Term 3, Lesson 18

Analysis of Hercules:

Hercules:

• from a young age strength is important
• having no muscles but is still extremely strong make him a freak - clumsy is bad
• didn't belong
• "He's to dangerous to be around normal people!"
• in training he is saving a damsel
• He wants to be come a true hero
• when he said use your head, he literally used his head
• 'wonderboy'
• boy saves girl and becomes a god

Meg:

• in training he is saving a damsel
• "... rescue some damsels, heroic stuff."
• "sounds like a basic D.I.D, damsel in distress."
• "I'm a damsel, I'm in destress, I can handle this."
• skinny
• tiny waist
• long hair
• meg works for Hatie because she sold her sole to save a man and then he left her
• she has a deep smooth voice
• she lounges around
• sings
• boy saves girl and becomes a god

Others:

• "I haven't seen this much love in one room since Narcistis discovered himself"
• Haties - fire hair, sharp and pointy teeth and fingers - big, dark, no one takes him seriously, eats worms
• Philoctiti, "nimfs, the can't keep their hands off me", he then gets slapped by a nimf

Term 3, Lesson 17

Media Task: 

• evaluate women or men in disney
• big audience
• films are iconic but questions rise on how they stereotype and how that translates to the audience
•  content and contextual analysis 
• 4-6 minutes
• analyse the role that the film play in creating and reinforcing gender stereotypes
• women - appearance, cooking, cleaning, good, bad, personality, actions 
• men
• attributes (personality, actions, appearance)
• roles (disney films don't challenge the stereotypical roles)

Peter Pan Analysis:

Wendy:

• Wendy believed and was the 'supreme authority' of peter pan
• beautiful
• very talkative and annoying when first meeting peter
• Peter say "Girls talk to much", "Get on with it girl"
• Peter saves Wendy when she is being shot down
• Peter laughed at Tinkerbelle calling Wendy a big ugly girl
• when they are flying to neverland Wendy checks her appearance in the reflection in the river
• Wendy is the kind one and tells Peter not to banish Tinkerbelle for too long even though tink is horrible to her
• mermaids lie around and admire themselves, they love peter and admire him, jealous of wendy, pull her in the water - peter just laughs 
• Peter leaves without Wendy after saving Tigerlilly
• peter shushes wendy when she's standing up for herself
• peter shows off to Wendy
• Hook says, "A jealous female can be tricked into anything"

Peter:

• peter pan chose a house of people who believed in him
• unattractive
• looks dirty 
• not presentable
• only wanted to here stories about him
• laughed at tinker belle calling Wendy a big ugly girl
• He doesn't want Wendy to grow up for himself not for Wendy
• saves Wendy when she is being shot down
• can hate Tinkerbelle after one incident 
• shushes Wendy when she's standing up for herself
• shows off to Wendy
• calls hook names
• leaves without wendy after saving tigerlilly
• smokes from a pipe on screen

Others:

• male narrator
• mrs darling believed he was the spirit of youth
• mr darling was a 'practical man'
• bothers believed peter pan was real person and was the hero of all their stories
• Mary Darling - elegant and beautiful
• John Darling - chubby and arrogant
• when Tinkerbelle is admiring herself in the mirror she thinks her hips are two wide, measuring them with her hands 
• Lost boys - lazy, sleeping, dirty, stupid, will believe anything someone they know says
• John is racist in calling the indians savages, cunning and unintelligent 
• john smokes but makes him ill and wendy doesn't let her or Michael smoke

Term 3, Lesson 16

The Bachelor Episode:

These are the shows who reinforce stereotypes of women

Women as a group:

• They are bimbos even though the may have a good jobs
• edit intelligent comments they may make out
• desperate
• bitchy
• positing the audience to see them the way they want them to
• feel sorry for them 
• manipulating the characters
• the audience is judgmental and hypercritical 
• they are all competing

 

Sam:

• becomes okay to compete for a guy
• normalising guys dating multiple girls
• he could be decent if he didn't make girls fight over him
• we are only shown what the girls go through

 Heather:

• fun
• cheeky
• opinionated
• confident
• hides her emotions
• possessive 
• different when she is with Sam
• all girls are jealous with heather
• white rose

Ebru:

• said that heather would only be a friend to Sam
• Heather is a threat
• tries to be better then others

Term 3, Lesson 15

Analysis of The Little Mermaid:

Ariel:

• adventurous
• beautiful
• the most beautiful voice
• soft 
• angelic
• not scared of anything
• dumb and will believe anything a male says
• gets into trouble for not being where she is suppose to be
• carless
• 16
• disobedient 
• gets in trouble for being different 
• She needs a babysitter
• girl saves boy
• sings
• becomes obsessed with boy
• she makes irrational decisions because she is young
• she has an unrealistic body
• she gets embarrassed easily (fork)
• she would marry him within a day of knowing

Eric:

• handsome at first sight
• dark hair, blue eyes
• plays an instrument 
• he needs to get married - preferably to a princess
• he knows which girl will be the right one form the moment he sees her
• girl saves boy
• he cares about animals
• he's looking for the voice not the girl 
• boy saves girl 

Trident and others:

• King big and muscular with white long hair and facial hair to signify wise
• sisters are all beautiful and colourful 
• Ursula has a deep voice, scary, older, over weight

