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"From rags to riches": How the role of women in cinema has changed

 Good day, readers of my channel. Cinema, like culture itself, is changeable. What was fashionable today, tomorrow will be perceived as outdated junk. Images in cinema change often, but today I want to talk about how the role of women in cinema has changed in a complex way. How did it all start and is it true that the era of feminism promotes female roles (here I hope to surprise you)?. Happy viewing!

vicious creation

Sheila Terry, famous actress of the 1920s.
Sheila Terry, famous actress of the 1920s.

In the era of silent cinema , namely in the 1920-1930s, corporality stood on the main plane. The female images of this period represented two extremes: on the one hand, the attractive companions of the protagonist, on the other hand, the femme fatales who destroy this hero. Of course, patriarchy also stood at the forefront. Because of this, women were rarely in the lead role. In fact, they have always been companions of men. It is worth noting that the time was conservative, and beautiful actresses were not strongly sexualized (they had a lot of clothes). In general, most often during this period, women were portrayed as dramatic characters. Also, the images of the heroines suffered from a loss of individuality. We can say that everyone looked the same and used similar make-up/cosmetics.

Closer to the forties, the image of a woman changes slightly. As before, corporality and lack of individuality dominate, but now the role of a movie star is added to the dramatic roles Girls were more often shown as glamorous stars: singers, musicians and actresses, respectively. Of course, they did this only with the aim of showing the hard way of life of a celebrity girl in order to discourage those who wish. Ironically, in the future this will lead to the romanticization of such an image in real life.

"Sexual Revolution"

In the war and post-war period, the image of a woman has changed. If earlier movie stars and dramatic fatal girls were shown, now the image has shifted towards supporting a man. The woman was shown as a loving companion , who supports her soul mate in everything. At the same time, the image of the keeper of the hearth began to be cultivated. In the same United States, they created the stereotype "housekeeper woman" . An important feature of this period in the cinema was the complete dependence on men. Women, as individual heroines, were practically not shown in the cinema. The success of a female image could only be measured by the success of her partner.

But everything changed with the advent of the so-called "sexual revolution" . Puritan beliefs were relegated to the background, and the style of the girls became more liberated. This led to the fact that the image of the girls shifted even more towards sexuality. The clothes on the heroines became less and less, and at the same time their screen time increased. Yes, then the success of films largely depended on the girls. Viewers of the new generation wanted to see beautiful ladies on the screens (and not only). Those who could cover audience demand succeeded. The popular female image of the time is: a charmingly beautiful girl who speaks little and does not shine with intellect, but keeps the main character company. Often these images were comical. Here, for example, is one of the quotes from Darling, played by Marilyn Monroe :

I don't care if he's rich, as long as he has a yacht, his own railroad, and toothpaste under his name.Darling from "Only Girls in Jazz"

Second wave feminism

Famous actress of the eighties - Brooke Shields
Famous actress of the eighties - Brooke Shields

Strengthening the positions of feminism in the 60-80s led to another paradigm shift. Now the image of a woman in the cinema has ceased to be comical. The thingness also disappeared - the heroines in the cinema were no longer perceived as a kind of thing without their own character (although the concept of "sex symbol" has not gone away). Now the main feature of the image of a woman has become her personality . Both the success of the film and the success of the actress depended on how the director writes it. Became popular "closed beauty" . Now, in order to attract the views of others, you do not need to dress provocatively, it is enough to have good taste and style. The audience began to be attracted not so much by the appearance of actresses as by their personal qualities. The struggle for women's rights has also borne fruit. At that time, girls could well be the main characters in films.

Closer to the nineties, a new type of sexuality appeared - intelligence . If earlier in girls they valued silence and innocence, now the opposite is true. Attracted the attention of the girl who is smart and beautiful. An offshoot of the new design was the "bad girl" look . This stereotype is similar to the "fatal woman" , however, unlike the latter, it is not negative. One of the main features of this image can be called intelligence and self-sufficiency, and only then negative traits (for example, rudeness and bad habits).

New era and imaginary feminism

In the 2000s, the image of a woman in the cinema was viewed mainly through the prism of a "bad girl" . However, it should be understood that girls simply began to be shown more often as capable and intelligent heroines who are endowed with some masculine qualities. For example, girls are killers or an adventurer (professions that have always been considered male). But along with this, the level of sexualization of female characters has also increased. The main characters of their favorite action movies became "sex symbols"for many years. The fact is that more people will go to a film with a beautiful outwardly actress than to a film where an ordinary girl will play the role of the heroine. The new sexualization of girls has allowed studios to earn huge amounts of money by making merch and countless sequels to the same films. This is what third-wave feminists have been wrestling with for ten (or more) years. Did their fight succeed?

Feminism is at its peak right now. This is especially true for Western culture. The Justice Fighters believe they are the ones who influence major campaigns such as Disney and the WB . Indeed, at first glance it seems that the number of "colored and unusual" in the cinema has grown dramatically in recent years. But the bitter truth, for all feminists, shows that girls play the leading roles no more often than in 30% of all films. At the same time, there are even fewer women directors - only 8% . The situation is different with wages: girls receive much less than men. Sexualization has not disappeared either, because according to statistics, men receive large fees, starting from the age of 40, while girls - up to 34 years.

...women negotiating higher pay worry about appearing "difficult" or "spoiled"Jennifer Lawrence

At the same time, studios that allegedly fight for the rights of minorities, in fact, most often violate them. But for feminists and all "left" movements, it is not the result that matters, but the appearance of support. All this is reminiscent of the fight with windmills. Instead of standing up for their rights for real, or changing and not obsessing over the “struggle,” feminists revel in their supposed power. At the same time, the very image of girls in the cinema has not changed much in relation to the zero. Diversity now prevails, and for every strong and independent heroine there will be a film where traditional values ​​and appropriate characters are at the forefront.

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