The movie business is no better than T.V. Movies in the 21st century either portray a woman as the one who is pining for the love of the leading man and eventually gets him in the end or the damsel in distress who is saved by the strong brave man. Of course there are movies with leading ladies. However the majority of these main characters who are women are action figure type usually dressed in very provocative clothing shooting or fighting bad guys. What kind of ideology does this present to woman? Not the 21st woman who has independence and choices, but a woman representing the popular patriarchal ideology.
The Frankfurt School’s theorists Adorno and Horkeimer view popular culture as mass deception. Culture is imposed on the masses by the State, shaping their tastes and desires resulting in false needs. This ideology keeps women in a subordinate state. Ideas presented in the media present false needs for women. Advertisements for cleaning products that “save time” or are more effective, hygienic products and makeup that are “technologically advanced” and the clothing manufacturers introducing new fashions each season, encourage women to feel the need to live that specific lifestyle presented to them.
In the 1950’s and 60’s magazines presented women as a child rearing housewife that took care of their working husbands and maintained the home. As decades went by and we emerged into the 21st century many women started to work outside the home. Most magazine and television advertisements impose an “unrealistic view of women’s lives” (Wright). Women were given more diverse roles and having interests beyond maintaining a home. However despite this change the image presented is still unattainable. A survey done by Splash Consulting group “found 89 per cent of women felt the way they were portrayed in advertising and marketing harmed their ability to be taken seriously in the workplace” (Wright).
While the discussion of this essay is the subordination of women, we must also look at how popular culture affects little girls. These little girls grow up to be women and what ideologies are presented to children stay with them as they become the women of the 21st century. One of the most iconic toys that is marketed to little girls is Barbie. As Lohr states in his article,
Despite Barbie’s battles and successes, she still remains one of the world’s biggest pop culture icons, with an estimation of over a billion dolls sold in 150 countries. Mattell has even maintained that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
Barbie has a huge effect on girls’ perception of womanhood. Barbie has certainly changed over the 50 years that she has existed, however not enough. She remains a “sex symbol moulded in plastic” (Lohr), that little girls strive to replicate. Her unattainable figure, perfect hair and flawless complexion only aids in promoting self image problems in girls and women. There are many women who go to a plastic surgeon wanting Barbie’s breasts or butt or cheek bones. Sarah Burge is the extreme example. She is referred to as the “human Barbie doll” (Johnston). With twenty-six surgeries and spending 180,000 pounds she has achieved the perfect image. Mattel has changed part of their marketing campaign for the Barbie doll recently, introducing the new “I Can Be” line of dolls. Barbie now has jobs such as a doctor, veterinarian, dentist and computer engineer. While this is a way to inspire young girls, there are still flaws. Why is one of the “I Can Be” Barbies a bride? The doll’s brand manager, Adriana Gut replies, “Being a bride is clearly not a career per se....it’s more about dreaming into the future. And, of course, being a bride is a role that some girls might aspire to” (Vallis).
Marketing mature products to a younger generation is another way popular culture molds young girls into the acceptable stereotype. Clothing and beauty products that are supposed to be for grown women are now being made for young girls. Just last week Wal-Mart launched a makeup line specifically for girls aged 8 to 11. This makeup line named GeoGirl, “prides itself on the all-natural ingredients...designed for delicate young skin...and even claims to be anti-aging” (Gail-Piorek). Author Gail-Piorek sarcastically states, “so, third graders now worry about learning multiplication, Justin Beiber and yes, wrinkles.” High heel shoes are now made for girls as young as 2. Once the pictures of Tom Cruise and Kate Holmes daughter Suri Cruise wearing shoes with a two inch heel were plastered all over the tabloids, mothers were running out to stores to buy their own little 3 year old her first pair of heels. Girls are being taught at a young age what fashions are shown on the celebrity children and in advertisements is what they need to have to be liked or popular.
Popular culture emits power over society. Both men and women are bombarded with ideologies that are viewed as the norm or “status quo”. However, the majority of these ideologies are based on patriarchal beliefs. What women should look like, act like, and even sound like are constantly presented in TV, movies, music, advertising and literature. If a woman strays from what is believed to be popular then they are not “normal”. We have come a long way in women’s rights and freedoms. In a western society women have the right to vote, they can get a higher education and professional jobs, they can even run for office, however they still have to do this all in a “man’s world” and this keeps women in a subservient position in society.
Bibliography
Adorno, Theodor, and Max Horkheimer. The culture industry: enlightenment as mass deception. 1944. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.
Callinicos, Alex. 2007. Social Theory: A Historical Introduction. Cambridge. Polity Press.
De Beauvior, Simone. The Second Sex. 1949. Web. 26 Feb 2011.
Gall-Piorek, Becky. “Walmart Launches Makeup Line for Girls 8 – 11.” Mommy Matters. Oxford Patch., 23 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Feb 2011.
Johnston, Jenny. “I’m the Human Barbie Doll.” Mail Online. 13 Dec 2006. Web. 26 Feb 2011.
Lohr, Justin. “I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world.” The Highlander., 26 Feb. 2009. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
Storey, John. 2001. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. Essex. Pearson Education.
The Internet Movie Database. Imdb.com. n.d. Web. 24 Feb 2011.
Vallis, Mary. “Do Girls in 2010 need Barbie to tell them they can be anything they want to be?” The National Post., 19 Mar. 2010. Web. 26 Feb 2011.
Wright, Anne. "Stereotyped roles keep women down." Herald Sun (Melbourne) n.d.: Newspaper Source Plus. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.