Real-life Roles of Women in 1930s Film - Research Paper Example

Real-life Roles of Women in 1930s Film Proposal for Research Essay: Portrayal of Women in 1930s Film This research paper will examine how women were portrayed in 1930s Hollywood, using Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) as a framework for exploring this topic. The project will comprise five sections and an introduction, while the first section will explore the representation of women in 1930s film, concentrating on how women were objectified. The second section will focus on how 1930s cinema created a pre-code, which portrayed women as having to choose between a career and romance. The third section will examine the role of women in 1930s film and theorise that some women, notably Norma Shearer, transcended stereotypes. It will explore how women’s roles in the cinema evolved from the beginning to the end of the Great Depression (1929–1939). The fourth section will examine criticisms of women in 1930s film while the fifth section will present a conclusion. Annotated Bibliography Berry, S. (2000). Screen style: Consumer fashion and femininity in 1930s Hollywood, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. This book will be useful in assessing the influence of 1930s films because it details how Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich influenced women filmgoers as role models of self-determination, and shows why the public is fascinated with these strong-willed women. Davies, C. (1988). New women, new culture: The Women’s Weekly and Hollywood in Australia in the early 1930s. Brisbane: Griffith University. This study is very important to this research because it explores how the new woman (from the period after the censorship policy was implemented) came to exist, and how she affected culture, including how women were portrayed in films and it examines how the Hollywood portrayal of women in the 1930s affected women in Australia. Dawson, J.E. (1995). Hollywood’s image of the workingwoman, Las Vegas: University of Nevada. This dissertation enables exploration of the roles that women have taken in films, how women are portrayed in films, and the psychological aspects and influence of films on women. Feuer, J. (1993). The Hollywood musical, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. This book will assist in understanding the origins and evolution of the Hollywood musical, as well as how it has affected society over the years, particularly in the chapter ‘Dream worlds and dream stages’, which details how Hollywood musicals provided audiences with escapist entertainment during the difficulties of the war and Great Depression in the 1930s. Kolbjornsen, T.K. (1998). ‘Dansingi Hollywood: punktnedslagi film-musikalenshistorie’, dissertation, Philadelphia: Villanova University. This dissertation explores musical film aesthetically, examines how spectators are transformed by the experience of watching Hollywood musicals (such as the Busby Berkeley shows in the 1930s), explores dance as an aesthetic sign, and discusses how musicals transform women into kinetic ornaments. Lovasz, K. (2007). ‘Technologies of self-presentation: Women’s engagement with mediated representation from the era of silent film to the Internet age’, dissertation, Princeton: Princeton University. In this dissertation, Lovasz explores identity theory, which explains how women relate to patriarchal culture, by exploring a woman’s imagined and virtual cultural experiences, including those of film. Mulvey, L. (1999). ‘Visual pleasure and narrative cinema’, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen (eds), Film Theory and Criticism:Introductory Readings, New York: Oxford University Press. This text analyses the Madonna–whore complex and the role of women pleasing men in Hollywood productions, which is crucial for this essay, following emergence of women’s roles in film. Siegel, M.B. (2009). ‘Busby Berkeley and the projected stage’, Hudson Review, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 106–114. In this article, Siegel discusses some of the films of Busby Berkeley—a filmmaker of the 1930s, who pioneered dance films—revealing his projected dance dreams; thus, it will assist in assessing 1930 films. Streb, J. L. (2004). Minna Citron: A socio-historical study of an artist’s feminist social realism in the 1930s, University Park: Pennsylvania State University. This dissertation expounds on the role of women in 1930s films as it explores the work of Citron, a Depression era feminist artist; how her dual roles of homemaker and artist were affected by feminist concerns; how her body of work was woven into the social fabric of the Depression era; and how her work reflected her feminist leanings. Watkins, J. (2005). From fallen women to risen heroines: Representations of gender and sexuality in American film, 1929–1942, dissertation, Huntington: Marshall University. This dissertation will assist in analysing the portrayal of women in the 1930s because it focuses on how the