Cliches (stereotype) of films

[thornywolpertingers]

Movies, in general, reproduce what happens in real life. Many accurately, others with lots of fantasy, romance and action. But, of course a cliché is repeated in all: the man “He-man” and the woman “Barbie”. The woman cries, is romantic, sexy, must be protected, etc. The man is strong, protector, male, etc. The woman can be strong, see Carly Fiorina (former CEO HP)... The movies should change this view on men and women.
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[Strange]

9 minutes ago, thornywolpertingers said:

But, of course a cliché is repeated in all

Not all (but still too many). For example:

• Haywire
• The Hunger Games
• Wonder Woman
• Moana

And probably lots more that I can't think of right now.

 

 

[CharonY]

Movies reflect and sometimes play with the assumptions and preconceptions of the audience. For now, it is still assumed that the main protagonists in most genres are still male, whereas female leads are more common in romantic comedies or other movies that are specifically geared to women. In fact putting women in atypical roles is sometimes perceived as pandering (though I fail to see how the opposite is not considered as such).

 While the perception may change, especially as women are now the majority of movie goers, the industry are still male dominated (less than 10% directors, ~13% writers, 24% producers, 17% editors, 5% cinematography). That may result in the perception that a female protagonist need to define herself somewhat via the interaction with a male lead. But again, this is slowly changing with an increasing number of female leads (close to 30%). I read an article somewhere a while back is that many authors (especially male, but also some females) struggle with writing well rounded three dimensional characters as literature is full of huge variety of male characters whereas female characters tend to be on the dull side. There are famous exceptions, of course (say, Anna Karenina by Tolstoy), but it may be a contributing factor.

 

[bimbo36]

Barbwire has a women playing a strong character ...lol , anyway i don't like movies like that .

I like movies like

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

[CharonY]

OP is being hyperbolic, of course. But Barbwire has the issue of oversexualizing a female lead (not to mention being a horrible, horrible movie). A far better example would be Ripley in Alien.

Edited August 14, 2017 by CharonY

[Strange]

And, avoiding the action genre, there are several films about women that have largely (or even entirely) female casts. 

[Prometheus]

Isn't it just a case of shifting stereotypes and formulaic film making? Now action movies are all about the bad-ass women who can look after herself, but always happens to be very attractive too. It's already boring. But then i don't watch too many action movies - am i missing anything good?

Good call on Ripley - possibly the best action hero regardless of gender.

[CharonY]

18 minutes ago, Prometheus said:

Isn't it just a case of shifting stereotypes and formulaic film making? Now action movies are all about the bad-ass women who can look after herself, but always happens to be very attractive too. It's already boring. But then i don't watch too many action movies - am i missing anything good?

Good call on Ripley - possibly the best action hero regardless of gender.

TBF most male action heroes are also typically very 2D. Usually it is the villains that are somewhat interesting. Even then, I would probably agree that female action heroes are even more stereotyped, esp. with regard to their looks. But to look at genres that are typically male dominated, Thelma and Louise is a great road movie in the tradition of Easy Rider. 

[Phi for All]

I sat in on a writer's lecture at COMICON last month on the "Femme Fatale" character and how it's changing. It's swung from pinup poster girls bursting from their brassieres to oversexed wild cannons better at being men than men, but it is settling into more natural and realistic perspectives as more women writers and actors are being recognized for genuine portrayals of modern women.