ever we do, we always want to look our best, what would our husbands think?’[ 9].

Woman are always trying to look their best, even if it is to pop to the shop, as woman have become very judgmental and critical upon one another, showing them to be their own worst enemies, men are constantly blamed for women resorting to plastic surgery and make up and so on, but it needs to be looked at from another point of view, as women are always trying to better one another, as you’re a nobody if your not a somebody , ‘Mean Girls’ (2004) is a great example, as students are categorized according to the way they dress, or where their interests lay, the media is to blame for this as many magazines, such as ‘Bliss’ and similar ones, are showing girls what they should look like and how they can improve themselves and to earn respect you need to comply, which the wives of Stepford are not willing to do, but are forced to, as men have always been physically stronger than women.

‘Bobbie Markowitz’ (Bette Midler) breaks the stereotypical trend that the film has already set by being over weight, out-spoken, loud, rude, and Jewish with a very strong, vibrant personality; ‘Or maybe I could just use hundreds of Pine Cones to spell out the words ‘Big Jew’ in letters 15 foot tall, on the snow in my front yard.’ [10] Surely she can’t be broken and changed. As Bette Midler is ‘Nicole’s ‘feminist’ ally in the suburban utopia of Stepford, sealing the lid on the ‘feminists as evil misanthropists’ stereotype’ [11] and is one of the three ‘nonconformists’ of the film, accompanied by the gay republican Roger and the Protagonist Joanna who are all seen as ‘troublesome’ and in need of change, especially as Bobbie seems to catch on ‘Add it up. All the women around here are perfect sex-kitten bimbos. All the men are drooling nerds. Doesn’t that seem strange?’ [12] Significantly Bobbie is made into a robot, quickly after this comment.

The big screen has seen a shift in the balance of onscreen power and the battle of the sexes theme that runs through out Joanna’s TV scheduling parallels the struggle in society today, and this film highlights many of the wrongs that society is burdened with, especially in the media, as women were once oppressed to be nothing more than mere sex objects , with their passive roles in tact, but like any human being , they want more and to better themselves, which is only right, ‘In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s only 20-35% of characters were females, by the mid 1980s there were more women in leading roles, but still there were twice as many men on screen’ [13] Now in the 21st century this has significantly increased with films such as ‘Aeon Flux’(2006) and ‘Resident Evil’(2003 and 2005) leading the way, also expanding woman’s influence across genres.

Joanna is the mother of a son and daughter who we see little of in the film, many women in today’s society are not as interested in having a family so early on in life , if at all , as women are more interested in their careers, ‘Women still have to make a really hard choice between careers and families.’ [14] which Joanna represents as she doesn’t seem to have a motherly instinct in her, and to conform to the norms of society, she would surely have to be the ‘housewife’ and care for the children and her husband to conform, but Joanna is a 21st century woman, with a 21st century attitude and her career comes first, up until she is fired as one of her shows ‘ I can do better’ goes horribly wrong ‘Your whole attitude makes people want to kill you’ [15] which results in her having a complete nervous break down, which leaves her vulnerable and weak, which she is not used to, and in need of help from Walter, whom was vice president of the same company. Their marriage is on the rocks after the build up to the nervous collapse and with the threat of divorce Joanna is compliant to all of Walters wishes ‘game over … marriage over’ [16], and we see Walter go from this ‘weedy pathetic man’ to the dominant figure, showing that men are to take control once again, which men are always trying to do in the balance of power, with Joanna admitting ‘Your Right’ [17] and women are once again being subverted to the weaker character, although not to the passive role, but to the weaker end of the active role. But once Joanna corrects her ways, the children are more on screen than off screen and we see some motherly love, but this change isn’t enough for Walter, this power he has obtained goes to his head and wants more and resorts to getting Joanna turned in to a ‘true’ Stepford wife.

‘Men’s Association, so all the wonderful men can get out of our hair’ [18] The men of Stepford have a retreat known as the ‘Men’s Association’ which is at first glance a social club, wit pool tables and so on, but with a secret lab, where the women are made to be ‘better wives’ this segregation of the sexes is also present through out the whole film, the women and Roger would attend the book club, work out session and other events, and the men would just sit around, talking of how great their wives are and how great their sex lives are, again women are degenerated to nothing more than a pleasure provider, as none of the women have a personality nor two brain cells between them all, which reinforces the ‘male gaze’ theory as they aren’t interested in battling their wives for power, they simple want a beautiful women who complies to their every wish, society isn’t as bad as this, but with feminists hot on the heals of the dominant patriarchal society who lead the way and inject the world with their views through the media.

