Final Draft of Independent Study!!

“I'd recognise that arse anywhere, you piece of shit”[1]. Are women in Hollywood films represented purely as sex objects to entertain and pleasure men, with particular reference to ‘Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle’ (2003)?

The Representation of women has changed over recent years due to second wave feminism, which arose during the 1970’s where women fought for their rights and equality. However, despite this women are still seen as subordinate to men, which is the result of a patriarchal society. In the past women have been negatively represented in films such as ‘Fatal Attraction’ (Adrian Lyne, 1987), where women were represented as evil ‘femme fatales’[2]. However, in contemporary society the representation of women is developing in the media, due to the fact that women are now achieving more active opposed to passive roles, whereas active roles were typically associated with men. This is evidence that both the media and society is changing with each reflecting the other. However, this does not stop the fact that women are still often seen as tools for pleasure and are still represented in a stereotypical manner even when active in contemporary films such as ‘Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle’ ( McG, 2003).

The stereotypes that exist in contemporary films are used in more subtle ways where those who are media literate will be able to notice they are being used deliberately. The obvious stereotypes are easily noticeable such as the ‘bimbo[3]’ and this enduring role appears in ‘Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle’, when Cameron Diaz is used as a plot device such as a distraction for the men. This representation is used in the very first scene where the Angels show a display of “ass-kicking female empowerment”[4] using their strength and initiative to save a kidnapped man, a complete role reversal for the representation of women in the past where they were once the ‘damsel in distress’ who was portrayed as vulnerable and weak. However, although women are in more empowering and active roles, they are still subordinate to men as they are mainly seen as the ‘objects of the gaze’. This means that they are represented as tools of visual pleasure and not for their other qualities such as acting ability, undermining a women’s ability to succeed without resort to her looks.

On the other hand, men are constantly stereotyped as the “active, providing and tough individual who drives the narrative forward, whereas the passive, home orientated and emotional”[5] people tend to be the women who are constantly being controlled by the man and are there to make the hero look good providing ‘scopophillic pleasures’ to the audience. This is challenged by contemporary films for example the angels in Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle or Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) in Catwoman (Pitof, 2004). This stereotype is progressing in the media as awareness of women’s ability is becoming more noticeable in society.

Another example is Kill Bill 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004), a contemporary hybrid where the protagonist role is challenged. The protagonist role was once associated with the male gender, however Uma Thurman plays Beatrix Kiddo, a dominant, active and tough women. This is evidence of women’s ability to be just as equal to men, which, reflects the zeitgeist. Representations of women are gradually changing due to the positive role women are being given as a result this film was highly successful making a total of $66,207,920[6] as well as promoting women’s authority. However, this film is evidence that the society we live in views women for ‘erotic pleasure’ as she is wearing a tight suit which creates a ‘male gaze’ amongst men. The yellow outfit she is shown wearing can connote happiness. This could represent goodness as oppose to evil creating identification with the audience. This is also present in Charlie’s Angels as they are “reduced to their most predominant parts”[7].

On the other hand, Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) represented women with the power they deserved by featuring the first female protagonist, Sigourney Weaver who played the active hero and remained the only survivor. It was huge success in the 70’s, the decade for feminists making $1,983,690[8] and has played a major part in the progression of positive representation against women in the media. This film was successful due to the fact that women were finally emerging from their stereotypical roles and not getting objectified or viewed for pleasure; as a result this film challenges Laura Mulvey’s theory and proves that not all women are objectified in order to make a film successful. On the other hand, Ripley’s role was “never intended to be played by a female”[9] as a result it would have been another male action hero film due to misogynistic views held against women held in society.

In addition, Haskell (1973) points out that directors were guilty of having “misogynistic views upon women”[10]. This would lead to the negative representation of women as it oppresses them. Feminism may have played a major part in the progression to minimise objectification however, women are still getting viewed for the wrong reasons such as pleasure and degrading them for instance Charlie’s Angels. Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1992) is another example where the spectators are provided with ‘scopophillic’ and ‘voyeuristic’ pleasures throughout and at this time we are introduced with the ‘female gaze’. We also see a misogynist view from Gus Moran (George Dzundza) who constantly calls Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) degrading words such as “pussy” and ‘Bitch’,[11] this proves that he does not respect her and uses vile words when mentioning Tramell as a result reinforces a patriarchy.