issues of economics and culture affected these films, as well as on the portrayal of gender, revealing how the portrayal of women became more conservative in the 1930s due to outside pressures. Hollywood Representations of Women in 1930s Films Introduction Through investigations, since the beginning of the cinema in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to the present, scholars have recognized that the American film industry has evolved rapidly. The trajectory of such evolution matched the progression of social, cultural, economic and political upheavals that characterized society in different periods simply because films are reflections of it. A definite period with its norms, dominant ideologies and the way people led their lives; hence, would be reflected in contemporary films and often exaggerated for theatrical purposes. This is demonstrated in the manner by which women were depicted in films during the 1930s. This research paper provides a detailed analysis of how Hollywood portrayed women in film, focusing particularly on the 1930s by using Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) as a framework. In this assignment, four themes will be discussed: the representation of women in early 1930s film, the depiction or portrayal of women in 1930s film, the real-life roles of women in 1930s film, and criticism of women’s roles in 1930s film. The 1930s are widely known as the time of the Great Depression (1929–1939), which provides an interesting backdrop against which to explore how women were portrayed due to globally changing morals and cynicism. Representation of Women in 1930s Film Kaplan (1994, p.3) states that Hollywood cinematography during the 1930s objectified women for the pleasure of men. Mulvey (1999, p.56) also pointed this out explaining that other than such stereotype the roles given to women though worth considering, are mostly unremarkable. This supposedly implies that women were insignificant people in society and that their only claim to relevance was the role imposed on them by society as men’s sex objects (Kolbjornsen 1998, p.52–97). As these scholars found during this period men viewed women in limited dimensions, with many women considered objects of sexual fulfilment. They were considered either as sexually active prostitutes, or as pure and powerless Madonnas—which was the first definition of the ‘Madonna–whore complex’ (Mulvey 1999, p.837). This dimension has been deeply embedded in Hollywood filmmaking that even today such theme of using women to gratify male viewers still persists (Gates, 2011, p.23). Madonna, in this case is a term used to refer to women in the 1930s, as powerless individuals with limited roles in society. The objectification of women is evident in Gold Diggers of 1933 were the notion of women as filmic sex objects was displayed freely and fully. Ginger Rogers, Joan Blondell and Ruby Keeler played the major roles as Fay Fortune, Carol King and Polly Parker respectively, and appear as stereotypical bombshells—slender, beautiful and dressed in skimpy costumes in many of their scenes. Furthermore, Rogers and Blondell have platinum blonde hair in the film, which through the years came to be identified with the stereotype as well. Aline MacMahon is the only female character in this film who is not characterised in this way. She serves as the sole voice of cynicism, and her character portrays the unsentimental attitude that prevailed from the beginning of the 1930s due to the Great Depression. Furthermore, she appears to have a more superior intellect than the other female characters, but not on a professional scale in her acting skills, and this is only in the roles she plays in the films that create the said image. Besides the role played by MacMahon, the female characters in the film can be said to be characterised as the Madonna–whore. For instance, they appear independent, and the character of Lawrence Bradford views their morals on a negative light. As the embodiment of 1930s high society members, Bradford expresses the elite’s (the high and mighty with all the influence in society) opinion of the female role during this time. Interestingly, as the film ends all the women change from Madonnas to become wives and cease being sexually promiscuous showgirls: Trixie marries Lawrence’s lawyer; Carol marries Lawrence, and Polly marries Brad; thus transforming themselves from ‘prostitutes’ into ‘Madonnas’. This is a perfect example of one of the ways that women could transform themselves from the filmic portrayal in film, although the entire film industry in Hollywood laid a bias against women. Therefore, women’s roles in the 1930s were often stereotypical with women portrayed in a sexualised manner all for the benefit of men. The way women were depicted as choosing love instead of careers, is a further clear indication of how they were stereotyped —an issue that is explored in the following section. Portrayal of Women in 1930s Film Scholarly research shows that the main role of films is to