media

1. The Traditional Representation
of Women (Questions)

2. 1.Who wrote about the “final girl” in 1992?
Carol Clover wrote about the “final girl”.
2.In what book did they write about the “final girl”?
She wrote about this in her book ‘Men, Women and Chainsaws’

3. 3.List three traits of the “final girl”/three ‘conventions’?
The “final girl” has to fit a role which sheds a purpose in the movie. She will be the
last person standing amongst the events that have occurred throughout the movie.
Typically, the girl must be a virgin and carries a pure dignity unlike her friends which
are sexually active. Anyone who has sex must die as a punishment. However, in the
film the cabin in the woods, Dana challenges these conventions as she admits to
having sex but is known as the virginal person which is why she must be the final
survivor. Secondly, the “final girl” usually has a name which is often androgynous, a
name which would typically not be feminine. On the other hand, she holds the
feminine qualities to act out in a pleasing way but not so feminine to ‘disturb the
structures of female competence and sexuality’.

4. 4.Who wrote about existing research on women’s roles in media texts
in 1983?
Jeremy Tunstall researched and discovered a wide range of what had
already been founded about gender representation in the media. He
argued that this research had uncovered an emphasis of women in the
media. This is where he mentioned about four particular roles.

5. 5.What were the 4 roles mentioned?
The roles which emphasised women’s representation in the media are:
• domestic
• sexual
• consumer
• marital

6. 6.In 1992 research showed that men dominated women on-screen,
but by what ratio?
This research demonstrated that men outnumber women by two to
one. Many women don’t seem to appear in the media such as black,
lesbian and even older women. Even now, men are still looked upon as
the ones who would hold an authority whilst the women were the
consumer’s/domestics types. This can link back to the craze of slasher
horror movies were by women were indirectly responsible for the
events which have occurred and become the victim.
7.What was the only genre in which the ratio of males to females was
more equal?
Prime time TV adverts showed an equal relevance to both men and
women on-screen.

7. 8.Name one of the three problems with the findings?
However, even with the rise of women becoming more noticed in the
media with this type of genre. There was still the issue of men
significantly more likely than females to be shown having an
occupation. As mentioned before, females were never the type to
venture out and make a career for themselves, instead they become a
part of the roles (Jeremy Tunstall) and learned to look after a family and
let the male make a living for them.

8. 9.Why does the reading suggest that Ripley (Alien) is ‘more
progressive’ than Lara Croft (TR)?
Research has argued that characters like Lara Croft are a step back from earlier
women protagonists. In comparison to Ripley, ‘progress’ is something that every
generation struggles due to gender ideology therefore Lara Croft is an individual
who becomes more objectified through sexual exploitation- terms which were
never used in earlier generations with female protagonists. Women’s bodies have
become an object of desire, audiences especially males are sexually attracted and
women can sell anything to enhance the buyer’s opinion of that product. These
products can range from shaving cream and aftershave to motorcycles.

9. 10.What are the 3 C’s when discussing the portrayal of women in
some lifestyle magazines?
Magazines have descried women based on their domestic role and
their sexuality and those e magazines which focus on two broad
categories (fashion and beauty and ‘getting a man’) and those which
deal with the three C’s:
• cooking
• cleaning
• caring

10. 11.Who wrote ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’?
Laura Mulvey
12/13.(Briefly) describe what is meant by the ‘male gaze’ and give an
example
The male gaze is how the cameras ‘look’ at women and objectify their
bodies through the use of camera angles and movements. In the film
the cabin in the woods, we get many POV shots and tilting angles to
reflect how men would look at women from a character’s angle. It also
exaggerates their body for pleasure and emphasise on males identify
within the movie. Laura Mulvey and other people argue and agree that
film is part of the sexist ‘regime’ of viewing which ‘denies women
subjectivity and encourages culture to view women as objects for male
pleasure. The gaze is a way of voyeuristically controlling women.

11. 14.Which magazine removed the male centrefold in the 1980s and
why?
Cosmopolitan magazine due to it focusing more on humour rather than
it being sexualised