These views are held in other films such as Thelma and Louise (1990), directed by Ridley Scott who also directed Alien, as both feature female protagonists. However, in this film the two women could be categorised in two groups. “The ‘whore’ and the ‘Madonna’[12]”. They had freedom and lived independently. Louise was portrayed as the ‘Madonna’ as she was the housewife, a role given to her by her husband as a result reinforcing patriarchy. Thelma is represented as the ‘whore’ who is carefree that she “almost got raped and gets no respect from the males”[13] reinforcing these misogynistic views. “Bitch! I shoulda gone ahead and fucked her!” (Harlan)[14]. Feminists could argue that due to this, women belong in the home, as they cannot look after themselves without the male figure.

In addition, domestic roles for women were present before mid-nineteenth century, which focused on the “first wave feminism”[15] where women decided to change their “presence in society for equality”[16] and this resulted in the three waves of feminism. At that time the society was patriarchal in every area with men in a higher position, undermining women. Their main and only jobs in the nineteenth century available for women were as a domestic servant with figures of “1,740,800 numbers of women employed”[17]. Many poorly educated women simply worked for a large household as a servant. This meant that women were given the jobs that held a low status in society reflecting the zeitgeist. Additionally, the twentieth century made an improvement in the variety of jobs available for women such as films; nevertheless, women are still negatively represented by being presented as a sex symbol for the satisfaction of the opposite sex. This is evident in films such as Coyote Ugly (David McNally, 2000). Violet (Piper Sanford) the protagonist and other females are totally controlled by the “‘ogling’ men when she lands a job as a ‘coyote’ bar dancer/sex kitten and waitress”[18] at a club. She is seen pouring liquid over herself, providing ‘erotic pleasure’ and being the “subject of the ‘male gaze’ as theorised by Laura Mulvey”[19]. This is an example of post-feminism as the females are aware of what they are doing and they have the will to decide what they want. It could also be interpreted as the females having the competence, capability and the potential to tease the men, a sign of dominance from the females rather than males.

This dominance is also presented in films such as Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle, Kill Bill, and Catwoman and all attract different audiences. Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle is a hybrid due to the “repertoire of elements”[20], reflecting the genre theory by being “dynamic and not static”[21]. Richard Maltby (1995) stated that “Genres are flexible”[22] as a result genres could change or adapt. The genre of the film decides the audience and this result in an active audience. ‘Uses and gratifications theory’ could be applied to these films as they all provide the audience with escapist entertainment. This can be seen in Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle, which stars beautiful and glamorous women who can also “kick asses and perform the role of the action hero”[23]. This theory assumes an active audience where individuals choose the text they consume and have dissimilar reasons for consuming the films. The primary audiences are teenagers who appeal to an action/adventure genre providing voyeuristic pleasures. The secondary audience would be feminists and fans of the actors/actresses as it manifest female empowerment and fans of kung fu because there are Matrix inspired kung-fu fighting scenes and intertextuality as one Angel is wearing a Harry Potter costume making it a post-modern text and also “appeals to different ‘cult’ groups within a wide/mainstream audience”[24].

Moreover, the mainstream audience are provided with entertainment and pleasure by constructing together scenes to attract their attention and by doing this results in the ‘male gaze or even in some cases the ‘female gaze’. An example is Basic instinct (1992), where the spectator is provided with the ‘female gaze’ of a naked Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), this in contrast administers ‘erotic’ pleasure for the female audience and is also a prime example for patriarchy as it challenges the passive female. On the other hand, Mulvey identified that the ‘male gaze’ resulted in the male viewer to slaver over the “erotic exhibition of women’s bodies on the screen”[25]. Greer (1999) identified that women are under much more pressure to “impress with their make-up and high heels”[26]. This proves that women are passive and are conforming to the ideologies that they are confronted by to impress the opposite sex, as a consequence the “hypodermic needle model is reinforced”[27]. This is reinforced by Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle, as they are represented as “three attractive angels who ‘kick ass’[28]” having the active role but being objectified at the same time.

Furthermore, they may be in an active role however, Gaye Tuchman (1978) argues that females are represented far less than males on TV. “Tuchman stated that when females have roles, they are mostly shown as being negative roles”[29]; Tuchman called this ‘symbolic annihilation’. This can be challenged to a certain extent as women in protagonist roles are becoming more common in contemporary films such as the angels however; they are still being shown in negative roles such as ‘objects’. Their human characteristics are being taken away from them leaving them as the tools of desire to entertain and pleasure such as when Diaz is running along the beach soaking wet creating sexual desires.

