A femnist Analysis of an Item of Popular culture - Research Paper Example

Teacher 20th November A Feminist Analysis of an Item of Popular Culture Popular Culture is defined as “culturalactivities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people” (Dictionary.com). Therefore popular culture depicts the culturally and socially acceptable phenomena persisting in an area, reflected in numerous forms of representation like music, videos, television, movies and books. Through the ages, continuous evolvement has resulted in popular culture being remembered by era which witnessed its boom. Popular culture (sometimes also referred to as pop culture) can not only be distinguished by timeline, but also through areas/regions. Feminism is defined as “the theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” (Merriam Webster). As opposed to popular belief that Feminism calls for feminine dominance in the society, its actual motive is to establish equality between the genders by equal representation of women in all walks of life. Its history can be dated back to 1895 when this word was first coined and used; however, equal rights propaganda had been in effect long before then. Women have been discriminated against since time unknown due to baseless assumptions formulated by the male-dominating society representatives. Similar to other minorities like African-Americans, women’s rights had been greatly limited, often unjustly tailored short. Soon, this injustice came to light, followed by the “feminism” revolutionary protests and propagandas. However, to fulfill the purpose of this paper, I will be elaborating on a “Feminist Analysis of an Item of Popular Culture” hereafter. The item I have chosen is a movie released in the year 2000, with a subsequent edition in the year 2003. Rumors have it that another edition in the series will be released in 2011. The name of the movie is “Charlie’s Angels (2000)” and “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)” starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as central characters around which the story revolves. This film is based on a television series with the same name which had complete five seasons and 110 episodes from September 1976 to June 1981. Unsuccessful attempts were made to revive the television series since 1981, ultimately resulting in the formation of a successful box office hit movie in 2000. Charlie’s Angels – both movies – depict the three central feminine characters as private investigation agents. The investigation agency for which the “Angels” work is run by a multimillionaire named “Charlie”, a man who is never focused on screen, and who conveys instructions to his agents through a speaker phone in his office, leaving them to work on their projects by themselves – somewhat unsupervised. The three heroines are distinctively bold and beautiful, extremely talented, tough and skilled, fussing about their exterior beauty while at the same time fighting crimes and criminals with manly valor and tactics. The first movie shows the “Angels” (as Charlie had named them) in pursuit of a software genius who had developed a unique voice recognition system through which the location of any person could be found. Unfortunately this genius is kidnapped, which the story later reveals was self-inflicted. In collaboration with a communications satellite company and an aide, this genius aims to use his recently developed technology to locate and kill the multimillionaire and the Angels’ Boss – Charlie – as he believes Charlie to be the murderer of his father. The chase that follows shows Charlie being saved from the fatal attack by inches through the Angels’ extensive efforts and immense technological know-how. Even though Charlie’s physical existence was mere inches from exposure, he manages to make a quick run into oblivion, maintaining his unknown and unfocussed identity in front of the Angels and the audiences. The second movie has a similar thriller storyline. It shows the Angels in pursuit of two Titanium rings that can reveal secret information about witness protection program when placed in a specific sequence. The pursuit leads them to a former Charlie’s Angel by the name of Madison, who had been misled into self-conceitedness by her unmatched brilliance. She plans to overthrow Charlie and disrupt the system of justice, controlling the evil for reaping personal benefits. Ultimately though, as with all stories, evil is defeated and the story ends in a “happily ever after” theme. The story is flogged with accounts of finding love and facing heartbreaks, along with the beauties rejoicing their femininity and indulging in armed combats like men. The second part has an emphasis on familial bonding between the Angels which keeps them knitted and protective of each other. In my view, this movie is the largest advocate of feminism and femininity, portraying women in demanding and critical roles traditionally occupied by men. “… Charlie’s Angels have been at the center of American popular culture’s negotiations over feminism and femininity, and the relationship between the two” (Levine, 2008). This movie clearly conveys the message of equal capacities of the two genders in terms of cognitive abilities, skills, physical power, strategy building, technological training and physical attractions. Women