The Female Hero: Finding Her Place in the Male Dominated World of Film

Within the filmic landscape, the male gaze has always had the upper hand. Films are generally made by men, for men and although this may seem as something from the past, it is still the case. There is an imbalance between the presence of women and men in film, how they are presented and, more importantly, who the films are made for. Within this thesis I want to explore this further and see how this lack of equality has influenced the possibility for identification with the characters on screen by the female spectator. With this I want to focus on the female (super)hero as she is up and coming, but struggling to truly settle in within the male genres of film. I want to try to discover whether her presence has made a difference for the female spectator and if she is someone to they can identify with, as this has for the most part been difficult to do in the past. Moreover, I want to look at what female heroes have been important over the past decade and whether they have changed the...Show moreWithin the filmic landscape, the male gaze has always had the upper hand. Films are generally made by men, for men and although this may seem as something from the past, it is still the case. There is an imbalance between the presence of women and men in film, how they are presented and, more importantly, who the films are made for. Within this thesis I want to explore this further and see how this lack of equality has influenced the possibility for identification with the characters on screen by the female spectator. With this I want to focus on the female (super)hero as she is up and coming, but struggling to truly settle in within the male genres of film. I want to try to discover whether her presence has made a difference for the female spectator and if she is someone to they can identify with, as this has for the most part been difficult to do in the past. Moreover, I want to look at what female heroes have been important over the past decade and whether they have changed the gender imbalance or have kept it intact, only seemingly changing things on the surface but not on a deeper level. What possibility for identification have they been able to offer to the female spectator?Show less

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The Female Hero: Finding Her Place in the Male Dominated World of Film