Women in Films in 1930s - Research Paper Example

HOLLYWOOD PRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE 1930S FILMS of Introduction Since the inception of the film industry in the late 19th and the early 20th century, women have played a central role in the growth of the industry. From the full-length features to Nickelodeons, from talkies to silent films, in the capacity of directors, writers, actors and audience members, the film industry trajectory has been influenced by women. The rise of the industry was as a result of women stardom. However, majority of women are celebrated more because of their appearance rather than their acting ability ("Women in Films”). Despite certain female stars’ popularity necessitating their legendary status, the various roles they played often reinforced their gender roles that were traditional. All in all, women played a greater role in shaping the film industry in the early years. This is because being professionals and consumers in the field, both behind and in front of the camera, women drastically affected the American film development. Thus, the purpose of this research paper is to document how Hollywood production displayed women in the film. Under the topic, the following themes will be discussed. These are such as the representation of women in films in the early 1930s, role of women in films, portrayal of women in films in 1930s and finally, the criticism of women role in films in the 1930s. Representation of Women in Films in the 1930s The Hollywood cinematograph often objectified women for men pleasure. As such, most of the films followed the patriarchal ideology. Hollywood representation of women was viewed as the most transgressive in the years between 1929 and 1933. Whereby, the working women were perceived as “hardboiled” as a result of their expertise in the Depression-era city. In addition to that, they were likely to choose a career and independence over marriage. In the mid 1930’s, the career women wanted both romance and a career. On the contrary, in 1939, the Hollywood women desired love more than a career and those who chose otherwise faced punishment or were derided. The cinema always portrayed the world as men dominated. In that case, the only way for women to deal with the Hollywood patriarchal system was to fight for equality. According to Mulvey (1989, p.56), the female characters in the Hollywood were represented with “to-be-looked at” and not to be heard. As such, men viewed them in two dimensions in this era. For instance, they were viewed as fetishist and whores. In that case, they were categorized into two distinct groups. One of the categories comprised of women who were sexually active, and the other category comprised of females who were powerless often stereotyped as “the housewife.” The above theory has found dominance in the action films spearheaded by Hollywood for quite some time. However, they have been challenged by various films such as “Kill Bill 2” which has helped in providing a role that is more exciting for women. According to Gates (2011, p.23), most Hollywood films present women images with a purpose of gratifying male viewers. However, some people believe that since we live in a society that is patriarchal, men are always satisfied via viewing objects in a way that is sexual. These make women to be passive and men to be active. Portrayal of Women in Films In 1930s Films reinforce and reflect the ideology that is dominant. In addition to that, it reflects how women are represented in the films. Given the fact that almost half of the world population is female, they are often face underrepresentation in films. The most dominant characters are men. In combination with underrepresentation, women in the Hollywood movies were shown in traditional roles that were cast stereotyped. In the 1930s and 1940s, women films were very popular. In these years, majority of the women portrayed their urge to be independence from their families by trying to experience true love and romance (Gates, 2009, p.29). In these types of movies, the woman was the principal character. The films were melodramatic in that women would have to sacrifice their careers for love or otherwise. This illustrated to women that even though they wished to work and at the same time experience love, that was impossible in those years. In addition to that, in the 1930s, women were portrayed as “sex goddesses” who were always manipulated by men and were also sensual. The actresses Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo fitted this stereotype very well. However, in the 1940s, through the use of censoring code, movies were made appropriate whereby women’s sexuality was kept out of numerous films. As such, women were viewed as men competitors in the working environment. For example, Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis films. Despite all the efforts to censor female sexuality, it re-emerged again whereby women were portrayed as seductive and blatantly sexual threats (Woman in Hollywood, 2008). The women status in the 1930s films until recently has been declining whereas there has been an increase in stereotyping. In adventure films like Dirty Harry or Star Wars, women were portrayed as sex objects. In films involving crimes, women were often viewed as victims and in most circumstances they were terrorized before they were murdered. On the other hand, there are androgynous roles that women played to portray themselves as strong. The purpose was to show viewers that women cannot be both sexual and strong without posing any threat. The women role’s stereotyping in films is nothing that is new. As such it cannot be eliminated unless women who comprise half of the film audiences voice their views on what kind of films and leading ladies they want to listen to and watch. In summary, in the years of recession in 1930s, America was conflicting on how to portray the womanhood image. With the increasing number of women going to work for purposes of sponsoring their husbands, individuals expected to feel a more complex and subtle women representation in Hollywood films. On the contrary, the moving away of the American woman from the idealized figure of a housewife, the more they were urged in the films to “recapture” there actual feminine values. The films never attempted to accept or accommodate the wider American woman role. In the cinema, women were portrayed as scheming murderous. This is because they were viewed as immoral and adulterous (Smedley, 2011, p.13). The Role of Women in Films in The 1930s During the 1930s, strong, intelligent and smart actresses ruled the film production industry. These women were moxie, self-governing and above all of reputable morals (Haskell, 2002, p.65). Though there have been great women in the film industry over the years who have contributed remarkably to the development of women roles in film, the pre-code period was marked as the really tough era for women actresses. Impacts created by these