Furthermore, ‘phallic’ objects support these sexual desires and are widely used in films such as Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle. They are either ‘phallic’ or ‘fetish’ objects that may be used to reinforce the ‘male gaze’ resulting in women being represented as object of desire. For example, ‘Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle’, the angels are shown in a club called the treasure chest. The angels in the film fight crime without the use of guns that connote a ‘phallic’ object however; they use ‘phallic’ objects to manipulate the men in this scene. They are seen seducing the men by dancing alongside a pole in “‘skimpy’ outfits and jiggling breasts, wiggling bums”[30] causing the ‘male gaze’. This means that they use “‘phallic’ objects for ‘eye candy’”[31] for the men but also homosexual women to a certain extent.

Alternatively to phallic objects, slow motion is used, creating enigmas to keep audience entertained in the film; a code theorised by Barthes. An example is when the angels fall off a building after being shot. This is an alternative to keeping the audience engaged and entertained besides the ‘eye candy’ (women). However, in Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle, these interlink with each other. The desirable object being Diaz running along a beach in a bikini suit played in slow motion. She is being portrayed as the “to-be-looked-at-ness”[32] object resulting in her to be gazed upon.

Additionally, Mulvey identified this gaze is viewed in two ways from the spectator: voyeuristically and fetishistic. This leads to the Freudian theory in terms of males feeling ‘castration anxiety’[33]. This is the misunderstood removal of male genital organs for women causing anxiety amongst males. In Charlie’s Angels the substitute is the pole in which they dance alongside. This provides ‘erotic’ pleasure as the heterosexual spectators are given a buzz to satisfy their urges. Kaplan and Kaja Silverman (1980) argued that “the gaze could be adopted by both male and female subjects: the male is not always controlling the subject and nor is the female always passive object”[34]. An example is when Cameron Diaz is running along the beach shot in slow motion. The males view her as an object; whereas women could adopt the role of aspirers who want to be like Diaz in terms of body figure.

Additionally, the aspirers may have a desire to be like Ripley in Aliens or Thurman in Kill Bill 2; both active women seen in a conventional role of a mother. Even though they are in an active masculine role, both females are still stereotypically represented; the outcome that women are presented stronger bringing up a child, fighting evil and protecting them however she is objectified at the same time. Emanuel Levy (1990) conducted a study and concluded that physical looks and youth were far more important for the female stars putting pressure on females to look pretty to attract a male audience by conforming to what males want reinforcing a patriarchy. However, female groups such as Destiny’s Child are promoting female empowerment by releasing a soundtrack song called ‘Independent Women’ promoting independence, hoping it may progress the existing representation of women not as sex objects but as autonomous, strong and independent women challenging misogynistic views that are present in society. Pink’s appearance in the film was beneficial because she could be represented as open minded, masculine and robust woman who is ideal for promoting equality. On the other hand, David Gauntlett argues that “female role models such as Destiny’s Child are glamorous”[35] as well as successful; these providing voyeuristic pleasures whatever role women are in. This suggests that women are primarily there to entertain the male audience by their looks and features rather than other aspects.

On the other hand, men are judged according to their acting skills making it harder to achieve success. Sharon Smith (1972) declared “The role of woman in a film almost always revolves around her physical attraction”[36]. This means that women have to try harder to gain attention from the audience and achieve this by using their physical attraction to appeal to the audience making it more demanding to succeed. This is challenged in Charlie’s Angels as Demi Moore is forty years old, which reflects the social development in society.

Likewise, this development is also challenging stereotypes. Gauntlett (2002) later argued that “movie producers have realised that kick-ass heroines do better business”[37]. He also realised that audiences would “laugh at images of pretty housewife and reacted by showing women how to be sexy at work”[38]. This concludes that society had moved on in terms of representing women in stereotypical roles and is no longer accepted in society. However appearance still matters for entertainment and pleasure purposes. The angels are associated with their “simpering, body-grinding bikini-clad tits n' ass”[39]. The girls are represented as empowering but repeatedly using their looks to “distract and outwit the pathetic men in the film”[40]. This indicates that women resort to their looks as a distraction device resulting in woman being represented in a more intelligent role than men as they use their intuitive to fool, gain control and power over them whereas men are shown with weapons such as a gun to guild them. However it means that women are getting themselves objectified in order of achieving what they want, but then again, Charlie in ‘Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle’ could be described as “promoting hegemony”[41] as he is “dominant and rules”[42] the angels and are under his power reinforcing Antonio Gramsci’s theory. This is because the angels are ‘Charlie’s’ angels; controlled by a mysterious male voice as a result they can be seen as passive reinforcing Mulvey’s theory on active/male and passive/female.

