History Of Gender Inequality In Movies Film Studies Essay

History Of Gender Inequality In Movies Film Studies Essay The classic Hitchcockian woman remains a staple image of glamorous femininity within Western culture a depiction of femininity which has survived various waves of feminism, Betty Friedans condemnation of The Feminine Mystique (1963) and Naomi Wolfs revelation of The Beauty Myth (1991). Despite these attempts to eradicate such depictions of constructed womanhood, the Hitchcock blonde seems to remain forever in vogue, consistently seeing a resurgence within visual media, both in the cinema and within fashion editorials and advertising. The fact remains that this version of Woman remains steadfast within the culture conscious, upheld as the pinnacle of class, elegance and demure femininity. The dominating and controlling powers of the existing patriarchal culture system has created, promoted and perpetuated the idea of this previously discussed idyllic femininity. Despite the suggested modern progressions in gender equality, inevitably, it must be understood that this version of passive femininity is glamorised simply as it promotes a more manageable version of woman for masculinity. It seems ludicrous; however, that passive femininity is so thoroughly promoted within modern visual culture, openly focusing upon aesthetics which characterise the Hitchcock Blonde, while seemingly choosing to forgo the consideration of what these iconic representations actually communicate. There is a consistent re-emergence of this sort of glamorisation within fashion and advertising (Fig. 1 4), serving only as a constant re-communication of its desirability, seemingly ignoring the fact that this also glamorises the kind of ideology expressed in these films as well as the style. In essen ce, these images of woman, promoted in contemporary times, seems extremely regressive, as all they can inevitably communicate is an era of woman that is constantly depicted as dominated by man while plagued by the feminine mystique, ultimately demoralised and trapped within their domesticity. A time when, as Friedan discusses, women were defined only in sexual relation to men mans wife, sex object, mother, housewife and never as persons defining themselves by their own actions in society. In the twenty first century, however, there exists a general consensus that this kind of gender inequality is a thing of the past, truly a problem for a long forgotten era. Yet, the reality remains that while progress has certainly been made towards a more positive outlook for femininity under patriarchy, progress has been severely overestimated by the media, allowing the facade of equality and demonstrative exhibitions of gender equality in the work place to permit this belief in substantial developments. For example, while women may now have a more substantial position within the workforce, the fact remains that behind the headline figures of near equality of participation, there remain major differences in the employment conditions and pay of women and men, ultimately highlighting the remnants of this deep seated belief in a gender hierarchy, of passivity and dominance. While there may exist this facade of equality, seemingly functioning in order to placate society, the ideology which creates this unequal environment remains in action. This lack of evident progression within media representation seems to highlight what many third wave feminists or post feminism movements have expressed that this lack of significant results is the cause for a decrease in the optimism and idealism which seemed to characterise the feminist movements of the 1970s. Far from seeing this as perhaps position for the current state of feminism, it could be argued to, instead, be a positive progression. Judith Stacey, interviewing the second-wave feminists and their daughters, found that this new generation of feminism did not want to continue the trend of anger and political protests. An opinion which seems to be the current assessment, as the observations of Alice Rossi, through her studies of the feminist movement over the past hundred years, reveals the desire to see a ch ange in how feminist values are acted out. This seems to suggest that movement towards a more post feminist approach to equality, combined with a more postmodern approach to media representations seems to be the way in which progression can be made. A dramatic reorganisation of a representational system would certainly be both too radical and inconceivable, but adhering to more postmodern ideas surrounding complicity would perhaps provide more progressive results. Linda Hutcheon, literary theorist and postmodernist, believes that the combination of both complicity with dominant representational strategies and critique is what characteristically defines a work as postmodern. Essentially suggesting that the process of working within the cinema system, utilising the existing codes and conventions which have been responsible for publicising and perpetuating this image of passive femininity, yet producing work which suggests the possibility for a re-evaluation of the ruling ideology. The use of a more postmodern approach to progression is certainly more appealing, reinforced by the ways in which Hutcheon discusses how: contemporary artists engage with the systems of the media and the market with strategies of subversive complicity, by which she means the ability to operate within dominate codes of representation while at the same time questioning them. Considering this in the context of a more progressive cinema system, postmodernism would function by utilising the position as an insider, operating many usual codes and conventions, yet ultimately working to de-toxify existing cultural conventions, the givens that go without saying' within narrative, mainstream cinema. Presenting the possibility of providing the feminist cause with a way in which to resist or alter oppressive ideologies from within the system which has been responsible for creating them.  