Gender in the Media - Movie Review Example

? Gender in the media Media enforces a culture and perpetuates gender stereotype based on gender roles, stereotypes, and attitudes of the characters. The media utilize power to reinforce and perpetuate limiting gender roles, attitudes, and identities. Similarly, the media may also open up new worlds to people who may not otherwise experience them. This paper will attempt to deconstruct portrayal of gender in popular television series, in this case The Big Bang Theory. In so doing, the paper will highlight the function of media in socially deconstructing gender. The main focus of the paper rests on presentation of female characters relative to male characters. The analysis demonstrates how the female characters adapt the lead roles within Television series, as well as male characters. Television shows adopts several perceptions on society and can be employed as a reflection of reality, depicting the world as external to the text meaning. Introduction Sociologists assert that gender is more of a social performance rather than a biological fact. The sitcom Big Bang Theory relies on individual choice as the possible explanation of the shortage of women within science rather than highlighting institutionalized sexism among scientists. The show largely draws from general stereotypes found in the Sci-fi/fantasy genre in which men are perceived as heroes and women depicted as skimpily dressed and depicted as helpless (Gauntlett, 2008). The show projects the assumption that women do not subscribe to nerd culture and that the cultural stereotypes of the desperate, antisocial, Sci-Fi obsessed video game addicted hacker is unappealing to women’s feminine sensitivities. Role of the Media in Socially Constructing Gender The media mirror and construct the social world. The media that people consume including movies, news stories, music, videogames, and TV shows deliver subtle (and no-so-subtle) messages that largely shape and inform people’s attitudes on race, gender, and class. Comprehension on the impact of the messages on the audience is essential to developing supportive media and industry practices (Gauntlett, 2008). Past studies have demonstrated that representation of women within media tends to reinforce the patriarchal hegemony with the portrayal of women as subordinate to men. Being born a man or a woman within any society is bigger than a simple biological fact bearing social implications. Women can be considered as a creation of the masculine gaze, whereby masculine conception of woman gave rise to idealizations and norms, which strongly impacted on the behaviors of women lacking power to challenge the male views of their sex. The social construction framework highlights that there is no essential, universally distinct character which is feminine or masculine behaviors impacted by a broad range of factors such as ability, religion, class, body shape, and sexual preference (Ross, 2012). Gender theory argues that both men and women actively engage in constructing their gendered identities. The construction of gender identities can be perceived as dynamic, changeable, and ongoing rather than fixed or static (Campbell & Carilli, 2005. How Television Shows Construct Gender The concept of gender identity is diverse from gender stereotypes influencing perceptions of personality traits frequently tied to one’s gender, such as expressiveness in women and instrumentality, in men. In most cases, the products of narration of popular culture emanate from the collective and inscribed in it, whereby their deconstruction and analysis uncover the ideological background of gender and social hierarchies overriding the period of creation. Gender norms have been undergoing changes within the last three decades with an unprecedented reach and speed. The boundaries of gender as a social structure may be shaped by taboos that define social power relationships via prohibition on transgressions and violations of the binary gender code, or heterosexist gender discourse. Patriarchal gaze is at the heart of the process of constructing female identity and reproduction of gender difference. The process of constructing identity and setting gender difference aligns with the reproduction of representations as products of popular culture (Ross, 2012). A Brief synopsis of the Big Bang Theory In 2007, America was introduced to Big Bang Theory, an award-winning sitcom that features four geeky scientists, two of whom are brilliant physicists Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper. The two are colleagues, roommates, and best friends; however, their relationship is tested in all its capacities, essentially based on Sheldon’s regimented, peculiar ways. The two are also friends with their Caltech colleagues’ astrophysicist Rajesh Kothrappali and Mechanical engineer Howard Wolowitz. The show also features frequent cameos by geek icons such as Wil Wheaton. Most of the time, the four spend their time working on their individual work projects, watching science fiction movies, reading comic books, or playing video games (Kowalski & Irwin, 2012). The fact that they are self-professed nerds renders it difficult for them to have little luck with popular women. The arrival of Penny is a welcome development for Leonard who aspires to have Penny as his girlfriend. Penny knows nothing about comics and is largely interested in stereotypical “girlish” things that do not entail violence and fighting. This frequently generates conflicts on the show portrayed as comical and set up the episodes. Leonard best tries his best to undertake his research while trying to