Sunday, 16 December 2012

ESSAY



MEDIA QUESTION: HOW ARE FEMALE PROTAGONISTS REPRESENTED IN 'LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER' AND 'THE HUNGER GAMES'?
Within this investigation I want to look at how female protagonist are represented in the action genre and specifically the two texts 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' and 'The Hunger Games'.  Some audience members might stereotypically believe that the first expectations of both female protagonists are that they are a dominant and positive representation of the female gender, but are they actually represented in this contemporary form or are they still being objectified in the ways Laura Mulvey discusses in the male gaze theory. I firstly will explore the female protagonist’s reliance on men, secondly I will investigate if their ideology and mindset is relative to the present or some what dated? Lastly I will discuss the representation of female body, are females still being objectified, is a realistic body images being projected and if so why is this the case? To help answer my investigation I will apply relative theory such as audience theory such as uses and gratifications, Laura Mulvey, The male gaze.

In recent years there has been an increasing number of action heroines within the film industry (1). Women in modern society are seen as equals to the male gender leading the way for strong, female characters to be created in the film industry as a means of inspiring and encouraging this outlook that may have not have been seen in the past. However it is hard to depict whether they are being represented in the idealistic way imagined; are they dominant, powerful women or are they just simply seen as a “chick with a gun” (2)?
The first case study I looked at was ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ in which actress Angelina Jolie plays one of the most well-known female actions heroes. Despite her character being portrayed as this tough female who is not only intelligent and beautiful but is control on the males around her, within the film she is still very much sexualized according to Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory (3). Throughout the film the character’s heavy layering of sexual signifiers such as her glasses, holster and garter belts, short shorts and long swinging hair automatically build her up as a visually pleasing aspect taking away the seriousness of what she is supposed to be representing. Some people may see it as Croft using her beauty to her advantage in the film to gain what she wants (4) but her persona as a ‘seductive supervixen’ is still not diverting away from the past stereotypical female roles in film like it claims to be attempting to do (5). Originally Lara Croft was created as a video game before later being made into a film, the idea being that the male dominant audience of the video gaming industry could almost control this idealistic women who could be seen in a sexual manner but still play an action genre game; this being said even with the expansion of this into the film industry and the widening of the audience she is still associated with this original by many people. It could be said that she is not this image of empowerment nor is she operating outside the boundaries of traditional gender restrictions, so by being the way she is conforms to the stereotypical gender role.

The idea of being able to control an attractive and feisty female character is an element which the video games target audience of “males between fifteen and twenty-six” (6) would be drawn to. In an interview with an enthusiastic fan of the video games he stated that he was cautious and protective over the character of Lara when playing, ironically he found himself not just controlling her but looking after her as well. Taking on Croft as a possession he must protect.(7) This tells us that before a film was even created the female role of Lara was already given a stereotypical outlook by game players and created for the male audience so even if the film adaptation was developed with the idea that she should be seen as a strong, female protagonist she has already been represented in such a way that many individuals already see her in a particular manner.
However saying this there are particular elements of her character in the film, which do keep to the idea of the female protagonist. In the ‘No Guns’ scene of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider she is positively conveyed as a dominant female. She not only takes control at the beginning of the scene by telling the other men to leave so she can deal with the antagonist on her own so they don’t get harmed but she also successfully defeats him with her body strength alone despite him being a being a dominant male. Unlike other scenes she is not sexually objectified in anyway by they camera. The camera angles mainly show her facial expression, followed by long shots of her fighting the antagonist.
Despite the character of Lara originally being created for a male audience it is a questionable debate whether or not the creators designed her to be objectified in anyway. Although her appearance has clearly been shaped by a desire to embody male sexual fantasies and “almost condemned to the artificial and oppressive ideals of femininity” (8) the roots of her character’s life are very much supportive of a strong, positive, female protagonist. Not only is she a gymnast, best selling writer and famous archaeologist but the origins of her story speak of her being the sole survivor of a plane crash in which she used her wilderness skills to stay alive for two weeks, upholding characteristics which you would expect to find in a role model for women and a positively represented female protagonist. It is difficult to conclude whether Lara Croft has a positive representation due to her positive attributes due to the ongoing objectification that occurs which links to Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory. I feel it is a matter of personal opinion to which one. “Lara is everything that is bad about the representations of women in culture, and everything good”.(9)