With the men in control of dog bone like controllers the women have no control over their bodies and when they are not needed to fetch golf balls or Doritos they are shut off, taking all power away from them.

The men become very obnoxious towards the latter part of the film and very sarcastic ‘may I speak to the Man of the house’ [19] the men have realised they have become the dominant sex once again and in power and aren’t willing to let this slip ‘because I have a Penis’ [20] The film now seems to be going in the direction of the 1950s lifestyle which influenced the creation of Stepford as life was seen to be perfect in terms on ‘the nuclear family’, although in this period of time and onwards we are witnessed to the ‘Madonna’ and ‘Whore’ representations that woman were categorized into.

The ‘Whore’ being the big breasted, blue eyed, blonde haired, beauty queen, with so much beauty and so little brains, ‘Clueless’ (1995), but on screen her passive presence is not missed as she is what draws many viewers in as she is the image of perfection ‘Our perceptions of female beauty,… are dominated by young, flawless size 10 women staring out from the covers and advertisements in magazines, and in newspapers, films and television.’ [21] although this ‘male gaze’ has had a positive affect as it has made these women more popular and ‘a’ list in the media as people demand beauty, and celebrity magazines give the mass’s what they want. But ‘it can be argued that the effect of these representations is cumulative and that they deny the complexity of human existence and reduce it to a basic issue of right and wrong’ [22] and it is wrong to exploit women, as mere sexual objects that fulfill the voyeuristic pleasures of men, as men and women are on the same level, no factor can make one better than the other. Although Hollywood remains to be vain as sex sells ‘When a female star ceases to be ‘young and attractive’ she is seen in fewer and fewer screen roles… Male stars, however, go on well past their youth and prime, many working into their old age’ [23] With Pierce Brosnan starring in a few of the more recent James Bond epics, with a different, more beautiful woman than the last, with Halle Berry being the first colored Bond girl, which was a step forward for women, as men and women shouldn’t but are uncommonly grouped according to race and Halle Berry’s triumph is a win for all women. ‘The Stepford Wives’ (1975) featured a black family as they had to be representative of society, but as we move on, the 2004 hit didn’t feature a black character, let alone a black family, but were replaced by a gay couple, surely a black family would have been more representative than a gay couple, but black actors are not commonly associated with comedy’s, and camp-ness has comic traits to it, due to the femininity that this male possesses.

The ‘Madonna’ on the other hand, is seen to be beautiful, but pure, innocent, basically the complete opposite to the ‘whore’ and the ‘Madonna’ usually has the active role, many of the female protagonists of ‘Slasher’ films are represented as the Madonna, as they don’t take part in smoking pot , or sex ,a d are the virgin of the group, making them pure, and the idea that sex is bad is promoted as the couple who commonly go off for sex end up dead, where as the ‘Madonna’ ends up being the ‘Final Girl’. The ‘Madonna’ Representation has been adopted by Madge, who we know as Madonna, although her image isn’t as clean as the name symbolizes or connotates, she has still used it to her advantage, which the woman of Stepford have been made to adopt as the ‘Whore’ comes with excess baggage of attitude and power, and the ‘Madonna’ has these qualities but in a subtle way.

As the end draws near, the secret of Stepford is unveiled, and Joanna and Walter are brought closer together, when they are left to set right the wrongs that one mastermind has created, whom the audience believe to be Mike Wellington, only to be surprised that he was a robot himself, so the film poses questions to whether the creation was that of a robot, but we are soon informed that in fact Claire Wellington is the creator, which challenges women’s struggle for equality, as Claire surely would want to be equal to her husband Mike, but as it is, not all women want what feminists are constantly fighting for, some women were and are happy with how things are and don’t want change, as Claire puts it ‘ Men should be men, and women should adore them’ [24] as life was un complicated when times were that of the 1950s, when the roles of women were to care for the home and the children, with set family values and norms, different to that of today’s society. And in the film the three main characters are 2-1 in favor of female roles, showing the change over time, as Stepford gives a representation of life in 1950 and a 2004 representation, with both roles visible and different, and this change reflect the change the society has gone through, although the film seems in favor of classic and traditional morals and norms, and the change of women is highly significant as we go from a ‘back suit bitch’ to a ‘colorful housewife’ till we finally end up with a down to earth, nice 21st century women, with the men of Stepford all placed under house arrest, with the females taking control. But the patriarchal society still dominates but not to the degree to which it once did.