women were beyond the portrayed sexuality, dialogue and the screened knife fights. They acted as role models for the ordinary American women due to their admirable and free-rational nature. Nevertheless they were so strong willed and could do all it took to develop their careers (Rosen, 2003, p.105). In fact, these women are celebrated by the Castro Theatre in its film series Free Souls: the Complicated Women of Pre-code Hollywood. By the end of the Great Depression women roles in almost all aspects of life changed significantly. This can greatly be attributed to the emergence of new ideologies in education, social-cultural as well as economic sectors. Media, specifically movies, acted as the most effective medium through which to address these changes. On realization that this was the way to go, women ventured deeply into the industry. Here they could explore their talents, intelligence, fashion, as well as the diversification of the beauty of a woman (Haskell, 2002, p.68). The successful actresses empowered the female gender to fight for their rights in education and other fields. Numerous movies were geared towards creating awareness on the discriminative nature of a male dominated society. Watkins (2001, p.85) explains that the depression era brought about a wide range of women roles in film from actresses like Shearer N. and Hopkins who were sophisticated liberals to West M. who was a lust comedian. Shearer, for instance, is one such actress who felt the transformations of the depression era and she later became America’s favorite. She developed within herself her own mind, a sexual taste and an undergarment disregard. Her role in the movie The Women and her subsequent marriage to Thalberg I. cover the major part of her career life. On the other hand, when many of her pre-Code films are analyzed, they reveal her as a pioneer both in content and portrayal. With her fresh appetites, bobbed hair style, casually-tailored outfits and a slouchy posture she still is inspiring, though not as in the pre-Code period (Kaplan, 2001, p.20). From another critical perspective, movies in which Shearer acted later were the basis of the cultural changes experienced today (Kaplan, 2001, p.22). The domestic nature of women enabled them to stay home and get access to these movies which instilled them with a new fighting spirit. For instance, in the movie The Divorce, Shearer brings up new ideas on unfaithful husbands. Previously, women had no right to complain about their cheating husband as they were made to believe that they had no power over their husbands. Fortunately, such baseless cultural contentions were wiped with the emergence of the new era. Moreover, her portrayal in the film Let Us Be Gay as a housewife who is dull and unsatisfied was a call for women to seek for greater things to do, than just being mere housewives (Rosen, 2003, p.107). According to (Haskell, 2002, p.70), prostitution is also a role played by many women in the film industry as they try to earn a living through selling their bodies. Consider the Midnight Mary in which good Young L. acts as a prostitute. The movie was to emphasize the importance of strong economical empowerment of women. Women actresses gained popularity with time as they appeared in magazines, televisions, sharing their experiences in their careers. Their inspirational testimonies generally instilled power to the general women population. All those sectors which were previously considered to be purely for men, like the military sector, law and engineering, were later invested by women. Criticisms of Women’s Roles in 1930s Films The pre-Code era women figures in the film industry have been described to be great and successful (Rosen, 2003, p.110). They accepted their societal roles and as a result, all their time was dedicated to building their careers, without showing the entire society the challenges they have been through as a result of their gender. They never took unto themselves the responsibilities of liberating their gender from the chains of negative cultural beliefs. On the contrary, they reinforced those conservative cultural perceptions that described a woman’s place to be in the kitchen. Their contention with such cultural orientations contributes greatly to their criticisms as well as the emergence of new trends in the film industry (Rowe, 2000, p.152). Consequently, they have been termed as slow agents to the process of women liberation. Movies have played a very critical role in the restoration of women freedom since due to the media, people have been able to see what women go through. However, as much as the current trends have liberated women, they have as well been associated with negative impacts on society (Rowe, 2000, p.156). While the 1930s female portrayal was that of a respectable reputation, currently, women are portrayed as selling their bodies in return for fame. The roles of the 1930s women actresses could have been better if they were to be spiced up with a bit of societal realization and actualization. Conclusion Generally, Hollywood representation of women in the film industry was that of objectification in which actresses were meant to satisfy men sexual desires. In all spheres of life, women were to be seen but not to express themselves. As a result, the male dominated society instilled within the actresses a feeling of contention with their experiences. During the 1930s, women’s roles were exposed to discrimination and the few who succeeded in their careers lacked a favorable environment to air their views (Kaplan, 2001, p.26). They, thus, portrayed their domestic roles with a lot of satisfaction as great mothers, caring and romantic. However, this did not last long as women later realized the discrimination that lay upon them and took a changing role. They later became great personalities acting as role models to women as their leading roles inspired the entire women generation. References Gates, P., 2009. Conversing with Scholars of American Popular Culture, American Journal of Popular Culture. Gates, P., 2011. Detecting women: gender and the Hollywood detective film, Albany: State Univ. of New York Press. Haskell, M., 2002. From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Kaplan, A., 2001. Women and Film: Both Sides of the Camera, New York: Methuen. Mulvey, L., 1989. Visual and Other Pleasures, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Rosen, M., 2003. Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. Rowe, K., 2000. The Unruly Woman: Gender and the Genres of Laughter, Austin: University of Texas Press. Smedley, N., 2011. A divided world: Hollywood cinema and émigré directors in the era of Roosevelt and Hitler, 1933-1948, Bristol: Intellect. Watkins, T., 2001. The Great Depression: America in the 1930s, Boston: Little, Brown and Company. Woman in Hollywood. 2008. [Online] Available at < http://ksmith-hollywoodwomen.blogspot.com/2008/12/stereotypical-roles-of-women-in-films.html> [Accessed June 18, 2012] Read More