While not all postmodern work may utilise this process of subversion through complicity, there is certainly an argument for its use in the cause of progressing equality within cinema narratives for women. Perhaps the best example of such subversion within cinema lays with the work of director David Lynch. Fittingly, his Hitchcockian influence is obvious with his obvious addressal of of film noir aesthetics as well as with his implimation of HITCHOCKIAN THEMES SUCH AS VOEYIRSM, PSYCHOLOGY HIS INTENTIONS ARE OBVIOUSLT ALWAYS TO SUBVERT THE DOMINANT ORDER OF CINEMA   While he may not specifically have such aims, the work of Lynch can be argued to showcase a possible development towards a more agreeable cinematic depictions or messages which differ from the dominant order. While Lynch may adhere to many typical conventions of cinema (often passive women, voyeurism, dominance, violence etc) women are not alone in their degradation within Lynchs narratives. Postmodernism? while not all postmodern work may utilise this theory or complicity in order to create change, there is certainly an argument for the success of such an approach. Such an approach seems useful for the cause of feminism, allowing cinema, to not be utterly deconstructed and reconstructed, but instead, merely subverted. Perhaps one of the most notable examples of this kind of subversion is the work of David Lynch. His work complies to the general rules of cinema, presenting Typical cinematic depictions? Women and men? Narrative? But at the same time, causing spectators to witness a narrative which subverts what mainstream cinema has caused them to expect. Considering this idea of postmodernism within cinema, the discussion of director David Lynch is extremely useful. Primarily considered a surrealist and significantly influenced by Hitchcockian film noir motifs and visual styles, Lynchs narratives adhere to many cinematic conventions, yet subverts the usual message which audiences have come to expect through constant exposure to mainstream cinema. There, for instance, exists a notable lack of the blot which characterises Hitchcocks work, as Lynch instead practices what Zizek refers to a as extraneation: the decomposition of reality in such a way as to expose the fantasy and real elements that constitute it. Essentially, lynch utlisies cinemas abibilty for creating fantasies and entertainment, yet seems to utilise it in a way which creates an unnerving effect. This extraneation presenting fiction, while causing us to consider the reality that formed it. However, it is precisely in this way, Zizek argues, that Lynch achieves what he calls the ridiculous sublime. On the one hand we have the flimsy, absurd symbolic; and next to it we find the real, abominable Thing. In a way quite different from Hitchcock, yet with a certain kinship with him, Lynch has exposed the mechanism of sublimation without altogether dispensing with it. Against the ideology of psychologically convincing characters, Zizek favors Lynchs extraneation of the characters, the effects of which are strangely de-realized or de-psychologised persons. There is a method to Lynchs madness, so to speak. The psychological unity of the characters disintegrates into a spiritual transubstantiation of common cliches, as Zizek calls it here, and into outbursts of the brutal Real, with reality and its fantasmatic supplement acting side by side, as though existing on the same surface. Ultimately, Zizeks reading of Lynch, and by extension Lynchs fim itself, is profoundly political. Their common method is the opposite of obscurantism or pastiche of arcane topics. Both in their own way provide proof that our à ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã†â€™fantasies support our sense of reality, and that this is in turn a defence against the Real. Together with their sublime thought, both Lynch and Zizek are profoundly entertaining through their ridiculous art.Pg.6 Firstly, Zizeks observation that extraneation in Lynchs work has a magic redemptive quality is ecvhoed in Jungs theory of consciousness and unconscious: Only in an interplay of consciousness and the unconscious can the unconscious prove its value, and perhaps even show a way to overcome the melancholy of the void. If the unconscious, once in action, is left to itself, there is a risk that its contents will become overpowering or will manifest their negative, destructive side (Jaffe. Pg.297) This interplay can be directly observed in the style of all three films, especially where the distinction between dreamlike but real images and dreams as fantasy images are blurred. Pg22 We Live Inside a Dream: The Function and Origins of Dreams in David Lynchs Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and Lost Highway

