Gender In The Media Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender In The Media - Movie Review Example The main focus of the paper rests on presentation of female characters relative to male characters. The analysis demonstrates how the female characters adapt the lead roles within Television series, as well as male characters. Television shows adopts several perceptions on society and can be employed as a reflection of reality, depicting the world as external to the text meaning. Introduction Sociologists assert that gender is more of a social performance rather than a biological fact. The sitcom Big Bang Theory relies on individual choice as the possible explanation of the shortage of women within science rather than highlighting institutionalized sexism among scientists. The show largely draws from general stereotypes found in the Sci-fi/fantasy genre in which men are perceived as heroes and women depicted as skimpily dressed and depicted as helpless (Gauntlett, 2008). The show projects the assumption that women do not subscribe to nerd culture and that the cultural stereotypes of the desperate, antisocial, Sci-Fi obsessed video game addicted hacker is unappealing to women’s feminine sensitivities. Role of the Media in Socially Constructing Gender The media mirror and construct the social world. The media that people consume including movies, news stories, music, videogames, and TV shows deliver subtle (and no-so-subtle) messages that largely shape and inform people’s attitudes on race, gender, and class. Comprehension on the impact of the messages on the audience is essential to developing supportive media and industry practices (Gauntlett, 2008). Past studies have demonstrated that representation of women within media tends to reinforce the patriarchal hegemony with the portrayal of women as subordinate to men. Being born a man or a woman within any society is bigger than a simple biological fact bearing social implications. Women can be considered as a creation of the masculine gaze, whereby masculine conception of woman gave rise to idealiza tions and norms, which strongly impacted on the behaviors of women lacking power to challenge the male views of their sex. The social construction framework highlights that there is no essential, universally distinct character which is feminine or masculine behaviors impacted by a broad range of factors such as ability, religion, class, body shape, and sexual preference (Ross, 2012). Gender theory argues that both men and women actively engage in constructing their gendered identities. The construction of gender identities can be perceived as dynamic, changeable, and ongoing rather than fixed or static (Campbell & Carilli, 2005. How Television Shows Construct Gender The concept of gender identity is diverse from gender stereotypes influencing perceptions of personality traits frequently tied to one’s gender, such as expressiveness in women and instrumentality, in men. In most cases, the products of narration of popular culture emanate from the collective and inscribed in it, whereby their deconstruction and analysis uncover the ideological background of gender and social hierarchies overriding the period of creation. Gender norms have been undergoing changes within the last three decades with an unprecedented reach and speed. The boundaries of gender as a social structure may be shaped by taboos that define social power relationships via prohibition on transgressions and violations of the binary gender code, or heterosexist gender discourse. Patriarchal gaze is at the