are, by all standards, comparable to men. It is wrong to consider women lacking innately on human capabilities thereby being under-represented in numerous areas of expertise (Bunn). Lawrence Summers’ hypothesis regarding women’s intrinsic disabilities to compete alongside men has received terse criticisms from numerous writers for its baseless assumptions and ignorance of the fact that women are being discriminated against through such unfair hypothesis formulations – thereby resulting in incompetence. Charlie’s Angels is the perfect portrait of competence extended by females, comparable to men. The message portrayed in the movie is that women can work in typical masculine jobs with similar proficiency despite being unanimously considered as fragile beauties. Women can juggle innumerable sections and chores of life like family, relationships, job requirements, self cosseting and taking care of fellows etc. without extensively compromising one for another. Beneath the heavily pampered skin lies intelligence and skills that can win the world if triggered that way. This message is obviously embedded in the movies, promoting feminism as a part of the popular culture, rejecting the ideology of innate inability on behalf of the women. While some audiences liked the movie for its “women-hero” content, demonstrating women as “kick ass” equal to men, other audiences disagreed and criticized it as exploitive and stupid movie. Both genders seemed to have rated the movie differently, with women rating the movie significantly higher than men (Gauntlet). Some “complaints seem to reveal a feeling that pleasure in films comes from suspense and intricate plotting, and not from watching empowered young women get their way in somewhat camp, jolly entertainment” (Gauntlet). Despite this, “the film clearly counters a lot of stereotypes about women’s abilities” (Gauntlet). Diversified reviews have been received by IMDb (Internet Movies Database), showing inconsistency and variability of message absorption by the audiences. However, some critics have interpreted the message of this movie differently, stating it to affront feminism as opposed to support it. Since the original screening of the TV series named “Charlie’s Angels”, “feminist critics openly attacked the series, claiming it was the ultimate example of the exploitation of women on television and a direct affront to the increasingly powerful women’s liberation movement of the 1970s” (Womack). Indeed, the glamorous and sometimes intimate focuses of feminine features, also preserved and revived in the movies, is derogatory and demining for feminism. Charlie’s Angels “are being shoved back into the kind of subordinate and sexualized roles from which feminists had worked hard to break free” (Womack). Whereas comparability of women’s qualities in contrast with men promotes the ideology of feminism and equality of genders, some content of the original series and the movies reflects anti-feminism, portraying them as sexually attractive objects subservient to males. Charlie’s Angels “exploited, perfectly, the tensions between antifeminism and feminism” (Douglas) thereby resulting in its criticism and popularity. The movies and the series show women utilizing their sexuality for gaining the upper hand on unsuspecting male criminals in order to extract secrets from them. This element in particular caused the uproar from the feminist and feminism activists. Some even compared Charlie and his agents’ to “pimp and his girls” (Coburn), which is self-explanatory for the chaos incurred by feminists. From an academic point of view, Charlie’s Angels can be seen as a reflection of Ben A. Barres works which highlights gender discrimination from the perspective of a female-to-male transgendered person. Barres supports and phrases the claim that female under representation in careers is a result of gender discrimination instead of innate disability as “… those who are at an advantage proclaim that a disadvantaged group of people is innately less able” (Barres). Charlie’s Angels portray women in rebelliously manly statures, projecting the ideology that women are nowhere lacking in capabilities as compared to men – not only can they “hack into high-security computers, speak several languages, skydive, reprogram missiles and beat up a pose of henchmen singlehandedly” (Gauntlet) but also buy hip clothes, drive fast cars and lead independent lives without feeling the need of marriage or a spouse (Womack). Such excerpts are undoubtful representations of comparable capacities. However, the content of sexuality is believed to shun feminism just as it supports it. “Research considering sex appeals in women’s magazines has shown that women are portrayed in a demeaning manner”, “yet advertising rests on the assumption that sex sells” (D’Enbeau). At the same time, “findings suggest that sex appeals not only provide opportunities for revenue streams but also opportunities to reinforce feminist ideology” (D’Enbeau). Such statements occur on the abstract of the same article, reinforcing the topic sentence. Some critics claim Charlie’s Angels wouldn’t be a blockbuster “if (it) were wholly feminist (film)” (Rundle), implying this movie isn’t quite a representation of feminism as it is believed to be. “It’s only in the context of the utter lack of anything resembling