Representation of Women

After researching on the horror genre, I am now able to address media representations that are present throughout a horror film that I may want to present in my final project. Some of the many different media representations include gender and how women are portrayed. In the majority of horror films, women are usually seen as the weak link, they are usually the victim being attacked, or the ones who give in and allow the monster to take over.

In the film, The Conjuring, a family moves to an old farm house located in Rhode Island in which the family begins to notice weird things happening.  Carolyn then decides to bring in famous paranormal investigators to search the house. In the film, Carolyn is seen as the weak link by the spirit that has conquered their house and therefore the spirit starts to play around with the mother. Carolyn later gets possessed and is now trying to haunt her family after just recently trying to protect them by calling in investigators. This is a prime example of how women are seen as the ones who create the problem because of them being the “weak” ones.  Throughout many films, females are represented by revealing their body, clothing, or looks. An example that shows these representations is Psycho. In this film, a woman is the victim and is killed by a serial killer haunting the town. This woman is portrayed as being very young and pretty which shows that a common representation assessed with horror films is that the good looking, innocent women are always the weak links in the story.

I do not believe that these media representations relating to women are acceptable, although they were in the past. Why can’t women be the strong ones? Why can’t women be the ones that save the situation instead of worsening it? The representations of the women hold no value in the present day as we see many women stepping up in the society. I would not want to retain any of the representations present in horror films due to them not being accurate or correct. In order to challenge these representations, I would make a female be an important, strong character in a film in which finds a solution to the problem occurring and saves herself and many others from a situation.

  

Drama Genre Analysis

1. Genre: Drama

2. One of the largest mass producing genres is Drama due to the many sub-genres within it. This can be done in order for drama films to attract a wider audience. Drama films usually display a real life story with characters that could somewhat be similar to the audience.  In order to keep the audience emotionally attracted to the film, Dramas add intense interactions within characters, add many climaxes throughout the film, and add many different character developments. The main purpose of a drama film is to attach the audience emotionally by making characters that the audience can relate to. For the most part, drama films end in an intense way in which leaves the audience a lasting impression on what just happened. Dramas are usually based on one or more of these things: physical pain, emotion, conflicts, struggles, difficulties. In almost every drama film, there are intense build ups of tension followed by many determined climaxes to keep the audience hooked.

3. There are many techniques involved in creating a smooth, and extremely emotion drama films. Many mise-en-scenes, such as costume designs, lighting, set design, and location involve a big role in the production of drama films. Lighting is extremely important in a dramatic film because it helps establish the mood of a scene. The use of low key lighting is used when something is wrong or if there is an extreme plot twist and high key lighting is used when one wants to portray a happy mood. The personality of a character is created by the costume design, therefore it varies greatly within characters. For example, in drama films, if a girl is dressed all nicely with make up on and expensive accessories, then one can predict that she will be the rich popular girl in the school. Props such as phones, drinks, and weapons are all used to get the attention of the viewer by relating the objects to realistic situations. The location of a drama film is typically someplace where the majority of the audience can relate to their everyday lives, such as school. A major technique that helps build tension and make a film more dramatic is sound. Some diegetic sounds such as conversations within characters can create suspense or tension. Non diegetic sounds such as music, sound effects, and voice overs all make film much more dramatic. Drama films love to use close ups to show the characters emotion, low angles to show superiority, and high angles to show how vulnerable a character is in certain situations.

4. Titanic (1997)- The Titanic is a prime example of a drama film. This film takes place in the well-known cruise ship, the Titanic, and tells the story of a survivor of this tragedy. The survivors name is Rose DeWitt Bukater and she narrates this real life story. Many dramatic elements in the film helped to bring enjoyment in the viewers. The loss of life from this historical disaster makes this film dramatic and unforgettable. The location and the costume design help set the year this had occurred as the women and men dressed very elegant not showing much skin making the audience know it took place in the late 1900s. Romance, which is a sub genre of drama, is implemented as Rose falls in love with a man. The scene where the titanic is sinking and everyone is going crazy, trying to do anything for survival can somewhat relate back to the audience. The use of realism in the story emotionally attracts the audience as the audience can relate to what the passengers are feeling. As almost every drama, there are many climaxes throughout the film to keep the viewer out of their seat. Roses personal challenges and issues, makes the film dramatic and tense.

5. The Notebook (2004)- The notebook is about two people, Allie and Noah, who fall in love at an early age, but later Allie moves and falls in love with someone else making it an epic love story. The costume design is obvious throughout the film as both wear clothing that was used in the past. Allie wears dresses that cover her skin and body and Noah wears trousers which was both worn by people in the 2000s. This makes the viewers understand that this film took place a while back. The film explains and portrays many character developments as the film goes from the present of their day to the past when they had just fallen in love. Many close ups are used throughout the film to show their emotional state. The lighting of the scenes throughout the film helps set the mood. For example, towards the middle of the story where Allie is about to get married with another man and Noah is alone, the use of low lighting is used to show how Noah is sad and depressed and need Allie in his life. In contrast, in the beginning of the story when they had fallen in love and first started dating, High lighting was implemented to show the exciting and happy mood they were both in when their relationship was at its best.

6.  Casablanca (1942)     The pursuit of happiness (2006)      Gone with the wind (1939)

                          

The Godfather (1972)                             Fight Club (1999)              

                                                            

Sources:

-Most Influential, Significant and Important Films in American Cinema - The 1960s, www.filmsite.org/dramafilms.html.

-Longley, Robert. “What Is Drama? Literary Definition and Examples.” Thoughtco., Dotdash, www.thoughtco.com/drama-literary-definition-4171972.

- libbyannjones Follow. “Research into Drama Film Genre!” LinkedIn SlideShare, 30 Sept. 2013, www.slideshare.net/libbyannjones/research-into-drama-film-genre.