In addition to the topic ideas on the assignment sheet, here's a random assortment (and very partial list) of texts (mostly films) and topics that I've encountered in past classes or in my own work. Feel free to leave comments with questions (like, does anyone know of a text that represents women and xxx?) or with an idea you're working on; I'll be checking in here every now and then to respond to folks who want feedback. Of course, I welcome your responses to one another as well.
This is a very partial list and many of these texts could easily go into other categories, but it's a start if you're having trouble thinking of something. Please add categories and titles in the comments if you think of them!
Women in Sports
Bend It Like Beckham
Million Dollar Baby
Love and Basketball
Match Point
A League of Their Own
The Cutting Edge
Women in Music
Dreamgirls
Walk the Line
Remakes
The Women (1939 and 2006)
Emma (the novel and/or the movie) and Clueless
Shop Around the Corner (1940) and You've Got Mail (1998)
The Stepford Wives (1974 and 2004) -- the differences in ending here are really fascinating
Jane Austen
several film versions of the novels
Becoming Jane
The Jane Austen Book Club
Women in History
The Changeling
Frida
Sylvia
Iron Jawed Angels
Women and Friendship
Waiting to Exhale
The First Wives Club
The Secret Life of Bees
Friends
Girlfriends
Women and Work
North Country
Working Girl
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Erin Brockovich
Maid in Manhattan
Michael Clayton
Striptease
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Murphy Brown
30 Rock
Women and Education
Legally Blonde
Akeela and the Bee
Mona Lisa Smile
Freedom Writers
Dangerous Minds
Women and Body Image
Real Women Have Curves
Nip/Tuck
Women and War
G.I. Jane
Courage Under Fire
So-called "Post feminist" texts
Bridget Jones's Diary
Ally McBeal
Sex and the City
Popular Literature
The Pretties, The Uglies, and The Specials
Twilight
Harry Potter
Women and Aging
Something's Gotta Give
Calendar Girls
Golden Girls
If you're looking for issues tackled by television, the 1998 series Felicity handled some pretty heavy stuff (date rape, depression, morning-after pill, etc.), and The Secret Life of the American Teenager is especially after-school-special-esque in the range of issues presented on the show. A couple of films about abortion if that's a place you're interested in going are: Vera Drake, Cider House Rules, and 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days; pregnancy, of course, is everywhere in films these days: Juno, Knocked Up, Waitress, Bella, and Baby Mama, just in the last 2 years, and before that: Look Who's Talking, Nine Months, Father of the Bride 2, Saved (teen pregnancy), andFor Keeps; adoption/giving children up also is a popular subject: August Rush, Then She Found Me, and Juno again.
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I'm thinking about writing my paper on representations of the modern American bride in film, TV, and magazines. My goal will be to show how the wedding industry uses these images to sell brides the ideal (and very expensive) "white wedding" and what all of this is communicating about gender roles and expectations as well as the marketing aspect of romance and relationships. So far I have come up with the following sources: the movies "Bride Wars" and "27 Dresses", the TLC show "Say Yes to the Dress", and bridal magazines such as "Modern Bride". I have also found a few interesting books on the wedding industry. I'm not sure if I'm going to end up using those particular movies, and if anyone else has suggestions for recent wedding movies or any other feedback I would appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteHi Maegen, I had a category of movies called "Women and Marriage," but it was way too long -- there are so many. This sounds like a rich and fascinating subject. The other movies on the bride list were: Runaway Bride, The Wedding Planner, Father of the Bride, Wedding Crashers, The Wedding Singer, Sweet Home Alabama. I'm sure there are lots of others. This is a good example of how a multi-genre argument could work.
ReplyDeleteI am kind of confused about what we have to write about, but would "I love Lucy" and how it portrayed women in a more aggressive role an option? Am I thinking along the right lines?
ReplyDeleteI have two ideas.
ReplyDeleteThe first is to explore gender issues and relations in NCIS (which is my fave show)during the Ari storyline. This storyline involves the death of a female agent and the introduction of a new female character who is Israeli.