reinforce and reflect a society’s dominant ideology (Dupaix 2009). In the United States of America (hereafter, America) in the 1930s, the dominant perspective was male; as such, the patriarchal view that women must make a choice between love and a career was frequently the focus of 1930s film (Lovasz 2007, p.21–45). The underlying message of these films was that a woman only had a choice between having a career and having romantic relationships (Gates 2009, p.29). Ultimately, with this in mind women should choose romance and sacrifice their careers for romance. Along these same lines, reflecting the aforementioned patriarchy of the era in the Madonna–whore complex, women were portrayed as easily manipulated sex goddesses as embodied by the various characters played by Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo (Kaplan 1994, p.118). These types of portrayals of women were ‘pre-code’, which meant that Hollywood films could—and did—show women’s sexuality overtly (Streb 2004, p.54). Pre-code in this essence refers to a standard by which films were produced in Hollywood, which allowed depictions of women as sexual objects (Doherty 1999, p.3). However, the introduction of the code changed this through censorship, pushing for adoption of new identities for women in film (Doherty 1999, p.3). Hollywood was forced to portray women in a different manner, which provided the opportunity for female characters to break away from the standard Hollywood patriarchal portrayals. This change is evident in Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis films, such as State of the Union (1948) and A Stolen Life (1946), in which the female characters are shown as being more than equal to men in the working environment (Smith 2008). After the implementation of the code, Hollywood began to add virtue to the image of women who starred in film; thus, getting rid of the Madonna complex of the 1930s. Nevertheless, the pre-code trend—that women must seek romance and sacrifice their career for love—is evident in the film Gold Diggers of 1933. As noted earlier, at the beginning and throughout most of the film, women are portrayed as independent, relying upon themselves and their female friends for support (Davies 1988, p.12–57). However, by the end of the film, this has changed, with each of the women falling in love, and marrying a wealthy man, thus meaning that the women’s financial problems —that are highlighted at the beginning of the film—are solved. The financial problems are as seen in the opening scene of the film, where the show in which the three girls are meant to be cast in is disrupted and shut down. Therefore, it is evident that in the 1930s Hollywood created unrealistic images and scenes in films; thus, did not portray women in America realistically (Smedley 2011, p.13). While real women were increasingly entering the workforce in greater numbers because they had to support their husbands, Hollywood portrayed them as having to choose between love and a career. The above is a clear misrepresentation of the truth based on stereotypes of men and producers of films in Hollywood, where they attempted to maintain the image of Madonna. One theory is that Hollywood moved away from representing females as independent career women in an attempt to recapture the notion of the idealised ‘housewife’ and feminine values (Dawson 1995, p.71). However, as explained in the next section the Great Depression era also led to other roles for women in films—roles, which were more in line with the female experience during this time. Real-life Roles of Women in 1930s Film Watkins (2005, p.4) explains that the male-dominated society instilled, within female actors, a feeling that their roles did not reflect their real-life experiences and feelings. During the 1930s, women’s roles were exposed to discrimination, and the few who succeeded in their careers lacked a favourable environment in which to express their views (Kaplan 1994, p.26). Unfortunately, these issues were never depicted in film, and instead those that were produced contain misguided notions that Hollywood created for the pleasure of men as aforementioned. This creates an impression that filmmakers were only interested in leaving a mark and depicting a sense of male dominance over society (Feuer 1993, p.6). In spite of having many Hollywood films portray women only through the eyes of men, in the late 1930s, a positive direction towards what scholars have termed the ‘real-life role’ of women began to be taken in depictions of females (Smedley 2011, p.13). During this time, a number of willing, strong and intelligent female actors, many of whom continue to be celebrated, took control of the film industry. These women were empowered and self-governed and had reputable morals (Haskell 1987, p.65). They played a crucial role by being role models for the ordinary American woman considering the female actors had admirable and rational natures, especially considering the introduction of the code. They were strong willed and capable