By Venus Ser
Female Representation in Popular Culture
By Venus Ser
The blockbuster film Wonder Woman( 2017) has been a tremendous success for DC Comics. When the character Wonder Woman is mentioned, people associate her with words such as“ strong,”“ heroine,”“ strong-willed” and“ determined.” However, in another DC Comics classic, Superman, the character Lois Lane exemplifies female representation in superhero movies. Although she may also be described as resolute and assertive, she is considered primarily to be the companion or sidekick of Superman. These characters are fictional, but the impact they have on society are profound. The images and messages about gender that the media present are likely to have a great influence on people’ s sense of identity( Gauntlett, 2010). Gender norms are learnt through culture, objects and social interactions since gender is constructed socially( Trier-Bieniek & Leavy, 2014).
Female Stereotypes Stereotyping is a quick and convenient tool that is popular in western and eastern entertainment industry. Producers utilise it to label characters so that audiences can understand their stories more easily. Besides, due to time pressure and budget, film studios often encourage stereotypes. Despite the fact that stereotyping might not always be negative, the dangerous part of it is that stereotypes can be oversimplified and untrue( Trier-Bieniek & Leavy, 2014).
The female stereotypes that often appear in pop culture can be categorised into five types. The first type is“ The Virgin”. The female characters are portrayed as innocent and vulnerable. This representation of females shows that they need protection and to be taken care of. The Disney princesses such as Snow White, Jasmine, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty can be considered typical examples. They are out of touch with the outside world and are also damsels in distress who wait
Amanda Seyfried became famous for portraying“ Dumb Blonde” Karen Smith in Mean Girls( 2004).
for their princes to save them. In Asian pop culture, this type of representation is especially popular and mainly used in the romance genre. For example, the Taiwanese movies You are the Apple of My Eye( 2011) and Our Times( 2015) are both stories about first love. The female characters are both more passive in the relationship and wait for the male characters to take the initiative. Moreover, Korean pop girl groups like Girls’ Generation, GFriend and Twice often produce songs and dance to choreography that are labelled as pure, innocent and cute. Their production companies construct these images of women in order to attract the male demographic. Additionally, these celebrities reflect, in part, traditional ideas of how women should act, thereby further perpetuating these values among their female fans.
Another typical representation of females is the“ Dumb Blonde” trope. The personality of the character is a combination of being innocent and ignorant while also having an erotic effect on others. Marilyn Monroe is one famous example. She often played women who were fragile and relied on their appearance. Apart part from Monroe, characters such as Karen Smith from Mean Girls( 2004), Shelley Darlingson from The House Bunny( 2008) and Cher Horowitz from Clueless( 1995) also have personalities that are sweet but naïve. Their intentions are usually
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