Word Count: 3,048

“A giant, a genius, the hardest working …Person in Television, Joanna Eberhart.” [1] How are women represented and how has their roles changed over time? Looking especially at ‘The Stepford Wives’ (2004)

References:

[1] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[2] Ellen Goodman: “The Stepford Wives”
[3] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Review
[4] Laura Mulvey (1975) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’
[5] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[6] Maureen Dowd ‘Stepford Wives remake no match for today’s botoxed reality. ‘
[7] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[8] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Review
[9] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[10] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[11] The F word-contemporary UK feminism ‘The Stepford Wives’
[12] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[13] David Gaunlett ‘Representation of Gender in the past’
[14] Feminism and TV/film expert discusses the remake of ‘The Stepford Wives’
[15] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[16] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[17] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[18] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[19] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[20] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script
[21] Media Ideology
[22] Media Ideology
[23] Reading the Media
[24] ‘The Stepford Wives’ Script

EVALUATION

WOW ( god knows how long its been since i posted anything lol)

1. How easy has it been to set up your Independent Study blog and to get used to posting things on it? Were you given enough support in doing it? What other help would have been useful?
*At first i found posting things up on my blog easy and helpful , but it wasn't as easy as i had many problems with my home computer and doing it at school was easier said than done, i feel that Mr.bush gave a lot of support which aided us well, although he needs to be a bit flexible with deadlines concerning the Blog.

2. How did the blog help with your research? Did the blog motivate you to do more and better research? How? Why?
* Personally i think that research was 50/50 in terms of uselfullness, as internet research could easily be applied to the blog, but other research such as books , magazines, leaflets and so on were not as easy and were time consuming, the blog did motivate me to do more internet research but not so much book or magazine research because the internet provides us with so much already that i forgot about the other forms of research needed.

3. Is it useful having all the Independent Study/blog tasks posted on the Macguffin blog? Does it make it more likely that you will get them done?
* I don't think it did, as i didnt have great access to the internet, i would have much prefered to have been given the task in lesson rather than , * look at the blog , you should be checkin it 2 times a week* cause i cant really put that in my homework diary.

4. How often (honestly!) do you check the Macguffin blog? (Remember, it should be at least twice/week).
* Im not going to lie, i checked it now and then , no where near 2 times a week , maybe 2 times a month :S but i do have an excuse ¬¬ my internet suckz.

5. Has it been useful being able to see and access everyone else’s research and planning through their blogs?
* It came in handy now and then, made me realise how little i had done and try and catch up * rolls eyes*, although i didnt check others as much as i should have , as the page takes SOOOOOOOOOOO long to load up.

6. How do you feel about the fact that your teacher can keep a close check on your progress through accessing your blog? Is it too intrusive and controlling or is it encouraging and supportive?
* To controlling , although the constructive criticism was handy and did aid me a fair bit, but i would have much prefered to hand my assignments in on PAPER , as its so much easier, and even if ur computer is not workin ur not stuck, unless uve broken ur wrist :D.


7. How useful have the comments been that you received from…a. Macguffin, b. other students.
* Well with the exception of Manjoth and a few others , people hardly read my blog and seemed to post the same comment for every1 else , with a few word changes :S , and ** keep up the good work** really showed me where i was goin wrong, although Macguffin was very useful and Manjoth.

8. How has the blog helped with your essay planning? How useful was the blog when it came to writing the essay? Do you think your first draft is better because you have used a blog?
* Nope, the blog was just a pain in the arse when it came to writting my essay ( which i havnt fully finished yet) i dont think the blog benefited me much, rather pulled me further behind than i already was.

9. How would you evaluate the quality of your blog? What could you have done better?
* My blog started off really well and then , well , flopped, but it wasnt easily accessable for me, so i guess i could hav done all the tasks ( which arent all complete)

10. Do you think you will get a better final grade for your independent study through having used a blog?
* Nope , cause i know that if the tasks were set in lesson and sue in on paper i would have handed them all in on time.