of developing their careers (Siegel 2009, p.105). The film series Free Souls: The Complicated Women of Pre-code Hollywood by Castro Theatre—a 2003 documentary exploring the provocative role of women between 1929 and 1934—recognises the important roles these women played in both films and society (Scheern.d.). As the Great Depression ended, the role of women in society in almost all aspects of life changed, and one reason for this change was the emergence of new ideologies in education, social, cultural and economic sectors. The media—especially film—acted as the most effective medium through which to address these changes (Berry2000 p.45). Consequently, women entered the industry to explore their talent and intelligence, fashion and the diversification of beauty (Haskell 1987, p.68). Successful female actors encouraged women to feel empowered and fight for their rights in education and other fields, where they were expected to come out of the disgrace they had been living in, in the 1930s. Many of the films produced during this time sought to create awareness of the discriminatory nature of a male-dominated society (Haskell 1987, p.68). Watkins (2009, p.85) explains that the Great Depression era led to the development of a wide range of characters for women. These included those portrayed by female actors, such as Norma Shearer, who was a sophisticated liberal and an example of a female actor transformed by the Great Depression. Watkins documents that Shearer was forced by the Great Depression to become an individual with an increased awareness of her sexuality (Scheern.d.). Before the Great Depression, the famous Ziegfeld Follies producers turned her down for having squat legs and being a ‘dog’; however, during the Great Depression she had a healthy career (Watkins 2005, p. 85). Shearer was an inspiring female role model and style icon because she embodied a courageous attitude and wore the fashionable bobbed haircut and casual outfits of her era (Kaplan 1994, p.20). Eventually, Shearer became one of America’s favourite female actors whom many others imitated. When re-examined, many of Shearer’s films appear to have themes that are still relevant to today’s culture. For instance, in the film The Divorcee produced in 1930 she raises the topic of unfaithful husbands (Net Industriesn.d.). Previously, it was taboo for a woman to complain about their husbands, irrespective of their affairs because it was believed that women had no control over the actions of their husbands. Such cultural notions were eradicated with the emergence of this new era in film, as married women began to work for themselves and make decisions, head institutions with men as junior staff and raise families as single parents. For instance, in the film Let Us be Gay (1930), Shearer clearly proves that, in cases of dissatisfaction with marriage, women had the chance to seek better situations than that afforded by being a mere housewife, provided they felt comfortable doing. This is evident when Shearer, acting as Mrs Katherine, divorces her husband and reinvents herself by venturing into fashion. This is a further indication of the empowerment that women have received from such big names of the 20th century, especially after censorship. The censorship created an atmosphere where women’s roles in society were set out in a more distinct way as opposed to earlier, by humanizing them and ridding them of their sexual role for men’s pleasure. Shearer is considered one of the trailblazers of cinema because she represented women who were independent and able to care for themselves. Over time, other female actors have emulated Shearer, discussing their career experiences in magazines and on television. These women inspired other women to enter sectors that had previously been considered purely male, such as the military, law and engineering industries; thus, making them gradually more accessible to women (Kaplan 1994, p. 21). Criticism of Women’s Roles in 1930s Film The roles of women in the pre-code era have been described as both great and successful (Siegel2009, p.110). However, the female actors portraying these characters have faced criticism for accepting their societal roles without portraying to society the challenges they faced because of their gender. As they did not voice these challenges, they did not seek to liberate other women from negative cultural ideologies. However, having said that, film played a critical role in the establishment of women’s freedom because the media enabled people to see what women had endured in order to establish their careers. A good example of this is Shearer, who overcame great odds—including being crossed eyes and coming from a dysfunctional family —to become a major star (Siegel 2009, p.107). Despite efforts to end these stereotypes of women as sexual objects created for the pleasure of men and societal roles of abandoning careers for romance, some films continued to reinforce negative stereotypes and reverse the progress, including The Sex Goddess in