feminism in most pop culture that a little female strength is such a thrill” (Rundle). Rundle suggests that the reason of Charlie’s Angels and other such movies’ success has been its fabricated storyline inconsistent with the cultural and social realities. As proalien objects are celebrated as novel concepts, thus it resulted in the success of such movies depicting women-dominance. In my view, the presence of a male multimillionaire Charlie above the daring and attractive beauties is probably the only part of the movie that replicates male dominance. No matter how skilled and brave the Angels were, irrespective of their technological expertise and physical capabilities, unconcerned with their top-notch work as private detective agents – the Angels with their almost superhuman capabilities were nevertheless working under a male – Charlie. This seems to be the biggest blow to feminism as portrayed in the movie; women are still subservient to men. To sum it all, the movie Charlie’s Angel, loaded with action, comedy and romance, is a feminist thriller. This movie is a part of popular culture. It reflects women in roles traditionally occupied by men. Despite their smartness in every field of expertise including beauty and sexuality, the women-heroes are governed by a male. The Angels are unaffected by the regular necessities of womanhood like spouse, children and an extensive family life, financial and physical security and relaxed household lives – these bold beauties defy every possible identified standard of typical femininity except, perhaps, maintaining their beauty and dressing up pretty. With respect to feminism and feministic characteristics reflected in the movie, diverse opinions with logical grounds have been established. A distinct part of the movie definitely reflects feminism when women are not shown “innately incapable”. Controversy prevails regarding the sexual content present in the movie – whether it does or does not support feminism is to be decided. Originally sexuality had been looked upon as anti-feminist gestures, though recently such content has achieved the status of promoting and fostering feminism. Nevertheless, the presence of Charlie as the Angels’ boss undoubtedly contrasts with feminism. Personally, I find Charlie’s Angels an attraction due to the female centered content, and the extensive camera focus on women instead of Charlie. Even though Charlie is supposed to be the women’s boss, he does not have much of physical appearance apart from his voice. The concept of female fighters is new and good to hear and see. As my analysis of the movie and the series, I will rate the movie as a feminist film. It is truly exciting to witness women trashing evil men with distinctively broader built, a true feministic gesture from the movie, even while knowing the film and the action sequence has no reality in occurrence. Works Cited Page Dictionary.com. “Popular culture”. Dictionary.com. n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/popular+culture Merriam Webster. “Feminism” Merriam-Webster.com. n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism Levine, Elana. “Remaking Charlie’s Angels”. Feminist Media Studies 8(4); 375-389. 2008. Print. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=98475afd-055d-4768-8cb7-0d06f53977de%40sessionmgr113&vid=2&hid=122 Bunn, Ted. “More on Larry Summers hypothesis”. Ted Bunn’s Blogs. 22 Jun. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. http://blog.richmond.edu/physicsbunn/2010/06/22/more-on-the-larry-summers-hypothesis/ Gauntlet, David. “Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction”. Routledge Publishers, 2008. Print. http://books.google.com/books?id=PmpF1eXU29QC&pg=PA75&dq=charlie's+angels+movies+critic&hl=en&ei=uP_ITuDbGION4gSei-lE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFAQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=charlie's%20angels%20movies%20critic&f=false Womack, Whitney. “Re-evaluating ‘Jiggle TV’”. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. Print. http://books.google.com/books?id=oNaXkUvTztUC&pg=PA151&dq=charlie's+angels+critic&hl=en&ei=Vv_ITs-zA-364QS986Ej&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=charlie's%20angels%20critic&f=false Douglas, Susan. “Where the Girls are: Growing up Female with the Mass Media”. Three Rivers Press, 1995. Print. http://www.amazon.com/Where-Girls-Are-Growing-Female/dp/0812925300/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3 Coburn, Judith from Whitney Womack’s “Re-evaluating ‘Jiggle TV’”. Barres, Ben A. “Does Gender Matter”. Commentary: Nature Vol 442; 133-136. Print. http://www.nature.com/scitable/content/does-gender-matter-by-ben-a-barres-10602856 D’Enbeau, Suzy. “Sex, Feminism and Advertising: The Politics of Advertising Feminism in a Competitive Marketplace”. Journal of Communication Inquiry 35(1); 53-69, 2011. Print. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=d84d8cc1-99a9-4259-be48-67ba199ed86e%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=59347220 Rundle, Lisa B. “Fearlessness: The final feminist frontier”. Herizons 17(2); 31, 2003. Print. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=52c4e4c1-fa9a-43e3-b208-9aef5adcad80%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&hid=17&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=10944397 Read More