The World Of Vampires - Essay Example

As with all forms of culture, a great deal can be said with regards to society and the mores and norms that this society integrates with regards to the types of popular culture that are exhibited within our current system. As a function of this brief analysis, the author will seek to understand the core complements of the female action star as well as to relate these attributes to present dynamics within current culture and society. It is the hope of this author that such a process will help the means by which seemingly trite, or otherwise simplistic films, speak to broader issues within culture and society.

Further, by utilizing these movies as a vehicle to understand feminism, society, and the current culture that we live in, it is the further hope of this author that these two film franchises will be able to shed a degree of light on the means by which feminist concepts are displayed and integrated. The first determinant that can of course be seen with regards to these female action stars is the fact that they are almost invariably highly sexualized. In the case of the vampire Selene from the Underworld franchise, the viewer is presented with a dynamically powerful yet conflictingly feminine heroine that displays unbelievable prowess with regards to the use of weaponry, assassination, and coldhearted murder; however, also represents the fragile qualities of stylize womanhood in the fact that she has the capability to love and ultimately becomes a mother.

This represents a unique dynamic due to the fact that the highly sexualized nature of the star is of course intended to draw in male audience members to the plot line. Speaking candidly, the plot in and of itself is quite weak (Stein 133). However, due to the fact that an impressively attractive Kate Beckinsale plays the lead role, arrayed in a skintight leather one piece, the degree to which the male audience will integrate with such a film is radically increased. This dynamic becomes even more interesting as the viewer realizes that the empowerment that is displayed within the film is ultimately representation of feminism; i.e. a backlash against traditional male oriented entertainment that features brawny men in explosive action movies.

This complex dynamic becomes even more complicated when one realizes that the feminist agenda that is incorporated into these films is necessarily weakened by the fact that the women portrayed as the lead characters must sexualized themselves as a means of integrating the story with the audience. Much the same is true with Mila Jovovich’s main character in the Resident Evil film series. Whereas the character of Selene in the Underworld movies fights against werewolves, Mila Jovovich’s character within the Resident Evil franchise fights against throngs of the undead.

However, regardless of the differential and plot lines, the very same approaches followed. Ultimately, Jovovich’s character is represented as a reluctant wife and professional who is dragged into the abyss that the Umbrella Corporation creates with regards to an experiment gone wrong. Following specifically and almost identically the same mechanism whereby Kate Beckinsale’