Another of the films that we analysed, “The Untouchables”, made in 1987 and directed by Brian De Palma, stared major male actors such as Kevin Costner (Eliot Ness), Sean Connery(Jim Malone) and Robert De Niro(Al Capone). Already, you get the impression of male supremacy, as the three main characters are all well-known male characters. To further back this up, these three actors are the three main characters in the film.
In the passage we saw there was an apparent sense of male supremacy, as the female was only on the screen for a short period of time. This shows that, in this film, the female doesn’t have an important part to play at all. On the other hand, the male has all of the important roles, and these roles all include action. When the female did appear on the screen, the role she played was a very stereotypical one. She is in the kitchen, doing various chores such as cooking and cleaning. Then when the male got home (presumably the husband) the female was tending to him. This shows that the male is the more commanding person, with the female doing what the male wants of her.
In this passage, it is clear that males are meant to be the more important gender, as they really “drive the film”. This is evident as the three main characters are all male. In addition because of the “male dominance” in this film, because of the extent action that is involved, and because of the “Mafia link” that is involved in the film, I think that the target audience for this film is certainly males; the age group could vary from anything between young teenagers to elderly men.
These two films both have stereotypical views of both the male and the female, but these films were from earlier decades. Consequently, this doesn’t prove whether or not the representation of gender in the media today is like that. That is why we analysed two other films, made more recently; “Indiana Jones- Raiders of the lost Ark” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. I feel that both films have a similar target audience, although their ratings are different (Indiana Jones-PG, Mr. Mrs. Smith-15), but Indiana Jones may be more suited to families, whilst Mr. and Mrs. Smith would be more suited for teenagers of the modern generation.
The first film, “Indiana Jones- Raiders of the lost Ark” was made in 1981 and was directed by Steven Spielberg. The films main character is a male, who is Indiana Jones (Played by Harrison Ford), and the female is an actor who has never actually been in a major film before, and she is called Miriam. This leaves Indiana Jones in the spotlight even before the film starts; therefore he is the protagonist of the film. The antagonists of the film are the Germans, as they try to stop Jones from succeeding.
We first see Indiana Jones as a silhouette, with his trademark hat and whip. The camera is at a low angle (low angle shot), giving the impression of superiority. The lighting on him is very dark, and you can only see the surrounding environment. This is the mis-en-scene. Before we see Jones though, the camera pans and follows the characters through the forest; there are non-deigetic sounds being made; these are animal sounds to add to the jungle theme. The characters here seem very afraid with what is happening, unlike Jones, who (when we eventually see him) is very focused on the task, and doesn’t seem the slightest bit distracted. For example when we first see him he is straight into battle with somebody who had tried to ambush him. This shows he is a very physical man, and he isn’t afraid of much. The build up to seeing Jones’ and watching him fight gains the interest of the audience because the suspense that was sustained there would of captured the audience’s attention, and there is still much more mystery to be discovered in the film, which the audience would of figured out. This fits the stereotype of a male because he comes across as strong, brave and attractive.
When Jones and his acquaintance enter the cave, we see the skills and knowledge that Jones’ possess. He uses his ingenuity to evade the traps that are set in the cave, and he also manages to get the artifact that he was searching for. Unfortunately all doesn’t go according to plan and the biggest trap sets itself off; the cave starts to “attack”. Jones hands the artifact over to his acquaintance but this seems to prove a costly mistake; the acquaintance betrays him and runs off with the artifact, letting greed get the better of him and leaving Indiana to die. Fortunately, like any good hero, Jones finds a way out, and actually retrieves the artifact from his acquaintance, who ironically, and justly dies due to his own greed, and lack of knowledge and skills. This also fits the stereotype of the male because, traditionally, a male hero always succeeds and in this part Jones does exactly that.
Although Jones comes out of the cave unharmed, and with the artifact in his hand, when he comes out he is surrounded by a group of African tribe members, and a rival architect, who Jones surrenders the artifact to in almost an instant, which shows that he knows it is futile to resist. The camera shot at this time changes dramatically; Indiana Jones is now made to look inferior with the high angle shot, with the others made superior with low angle shots. This is a major change in the stereotype, because males in films tend not to give up easily, but in this Jones gives up the artifact very easily.
The next scene shows a dramatic change in appearance, and location for Jones. From the action-based depths of the jungle/cave he is now in a school in a city. This will interest the audience because this is a major change in the theme of the film; it is very more calm based, and it is the zinger part of the film (build up to the action).
The next scene that I will talk about is very important, as it introduces the audience to the main female role. When we first see her, we see an extremely non-stereotypical view as she is having a drinking contest with another male. Although the “crowd” thinks that the male will win, the female rather surprisingly winning. The female stereotype then starts to “kick in” hen the Germans arrive at the female’s bar, and she starts to show signs of fear. This is where a true stereotypical plot comes into action, as Jones comes and starts fighting. Jones defeats most of the villains, with Miriam picking out one or two of the villains, just like a typical female in movies.
