Primary Research

Analyse some clips from your main films, to explore the extent to which the women protagonists depart from typical reps of femininity. Use these clips with a real audience of MEN to find out what they think of the representations.

woman and how men view them

It has become a trend in cinema for female actresses to take on roles that used to be typically suited for men. Action films in particular are now common vehicles for female stars, who are often achieving more success with the genre than males. In Stephanie Mencimer’s article, “Violent Femmes,” she writes that the success of females in action movies as a result of redefinitions in current masculine roles in society, coupled with the decline of the muscular, male action star. In her article, “Badass girls on film,” Lisa Arnold writes about the attraction of females acting violently towards males on film. In the article, “Barb Wire and the Implausible Female Action Hero,” Marlo Edwards discusses the allure of an extreme, dominatrix female in an action film and the attraction of that particular type of character. These three different views give a broad perspective on the current state of women in action movies. The female action genre has evolved in many ways throughout the years and has become successful through this evolution. The way that the female body is presented, the attitudes of the female characters towards males and the psychological idea that all men secretly want to live in a society dominated by women have contributed to this success.



http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/57771/feminine_masculinity_the_rise_of_women.html

Texts to use

Begin with Gauntlett's chapters from Media, Gender and Identity. The look at Action Chicks and some of the stuff by Yvonne Tasker such as Spectacular Bodies and Working Girls. Ask me for these.

Films you are going to use:

Tomb Raider

Aeon Flux

Woman and film

How woman are represented in the action film genre