11. Which are the best three blogs? Why?
* Peoples heads are big enough as it is , dont want any of them poppin so close 2 exams lol , i think its obvious just by looking at them , who has the best , no need to mention names.

12. Do you think next year’s Year 13s would benefit from setting up an Independent Study blog?
*I think it may come in handy , but i think you should accept paper copies until they are able to post it all up, cause the blog was kewl in away, more of a burden.

13. Are there any negative aspects to preparing for an Independent Study using a blog?
* Hmmm, just the unpredictable things that suddenly pop up, and with you only acceptin blog work .

14. What could be done to improve teaching and/or learning in future through blogs?
* Im bored of these questions , i feel im sayin the same thing , jst re-phrasing it :S .... to b honest i think blogs should be used for research , not all the excess stuff.

15. Overall, are you pleased that we used blogs? Has it been interesting and enjoyable? Why? Why not?
* Its been different and im 50/50 on blogs , not 2 sure, its been interesting , deffinately not enjoyable.

I was being Honest, so don't b harsh on me in class , cause i dnt like ur blog method :D

Book Bibliography

Understanding Media Theory
Kevin Williams
Great Britain( 2003 )
Arnold- Hodder Headline Group

AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction
Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephen Kruger
Great Britain ( 2004 )
Routledge

The Film Studies Dictionary
Steve Blandford, Barry Kieth Gant & Jim Hillier
Great Britain ( 2001 )
Arnold - Hodder Headline Group

Studying The Media 3rd Edition
Tim O'Sullivan, Brian Dutton, Philip Rayner
Great Britain ( 2003 )
Arnold - Hodder Headline Group

The Media Students Book 2nd Edition
Gill Branston & Roy Stafford
1999
Routledge
An Introduction To Film Studies 3rd Edition

Jill Nelmes
2003
Routledge

The Stepford Wives
Ira Levin & Bryan Forbes
Great Britain (1972 )
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Gender, Race And Class In the Media
Gail Dines, Jean M. Humez
2003
Sage Publications

Blogs i have comented on :

Aanchal : http://bonoonob.blogspot.com/2005/10/media-audiences.html#comments

Abisheik : http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17460473&postID=113080367465146508

Anita : http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17647964&postID=113078656197193184

Bilan : http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17760330&postID=113083727519318493

Charanpal : http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17760231&postID=113088688693392166

Danny : http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17759765&postID=113058636546416536

Harbinder :http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17554214&postID=113025922017177243

Iena :http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17579090&postID=113036966831615341

Jugtar:http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17801049&postID=112972231622492571

Kristina :http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17841662&postID=112972560592040418

Roohdip :http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17694735&postID=112983645965986871

Russel:http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=17714207&postID=113101021185539378

The Queer Theory - as there is a gay character in my text , well 2 gay characters , i figured this may be of use , altho im gona research it more , to find its relevance and usefulness .

Betty Friedan - The unhappiness of women being oppressed not only as housewifes but in most aspects , including the career ladder and so on , this is also relevant as my text is ' The Stepford HOUSEWIVES' and we are introduced to many women all of whom are housewives and only responsibillity is to look after the children and keep a clean home. But the women in my text find it hard to adapt to this lifestyle , as well as one character being gay , which goes against most stereotypes. Therefore is very useful and will contribute to my independent study . ‘‘the problem that has no name,’’ explores the roles of women :P

Laura Mulveys - Male Gaze is extremely relevant to my chosen text, as an issue that is presented and focused upon is the idea of women being there primarily to ' look' at in a voyueristic manner, as women have commonly taken the passive role in the film industry in all aspects rather than the active role which has been left to the male actors. This is relevant as in my study i will look at how women have changed over the years and have infact become active role players , for example Uma Thurman in ' Kill Bill 1 & 2 ' , Halle Berry in 'Gothika , Monsters Ball ' and more so ' Cat Woman', but keeping in mind that the Male Gaze still plays apart , as these women are extremely pretty and the films may not have been as successful if a lead female actress was chosen who was Ugly. With the independence of women and Feminism, this male gaze and women only being a passive role has become a thing of the past ( kinda) making this theory very useful.