How are women portrayed in the films of the 1960s and 1970s - Essay Example

The feminist beliefs differed from groups to groups and from one woman to another. By 1970s, the Second Wave Feminist Movements had inspired several men and women in the United States (Klinger, 2008). There was a change on the women perception in politics, media, private household and academia. Films produced in the 1960s and 1970s provide the best lenses upon which to perceive the depiction of the public on the role and status of women during the time. Dr. Strangelove, a film produced in 1964 is one such perfect film depicting the position of the woman in 1960s (Rosenstone, 2009).

in the opening scene of the comedy, a member of staff of the United States Royal Air force is seemingly dressed to relax and flying above the Soviet Union. The member of US RAF whips out the latest playboy magazine and peruses through its pages. Whereas the actions in the short scene may not seem as a big deal, the scene optimizes the objectification of women that runs throughout the rest of the film. Stanley Kubrick use satire in the movie to portray the lighter side of sad time on gender in the United States. Dr. Strangelove was produced during the period of Wave Feminism.

While women of this period were allowed to vote, they lacked all the rights men held at the moment. Throughout this movie, women are either used merely for the benefit of men or are totally absent from the scenes. An excellent example of absence of women from matters important to the running of the nation is at the Joint Chiefs of Staff Meeting. There is not a single woman in the board rooms of the meetings that take a majority of the film. The quality of the film and the role of different genders in the movie portray the different perceptions of the people living at the time.

Unlike present times where women take proactive part in cinemas, the 1964 production points to a time in history when women had not gained rights and respect (Rosenstone, 2009). They were not instrumental in the running of the state and making important decisions of governance. Their role was supplementary to the duties of men. If a woman was to participate in any nation building activity, it would be under the shadow of her husband. Coming to the public limelight as an agent of change and constructive development of the nation was unheard of as depicted extensively in the film.

While the services of women of the time were not directly outlined in the film, the role of women in satisfaction of basic needs of men was profound. Women were portrayed as objects of sexual satisfaction. The United States RAF pilot introduces this apparent place of women in the society of 1960s as he gets satisfaction from the Playboy Magazine by mere gaze at naked pictures of women. The first time the audience gets to meet a feminine character is with the entourage of Miss Scott. She echoes the director’s depiction of women as objects of sexual entertainment for men.

Her sprawled out tuning under colored bright light in revealing bikini leaving little to the imagination of the mind brings the point home that, indeed, women of the 1960s held no other position to men than massage their sexual ego (Klinger, 2008). The Graduate is the other film that tells gender and the way 1960s and early 1970s defined a change of the perception of both men and women on gender. The film narrates a story of two characters almost coming into terms with the dynamic meaning of gender at