5/27
In a recent documentary watched in class, I realized we as women are still underrepresented and falsely represented. Women in media are always portrayed as simply figures of sex. We are often times simply seen as stupid "sex toys" with no other intention than to please the man. What can we expect in reality if this is all we see? Even in movies written and directed by women, this stereotype peeks through and it is very difficult to overcome. In a movie I just recently watched, Legally Blonde, I see this stereotype even as they try to show Elle Woods, the star, becoming a powerful woman. This movie was originally a novel written by Amanda Brown and was then adapted into a movie by the female directors, Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. It shows Elle being dumped by her boyfriend, only to follow him to Harvard, this just showed me the harsh representation we have of women in movies. Though, later she realizes there's more to her than looks and boys. This movie hits the false representation of women in media but it also shows us that women can be more.
To conclude, as a society we must, in order to combat these stereotypes, portray women just as powerful as they have the potential to be. This will in turn cause a societal uprising in which our girls see themselves in media being these powerful figures, and not criticized for their looks, and will become a reality where we as women are successful and have exactly the power that men have.
In a recent documentary watched in class, I realized we as women are still underrepresented and falsely represented. Women in media are always portrayed as simply figures of sex. We are often times simply seen as stupid "sex toys" with no other intention than to please the man. What can we expect in reality if this is all we see? Even in movies written and directed by women, this stereotype peeks through and it is very difficult to overcome. In a movie I just recently watched, Legally Blonde, I see this stereotype even as they try to show Elle Woods, the star, becoming a powerful woman. This movie was originally a novel written by Amanda Brown and was then adapted into a movie by the female directors, Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. It shows Elle being dumped by her boyfriend, only to follow him to Harvard, this just showed me the harsh representation we have of women in movies. Though, later she realizes there's more to her than looks and boys. This movie hits the false representation of women in media but it also shows us that women can be more.
To conclude, as a society we must, in order to combat these stereotypes, portray women just as powerful as they have the potential to be. This will in turn cause a societal uprising in which our girls see themselves in media being these powerful figures, and not criticized for their looks, and will become a reality where we as women are successful and have exactly the power that men have.
While I agree Legally Blonde helps tear down some stereotypes and messages about women and what they can do I still feel like it has some of the problems Miss Representation tried to single out. Yes, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) does disprove the naysayers and ultimately find victory but she still uses her sexualization to do it. Yes, she is empowered and fighting the sexist, judgemental world using her brains when everyone doubted her, but she still uses her looks. I think it's simillar to when Miss Representation mentioned people often reference people like Angelina Jolie when they talk about empowered women and potential female role models but Angelina Jolie still used her looks and sexuality. They used their brains and talent but they wouldn't have gotten that far without those idealized looks. While Legally Blonde is a hilarious and movie I hold dear to my heart I think it tells girls they can be beautiful and smart more than it tells girls they don't have to be beautiful or sexy to be successful.
ReplyDeleteDo you think movies would still be watched if they completely cut out the sexualization of women?
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Legally Blonde, I remember enjoying a women being shown to gain power despite many undermining her throughout her journey. Although her looks were heavily touched on earlier in the movie, she later used her brain to overcome the difficulties she faced which I thought was nice to see. Through media men are frequently shown to achieve greatness and superiority throughout a majority of films produced.
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