Monica Kempski AMST204 Response Paper 2 Rough Draft

Women have been discriminated against in film ever since the beginning of Hollywood.

With the changing times, some female directors have emerged. However, they are not dominant

in their field and their movies are very undermining of femininity. Thus, the men of Hollywood

have the constant source of power, upholding their male dominance through several movies, as

explained in America on Film by Benshoff and Griffin.

The discrimination of women in film has been persistent throughout history. In classic

films, women were portrayed with “innocence, purity, and the need to be protected” (Benshoff,

and Griffin 208). Thus, a woman was weak and relied entirely on a man to make her feel safe.

This implies that a female cannot fend for herself and is not mentally or physically strong enough

to withstand the problems that she faces. In particular, there is one genre of movies that

accurately fulfills this description. This genre is the “Disney-Princess” movies. Take for

example, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Even her name, “Snow White” implements the

image of purity, virginity, and goodness. In this movie, Snow White is helpless and falls into a

deep sleep, only to be awakened when the masculine prince arrives to save her. What is most

frightening is that this is a children’s movie. In result, from an early age, a girl may think that she

is supposed to act timidly to be feminine, rather than being her strong independent self.

The 1950s brought a new discriminate perspective: the sexually attractive female. With

the help of photography, women were made sexually appealing so they became the item of

men’s attention. She is nothing more than a visual for men to enjoy (Benshoff, and Griffin

Ch.11). Again, a woman’s independent identity is obliterated, and continues to be dependent on

the male. When a woman is able to get what she wants in films, she flaunts herself sexually to

the male. There are several Disney princesses that fit this description as well. Esmeralda in

Hunchback of Notre Dame, Meg from Hercules, and Jasmine from Aladdin all uses their

excessive beauty and sexual allure to persuade or distract the villain in order to obtain their goal.

These several Disney princess films are evidence of the “virgin-whore complex,” which portrays

the message to little girls that they may either “good” or “bad” sexually (Benshoff, and Griffin

210).This is a stereotypical trap for women, which small girls fall into from an early age while

watching Disney movies. If they are considered “good,” they ultimately become contingent to

the male, losing their identity. In contrast, if they are considered “bad,” they are looked down

upon in society. Is it fair to categorize women in only two groups?

The Lion King is an interesting case when one focuses on female discrimination. It can be

argued that females are considered unimportant because they are only background characters.

Returning to the stereotypical passive female, the lionesses are helpless when the kingdom is

taken over by the evil Scar. Only when the male lion, Simba, returns do they regain their

kingdom. However, it can be argued that females have a small amount of power in the film. For

example, the lioness Sarabi is not afraid to speak her mind to Scar when he is controlling her

kingdom. Next, Simba’s female lion friend Nala is constantly able to pin him down when they

play-fight. Finally, Shenzi is the female hyena in Scar’s henchmen group. She, of the three

hyenas, is the smartest and seems to be the dominant leader. These characters definitely represent

a progress in representation of the stronger, more dominant, independent woman.

Feminine progress has also come about throughout history because women have become

directors. However, it can be argued that this progress is deceiving. Presently in the Directors

Guild of America, seven percent of its members are female ("MSNBC.com"). Sadly, this is an
improvement from classical film. In the early days of film, only a couple of females emerged as

directors in the dominated male industry. To make their dream happen, these women had to

push themselves to extreme measures, or they just became lucky. Some females first had to

become actresses to possibly have the chance to get in the director’s chair. One particular female

director who went to the extreme to gain equality was Dorothy Arzner. To do this, she dressed,

talked, and acted like a man (Benshoff, and Griffin 216). It is sickening that this was the only

way a female could make progress is to blend in; losing her individuality, and become the very

person she is not.

Today, nine percent of the 250 top grossing domestic films were directed by women

(Ulaby). One of these films was Twilight, directed by Katherine Hardwicke. Even with its

success, the movie’s content contains the ultimate discriminating representations of the female

gender. First Bella, the story’s protagonist, is not a hero. Besides being smart, she has no

qualities that allow her to be looked up to. Often, she is sarcastic and cold to her peers. These

actions are due to her obsession with Edward Cullen, a vampire whom she loves. Her

overwhelming compassion for him is feminine in nature, and she is succumbed to the stereotype

that the woman lives for the man. Edward Cullen himself is an ultimate representation of a male

in film. He is extremely handsome and strong, and is there on countless occasions to save and

protect Bella. In the climax, Bella is so infatuated with Edward that she wishes to become a

vampire so she can be with Edward forever. Sara Seltzer, a female columnist, describes Bella and

her situation best in her article when she states “[Bella is willing] to sacrifice her physical safety,

her education, and her family and social ties for Edward--and the well-meaning but stringent

control he exerts over her.” Ultimately, Bella fulfills the classical Hollywood stereotype because
she is the helpless female who is willing to give up everything, including her identity for her

man.

A second female character in Twilight that implements the classic female

stereotypes is the vampire Victoria. In the movie, the actress is highly sexualized. As a result, it

is not a coincidence that she is portrayed as evil. The classic Hollywood formula demonizes

highly sexualized women, and perpetuates the “virgin-whore complex” (Benshoff, and Griffin

281).

It is evident that throughout history, women have been discriminated against in film.

Regardless of how they act to the male, women still have unfair representation. Even when

women direct films, they are extremely underrepresented, and forced to obey the male ideal.

In reality, there has been minimal progress because the only successful movies directed by a

woman have strong representations of the female as they are presented in classical Hollywood.
Works Cited

Benshoff, Harry, and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Respresenting Race, Class, Gender, and
Sexuality at the Movies. 1st. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2004. 207-289.
Print.

"Female directors remain a rarity in Hollywood." MSNBC.com 2009: n. pag. Web. 4 Nov 2009.
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20074475/ns/entertainment-movies//>.
Seltzer, Sarah. ""Twilight": Sexual Longing in an Abstinence-Only World." Huffington Post
(2008): n. pag. Web. 4 Nov 2009. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-
seltzer/twilight-sexual-longing-i_b_117927.html>.

Ulaby, Neda. "Female Directors, Still A Scarce Movie Commodity." NPR:Find A Station 13 Jul.
2009: n. pag. Web. 4 Nov 2009. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
storyId=106402458>.