Essay plan

Title: How and why are women challenging their stereotypes in Domino and other similar films?

My topic is basically about how modern films in Hollywood today feature masculine women who challenge their given stereotypes in society. I will counter that with the fact that women are still there to appeal to the 'male gaze' and that refers to the sexually active stereotype women are given these days.[T] The main film I am going to talk about which gives a clear image of a female protagonist challenging the stereotypes given to her is Domino. Domino features Keira Knightly as a very masculine women who is not afraid of nothing and a person who like action and living by a thread. Other films that I would use which give a clear example of women challenging stereotypes are Wanted, where I will be focusing on Angelina Jolie and Erin Brockovic where I will be focusing on Julia Roberts. Another film that I will be talking about in my study is Casino Royale however I will be using the female protagonist in this film to counter the fact that women challenge their stereotypes as in Casino Royale the women, like any other women is pictured to be, is passive, fragile and in need of male protection.

The films

This study is based on the change in the roles of women in the media compared to the 20th century where women were always seen as the weaker second sex. The film that I am focusing on, Domino, proves the change that women have achieved over the years as firstly, for a change, the main protagonist is a female and she is portrayed as fearless and violent.

The films that I will include in this study are:
Domino
Erin Brockavich
Wanted
Casino Royale
Alien

This list of films that will be in my study are either similar or different to the main film which is Domino. Erin brockavich is similar as it is another film which is quite contemporary that features a female protagonist. In Erin Brockavich, Julia Roberts carries the role of protecting a whole town which implies that women are not always seen as passive and that they do take an active action to influence today’s society. Similarly, Wanted is a film which portrays Angelina Jolie as very powerful and playing a male’s role. On the other hand, we have Casino Royale a film which carries a negative image of women and degrades the female population as women in this film are seen as very weak and passive. The female protagonist in Casino Royale is a prime example of an innocent, passive woman who is very caring and loving. She mirrors the stereotypes given to her by society. One example of this in the film is when she asks James Bond ' does it bother you killing all those people', this emphasizes how caring she is and that she does not like the action side of her job.[ML] The woman is usually wearing very promiscuous clothing in this trailer which also represents her as a sex object.[ML][R] This is the complete opposite to Keira Knightly’s dress sense in Domino as she is dressed very manly and she doesn’t take great care of her looks. The female protagonist in Casino Royale is highlighted to being constantly saved and rescued which connotes the male dominance and how women rely on men.

I will use Alien, a film released in 1979, as it was the first action film which featured a female protagonist.[HI] This is because of the second phase of feminism and from then on women have slowly been achieving and becoming more and more equal to men.[Id] I will link this film with Domino as it shows how films that feature female protagonists have changed over the years as the character of Ripley, even though she is very aggressive and manly, she still has a soft and sensitive side whereas Domino Harvey does not show any emotion at all throughout the film.[M]

The main characters

The characters that I picked out from the films mentioned above and the ones I am going to focus on are:

Domino Harvey (Keira Knightly)
Erin Brocckavich (Julia Roberts)
Fox (Angelina Jolie)
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)
Vesper Lynd (Eva Green)

The character of Domino is very rare and is not seen that often in society as Keira Knightly acts as a disturbed young woman who is very violent yet down to earth. She challenges nearly all stereotypes of women as she is not passive yet active, she is not seen as a sex object as she does not pay attention to her looks and least but not least she is not very feminine at all as she plays with guns and is seen frequently with ammunition over her soldiers. [ML][R] The target audience for Domino will relate to Keira Knightly according to the uses and gratification theory as they would identify with her character as a lot of young teenagers are feeling depressed with ‘daddy issues’ which leads to them feeling violent and aggressive like Keira Knightly in Domino.[A]

Julia Roberts character Erin Brockavich is quite similar to Keira Knightly’s as she is also passive and take things into her own hands however, she is not seen as violent and aggressive as Keira as she uses her brain and will to beat a big company and save thousands. However, even though Julia Roberts is challenging stereotypes in this film, she is still trapped in a patriarchal society and is seen as a sex object because she is wearing very revealing n promiscuous. Nonetheless, in this film, Julia Roberts is represented as very clever because she is using her image for her own good as in this film she is seen to get into confidential places by acting promiscuously. [R]

The character Angelina Jolie is playing in Wanted is a very powerful n manly woman called Fox who is an expert with guns. Just like Keira Nightly in Domino, Jolie challenges negative degrading stereotypes given by society as she is independent and can take care of herself unlike the traditional ‘Bimbo’ or ‘Housewife’. However, Jolie can never go against all stereotypes thrown her way as she is still portrayed as sexual active and ‘Bimbo’ like which will appeal to Laura Mulvie’s male gaze and the male target audience as they would be attracted to the cleavage she is constantly showing in the film. [T][A] This also is disrespectful towards women as it implies that women are just there for the pleasure of men.