My second case study is ‘The Hunger Games’ in which Jennifer Lawrence plays teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, an individual whose characteristics very much convey an un-objectified and strong female protagonist but in a contrasting manner to the previously discussed Lara Croft character. The opening scenes show that Katniss is the bread-winner of the family after the passing of her father, she is not only comforting her younger sister as she awakes from a nightmare, something usually carried out by a parent, but in the next scene is also showed hunting to provide food and money for her family. The character of Katniss is very much a reflection of post feminism, and in fact the text has a whole shows no significant discrimination or even comments that indicate any bias opinions towards the female gender. All the females and males within the text seem to be represented as equal without the female protagonist appearing as a strong feminist; it all appears very much the norm that the women are as strong and intelligent as the men.
Katniss is represented as having both female and male qualities and takes on fatherly and motherly roles at different points in the film. She is a tough and intrepid hunter who is “better at killing rabbits than expressing her feelings” (10) but at the same time is gentle natured and tender-hearted when she risks her life during the games to try and protect a younger girl called Rue. This questions whether she an ideal female protagonist or is she just a protagonist who is given male qualities as she has very much been given a role a male would typically have. The presence of this is even apparent when she is taking care of Peeta, the boy who is also fighting from her district, whom she later pretends to have reciprocating feelings for in order to win over the public watching the games. This is very much gender role reversal to what we would commonly find in film texts as by feminizing and adding a sense of naivety to the character of Peeta in contrast to Katniss she is represented as the more dominant out of the two. With these qualities in the female protagonist it could arguably be said that the representation of females in action films is not necessarily progressing in the sense that the females are being accepted and viewed as just as strong and heroic as men but are just simply given a male persona with a women’s body. “I do think Hollywood movies get it wrong when they show women in action roles – they basically make them men.”(11)

This being said she is clearly very differently represented as a female protagonist than the previously discussed character of Lara, “She is a hero but doesn’t mean to be a hero. She’s a symbol of revolt and freedom and hope … a futuristic Joan of Arc.”(12) This contrasts the representation of Lara Croft who uses her sexuality to take control in many situations and is very much aware of her heroic status. Both are unquestionably female protagonists but whether or not they are the ideal definition of this is completely dependent on personal opinion. Personally I feel that Katniss from The Hunger Games is a more positively represented protagonist as she is a realistic female in comparison Lara Croft who was created for a male audience to “underline the very constructedness of conventional ideals of femininity”(13). Katniss is someone the female audience can idolise and in many ways realistically obtain the same qualities as. She is intelligent, brave, kind hearted and tough without being sexually objectified but still seen as beautiful and all without knowing herself. These are the qualities I feel a true female protagonist should be represented as having.




(3) Google book – ‘Inside the Gaze’
(6) Video Game statistics from 1996 (Pretzech 2000)
(7) Olafson 1997 (p100)
(8) “The Whole Woman” 1999 by Germain Greer.
(13)              http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Bibliography


“I do think Hollywood movies get it wrong when they show women in action roles – they basically make them men.”
Salt was originally intended as a vehicle for Tom Cruise; the script was successfully rewritten for Angelina Jolie when she commented to a Sony executive, "I want to be Bond.”
"And not as a victim or as a scream queen, but as a physically and mentally capable person."
“Conversely, The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen, is protective of her sister, whose place she takes in a televised death match. But she shows notably little desire to become a parent herself. Even her romance is partly for show.”
Though movies used to oscillate, according to Wloszcyna, between the "seductive supervixen" (Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider) or the "macho tomboy" (Keira Knightley in Domino), they now feature a new breed of complex, fully-wrought female protagonists.”
“chick with a gun,”            “Croft uses her beauty to her advantage and always goes after what she wants.”

Katniss is by no means traditionally feminine”
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/the-hunger-games/articles/159399/title/gender-roles-series

stats - video game target audience (Pretzech, 2000)

(Olafson 1997, p100)


Tuesday, 16 October 2012


Example of a positive respresentation of the female protagonist in The Hunger Games.

