1. Women in action films – extract from Kathi Maio
…Alien is one of the first films which was seen as a celebration for feminists due to
the reason that it was one of the first action films which had a female protagonist. In
the film women are portrayed as independent and intelligent.This was unusual during
that era, because the main representation of females was as housewives.
Women are not only given less screen time, when were up there on the screen we are
likely to be portrayed as powerless and ineffectual”. However the film ‘Alien’ seems
to be challenging this statement as the main character of the film is female who is
presented as rather strong and powerful. This is similar to resident evil: extinctions as
the protagonist of the film is also female, and both films fall into the same genre
category (action). In both films the female character is the only one who survives at
the end; we can refer to her as the ‘final girl’ which is a theory developed by Carol
Clover in her book ‘Men, women and chainsaw’s. However she found this to be most
common in slasher films were the audience is made to identify with the resourceful
young female (the Final Girl) who survives and ends the threat e.g. Ripley in Alien
and Alice in Resident Evil: Extinctions.
On the other hand the females are also shown as weak and emotional. For example in
Alien, we see the female character crying at times e.g. when one of her friends is
killed. This suggests that no matter how powerful women are they still conform to the
stereotypes placed upon them. The film also objectifies the female character in a
similar way to resident evil. This is done through the clothing; for example at one
point the protagonist removes all he clothing and is only wearing a vest and
underwear with the camera zooms on her body parts.
Other films such as Tomb Raider, Kill Bill and Cat Woman, all have female action
stars, which tend to end the threats. (RMIG)
As Jonathan Schroeder notes, 'Film has been called an instrument of the male gaze,
producing representations of women, the good life, and sexual fantasy from a male
point of view' (Schroeder 1998, 208). Even though women are given lead roles they
are still objectified and portrayed as sexual objects for the male desire.
An example of this is the film Cat Women. The female protagonist portrayed as
strong, however is objectified through her tight fitted leather suit and whip. She is also
portrayed as provocative at points. This is also evident in other films such as Tomb
Raider, Kill Bill, Resident evil and Matrix.
In a review by Rich Cline it stated that “Director Mulcahey uses the extensive flesh-
and-gore make-up brilliantly, although the bigger special effects are more uneven. He
also shamelessly indulges in rather a lot of female flesh, which will keep the fan boys
coming back for more.” Suggesting that he only uses young and attractive females in
lead roles in order to attract a male audience.
Mulvey’s essay “visual pleaser and narrative cinema” was seen as the feminist claim
that men and women are positioned differentially on screen; men as heroes who drive
the narrative of the film forward and women as objects if sexual desire and fetishistic
gazing. Women are considered to be there in order to be “looked at, objectified and
sexualized by the male protagonist”
In Resident Evil Milla Jovovich is objectified through her clothing e.g. tightly fitted
shorts and sleeveless tops. Similarly all the female characters in the film are young,
good looking and attractive. Sharon Smith claimed that "The role of a woman in a
film almost always revolves around her physical attraction, and the mating games she
plays with the male characters", implying that women are not really considered
because of their intelligence but only because of their looks