Gender & Sexuality

Gender & Sexuality

Points to Consider:

Gender and sexuality are terms with specific meanings:

Gender refers to the social construction of our sexual identity and is therefore a wider-ranging term than ‘sex’, which is taken to refer to biological difference.

The term sexuality refers to the social construction of identity as much as it refers to biological sexual orientation. It is different from gender in that is not intrinsically ‘visible’. Information regarding a person or character’s sexuality must therefore be coded through a range of social, visual or lifestyle signifiers.

Women, lesbians and homosexuals have all been subject to long histories of social and political oppression and repression. These histories should be taken account in your response.

You need to be prepared to describe and explain narrative examples and scenes in detail to support your points.

One approach would be to examine the key character types. You might begin by considering the different kinds of male heroes that you have come across. You could consider Yvonne Tasker’s conception (1993) of two main types of 1980’s male hero; the ‘tough guy’ and the ‘wise guy’.

Another approach would be to choose examples of films across a period of time to indicate whether or not you feel representations have changed.

You could examine the role of stereotypes in films. How far do you fell audiences are sensitive to stereotyping?

It might be useful to examine the critical response to films where the representations have been contentious such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

How far do you think the representations of gender and sexuality in genre account for the low esteem in which it has been held by critics?

Laura Mulvey: Feminist Theory

Representation – 1950'S Film Posters

Look at the 1950's film posters below and analyse how the women are represented in the posters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2RxWs60dRM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5ixcPnbjac&feature=related










http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5ixcPnbjac&feature=related

Representation – Men in Eastenders

How many adjectives/descriptive words can you use the describe the men and how they are represented in soap operas below? 

Femme Fatale

Referenced from Wikipedia

Femme fatale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about a type of dangerous woman. For other uses, see Femme fatale (disambiguation).

A femme fatale (pronounced /ˌfɛm fəˈtæl/ or /ˌfɛm fəˈtɑːl/; French: [fam faˈtal], with all [a]'s) is a mysterious and seductive woman[1] whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype or stock character of literature and art. Her ability to entrance and hypnotize her victim was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural, hence the most prosaic femme fatale today is still described as having a power akin to an enchantress, vampire, female monster or demon.

The phrase is French for "deadly woman". A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure. Typically, she is exceptionally well-endowed in addition to possessing these qualities. In some situations, she uses lying or coercion rather than charm. She may also be (or imply to be) a victim, caught in a situation from which she cannot escape; The Lady from Shanghai (a 1947 film noir) is one such example.

Although typically villainous, femmes fatales have also appeared as anti-heroines in some stories, and some even repent and become heroines by the end of the tale. In social life, the femme fatale tortures her lover in an asymmetrical relationship, denying confirmation of her affection. She usually drives him to the point of obsession and exhaustion so that he is incapable of making rational decisions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femme_fatale

Sexuality in Film

What do you consider are the vital ingredients/characteristics of a leading man or leading lady?

In pairs make a list of some stars you know, past and present, and what was their appeal?

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The representation of sexuality in film will be slightly different from gender representation although they are linked.

Many film stars are described as icons because they are often revered and have mass appeal. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOZCwLnIHfI

Sometimes Representations of Sexuality and Gender overlap with depictions of Villains
Such as Mr Mugatu in Zoolander who plays the gay villain.
The Homosexual villain is another stereotypical character

Gender: 1950's Representation

A Frame for Talking/Writing About Posters

The genre of the poster is best described as

I know this because

The title of the film is

The title suggests that

The enigma posed by the title is

The font of the lettering suggests

The colour of the lettering signifies

The main colours are

The design of the layout has

The key image in the poster is

In the foreground

In the background

Significant objects include…….., suggesting

The main threat in the poster is

The characters in the poster are

The relationship between the characters is connoted by

The facial expressions of the characters suggest

The body language is

Their style of dress is

Overall these people appear to be

The star(s) is/are

The appeal of the star(s) is

The tagline suggests

The title and tagline work together to

The film seems to be about

This is denoted by

In the credits the producers and distributors are

The type of production this suggests is

Tie-in products include

The target audience for the film appears to be

The appeal of the poster is

Key Terms

Genre:             category or type of film

Enigma:          mystery/question/puzzle to solve

Signifies:          suggest

Layout:            the way in which all the parts are set out

Key image:       the main picture (used on all the marketing)

Foreground:    near the front of the picture

Background:    at the back of the picture

Tagline:            a short catchy phrase about the film

           

The Chase: Gender in TV Drama

Watch the clip 4 times through and then write your essay based on the question.

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender using the following:


·Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
·Editing
· Sound
· Mise-en-scene

Classical Hollywood Narrative