Utjecaj Drugog vala feminizma na filmsku teoriju - analiza prezentacije ženskih likova u klasičnom i modernom zapadnjačkom filmu : diplomski rad

Bekavac, Ivana. (2014). Utjecaj Drugog vala feminizma na filmsku teoriju - analiza prezentacije ženskih likova u klasičnom i modernom zapadnjačkom filmu : diplomski rad. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Sociology. [mentor Galić, Branka].

Preview

PDF (Croatian) Download (304kB) | Preview

Abstract

The Second wave of feminism had the objective of erasing all the deep-rooted gender inequalities that have had their roots in the patriarchal society, to thereby enable the complete realisation of women's emancipation. Its peak was in the 1970s, when popular culture contributed to the wave with its analysis of past and present cultural contents. Feminist film theorists of this period have focused on sociological analysis of the entire film industry in order to uncover the gender stereotypes embeded in its structure, which resulted in the ongoing relationship between feminism and film theory. The bond between these two theories presents a useful source for sociological research on gender issues, because it exposes one of the most dominant instruments of maintaining the current system while at the same time allowing the creation of new instruments for achieving social change. The theoretical part of the paper is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the analysis of Second-wave's most important feminists and their key works, while the second part focuses on the essential concepts created by the most important representatives of feminist film theory. The purpose of this kind of representation is to highlight the most crucial themes and concepts od the Second wave as well as show how they have expanded into the sphere of film theory thus achieving permanent retention of gender equality issues in the public eye. The research part of the paper focuses on the analysis of the presentation of female characters in key works from the ouvre of four directors – Sam Peckinpah, Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino and Jane Campion. These directors were chosen because of their reputation as well as appreciation by the film industry and the audience, which places them among the most important filmmakers. The first two directors were active before and during the Second wave, and the other two were active after its peak and that is why it is theoreticaly useful to analyze their work together in order to define the impact of the wave on the presentation of female film characters more precisely. The analysis of the films are based on detecting the manifestations of essential film theory concepts in the plot as well as on the treatment of female characters in the context of Second wave's most important requests. This part of the paper has shown how the female perspective gained influence over its film representations thanks to feminist demands. It alsoshowed that the nature of film as an art form allows the preservation of problematic content intended for the upkeep of patriarchal values in the center of the film industry. Even though the Second wave did not succed in the reduction of the number of films with problematic content, it created substantial space for the parallel production of films with feminist motives and thus enabled the survival of the women's movement.

Actions (login required)

View Item