What is the learning objective?

Yr11 GCSE Media StudiesAction Adventure Films

Learning Objectives:

To understand change in the representation of women over time

To begin to understand the representation of females in Action Adventure films

Task 1 questions

These will be on action adventure films in general. There will be two questions, worth 15 marks each. They might be something like this:

1. A criticism of action adventure films is that they reinforce racial and gender stereotyping. How far do you agree with this statement? Provide some examples to support your views

2. Give three key features of action adventure films and provide examples to support your ideas.

3. Explain the importance of heroes and villains to the narrative of action adventure films

Task 2 questions

Task 2 questions will require you to have either planned an action adventure film or the marketing campaign for one. 2 questions, 15 marks each. These might include something like:

1. Provide us with your pitch for your action adventure film, thinking about setting, character, title and storyline

2. We plan to use the internet to promote the successful film. Design the homepage of a website for your film

3. Write a press release to promote your film

Card sort- Women Timeline

In groups of three, place the events in chronological order

Women Timeline

1896: Alice guy becomes one of the first film directors. The males at her company agree to let her ‘play’ with their camera and she later becomes the head of their production company.

1918: For the first time women can vote thanks to the Representation of the People Act (UK)

1960: The contraceptive pill is introduced in England and America

1967: The Abortion Act is introduced

1970: The Equal Pay Act is introduced and demands equal pay for men and women doing the same job

1973: Season of women’s cinema at the national film theatre, London.

1979: The first female Prime Minister is elected – Margaret Thatcher

2002: Halle Berry becomes the first black woman to win an Oscar for best actress in a Leading Role for Monster’s Ball

Today and next lesson:

A criticism of action adventure films is that they reinforce racial and gender stereotyping. How far do you agree with this statement? Provide some examples to support your views

Activity Complete the task on women and men in Action AdventureDraw the table below and list as many A-list Actors as you canWhat do your results tell us about the industry? Men Women

In pairs analyse the image and identify ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits. Research their role in the film and make notes on this.

: Uma Thurman (Kill Bill): Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider) : Halle Berry (Bond): Sigourney Weaver (Alien): Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four): Demi Moore (GI Jane): Kiera Knightly (Pirates of the Caribbean): Cameron Diaz (Knight and Day) : Maggie Gyllenhall (The Dark Knight) : Sigourney Weaver (Avatar) : Angelina Jolie (Mr and Mrs Smith)

Women in Action Adventure

Now we will look at the sexualisation of women and the representation of gender in action adventure films How are women typically portrayed in action adventure films? Discuss

Erotic distractionSex objectDamsel in distressVictim

Male gaze theory

Mulvey’s 1970’s analysis of the male gaze Mulvey argues that in film women are objects to be gazed on as the camera acts as the masculine eye from a male viewpoint – looking at women in a way that reflects masculine desires. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in the early James Bond films ‘Bond girls’ were little more than eye candy for the male viewer.The early Bond women were represented as sex objects and even given names which indicated their limited ‘use’ within the narrative: Pussy Galore (Goldfinger, 1964) and Honey Rider (Dr No, 1962) are perhaps the most memorable.

Task

Make notes on the handout whilst watching the following clips

Describe how the women in the clip are being represented to the audience and what affect this has

Bond girls through time…

GoldfingerCasino Royale

Representation of women has changed over timeEarly films noted for ‘disposable’ nature of female charactersIn later films bond girls were given role of main female villain – roles of women in Bond reflected change in society

Identify the ways in which the female characters in Bond films have gained greater narrative significance.

Alien (1979)

Sigourney Weaver in the Alien series attracted the attention of feminist critics throughout the 1990s. Although women had long played supporting roles in action and adventure films, and had taken more central roles during the 1980s, toward the end of the 1990s Hollywood cinema began to foreground a glamorous, sexualized action heroine

The toned bodies of these film's female stars—Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz—were markedly different from the more muscular action heroine of the previous decade.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

The cradle of life trailer

Charlie's Angels Full Throttle (2003)

Opening sequence

"Once upon a time there were three little girls who went to the police academy. Two were in Los Angeles, the other in San Francisco. And they were each assigned very hazardous duties. But I took them away from all that and now they work for me. My name is Charlie." — Charlie Townsend, CHARLIE'S ANGELSStill controlled by a man

Kill Bill

Kill Bill Volume 2

The rise of the female action star

Bond girlsAlien (1979)Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) Charlie's Angels full throttle (2003)Kill Bill Volume 2

Do you think these films show a development in film as a more inclusive place where strong women have a position?OR are these simply projections of male fantasies?Discuss

Reflecting on your animatic…

In your sequence how did you represent men and women?

What does this say about representation of gender?