be the most socially-interacting guy within their friend group. Howard Wolowitz, an engineer concentrates on science, but mostly on women and always attempts to impress girls and gain his share of sexual intercourses; however, he is mainly unsuccessful owing to his bad knowledge of treating women. Leonard’s colleague Leslie Winkle is more outwardly homely and avails the flip-side to Penny’s stereotype on the mistaken perception that women can be smart or feminine and sexy, but, not both. Similarly, Sheldon’s pseudo-girlfriend falls into the same trap (Kowalski & Irwin, 2012). The comedy series has run for six seasons to the present, but its representations of women leave a lot to be desired. The prominent female character in the first three seasons is Penny, a woman who lives across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard. Penny can be regarded as a classic example of the stereotype depicting that pretty women do not usually possess the intelligence to match their looks. Penny is depicted as a waitress who aspires to be an actress, but does not possess requisite talent to succeed. Throughout the series, Penny can be regarded as repeatedly objectified, whereby, at one point, her male friends come up with remote control cars mounted with webcams that Howard drives between Penny’s legs to lookup her skirt. Gender portrayal in Big Bang Theory The audience might presume that the sitcom dismisses classic gender constructions; nevertheless, the show lacks resistance towards patriarchal dominance. A reflection of women within comedy triggers the question on what defines a female comedy, whether it is the audience’s gender, author’s gender, or the representations within the comical text. Placing comical texts within a broader socio-political context demonstrates an influence of female representation on the depiction of gender difference (Ross, 2012). The analysis of female representations within the sit-com The Big Bang Theory has demonstrated that, despite the principal male characters coded with non-hegemonic masculinity, the female roles still materialize mainly in relation to men and bear no individual stories outside of this connection. For instance, the presentation of women walking into a comic book store is presented as shocking and petrifying, even for the regular male patrons. The images of masculinity and femininity constantly constructed, contradicted, and argued throughout the sitcom, whereby female and male participants’ character, appearance, occupation, opinions and economic status presented in the program. Gender Stereotyping and/or Sexism in the Big Bang Theory Some of the episodes of the comedy series manifest gender roles that are highly stereotypes employed for satire. In one of the episodes, Penny accompanied her friends to the comic book store. The Big Bang Theory depicts comic stores as only available for men, which makes Penny feel out of place. In the episode, Penny wanders around the comic store and has to request for help from her male friends searching through the racks with the aim of getting something they do not already own (Kowalski & Irwin, 2012). Penny is objectified to the extent that other customers stare at her while the comic book store owner hits on her. This episode generates a dynamic that implies that comic books are meant for males, rather than females. In another episode of the comedy series, the group comes up within an idea of dressing up as the Justice League for a costume competition, whereby the group allocates the role of Wonder Woman to Penny. Sheldon, one of the male characters points out that he expects Penny to feel uncomfortable in her outfit since he thinks that the outfit “makes her look fat.” This suggest that there is a classic insecurity of women, which can prevent them from dressing in a manner that they want while her male friends can easily wear spandex devoid of any worry. Evidently the outfit is very revealing to the extent of making her feel objectified; however, the insecurity connected to her weight assumed based on stereotypes. This highlights an intention to give women the portrayal of being insecure about their characters such as Wonder Woman. Overall, the episodes in the comedy series portray gender roles that are stereotypes. Howard can be regarded as sex-obsessed and commonly reinforces the notion that pretty women are objects that need male sexual attention. Conclusion A deeper look into the portrayal of the women in the Big Bang Theory demonstrates that the show fosters traditional gender roles and stereotypes of women, which in turn, yields to depiction of an inaccurate image of the female and weakens the stance of women within the modern U.S. society. The sitcom’s dependence on patriarchal structures has generated plotlines mirroring traditional ideologies on women. As highlighted from the analysis, the discursive construction of women and womanhood within the sitcom Big Bang Theory demonstrates some progressive traits with regard to presenting women, which challenges the male’s dominance; nevertheless, the overall sitcom still aligns with the patriarchal ideology laden with sexism. References Campbell, J., & Carilli, T. (2005). Women and the media: Diverse perspectives. Lanhama.: Univ. Press of America. Gauntlett, D. (2008). Media, gender and identity: An introduction. London, UK: Taylor & Francis. Kowalski, D. A., & Irwin, W. (2012). The big bang theory and philosophy: Rock, paper, scissors, Aristotle, Locke. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Ross, K. (2012). The handbook of gender, sex, and media. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Read More