It was hard for the target audience to relate or identify with Weaver in Alien as at the time society didn’t expect a female protagonist in an action packed film. [A]The character of Ripley in Alien was very new at the time as women in the screen were usually shown to be caring and supportive yet very weak n insecure however, Ripley is two types of people in one as she is caring and nurturing as well as a tough aggressive independent women. Nonetheless the character of Ripley was a breakthrough in society as it underlined the sudden change in a male dominant, patriarchal society. [Id]

Eva Green is the odd one out as her character, Lynd, is the opposite of the female characters mentioned previously as she does in fact go with the stereotypes given to woman, positive and negative. The positive stereotypes that she portrays are the once circling caring and supportive characteristics which many of the female audiences can identify with as women are biologically nurturing and emotional. [R]The negative stereotypes on the other hand are the fact that she is weak and is in need of being saved by the opposite, much stronger sex. This could link with the effects theory of audiences and the hypodermic needle as women that are watching the film can unconsciously believe that they are the second and weak sex in a patriarchal society and the one which is being rescued. [A][Id]

Researching different texts

Casino Royale-2006

Films such as casino Royale show exactly the opposite representations of women in Domino. In this film women are seen as passive where they do not get their hands dirty and they wear dresses which show a lot of cleavage whereas in Domino, Keira Knightly is the complete opposite. [R] Another difference between Domino and Casino Royale and the representation of woman is the fact that in Domino Keira Knightly is an independent woman who doesn't need anyone taking care of her however, In casino royale, Eva Green is represented as very week and dependent on a manly power as she is saved at the end of the film by Daniel Graig (James Bond) [R]

The Godfather-1972

The Godfather is another example of how women used to be represented in the 20th century. In this crime drama film, Diane Keaton is seen as the passive wife who loves and takes care of her kids. She tries her best to stay away from trouble and to keep her family away from it too. This is the opposite of Keira Knightly in Domino even though the genre of the two films are the same as unlike Diane Keaton in The Godfather, Keira Knightly finds trouble herself and wants to be involved in that kind of dangerous lifestyle. [R][G]

Researching other similar texts.

Erin Brokovich-2000

'Erin Brokovich' is a film about an unemployed single mother who is having trouble finding a job. She has also recently been a victim of a failed lawsuit against a doctor in a car accident. Her lawyer provided a job for her as compensation for the loss. Because of her trashy and promiscuous clothing, no one takes her seriously nevertheless all this changes when she illegally investigates a suspicious real estate case involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. [ML]

In this dramatic film, Julia Roberts almost single-handedly save the day which is already challenging female stereotypes as it is very rare that we see a woman taking a lead role as 'the savior', their normally the ones being saved. This is significant as it shows the postmodern society we are living in where new ideas of film making have been introduced and different types of films are appreciated by society because before films such as domino and erin brokovich would have been frowned upon as patriarchy and male dominance was very important however, today with the introduction of the new man and woman being more powerful than ever before films such as these who give woman power and independence are the new generation of films. [SI][Id] We can see this as new films such as Wanted and Mr. and Mrs. Smith as today there are more and more films with female power and equality.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith-2005

This film portrays Angelina Jolie as a very secretive yet violent woman who kills people for a living. This description automatically connotes a male however, Angelina Jolie is challenging nearly all the stereotypes a woman is given as she is not passive yet active, she is not the talkative gossipy type but she is very secretive about her identity. Just like Keira Knightly in Domino, in this film Jolie is always armed with dangerous weapons which could also raise social and political issues such as the rise of gun crime in America. [PI] Politicians can argue that films such as Mr. And Mrs. Smith and Domino are the reason for the increase of gun crime in America as guns are glorified in these films and being equipped with a gun is portrayed as power in these films. [PI]

Wanted-2008

Wanted is another movie that stars Angelina Jolie as an assassin. There are more and more films today that represent women as manly, aggressive and deadly. The days of a women being a housewife are over, today women take on jobs that men usually do. It can also be argues that the roles of men and women has slightly become more symmetrical and we can see this from the introduction of the new man as it is alright for man to be seen taken care of children and cooking them dinner at home today and women are starting to care more about their careers. [T][SI] We can see the change of gender roles in Wanted as the man is seen as the passive one who doesn't want any trouble whereas the woman (Jolie) is the one who trains him to become a top assassin.

