Women shaped by media: then and now
This paper would seek to provide an understanding of an issue that been raised on a number of forums but never has been addressed the way it should have been. The issue surrounds women and their lack of recognition for their efforts. History contains a number of examples which hold testimony to the above statement. The contributions of women have been silenced by a male dominated society which prefers women to be stereotyped.
The social system and the legal system pertaining to make sure that that the roles are maintained, it has become a subject worthy of study to observe the trends of this movement over time. Women are perceived to be the adult version of children, who were not even given the right of proprietorship and legal recognition till very recent times. Women were passed from one male hand to another.(Alvin,1965)
The Common law of Europe’s attitude toward women was that for them to have the role of a wife, mother etc. The women had no claim to any compensation and in fact the so called rights that were provided acted against their fundamental right of equal existence.(Beard 1946)
This paper would seek to understand the historical and present role that women have had in the entrainment field and whether it has resulted in the betterment of women or have they been merely scapegoats for men to act their own definition of a woman.
The actress in the 1920s who was a size twelve and was making breathless plans to meet the “man of her dreams” has become the present age size zero Ally Mcbeal who may be a success in her professional yet her search never ends for the “perfect man.”
Shows are created by a certain vision and for as long as the entertainment industry has existed that vision has been of a man. Shows like Desperate Housewives, Brothers and sisters all show women who try to manage their careers alongside their professional lives but at the same time, all search for the perfect man or give up their dreams for their “perfect man”.
The feminists have been at the forefront arguing about the fact that the person who makes something has all the stings of authority and in most cases that has been men. Women are stereotyped in character s of a sex goddess, vamp, an angelic innocent girl etc. Rarely films are made which show women to be the central character. A few examples can be quoted that of Erin Brockovich, Kill Bill.
Only those actresses who have established themselves as noteworthy actresses can demand such roles such as Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, and Nicole Kidman to name a few. At the same time, there is a long list of those actresses who have had to project themselves as nothing more than bodies with no brains. Shows like “everybody loves Raymond”, “How I met your Mother” all have central characters as men in a time and age in which women are perceived to have greater rights than ever before.
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