"female chauvinist pigs of today are doing them one better making sex objects of other women and of themselves they think they're brave"- Relating to my critical investigation on how women are being negatively/ sexually represented, it is not just to please the male audiences but also the female audiences as how now in modern society women are sexually objectifiying other women and now see this as normal for example in 30 rock Tina Feys character isn't your normal US sitcom female character which then brings the whole comedy aspect of how they think shes a lesbian and no other male co-worker is attracted to her and also the other female co-workers who also taunt her about her look, which refers back to how women themselves are objecitifying other women and if they don't reach the stereotypical image they will be isolated from audiences. As also in a documentary on BBC two called "Family guy? US sitcoms" where they refer to the idea that US sitcoms always or usually tend to make references to real life situations for example the recession which was reflected in many shows. This refers back to my question as how contemporary stereotypes and views are injected into the story line and show.
Feminist Media Studies by
Liesbet Van Zoonen
"Feminist have drawn attention to
the under representation of women in higher education and as
scientists”
This is a great quote that
totally supports my point on that women in US sitcoms are still being underrepresented
in education and characters which are scientists. For example Penny in Big bang
theory is the best example of how female characters are being shown as these “dumb”
characters as we see her character that has dropped out of college and works in
the cheese cake factory who dreams big to be in Hollywood, her character really
doesn’t aspire to achieve something academically. This really shows how in US contemporary
shows have a norm of where the main female character should be just this “attractive
idiot”, as if she falls into an opposite characterisation she will be isolated
and treated differently from the rest of the characters. For example in 30 rock
Tina fey is this confident intelligent woman and that is supposed to be the
funny aspect about her, as this doesn’t fit in the norm of “attractive idiot” characterisation.
New York types article
“Well, commercial television -- what did I expect? The
surprise is that public television, for all its superior intelligence, charm
and commitment to worthy values, short changes preschool girls, too”
The article talks
about smurfette principal and how in US contemporary TV there are shows where
there is a high disproportioned gendered cast. Where the show will have a
higher proportion of male characters to female, and the only female character
will be highly stereotyped of negatively represented. For example New Girl
Zooey Dechanel lives with 3 other guys in the apartment and she is the main protagonist
however she is highly stereotyped when it comes to behaviour and her clothing. This
fits in with the idea as how females are still be negatively represented. As
this also has a effect on female audiences as if they watch this show they feel
they want to aspire to be like her hence taking her clothing style and
behaviour on board.
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/07/magazine/hers-the-smurfette-principle.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
TV tropes article
“Let's say
you're a soulful, brooding
male hero, living a sheltered,
emotionless existence. If only someone — someone female —
could come along and open your heart to the great, wondrous adventure of
life...”
It's Manic Pixie Dream Girl to the rescue!”
The manic pixie dream
girl is every male characters dream. She’s the funny and pretty character. But
this isn’t the best representation of women, as this character is put in the
show just for the males satisfaction and doesn’t really have a quality input to
the story line, as how the sad, hurt and injured male needs a lovely woman in
his life to spark him up so he can go out there and save the world again. For
example in big bang theory we have Leonard who is a smart guy but has a low
self-esteem, however later enters penny who sparks up Leonards life and then
becomes the character that is most wanted by women. Where penny is a perfect
representation of a manic pixie dream girl as we never really have an idea about her family etc., and she
only helped change Leonard so he can go back in the “real world” and live up to
his “full potential”
Tv Tropes article
“This rather vague phrase leads to tricky
interpretation that's sometimes actively milked by the writers usually of
romance fiction. Usually the assumption is that the character doesn't like
machismo, or she has bad luck with men in her life”
This shows
the extreme end of the spectrum of women representation. As if the female
character is the perfect attractive woman, she obviously has to be the “man
hater” who can’t get the guys because of her dominating behaviour. For example
in 30 rock Tina fey the manager who dresses in suites and doesn’t really have a
lot of luck with men is perceived to be a lesbian and a man hater. Which shows that
how American audiences and audiences in general perceive women as if they are
not the typical frilly, pretty and delicate types for example Zooey in New girl
then they are definitely the crazy feminists, reflecting the stereotypes that
they are of women.
“In media, male characters are defined more by what they do
rather than who they are. Female characters, on the other hand, are defined
more by their attributes, the most primary of which is their femininity.”
This quote shows women will be
negatively represented if they do not fit the agenda of the “perfect” female
characters. As how over the years TV Shows have shown this broadcasted this
image of the perfect woman who is highly feminine and follows the man rules.
And if the TV show shows the opposite of these characteristics the audience
would consider that weird and sometimes even see them as the villain.
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