Then again, at forty, Demi Moore plays a ‘fallen angel’[43] in an active antagonist role following Propp’s theory on character roles as she goes against the angels and Charlie who she once worked for. This can be linked with Claude Levi Strauss theory on “binary oppositions”[44] as they clash. The hero versus villain can be labelled upon the angels and Madison Lee (Moore). This binary opposition creates identification by the audiences in the film. Moore is shown to be wearing black, which connotes evil whereas, Diaz is wearing white, which connotes purity, and heavenly associated with angels, which represents their role in the film. Likewise, ‘Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle’ has a non-linear narrative due to flashbacks of the angels before they worked for Charlie, living the nostalgic memories of the past of the angels, helping the audience identify with the characters and not feel alienated. Parts of the film follow Todorov’s narrative structure as it ends with a resolution where the angels finally win the battle against the objectified female antagonist. However, some films do not follow this such as Basic Instinct where Tramell doesn’t die resulting in a sequel.

Finally, to justify the reason why women are represented as objects could be due to the lack of female directors. As there are only a few female directors, the audience are shown the film from a male point of view resulting in women being represented in tight clothing, revealing and with ‘phallic’ objects. Naomie Harris quoted “film is such as male-dominated industry”[45]. However, to some extent, theses representations can never be accurate as they are mediated versions of people (women) to create a re-presentation for the entertainment for the audience. These mediated versions of women result in them being negatively/inaccurately represented and reinforcing a patriarchal society.

Overall, women are increasingly seen in films in a male associated role of action hero or protagonist however, they are still being represented as sex objects with the use of ‘phallic’ or ‘fetish’ objects with the main aim to attract heterosexual males in gaining pleasure and entertainment. On the other hand, females are also given sexual desires via the ‘female gaze’. “The last twenty years has seen a “growth in the presence and influence of women in media”[46] despite this, their bodies are used as a mechanism to succeed in action films. Alanis Morissette, a feminist quoted “I see my body as an instrument, rather than an ornament”[47].

Word count 3,159

[1] Charlie’s Angels –Full Throttle (2003)-Seamus ‘o’ Grady
[2] http://www.peom.co.uk/femmefatale.html
[3] http://www.moviehabit.com/reviews/cha_f703.shtml
[4] http://www.movieviews.org/reviews/may-july2003.shtml
[5] A2 Media studies: the essential introduction pg. 227
[6] http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808504212/info
[7] Gauntlett, David ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ pg 67
[8] http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800020133/details
[9] Lacey, Nick ‘Image and representation’ pg.218
[10] Nelmes, Jill (1996) ‘An introduction to film studies-third edition’ pg. 248
[11] http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Basic_Instinct_(film)
[12] http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/824016/index.html
[13] Rayner, Philip (2004) ‘Media studies : the essential resource’
[14] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103074/quotes
[15] Bennett, Peter (2006) ‘A2 Media Studies: essential introduction’ pg. 229
[16] Bennett, Jacquie (2005) ‘Media Studies AS & A2’ pg. 108
[17] http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/women_in_1900.htm
[18] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200550/plotsummary
[19] Mulvey, Laura (1975) ‘Visual pleasures and narrative cinema’
[20] Neale, Steve (2000)
[21] Introducing media studies
[22] Maltby, Richard
[23] Gilligan, Sarah (2003) ‘Teaching women and film’ pg. 25
[24] http://wwwfp.education.tas.gov.au/English/word/Blockbusters.doc
[25] Bennett, Peter (2006) ‘A2 Media Studies: the essential introduction’
[26] Gauntlet, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and identity’ pg. 78
[27] Bennett, Jacquie (2005) ‘Media Studies: AS & A2’ pg. 86
[28] Gauntlet, David (2002) ‘Media, gender and identity’ pg 66-67
[29] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_annihilation
[30] http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?DVDID=9572
[31] http://www.bullz-eye.com/mguide/reviews_2003/charlies_angels_full_throttle.htm
[32] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Mulvey
[33] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html
[34] Ibid.
[35] Bennett, Jacquie (2005) ‘Media Studies: AS & A2’ pg. 109
[36] Gaunlett, David ‘Media, gender and identity’ pg. 48
[37] ibid
[38] Bennett, Peter ‘A2 media studies: a essential introduction’
[39] http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/reviews/feature/504/Charlies+Angels+Full+Throttle+/
[40] Ibid.
[41] Gauntett, David ‘Media, Gender and Identity ’pg 69
[42] Bennett, Jacquie (2005) ‘Media Studies: AS & A2’ pg. 111
[43] http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808403424
[44] Bennett, Jacquie (2005) ‘Media Studies: AS & A2’ pg. 92, 93
[45] http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/03855141912_06368000.html
[46] http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/
[47] Readers digest (march, 2000)