Xyz Affair

From March of 1797 to 1800, a diplomatic scandal occurred where Americans were outraged by demands from the French for a bribe as a condition for negotiating with American diplomats that became known as the XYZ Affair. John Adams took presidency in 1797 and inherited several problems from George Washington’s administration, including hostilities between the United States and France that began to escalate in the 1790s. The signing of Jay’s Treaty, which violated of the Treaty of Paris yet averted the threat of war with England, induced angry reactions from both American and European politicians.Democratic-Republicans believed the treaty was a humiliating surrender to the British. French leaders, meanwhile, viewed it as a union with their enemy, and the violation of the Franco-American Treaty of 1778. In response to the John Jay’s agreement, the French used forces to plunder more than 300 American ships. To stop the attacks on American shipping and settle on an agr eement with France, Adams appointed three commissioners: Charles Pinckney, United States minister to France; John Marshall, a Virginia lawyer; and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts.Upon arriving in Paris in October 1797, the three men experienced a hostile environment. They requested a meeting with the French government. The envoys met three secret agents to relay Talleyrand’s terms of negotiations. The three agents were labeled as X, Y and Z, but later revealed as Baron Jean-Conrad Hottinguer, Pierre Bellamy, and Lucien Hauteval respectfully. The agents insisted that before any negotiate could begin, they demanded 50,000 pounds of sterling, a $12 million loan from America, a $250,000 personal bribe to the French minister, and a formal apology to the French minister for a comment made by President John Adams.Though bribery was extremely common in the eighteenth-century politics, Talleyrands demands were too high for merely a pledge to negotiate. Pinckney rejected the terms and told the French agents â€Å"no, no, not a sixpence. † The incident became known as â€Å"The XYZ Affair. † Once the commissioners’ report to Congress became public, citizens were furious about the French behavior. Even the most loyal Democratic-Republicans, who supported a strong relationship with France, felt a sense of betrayal and many joined a call for war.Pinckney’s response to the demands sparked a rallying that spread throughout the colonies: â€Å"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute. † Federalist politicians were eager for a fight and the war campaign gained more support. Adams refused to declare war but advocated the build-up of American armed forces and raised taxes. Adams also accepted new laws that tried to limit protests against the government and its actions. These laws were the Alien and Sedition Acts.They made it difficult for immigrants to become a United States citizen and people from certain countries, such as Fra nce, could not become a citizen at all. The laws also restricted free speech and freedom of the press. Many citizens saw the Alien and Sedition Acts as harsh and undemocratic laws. Congress stopped commercial trade with France, renounced the alliance of 1778, tripled the size of the army, and created a Navy Department with an order for the contraction of 40 warships.By the fall of 1798, American ships were waging an undeclared war against the French in the Caribbean waters, a conflict that is known as the Quasi-War. The French seized over 300 American ships. The United States retaliated by capturing 22 French ships off the American coast and in the West Indies. Hamilton led the Federalist charge for war, but Adams remained steadfast in his refusal to sign a formal declaration of war. He believed that war with France would divide the colonies and lead to a civil war.This could be Adams’ finest hour because his of his decision to put the interests of his nation ahead of those o f his party. 5 In 1799, Tallyrand, who did not want to deplete the French military with a fight outside of Europe, let it be known that he was willing to talk. Adams sent another delegation to negotiate a peaceful end to the quasi-war with France. But by the time the envoy arrived in Paris, Napolean Bonaparte was in power and looking to cut ties with America.The two sides finally produced an agreement called â€Å"The Convention of 1800,† that annulled the 1778 treaty of alliance and excused the French from damage claims of American shippers. Had Adams chosen war, it may have jeopardized the American purchase of Louisiana in 1803. The threat of war with France was eliminated. President Adams showed Europe that the new American nation was ready to defend itself and would not be bullied anymore. The naval program Adams helped to stimulate would also help the United States defeat the Barbay pirates in the First and Second Barbay war as well as aiding in the War of 1812.

Conformity Is A Type Of Social Behavior - 1595 Words

Conformity is a type of social behaviour which involves a change in an individuals belief/ behaviour in order to fit in with a group. This change is either due to imagined or real group pressure. Real group pressure is when there is the physical presence of others and imagined group pressure involves the pressure of social norms( expected appropriate behaviour). Conformity can be positive or negative e.g. being quiet in a library is an example of positive conformity and joining in with a group bullying someone is negative conformity. There are various factors which help determine the level of conformity including group size, individuals status within the group and unanimity. Obedience is a type of social influence which involves compliance†¦show more content†¦In 1932, Jenness carried out a study into conformity. Students were shown a jar of beans and were asked to estimate how many beans were in the jar. After estimating they were given consent to discuss their results wit h other people. The students were then asked to guess again. This time their results were much closer together. This shows that the group discussions impacted upon the students estimates and produced a group norm. The Participants would stick to this group norm even when they were on their own again. In 1935, Sherif conducted a study similar to jenness’ known as the Autokinetic Effect. This is a perceptual illusion in which a stationary point of light seen in darkness appears to move. His aim was to demonstrate that people conform to group norms when they are put in an ambiguous situation. First, the participants were shown the light individually and were asked to estimate how far and in which direction it moved. For each participant an average was calculated. 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The Impact Of Technology On The Workplace - 1438 Words

The future of the workplace is changing rapidly due to technology; wages no longer parallel a worker’s education level; burdensome and unnecessary credential requirements are imposed on low-wage workers; and the unemployment rate is increasing. These phenomenon have led to the decline and downsizing of the American workforce. With the replacement of workers by technology and strict training specifications, it’s very difficult for low-wage workers to find a stable job without competition in the workplace. Companies recognize the impact of technology on how they conduct business and attempt to adapt their practices to account for technological advancement and the proliferation of high technology. First, in several companies it is no longer necessary to employ on-site technicians, as their utility has diminished or been eliminated.. These technicians are needed for IT trouble shooting as well as anything server related. 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