Film Studies
<Name of the Academic Institution>
Introduction
The issue of gender-based behavioral patterns has always been a point of artistic interest. After cinematography emerged as an independent kind of art and a cultural phenomenon, it also started viewing them as a mean to increase attractiveness and interest for the media. This essay is aimed at pointing out the main examples of female characters who express certain elements of what is commonly perceived as male behavior, sort them out and determine whether there is a certain trend towards “masculinization” of the females.
In order to perform a deep and thoughtful analysis of the issue, certain possible mistakes and loopholes need to be determined and avoided later on:
- Films with non-linear feminine behavioral patterns are not limited by one country, one genre or one period of time. A selection of films was picked within this analysis in order to avoid this confusion.
- There is no strictly determined concept of male behavior. It will be demonstrated throughout the research that it is possible for female characters to perform certain actions, duties and routines without compromising their own identity.
- Despite the fact that the film industry tends to reflect the reality, it does so primarily in a transformed way in order to meet its goals (entertainment, box-office etc.). Due to this reason it would be premature to claim films to be a precise reflection of the reality.
The limitations imposed above have influenced the hypotheses which are to be tested throughout this research. The primary ones include the following statements:
- The shift of gender-related behavioral patterns is not unique for films as a form of art and has been borrowed from earlier sources.
- There is no single reason for women’s acting like men in the movies.
- It is unlikely that manly behavior of female characters in movies reflects any particular and well-defined element of public ideology or political movement.
This research is based on several techniques, and the main ones include analysis of critical sources concerning the current or recent movies, personal experience with certain, most prominent films and also structural analysis of literature and media originally not associated with the film industry per se.
For the purpose of avoiding a possible parochialism, several movies from various regions, genres and periods of time were chosen as specific examples for the analysis. Such films include “The North Country”, “Boys Don’t Cry”, “Coyote Ugly”, “Frida”, “G.I.Jane”, “Pirates of the Carribean”, “Orlando”, “I’m Not There” and “Osama”. Such selection covers various production periods (1990-2010), genres (comedy, drama, action) and cultures (contemporary America, medieval England, recent Middle East).
Concerning the issue of behavioral pattern, it may be inferred from the current media that male behavior in its hypertrophied form includes the following elements:
- Specific appearance (outfit, haircut, accessories etc.);
- Specific professional affiliation (hard work, labor-intensive industries);
- Specific routines and actions (consumption of alcohol and tobacco, coarse language, physical violence).
All these features will be analyzed regarding their attribution to female characters of the films.
Historical context
The idea of females performing as males in works of fiction roots back its history to Antiquity. Throughout Middle Ages this form of performance was restricted due to the religious reasons. In the end of the 16th century, however, the concept was revitalized is a play by William Shakespeare “As you like it”. This play involves elements of cross-dressing and masculine behavior of a female protagonist which has to conceal her true identity due to various reasons. Although the original idea does not involve elements other than cross-dressing and male speech pattern, it may be considered the first attempt of this trick within the context of popular culture of the New Time.
In later pieces of art masculine patterns were also often distributed to female characters. In the “Beggar’s Opera”, for instance, drinking was perceived to be a common evil, typical for representatives of both genders. One of the female characters states that “the life of all mortals in kissing should pass lip to lip when you’re young, then the lip to the glass” (Pepusch). It may be therefore said that certain elements of masculine behavior were adopted by female characters before cinematography was invented. The latter borrowed the trick for its own purposes.
There are three main reasons that authors were and still are using the mix of gender-based behavioral patterns (and they do so both ways):
- One of the main techniques aimed at gaining attention of the public is introduction of certain unexpected or ambiguous elements, be it in comedy or in drama. The curiosity of the audience is fuelled by discrepancy of the personality of the character and his (or her) behavior. In certain cases the public is also attracted by the most primitive, physical elements of such an expediment – funny or sensual appearance, etc.
- Cross-gender behavior allows the author explain and develop certain plot lines, raise questions of social or ethical nature, which would have remained unaddressed otherwise.
- Masculine behavior of female characters, as something outstanding and unusual, tends to drive attention to the work in general (be in literature or on the screen), therefore increasing its popularity and contributing to the overall cultural and financial success of the author.
Masculine behavioral patterns in the modern movies
It is beyond doubt that the behavior of characters has a strong impact on film aesthetics in general, and its cultural message, in particular. The feminine imagery in movies in some cases is being perceived as a form of a feminist art manifesto (Helke,1978), as women may be doing things in a manly way or pretend to be males per se. In certain cases it is also possible to refer to their behavior as acting through gender, disrupting the commonly accepted and commonly expected variants. The question is, however, whether there is such thing as male behavior, and whether the female characters who tend to demonstrate it for certain reasons risk to lose their original gender identity.
Let’s start with the most obvious reason of manly elements of behavior of female characters. In some cases they may be playing a role of a man or a person with a confused gender identity. The most vivid example here would be the role of Bob Dylan played by Cate Blanchett in the movie “I’m Not There”. The character is involved in tobacco consumption, and does so in a manly manner. The other example includes a purely fictional case of “Orlando”, which is based on a novel by Virginia Woolf. The character displays manly behavior (courtship of female characters, smoking, drinking, dressing), while originally the gender identity of his is not properly defined. After some time Orlando discovers that he has been a woman all this time and officially changes his gender in order to obtain internal balance and overcome the existing discrepancy. In the movie “Boys Don’t Cry” the reason of the manly behavioral pattern of the main character also lies in the confused self-identity, and respective manners, dressing, appearance and behavior derive from it. There is a question whether this mix-up is based on certain personal preferences or sexual desires, yet it is clear that the change of behavioral pattern towards masculinity in this case is caused by identity crisis. The same is true for the movie “Frida”, in which the main character is openly bi-sexual and does not conceal her attempts of being on the same page with men in every aspect of existence.