The second idea is to compare/contrast the women of two versions of the same movie. I could use my own DVD collection for this and I was considering using "The Grudge" because there are three different versions that I own, only the earliest has no subtitles. Other possible movies include "The Ring", "Dark Water", and "A Tale of Two Sisters" which all have both Japanese and American versions.
Those are just texts that I personally enjoy.
Brett -- I Love Lucy would make for a fine single-text analysis. You want to figure out something specific to argue that the show is doing, and then use textual evidence from particular episodes to demonstrate your argument. Check the assignment sheet for more specifics (and email me if you still have questions).
ReplyDeleteMandy -- Often the best way to pick a text is to think of what you enjoy; either of those options would give you plenty to talk about.
I'm interested in writing about gender role-reversal movies. I'm looking at movies like The Stepford Wives, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and What Women Want. I'm sure there's more movies than the ones I've named. Even today, we can see a woman's role can imitate and be more than that of a man's. She can become more successful, earn more money, be more smarter, etc. What's interesting is that as the woman seems more "masculine," the male leads seem to complement with feminine characteristics. If anyone has any suggestions on any other gender role-reversal movies, please let me know. Prof. West, if you have any thoughts on how I'm approaching this paper or any advice on how I should lead this paper, also feel free to share your opinions.
ReplyDeleteHi Sola,
ReplyDeleteA couple of words of advice: first, I'd caution you to think carefully about how you're defining "masculine" and "feminine." Are you relying on the traditional, dominant understanding of those words? How do you decide whether a character fits into that definition or not? One thing you might want to think about is narrowing further: are you interested in role reversal in the workplace? In the home? In romantic relationships? In parenting? Or, is it more the struggle between men and women that's often dramatized in "battle of the sexes" kinds of films (in addition to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, there's How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, I Love Trouble, One Fine Day, and others in this genre)? Feel free to email me or catch me after class, but it seems like you might need to narrow your focus a bit more.
I was originally planning on doing a Stepford Wives remake comparison, but I started thinking about the recent superhero movie trend. I was considering comparing the women in the modern film versions (mostly love interests) like Mary Jane (Spider-man; victim but still aggressive), Lois Lane (Superman; aggressive but constant victim), Rachel Dawes (Batman; victim), and Elektra (Daredevil; aggressor), with Pepper Potts from Ironman as an extra possibility. I'm not sure if the genre would be too broad, since there are also sequels and many versions that came before them. I don't know if I could stick to only the first films because some of the sequels provide a lot of character evolution (or devolution).
ReplyDeleteI know very little about the original comics, which gives me a clean slate if I can look at this topic strictly in terms of film but isn't so helpful when it comes to making generalizations about the characters. Also, the women are only supporting characters (with the exception of the Elektra sequel) so the stories are not about them, but I think their representation plays a big role in shaping the tone of the films.
Is there enough of a connection here or should I just stick with Stepford?
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI think the representation of women in superhero movies would be fascinating. Especially in terms of audience: who are these films targeting? You certainly wouldn't need to trace the evolution of characters across sequels -- just make your limitations clear: Mary Jane in Spiderman II, Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins, etc. You might think about choosing movies that came out around the same time, or at least be aware of the sequence (because the genre has some hardcore fans, it's likely that the movies are in some ways participating in a conversation of sorts). Don't feel the need to talk about all of them: choose a few for how they're similar or how they differ (maybe the Elektra sequel would provide a good counterpoint to the others?) I also think looking just at the film representations (without a background in how the characters functioned in the comics themselves) is a good strategy; again, just be clear about that (say somewhere in the beginning that you'll just be focusing on the films. Since they have a broader audience, that makes perfect sense.)
I think you're right: the women are usually imaged in supporting roles, but their presence seems necessary to the genre, and that's worth exploring: why ARE they there?
Of course, a Stepford comparison would work as well, but if you're interested in the superhero movies, it seems like that could be really interesting.