Media presentation

1. THE TRADITIONAL
REPRESENTATION
OF WOMEN

2. 1. Who wrote about the ‘final girl’ in 1992?
In 1992 Carol Clover published a book that brought forth the ‘Final Girl’ theory. She argues that the Horror genre
is not as misogynistic as previously suggested. She looked at not just the violence depicted against women, but
why it is depicted and by whom, and how this relates to audience identification. Her ‘Final Girl’ theory gives
evidence that both male and female viewers identify with the ‘final girl’, due to what the she represents through
her characteristics.
“Carol J. Clover is an American professor of film studies, rhetoric language and Scandinavian mythology at the
University of California, Berkeley. She has been widely published in her areas of expertise.” -Wikipedia
2. In what book did they write about the ‘Final Girl’?
The book was called ‘Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film’.
The book explores into the depths of the horror industry and uncovers the ideologies
behind the Horror genre and its industry. Carol Clover’s aim was to rid the genre of its
sadistic reputation and look into the reasons behind the violent films.
3. List three traits/conventions of the ‘Final Girl’.
1. Has masculine/androgynous traits, but is feminine
2. Remains virginal and pure
3. Possesses intelligence e.g. bookworm, mechanic, etc.

3. 4. Who wrote about existing research on women’s roles in media texts in 1983?
In ‘The Media in Britain’, Jeremy Tunstall looked at and wrote about the majority of published research on gender
representation, and he argued that overall this research uncovered that the representation of women emphasised
four main traits in women.
5. What were the four roles mentioned?
The four main traits were:
1. Domestic
2. Sexual
3. Consumer
4. Marital

4. 6. In 1992 research showed that men dominated women on-screen, but by what ratio?
Men outnumbered women onscreen by two to one. This presented issues just in the visibility of particular groups
of women, whose representations were simply absent, e.g. black women, lesbian women, older women, etc.
7. What was the only genre in which the ratio of males to females was more equal?
An analysis of adverts had shown that the ratio between men and women was approximately equal when
comparing primary characters on prime time TV adverts.
8. Name one of the three problems with the findings.
Males were still much more likely to be shown having an occupation, whereas women are represented more
domestically.
9. Why does the reading suggest that Ripley (Alien) is ‘more progressive’ than Lara Croft (TR)?
The character Lara Croft is an extremely sexualised and objectified representation of women, which is a step
back from the usual ‘progressive’ action driven female protagonists such as Sigourey Weaver’s character in Alien
or Sarah Connor in Terminator. It is also worth noting that although sexualised female representations are
increasing again, sexualised male representations are increasing in number also. This is supposedly a different
type of step towards equality.
10. What are the three ‘C’s when discussing the portrayal of women in some lifestyle magazines?
1. Cooking
2. Cleaning
3. Caring

5. 11. Who wrote Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema?
Laura Mulvey wrote the essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, which was mainly about her famous ‘Male
Gaze’ theory.
12. Describe what is meant by the ‘Male Gaze’.
The male gaze is a theory that suggests that most film is shot specifically in a way that prioritises that satisfaction
of a male demographic of a female one. This results in the audience, male and female, being positioned into the
eyes of a the male point of view (typically the main protagonist). This view is often sadistic, voyeuristic and usually
objectifies and sexualises women, meaning a male audience is pleasured because they feel like they have control
over women.
13. Give an example.
Camera tilts up a female body, which is body fragmentation, can objectify a women. This happens in The Cabin in
the Woods during the scene where Jules dances over the fireplace. The following shots are close ups of the male
reactions, which causes an audience to identify with what the male mind is thinking.
14. Which magazine removed the male centrefold in the 1980s and why?
In the 1980s the cosmopolitan was a magazine that was dedicated entirely to the family, more specifically women.
It was the first magazine exclusively concern women. In 1989, Cosmopolitan Man was in trial with just two issues
and then was cancelled after they bought out Esquire.