Term 3, Lesson 14

Beauty and the Beast Analysis:

Belle:

• Everyone needs to be able to sing
• A girl is strange if she reads
• Her name means beauty
• Different from the rest of the town, odd
• "It's time you got you head out of those books and paid more attention to important things. Like me." Gaston to Belle, "The whole town in talking about it, it's not right for a woman to read, soon she starts getting ideas, and thinking..."
• soft and angelic voice
• Gaston expects Belle to marry him on the spot, saying its the day her dreams will come true
• will sacrifice herself for her father
• The beast must attempt to be a gentleman to win Belle's heart
• will never see the beast as anything but a monster
• needed to be saved
• took care of beast when hurt
• Beast gives her his books because she loves and appreciates them, she cares about them
• Both make adjustments to suit each other
• The site of Belle gave the beast strength to fight back

Beast:

• Prince spoilt selfish and unkind
• old women (enchantress) with rose said, "don't be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within."
• Punishment for having no love in the Prince's heart she turned him into a beast 
• Prince ashamed of his new form
• Doomed to remain a beast unless he could love another and be loved in return
• Both make adjustments to suit each other
• The site of Belle gave the beast strength to fight back
• feels the only way he can act is in anger

Gaston:

• hunter, handsome, has trophies
• Others girls only pay attention to the handsome men not the kind ones
• "It's time you got you head out of those books and paid more attention to important things. Like me." Gaston to Belle, "The whole town in talking about it, it's not right for a woman to read, soon she starts getting ideas, and thinking..."
• Gaston expects Belle to marry him on the spot, saying its the day her dreams will come true
• Gaston must always get his way
• Gaston - thinking is a dangerous past time
• Gaston willing to do anything to get Belle

Term 3, Lesson 13

Snow White Interpretation:

What might a female character do that is different from the original?
- stand up for herself
- go after the queen
- not be to naive

Identify a situation in which she speaks. What might she say?
- when the dwarfs say she can only stay if she cooks and cleans, “I’m not going to cook and clean for - you, I’m in hiding from someone who wants to kill me, you were doing a great job yourself don't - - - expect me to clean up after you. I’m not your mother!”

What might she be rewarded for?
- being smart enough to run
- cleaning up after dwarfs and cooking for them even though she didn't have to

What qualities would be valued in women? 
- courage
- strength
- intuition

What might she be punished for?
- letting people push her around
- not standing up for herself

Term 3, Lesson 11 & 12

Over these lessons we have been continuing the discussion of gender stereotypes and general stereotypes in the world as well as Disney and how Disney is the result of some of these problems. From a young age in our lifetime and a bit before Disney has been giving girls and young women the wrong idea about themselves as well as men.

Term 3, Lesson 10

Disney Stereotypes:
- You should change who you are for your love interest. ('The Little Mermaid')
- Men are hopeless and need women to take care of them. ('Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs')
- Outward beauty is what makes you special. ('Cinderella')
- Being thin and white is what makes women beautiful and valuable. (Everything pre 'Mulan')
- Weight determines temperament. ('Beauty and the Beast')
- Women have to be strong AND gentle. ('Pocahontas')
- Arabs are erotic, barbaric and ignorant. ('Aladdin')
- Men are saviours.
- Being masculine means being hot and buff (and white, obviously). ('Hercules')

Term 3, Lesson 8 & 9

Watched 'MISSREPRESENTED"

QUESTIONS ON MISSREPRESENTED:

1. “You can’t be what you can’t see.” What does this quote suggest about how representations of powerful women are, largely, absent from the mass media?

It means that if there isn't someone already where women aspire to be when they grow up and decide on a career they will most often won't continue on that path.

2. What does Miss Representation suggest about the way women are represented in the media?

It shows that women need to be perfect and codependent on men as most women in the media aren't what they seem due to photoshop or a bad photo being taken.

3. What is a stereotype? Which gender stereotypes are being repeated again and again in the media?

Dumb blonde, women can't handle big positions, they belong in the house, hot body, what the man wants her to be,

4. In terms of representation of women, what is the problem with mainstream Hollywood films?

Women wat films about men but men don't watch films about women, even in films about women - they need to find a man, women 'can't' direct films.
In non-hollywood mainstream films women characters are stronger, more realistic, more opportunities.

5. What sort of stereotypes are used to represent female leaders?

Bossy, arrogant, nags, rude --- attractive, more domesticated, object of desire, neglectful
In Australia: Julia Gillard (teased, objectified, judged on looks, clumsy, voice)
Speaker - Bron Bishop: (powerful, spent tax payers money inappropriately)
Julie Bishop: (working on united nation security, standing up for flight MH17, making an international stand  

6. What does Caroline Heldman argue about representations of women like Lara Croft which, on the surface, may appear empowering?

7. What, according to Gloria Steinem, is the side effect of representations created in a patriarchal system?

8. During prime time television, what age group do the majority of female characters belong to?

9. What does Jennifer Pozner claim about the representation of women on reality television?

Bitchy, dramatic, emotional, annoying, make a big deal about women but the men are the ones who overreact more

10. Explain how the following factors may influence the representation of gender in the mass media:  cultural attitudes, media ownership, advertising, media regulation.