What do movie and television posters say about their female leads?

I love watching films and critiquing them. I've been thinking about how movie and television posters portray their female leads. This poster sparked my interest:

In terms of romantic comedies, I think this movie is one of the best ones I've seen in years, so when I saw this poster I was bummed. This image is problematic because Marisa Tomei is reduced to a pair of legs. Steve Carrell is also pigeon-holed into the sex-crazy male with that goofy expression on his face. The "legs as framing" technique is overdone, particularly in hip-hop music videos. For more information on this, you can consult the Media Education Foundation's website and documentary, DreamWorlds. The videos on this site are great for educators to use in their classrooms. They're currently producing a documentary of Jessica Valenti's, The Purity Myth. I read this book last summer. Valenti discusses sex-education in the United States, "purity balls" where young women creepily promise to stay faithful to their fathers before marriage, and she calls into question where this concept of "virginity" came from. Take a look at Valenti's book!

Another promo for a television program that caught my attention:

And:

So "Don't let the name fool you", just judge me based on the slip dress I'm wearing?! What's going on in these pictures? The last one caught my attention because she's not looking at the viewer. While she is powerful and strong, this ad reminds the viewer that she is "feminine" and a woman with the heels and sexy, black dress. There isn't anything wrong with women looking sexy, but there is a problem when she is reduced to that one image. What about these images says that she's strong?

I then looked at this image:

This image fits with many other promos ABC has created. Desperate Housewives was one of the worst offenders with images like this and this. It's playing on an old double-bind that women need to be innocent, as shown with the white clothing, yet sinful and dirty with the slogan "they're not saints." Anyone else notice that while the show tries to incorporate some diversity, they are "whitening" this image. I find that ridiculous! This image will attract male audiences, but I find it problematic and disheartening that these images of women are recycled over and over again. When will this change?

Media education is important in an age where young people and their parents watch on average four hours of television per day. I'm currently reading Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism in the 21st Century edited by Rory Dicker and Alison Piepmeier, and the first chapter begins with a call for media education. I think this starts small by questioning the images that have become so ingrained in our minds that we perceive them as normal. It is not NORMAL that women are portrayed as body parts instead of people.

A Round Up of New Links to Explore

I've been getting a lot of topics to post lately, so before I forget, here are some interesting links I've found. 


1. AOL Music interviewed Jordan Sparks about her recent body transformation and new song. While at first I was skeptical since so many celebrities have come out lately with dramatic weight loss news, I think Jordan Sparks offers a positive message, saying that she wanted to become active and get more energy for herself. Even if she had good intentions and feels better about herself, she cannot control the language that the media uses to discuss her weight loss. The article focuses on her new svelte figure and evolved image, manipulating Jordan's reasons for losing weight.


2. Is Beyonce becoming more "white"? Check out this image of her fourth album cover. When I first looked at it, I didn't recognize her. This is a common trend with female singers. For more information, look at this image of Shakira before fame and after fame.


3. Continuing with the topic of Beyonce, she's decided to fight childhood obesity with Michelle Obama through her song "Move Your Body." Click the link to see her music video. It frustrates me that childhood obesity is framed as a problem that needs fighting and that exercise seems to be the only "solution" discussed in conversations about body image.

http://www.dyfuse.com/files/images/beyonce-move-your-body-video.preview.jpg

4. In recent studies about "Why Women Have Sex", researchers found that sex is more complicated for women, and that 1 in 3 women report feeling sad after having sex. The author considers the reasons why women have sex. For example, if a woman is having "revenge" sex, then maybe it explains why she is sad afterwards. Reading the comments below this article was enlightening because many of the readers feel the same way I do. One reader wrote, "Is it possible that women have the same sexual desires as any other species on the planet?" I agree. Can't a woman enjoy sex because of the same reasons as a man? Why are men allowed to have limitless desires while women must have reasons for having sex? 

A little "Too Close" for Comfort: Rethinking 90s Music Memories

To set the scene for this post, let's travel back in time... It's the 90s, and I'm sitting in the car gossiping with some friends in the back seat while my mom is driving us to a friend's house. A song comes on (Think Spice Girls "Wannabe" or "2 Becomes 1"), and we begin dancing and mouthing the words to each other. You may be thinking "What's so problematic about this scene?" (or you're thinking "Oh, Baby Spice was my favorite" which means you are missing the entire point of this post...)


Let's fast-forward a few years later to another conversation:
Me: What are you talking about?
Friend 1: Lena, don't you remember that song?
Me: No. Play it for me.... My friend begins playing "Too Close" by Next.
Me: Oh, yeah I remember it. 
Friend 1: Listen to the lyrics...
Me: Why...Oh...
To get my point, check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwEZRPkAAu8


So the entire song is about getting "too close" to a member of the opposite sex at a party, and I, at 20 years old, just realized the true meaning of the song when I revisited it. The same thing happened when the Spice Girls went on tour again. I revisited the song "2 Becomes 1" and had another revelation about my childhood. What's problematic here is that I danced to these songs as a naive 14-year-old without recognizing the sexual innuendo, and the same pattern is continuing with 8-year olds replicating Lady Gaga's dance moves on Youtube. (Yes, there is a video of an 8-year old boy dancing to "Poker Face.")


For kids today, Lady Gaga is their idol, and yes, her songs are great to dance to, but there is something problematic about the messages these songs are telling young people. The songs over-sexualize young girls and tell them that to fit in they need to be "sexy." While I've said on my blog that there should be more open communication with young people about sex, another layer is to inform young people of the negative messages they are receiving from the music industry that lead them to uncomfortable sexual situations they are not prepared for. Yes, the songs are nice background music to dance to at parties, but the lyrics need to be problematized and seen as potential harmful manipulators of men and women's sexual behaviors.