Criticizing my title

Even though I have proved how women in the film industry today challenge negative stereotypes thrown their way such as their weakness and their passiveness, they are still seen as the sexual, male pleasing sex as in Domino, Keira Knightly is shown stripping and lap dancing in one particular scene.
This is one of the scenes where Keira Knightly finally meets the stereotypes of women in films. She is seen as a sexually active 'bitch', as the Spanish gangster refers to her, and she entertains the male gaze by taking of her clothes and given a lap dance. [R][Th]

The first thing that catches me in this scene is the non digetic sound of the heart beat while Keira Knightly is facing all the men with the guns. [ML] The heartbeats emphasize the amount of pressure Keira is in and the atmosphere in the room. The non digetic sound of the heartbeat is then backed by loud, nervous shouting by the men whilst Keira, the only women in the scene was calm and quite. [ML]This shows that even though she meets the stereotypes of woman in this scene by appearing as sexually active, she also challenges stereotypes at the same time as she is, unlike the men, very calm in a very dangerous situation. Women are known to scream and shout when scared however in this scene Tony Scott swaps the role of the men and the women as they are the ones who are shouting anxiously.

When Keira Knightly is confronting the men, she sounds very masculine and strong with sharp sentences; however this is not parallel to her tone of voice as the narrator as she sounds very girly with a slightly squeaky, feminine voice. [ML]This could imply the fact that she has to change to impress the men. This is a change in gender roles as the man is known to be trying to impress a girl however in this scene Keira Knightly is talking with a manly voice, carrying guns and smoking to impress the opposite sex. The mese en scene also backs up my point as she is holding a shot gun a shot gun compared to what the men are holding(hand guns) just so she can feel powerful. In this scene and most of the film, Keira Knightly is always scene with a gun and that connotes her eagerness to be powerful and the fact that she has to have a phallic symbol by her side just so she can feel strong and powerful. [Id]Throughout this film, Tony Scott makes sure that Keira challenges the stereotypes given to women however he always reminds the audience that Keira Knightly is still feminine and passively weak. In the non digetic sound of the narrator, Keira refers to herself as a 'naughty girl' instead of a mature woman as it reminds the audience that she is still no match to the men in the scene and leads them to sympathies with her whilst the whole point of the film is to make the audience see her as an independent strong woman. [ML][A]

In this film keira Knightly has a very short haircut which suggests her masculinity however the fact that she has hair covering her eyes, she is represented as a very dark individual who is not that confident. This goes well with the darkness of the setting as it portrays her dark and evil personality. [R]She is less and less represented as a woman in this scene as the cigarette she is smoking connotes the ideology of rebelliousness which is mostly linked with ludicrous men. [R][Id]She is also represented as a slut as she offers to give a stranger a lap dance and the dialogue of the man is very insulting to her quoting 'take off your clothes bitch' she still strip and gives him a lap dance which could mean to things, either she is a whore or she is just a workaholic desperate for information to pursue her missions as a bounty hunter. [ML]

Conclusion

I will end this essay by answering my title and sayin if my prediction was right. I think my prediction will be right as i proved through out my essay that women in contemprary films such as Domino keep challenging typical stereotypes given to them such as being sensitive and passive

Books to Include:

Mulvey, Laura, (1975), 'Visual pleasure and narrative cinema'

Ziauddin, Sardar, and Borin, Van Loon, 'Representaion of Women'

Gauntlett, David, (2002), 'Media, gender and identity' (published by Routlage)

Tasker, Yvonne, 'Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema'

Phillips, Patrick, 'Understanding Film Texts'

Macdonald, Myra, 'Representing Women'

Bibliography

http://www.wikipedia.com/
http://www.mediagaurdian.com/
http://www.newline.com/
http://www.keiraknightley.com/
http://www.dominomovie.com/
http://www.variety.com/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
http://www.richard-kelly.net/news/news.php?id=79&from=2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3671572.stm
http://www.dominomovie.com/real_domino_harvey.html
http://movies.about.com/od/domino/a/domino072005.htm
http://www.hollywood.com/feature/Domino_Interviews_Mickey_Rourke_and_Edgar_Ramirez/2446166
http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=8773