America (1930). One can easily say that if the films of the 1930s had reflected the female experience and embodied the ethos of the female actors playing the roles, these films would be greatly improved and would have been more of a catalyst for the feminist movement. This is following the great level of empowerment that women received following the adoption of the code and the elevation of their status in the society. This is seen through their flocking to places of work and attainment of independence from the male dominance portrayed in Hollywood films prior to the implementation of the code. Conclusion As this analysis has shown, Hollywood’s representation of women in the film industry of the 1930s was objectifying, with female actors cast to satisfy men’s sexual desires. Women were portrayed as worth to be seen, but not heard or allowed to express themselves. In addition, the film industry portrayed stereotyped characters of domestic mothers and romantics. This can be seen in the film Gold Diggers of 1933, in which the women ultimately take on domestic roles, despite having been earlier portrayed as independent and self-sufficient. This follows the four aspects revolving around women in their representation in film, real-life roles aside from film, and portrayal of women in the film, as well as criticism of women’s roles in films, all during the period of the 1930s. However, the objectification of women did not last; women started demanding equality, took action against gender discrimination and broke through female stereotypes. As a result, female actors became role models for other women and inspired them to improve their lives. References Berry, S. (2000). Screen style: Consumer fashion and femininity in 1930s Hollywood. Minneapolis: Univ Of Minnesota Press New. Davies, C. (1988). New women, new culture: The Women’s Weekly and Hollywood in Australia in the early 1930s. Dissertation Brisbane: Griffith University Press. Dawson, J. E. (1995). Hollywood’s image of the working woman. Las Vegas: University of Nevada. Doherty, T. (1999). Pre-code Hollywood: Sex, immorality, and insurrection in American cinema, 1930–1934, New York: Columbia University Press. Dupaix, A 2009, Ideology in Film, [Online] Available from https://film110.pbworks.com/w/page/12610229/Ideology%20in%20Film Accessed 27/11/2012 Feuer, J. (1993). The Hollywood musical. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Gates, P. (2009). “Conversation with scholars of American popular culture: Featured guest Philippa Gates”. Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture 1900 to the Present, vol. 8, no. 2. Gates, P. (2011). Detecting women: Gender and the Hollywood detective film, SUNY Press: New York. Haskell, M. (1974). From reverence to rape: The treatment of women in the movies 1st edn, New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Kaplan, E. A. (1993). Women and film: Both sides of the camera, London: Routledge. Kolbjornsen, T. K. (1998). ‘Dansingi Hollywood: punktnedslagi film-musikalenshistorie’, dissertation, Villanova University, Philadelphia, PA.Smith, K. (2008). Women in Hollywood. [Online] Available from http://ksmith-hollywoodwomen.blogspot.com/2008/12/stereotypical-roles-of-women-in-films.html Accessed 27/11/2012 Lovasz, K. (2007). Technologies of self-presentation: Women’s engagement with mediated representation from the era of silent film to the Internet age. dissertation, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. [Online] Available from https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/display/MarkTribe/Visual+Pleasure+and+Narrative+Cinema [Accessed 27/11/2012] Mulvey, L. 1989, Visual and other pleasures, London: Macmillan. Net Industries. (n.d). The Divorcee (1930) –Overview, Synopsis, Critique. [Online] Available from http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/928/The-Divorcee-1930.html [Accessed 27/11/2012] Scheer, S. (n.d). A Review of Mick LaSalle's Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood (New York: Thomas Dunne Books-St. Martin's Press, 2000). [Online] Available from http://www.stevencscheer.com/lasalle.htmAccessed 27/11/2012 Siegel, M.B. (2009). ‘Busby Berkeley and the projected stage’, Hudson Review, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 106–114. Smedley, N. (2011). A divided world: Hollywood cinema and émigré directors in the era of Roosevelt and Hitler, 1933–1948, Intellect, Bristol. Smith, K 2008, Women in Hollywood [Online] Available from http://ksmith-hollywoodwomen.blogspot.com/2008/12/stereotypical-roles-of-women-in-films.html Accessed 27/11/2012 Streb, J. L. (2004). Minna Citron: A socio-historical study of an artist’s feminist social realism in the 1930s. University Park: Pennsylvania State University. Watkins, J. (2005). From fallen women to risen heroines: Representations of gender and sexuality in American film, 1929–1942. Huntington: Marshall University,. Watkins, T.H. (2009). The Great Depression: America in the 1930s, New York. Little, Brown and Company. Read More