Why are Female Directors such a rare Sight?

-Film is very male dominated and it’s very much about the ''who you know'', in terms of how you get promoted. The whole way the business is constructed- just men at every level', which makes it really hard for women to get their feet in the door.

- 9/10 will be high positioned males-so women aren't even given the opportunities.

-Women just do not get into the industry as much as men, because there not given the opportunity to do so.

-Women have children and have to play the motherly figure

-There’s too much competition that it’s really hard to get into the industry and men get more of a chance to so, more than females.

Ways to improve
-More speeches in schools should be given to girls to make them interested in making films-Like Beeban Kidron did.

-More females should step forward with fresh ideas, so people are aware of their potential.

-More women should submit there work instead of being scared of getting turned down(because they'll never know if their ideas are any good if they're just too scared to submit their work).

Shake and Vac advert
This advert is showing a sterotypical houewife from the 50s doing all housework. She is following Scheibes 1979 theory that women are concerned about beauty cleanliness and family. she looks happy to be doing the housework, as she is smiley and cheery, as if this is so much fun and excitment.

Mr Muscle Advert
This advert follows Comberbatch (1990s) study that men are cooking/cleaning more than women in advert. In this advert, the male is shown to be doing cleaning, something that would not of been shown in the 50s-80s.

Diet Coke Advert
In this advert women are changing positions with men by objectifying men- known as the female gaze. The advert shows how women use there breaks to go and sexually look at the men. This allows males to know how the females feeel when there bodies are always sexually gazed at.

J'Adore Advert
This is a j'adore advert advertising perfume. She is being portrayed a sophticated, classy woman. She is beautiful which supports Scheibe (1979) theory. This is a new advert of them 21st century whioch clearly shows how females now have lead roles but they are chosen based on their looks and what they cas offer on screen.

Female Film Directors

Gurinder Chadha:
She has as her career total 14 wins in major awards and 7 nominations in other awards
Successful Movies: Angus thongs and perfect snogging (2008)
Bend it like Beckham(2002)
Bride & Prejudice (2004)
What do you call an Indian women who's funny(1994)

Debbie Allen:
Allen first began receiving critical attention in 1980, when she appeared in the role of Anita in the Broadway revival of West Side Story which earned her a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award.
Successful Movies: Blank Check
Next Day Air
Ragtime

Kathryn Bigelow
Successful Movies:
The Set-Up (1978)
Point Break (1991)
Blue Steel (1990)
The weight of water(2000)

Lesli Linka Glatter
Successful Movies: Now and Then (1995)
Into the Homeland (1987)
Tales of Meeting and Parting (1984)

Barbara Albert
Successful Movies:
Fallen (2006)
Visions of europe(2004)
Nordrand (1999)
Somewhere else (1997)

''I'm a Real Woman with Real curves, with Real beautyyyy!!!!''

''Heyyy...

Does my Bum look Big in Thisss??''

''Am i Reallyyyyy Here for Pepsii???''

Book Research

• Macdonald Myra: 1995: Representing Women- Myths of Femininity in the Popular Media- Hodder Arnold (Page 187)

''Media still replay the Madonna/whore dichotomy, and focus in a way untypical of any other crime on the victim or, as support groups now prefer to characterize her, 'the survivor.

• Kimmel, M.S(ed.) 1987: Changing Men: New direction in research on Men and Masculinity. Newbury Park, CA, Beverly Hills, London, New Delhi:Sage(Page 212)

-''If anything, the media act to reinforce already existing attitudes and values regrading women and violence. They do contribute, but are only part of the problem''.

• Lewis Glenn, 1983: Real Men like violence:Australian Men, Media and Violence. Kenhurst:Kangaroo Press (page 11)

-''Within certain limits aggressive male behaviour is accepted as normal part of everyday''.

• Mason, David, (2000) Race and Ethnicity, Modern Britain Publishers (Page 9)

-‘The term racism… is frequently used to express patriotic fervour and straightforward ignorance about other cultures’

• Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ (page 66)

-‘Female roles have definitely become tougher’

• A. Cranny-Francis, P.Stavropoulos, J.Kirkby (2003) Palagrave Macmillan Publishing's :Gender Studies Terms and Debates (page 244)

-‘under a patriarchal regime, women are, by definition, excluded from positions of power and authority’

Representation of Gender in the Past (50s-90s)

High Noon (1952)
This film mainly focuses on male hero's. These men typically made the decisions which led the story, and were assertive, confident and dominant. Women were shown in films too but were shown to be as frightened and in need of protection and direction, and offering love and support to male characters.

The Sound of Music (1965)

In the 1960s gender roles did not differ greatlty from previous decades, with men still being represented as assertive and dominant. The Sound of Music is an excepption, with having a female protaganist in the film. She is represented as pure and ''The Madonna''.

Star Wars (1977)

In the 1970s there was second wave feminism; and film and television were taking women more seriously Princess Leia was the main protagonist in the 1977 Star Wars film. She is represented as Beautiful,brave and the surviving female character. In 1972 Sharon Smith says ''The role of a woman in a film almost always revolves around her physical attraction and the mating games she plays with the male characters''.

The Indiana Jones Series (1981,1984,1989)

- The reliable heroic male still featured prominently in most films. Society was changing but films weren't reflecting that. The Indiana Hones films show this by have a male character through-out the whole film, who is portrayed as strong, brave and dominant. In 1983 Ann Kaplan says ''Women are ultimately refused a voice'', which is represented in these films.

Fatal Attraction (1987)

This is an example of a fim that Susan Faludi (1991) argued saying that they are a part of a wider backlash against women's liberation and womens careers. This film shows the typical ''femme fatale'' woman (originated in the 1940s), who is sexy, classy, but will try to do anything to destory the male.

- REPRESENTATION OF GENDER TODAY (David Gauntlett)Chapter 4

(This handout focuses on men and women in the past 15years) GENDER IN CONTEMPORARY TV PROGRAMMES

• In prime time TV shows, 1992-1993, men took 61 per cent of the total number of speaking roles, with women having only 39per cent.
  
• In 1992-1993 a study found that only 3per cent of women were represented as housewives as their main occupation (a massive decrease from the 1970s)
  
• Between 1992-1993 a study found that 'the woman on prime time TV' was young, single, independent and free from family and work place pressures (Elasmer, Hasegawa, Brian 1999)
  
• Many sitcoms in the late 1990s, help portrayed women as free and independent, but still wanting a man, examples such as 'Sex and the City and Alley Mcbeal'

Representation and Gender linked to Sex and the City

- The women in Sex and the City are at the forefront, and are focused on their quests fore sex, pleasure and romantic love.

- The whole rationale of Sex&the City is that these women want pleasure, know how to get it and are determined to do so. And the kick is in the assumption that women are always great in bed, the men more variable.

- The character of Samantha has been particularly notable as a portrayal of a sexually assertive woman in her forties.

Gender in Contemporary Movies

Charlies Angels (2000)

• Michael Thomson of BBC online- 'Women's glamour and pouting', saying that the film's message was 'by all means be feisty, but never forget to be feminine'.
• The film does knowingly showcase the women's physical attractiveness, but their success comes from their brains, and their fighting skills.
• 'Barrymore, Diaz and Liu represent redhead, blond and brunette respectively ( as David Poland has pointed out, T[its], A[ss] and Hair.