Katniss is viewed with the camera from a high vantage point in contrast to the men from a low vantage point - this shows the dominance of the male gender over the females.
When see misses the first shot the men laugh and shake heir heads as if they are not surprised (stereotypical idea because she is a girl.)
The second time when she hits it perfectly she is ignored by them.
Is she needing approval of when? or is she trying to prove a point by trying to break the stereotype and prove their male view wrong. The bow at the end indicates sarcasm and disaproval and anger towards what they think.

The waitresses are also female (serving the men.)

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Investigation


MEDIA QUESTION: HOW ARE FEMALE PROTAGONISTS REPRESENTED IN 'LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER' AND 'THE HUNGER GAMES'?


Within this investigation I want to look at how female protagonist are represented in the action genre and specifically the two texts 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' and 'The Hunger Games'.  Some audience members might stereotypically believe that the first expectations of both female protagonists are that they are a dominant and positive representation of the female gender, but are they actually represented in this contemporary form or are they still being objectified in the ways Laura Mulvey discusses in the male gaze theory. I firstly will explore the female protagonist’s reliance on men, secondly I will investigate if their ideology and mindset is relative to the present or some what dated? Lastly I will discuss the representation of female body, are females still being objectified, is a realistic body images being projected and if so why is this the case? To help answer my investigation I will apply relative theory such as audience theory such as uses and gratifications, Laura Mulvey, The male gaze.


In recent years there has been an increasing number of action heroines within the film industry (1). Women in modern society are seen as equals to the male gender leading the way for strong, female characters to be created in the film industry as a means of inspiring and encouraging this outlook that may have not have been seen in the past. However it is hard to depict whether they are being represented in the idealistic way imagined; are they dominant, powerful women or are they just simply seen as a “chick with a gun” (2)?
The first case study I looked at was ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ in which actress Angelina Jolie plays one of the most well-known female actions heroes. Despite her character being portrayed as this tough female who is not only intelligent and beautiful but is control on the males around her, within the film she is still very much sexualized according to Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory (3). Throughout the film the character’s heavy layering of sexual signifiers such as her glasses, holster and garter belts, short shorts and long swinging hair automatically build her up as a visually pleasing aspect taking away the seriousness of what she is supposed to be representing. Some people may see it as Croft using her beauty to her advantage in the film to gain what she wants (4) but her persona as a ‘seductive supervixen’ is still not diverting away from the past stereotypical female roles in film like it claims to be attempting to do (5). Originally Lara Croft was created as a video game before later being made into a film, the idea being that the male dominant audience of the video gaming industry could almost control this idealistic women who could be seen in a sexual manner but still play an action genre game; this being said even with the expansion of this into the film industry and the widening of the audience she is still associated with this original by many people. It could be said that she is not this image of empowerment nor is she operating outside the boundaries of traditional gender restrictions, so by being the way she is conforms to the stereotypical gender role.
However saying this there are particular elements of her character in the film which do keep to the idea of the female protagonist. In the ‘No Guns’ scene of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider she is positively conveyed as a dominant female. She not only takes control at the beginning of the scene by telling the other men to leave so she can deal with the antagonist on her own so they don’t get harmed but she also successfully defeats him with her body strength alone despite him being a being a dominant male. Unlike other scenes she is not sexually objectified in anyway but they camera. The camera angles mainly show her facial expression, followed by long shots of her fighting the antagonist.

      (3) google book - ‘Inside the Gaze’
     (4) http://www.helium.com/items/2322178-women-empowerment-female-


Wednesday, 26 September 2012


Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - No Guns scene.
These scene is a great example of the main character being positively conveyed as the dominant female. She not only takes control at the beginning of the scene by telling the other men to leave so she can deal with the antagonist on her own so they don't get harmed but she also successfully defeats him (despite him being a dominant male) with her own body strength. 
Unlike other some other scenes she is not sexually objectified in any way by the camera. The camera angles mainly show her facial expression, followed by long shots of her fighting the antagonist. 

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - Garage Fight scene.
This particular clip shows the female lead a dominant protagonist fighting (and beating) the male opposition.

.. But how in control is she? as part of the clip shows her taking instruction from a male character.