The Film Artist and Portrayal of Women in Films - Report Example

Portrayal of women in Films Introduction Alfred Hitchcock has done great art works they display a great sense of psychological trickery. Even with the widespread criticism on his way of molding character roles, there he still brings up the true reflections that are expected in a society. In his movies Psycho (1960), his main character is a single mother with scenes full of terrifying killings. Though it was the very first kind of a horror film he ever produced, most analysts, viewers and movie industries see him as a horror film master. Most critics are of the view that Hitchcock through his movie the Psycho shows the great violence imposed on women. (Brewer Chad: pp. 35) The movie shows a great sense of power evident n most films. He portrays women as weak and inferior beings who can be sex objects. At the beginning of The Psycho (1960) movie, the main character, Marion Crane appears lying on bed with a half naked man standing beside her. Through this seen, it justifies the point that even a weak man can easily influence women. With a strong urge to demand for a bedroom affair, the naked man; Sam proves his masculinity by demanding that they should leave the place. This shows that women have no power in most of the confrontations and decisions they make that involve men. In the sense that women are used as objects, it is very evident when Marion is having a lunchtime meal in undergarments. With the discussion about Sam and her directed towards sex, it is clear through the threats that Marion gives. All she wants is they to have an open affair or she will refuse all the sexual advances. The Rear Mirror depicts Jeff’s girlfriend; Lisa as a person with a high sex appetite. She keeps grabbing Jeff’s wheelchair with a motive that can ignite sexual instincts. The same happens with his nurse who makes Jeff love every touch she gives him when treating his leg. She uses the protective nature to send signals to those around that probably, she needs sexual attention. Women sacrifice their own lives for the sake of other people. The main character, by displaying so much love towards her husband, decides to steal $ 40,000 to enable him pay off his debts. This however seems not to solve the problem as her fiancée sounds not ready to be settled in for marriage. The same sacrifice in the Rear Window movie. Lisa sacrifices her time to check on Jeff just to make sure everything is running as expected. However, who seems like he can sense tends to develop a very negative attitude towards marriage. With all the daily mischief that he sees happening between his friends and in the neighborhood, he chooses to keep life to himself. He enjoys being massaged by his nurse though he admits he has a fiancée. Probably, what he does not want to admit is that he is impotent and that because he is a murderer who is trying to hide his actions by asking for the appropriate time to leave even with a lame leg. Women are bearing a forceful character. In most cases, it is at times when they angered or are under stress. (Brewer Chad: pp. 48) When the police officer comes at Norman’s home, Lila who is stressed about her missing sister Marion yells at the Sherriff. With such a high-pitched tone, we understand the urgency in the situation at hand. That is the most common tool that women use. She goes ahead to dare the Sherriff to find out what might have happened back at the Bates Motel where her sister was or she finds out all by herself. With this kind of anger, women turn out to be very aggressive and use all sorts to find their beloved ones. They can go to the extent of using weapons. Intelligence (Brewer Chad: pp. 45) is another character trait that is evident in The Psycho (1960). Women have a powerful way of critically thinking and solving problems. For instance, Marion sells off her black care to make it difficult for those tracking her. With a great idea coming from her sister, they hatch a plan to storm the hotel with Marion’s fiancée while pretending that they are married just to find out what is really going on. In another instance, a clear indication that can exist between critical thinking and finding solution is Marion is driving. In her imagination, she can project what her audience. Mostly, films use art in screams especially made by women, pleads to actualize the inner-dialogues. In the process of thinking, marion comes up with an effective plan that can get her out the robbery case. In her inner thinking, she can picture how her boss and the police are discussing about her. Her boss wisely saying she is so courageous, brave and ambitious. She can picture the owner of the money cursing every moment and the unwillingness to let go the stolen cash. There are widespread assault acts of violence that women face. (Brewer Chad: pp. 42) In The Rear Window (1954), situations force en to act violently against women. For instance, Thoward’s wife keeps on nagging him all the time. This gets him annoyed to the extent of killing his wife. It is very true that men are good pretenders. Thorwald covers up the story just to make sure that nobody gets to notice the strange act that he has done to his wife. When marriage goes astray, women are to blame even when they are trying their best to get everything fixed. A similar kind of murder happens in Psycho (1960). Norman tracks Marion to her room. While watching her through a hole, he gets aggressive to the point of killing her in cold blood. This shows how women suffer at the hands of murders who act in a manner that is very difficult to suspect their evil deeds. In the two movies, the female characters get to interact well with individuals out of their social group. They appear as loving, caring and people that can be trusted. They seemed relaxed and willing to discuss very deep issues that concern their families, relationships, jobs as compared to when they are with those they know. Women are so nice at influencing people. In The Rear Mirror, Lisa who is Jeff’s girlfriend realizes that their relationship is not leading to marriage just because Jeff is not ready to settle down. She uses her influence to persuade him so that he can understand the main aim for marriage. In The Psycho (1960), Norman’s mother has a great influence over him to the extent of refusing him to marry any girl. With this kind of influence, Norman gets into the mood to follow all her mother’s advice. Even when Marion suggests that they should lock her up for a while, Norman gets annoyed just because he seems used to her mother’s presence. Conclusion It sounds interesting when movies develop negative stereotypes with women being the victims (Brewer Chad: pp. 15). It makes the movie interesting to watch. While it is normal that it is a feminine nature to behave in a certain way, most of the horror films are giving a bad picture about women. It depicts them as fearful and people who easily give in to sexual advances. In addition, it sends a wrong message in that women have to undergo torture or brutal killings when making a decision. In addition, it terms most of the abuses done on women as fun to men. While understanding that our society is full of young people, displaying this to them may turn them into ill-mannered people unknowingly. Work cited Brewer Chad. The Stereotypic Portrayal of Women in Slasher Films: Then versus Now. May 2005:5-64. Print. Read More