In other cases the reasons of behavior of female characters are also more or less obvious, although they do not derive from a personal crisis and reflect the necessity of adjusting to the circumstances. In the movies “The North Country” and “G.I.Jane” female characters have to or volunteer to join the professional niches originally occupied and dominated by males (a chemical plant in the former case and a SEALs unit in the latter). It is worth mentioning that even although they are now object of intensive moral and physical pressure, the female characters do not get their identities confused and do not change their routines and habits significantly. Although intensive consumption of alcohol may e observed in both cases, and the language of the characters tends to transform towards the male pattern (involving respective forms of verbal communication, jokes and even profanities), the females themselves remain within their gender roles and respective attributes without any significant cross-gender traits or lesbian affiliations. The same situation may be observed in the movies “Coyote Ugly” and “Osama”. In the first case the female employees at the bar are forced to consume alcohol with the clients in order to keep their jobs and still they find a way to denounce this obligation by pretending to do so. In the second case a small girl is forced by the circumstances to get dressed like a boy in order to gain employment and provide for the family, still her behavior and way of interaction with others remains the same.
Finally, there may be no particular significance or meaning in adoption of masculine elements of behavior by female characters in the movies. Throughout the trilogy “The Pirates of the Caribbean”, for instance, the main female character Elizabeth Swan is being portrayed as drinking rum or dressing as a male sailor, however the obvious primary reason is her own convenience without any additional ethical or aesthetical connotation.
Public ideology and political affiliation
It is commonly acknowledged that the movies tend to reflect the reality and respective historical, political and social processes, although such reflection is rarely precise and direct. The film industry is not a charity, and the main purpose of it is still value generation. Due to this reason successful filmmakers tend to be very sensitive about public perception of various phenomena, and feminization of the society happens to be one of those.
It may be said that the movies serve as a valid indicator of specific trends and their perception by the society. Indeed, if the drinking, smoking or cross-gender dressing women are not interesting for the people, there would be no future for a respective movie, be it in terms of a box-office or an official recognition and appraisal. The main purpose of the fiction movies is to entertain rather than educate or manifest certain values. On the other hand, even such movies reflect certain tendencies and views which are prevalent in the society at the moment. It would be tempting to claim some films to be proponents of gender equality, tolerance to gay and lesbian movement and feminism, yet no such official evidence may be detected. Movies reflect events that already happened, in some cases, long before they were made, and may be used as a relatively precise indicator of the existence of certain phenomena relevant to the rights of the women, but they cannot be used as a valid and powerful predictor of the trends of the future or signify efforts of any specific public or political group.
Conclusion
The hypotheses, which were introduced in the first part of the essay, were tested for validity according to the factual information. On the basis of the performed analysis, the following can be said:
- Hypothesis One happens to be valid. Elements of masculine performance were witnessed in fiction long before the introduction of cinematography. The main techniques were developed throughout centuries, and the current findings of the filmmakers all around the world may be traced back to the past. The methods remain effective and efficient and tend to attract attention of the audience. It is highly unlikely that this tendency is going to change in the foreseeable future.
- The second hypothesis is true, as it was detected that the change of gender-based behavioral patterns may be originated from various reasons. Three major causes have been detected – internal identity conflict (or even crisis) of the female characters, pressure of circumstances and their own convenience without further reasoning.
- The final hypothesis seems to be true, as there is no factual evidence that any of the mentioned movies were sponsored or composed by any particular public organization. Filmmakers tend to take into consideration the current values and perceptions of the target audience, yet they remain purely commercial entities.
Despite all the analysis performed and all the arguments provided throughout this research, it may be said that the topic is so deep and interesting that it requires further development. It would be reasonable to go beyond the narrow limits of this subject and perform an empirical, statistical analysis of the perception of gender roles and functions in the contemporary public media by the audience. The history of gender-related issues in films and art also could be analyzed. Finally, it would be potentially interesting to explore the view of the prominent members of the feminist and LGBT movements of the contemporary depiction of female characters in the movies. Such issues, however, lie beyond the scope of this particular essay and may be explored in detail in the future.
The statements provided throughout this research represent the personal experience of the author and may be assessed differently by other researchers. It is nevertheless true that an attempt has been made to perform deep structural analysis of the male features in behavior of the female characters in the movies. It is always difficult to generalize in this case, because the overall amount of the movies of interest may be counted in thousands, and within this research it was attempted to pick the most vivid and representative films from various genres, regions and periods in order to provide a more or less structured and balanced depiction of the issue.
References
- Helke,S.(1978). Feminism and Film. Jumpcut. Web. Retrieved 29 January 2014 from http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC27folder/SanderonFemsmFilm.html
- Pepusch,J(1728). The Beggar’s Opera. Media. Web. Retrieved 28 January from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2HHLRmd_R8
- The North Country. Directed by Niki Caro (2006). Warner Bros. Film.
- Boys Don’t Cry. Directed by Kimberly Peirce (1999). Fox Searchlight Pictures. Film.
- Coyote Ugly. Directed by David McNally (2000). Buena Vista Pictures. Film.
- Frida. Directed by Julie Taymor (2002). Miramax. Film.
- G.I.Jane. Directed by Ridley Scott (1997). Buena Vista. Film.
- Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy. Directed by Gore Verbinsky (2003-2007). Walt Disney Pictures. Films.
- Orlando. Directed by Sally Potter (1992). Sony Pictures Classics. Film.
- I’m Not There. Directed by Todd Haynes (2007). Celluloid Dreams. Film.
- Osama. Directed by Siddiq Barmak (2003). Barmak Film. Film.