After this scene we see a different Miriam; a more lady like person. This change sparks an element of romance in the film, as both people are attracted to each other, and this would fit in with both stereotypes. Then, when the action eventually starts, we first see some humour. It is when the ninja who tries to attack Jones with his sword is shot by Jones. This is humourous, but also fits in with the stereotype of a male because it shows how laid back Jones is. We also see the stereotype of the female as well, as she gets captured by the villains. This event causes the male to “break” his stereotype and starts to weep, as he thinks that the female is dead.
Although this film is twenty years old, we can evidently see changes in the stereotypes, especially the female. Although this is true, the basic concept of the stereotypes remains the same. In conclusion the stereotypes in this film have developed since the earlier years, because we see the female standing up to the male, which before was considered the stronger gender, and we also see the male giving up very easily. Although this is the case, like I had mentioned before, the main stereotype concepts remain the same.
The next film that we analysed was “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. It was directed by Doug Liman, and had two main but equal characters; Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Already you can see an equal comparison here, because we have two famous actors, who are both acknowledged for their acting skills. The film is about two spies, who are married but they do not know they are spies. In this film, both main characters are the antagonists and protagonists, because they are both trying to doa task, but both are trying to stop each other.
The film starts off with a monologue of the two characters, talking about their married life and how boring and dull it is, in comparison with when they first met. The film then turns to a flashback of when the two first met, and this is where we first see the equal ness of both characters and genders. There are two main points where this is evident. The first is where both actors are carrying weapons; the male (John) a gun, the female (Jane) a knife. This could be stereotypical because you could argue that the male likes to be more adventurous, and likes to go straight in there, whilst the female likes to be stealthier. On the other hand you could argue they are equal because that could just be the characters’ styles, and apart from the weapons everything else is the same. The next part where equality between the genders is evident is at the shooting-game arena, where both characters decide that they would like to have a go. John goes first and scores a perfect score (stereotype of male), and wins a prize. Then, defying all the odds, the female gets a perfect score as well. This shows that both genders are equal in their skills, and their opportunities. This shows that in this film the traditional stereotype doesn’t apply, and a more recent view of genders is used.
After this part the film then returns to the current time, and rejoins the marriage of the Smiths. They both leave their house in they go and do their different jobs. First, the male. He pretends to be drunk and enters a poker game that some men are playing (note the stereotype there; no females). He joins in and notices the gun on one of them. After the “Ring Leader” enters, John gets out his guns and blasts all of the people there. This is a typical male approach to things as it isn’t really been planned out, and there is as much action and thrills there as possible.
Next, the female. Unlike the male, she opts to go for a stealthy approach, which is well planned out. She uses no weapon of choice, unlike the male who used two guns. She dresses up as a prostitute, and seduces the male that she is sent to kill. Very surreptitiously, she breaks the man’s neck and kills him. These assassination are very stereotypical because the male wants to go and get as much thrills from the kill s he can, and the female likes to get some enjoyment out of it, but she also wants to go for the “sinister” approach, as that’s where her enjoyment comes from.
When we see the workplaces of both characters, we see a very stereotypical theme. The male’s workplace is very messy, with cups of coffee and papers all over the place. This is a very stereotypical view of males’ because this is what people tend to think that males’ have no organisational skills. The female’s workplace on the other hand is very hi-tech, with computers to store information etc. This is stereotypical of a female because people tend to think females have better organisational skills.
Finally, the weapons that both actors have in the film is very significant, as they tell us a lot about the genders. First, the male stores his weapons underneath the shed. Straight away there is a stereotyping there, as you could argue that the shed is linked to actions such as DIY, which is often referred to as “a males’ job” On the other hand you could argue it was just coincidence, but as we all know, nothing in films happens without a reason. Then when you see the weapons, and they are all large and powerful weapons, such as rocket launches and sniper rifles. This is significant because the weapons tell us that the male likes to use powerful, big action-packed weapons, which is the stereotype of a male.
The female stores her weapons in the kitchen, in the oven, which is very stereotypical. The weapons she has also indicate stereotyping, as she has a various number of knifes and small guns, which suggests she is more of the quiet type, apposed to the male who is very action-packed.
In conclusion to this film, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” is a very equal-roled film, with the two different genders getting equal parts. Although this is the case, it doesn’t mean stereotyping doesn’t take place. In fact, I believe that it takes part in the film quite a lot, as both the personalities and the features were there because of the genders.
Overall to the question “Through analysis of “Indiana Jones- Raiders of the lost Ark” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, evaluate how the representation of gender in the action film genre has developed in recent years”, I think that the gender representation has changed dramatically in both sexes, as the male seems to of lost his dominancy, and the female seems to be more powerful now. The searches showed us what the stereotypes were at the start; that being the male being the dominant force, with the female sitting back. “The Untouchables” backed this up. But as the years went on the stereotypes changed. In “Indiana Jones- Raiders of the lost Ark”, we saw a step up in ferocity in the females character, although the male was still the dominating factor of the film. But the biggest change was in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, as the roles were equal and the characters were both doing things their own way, not afraid of anything. My only query is that all the films we analysed were produced by males; if a female had produced them, would the stereotypes be any different?
