As the weekend approaches, those of us who are usually the first to see the latest movie in theaters are out searching for the movie that will gain our attention Friday night. Whether you normally watch an action film or a chick flick, they both catch our attention for certain reasons and unknowingly change our perspective on life and pop culture. One such film that I recently watched the trailer for is Bad Teacher. This trailer skews the roles of women in many aspects that, although they seem like harmless jokes, result in poor views of women.
From the start of the trailer looks play a huge role in perception of the women in the film. Cameron Diaz plays the character Elizabeth Holsey who is a young, sexy, blonde, and seems to have it all. She can eat whatever she wants and is not worried about her job. On the other hand, her coworker Lynn Davies is older, not skinny, and spends her time working towards being perfect to get a man. Time and time again pop culture suggests this fact that you have to be perfect to be loved and taken care of by a man. When these two personalities are put side by side, the stereotypical female roles are emphasized. Diaz’s character even states that her “full time job is finding a guy who’s going to take care of [her]” while Lynn wants to be loved yet feels there is no chance for her.
The entire plot of the movie is based on the lead female wanting to get breast implants to be more attractive and sellable to men. She is willing to do whatever it takes to get the money including using her looks to her advantage at the school car wash and using brute force to make her students learn the required material. Elizabeth knows she has a nice body yet cannot accept the fact that she does not need larger breasts. This displays the full effects of the male gaze and how women view themselves as objects for pleasure. Although Justin Timberlake’s character never mentions why he broke up from his previous relationship, Elizabeth immediately looks at his ex with a male perspective seeing only how her breasts fill up the phone screen. This prompts her to have the need and desire to enhance her body.
A perfect scene to describe this is the car wash at the school. Elizabeth acts in a very sexual manner grabbing the attention of male parents, male students, both male and female teachers, the principal, and the policeman. The adult humor and implications are exaggerated making the male gaze very apparent. It is also interesting to note that the movie trailer spends a large portion of time on this particular scene. The combination of showing sexual positions and the reactions draws viewers in to watch the movie.
When Elizabeth realizes that the school gives a bonus for have the highest average on the standardized state test, she will not stop at anything to get the money. Her focus shifts from having a good time by drinking and doing drugs, to making the students learn the material in order for her to receive the pay bonus at the end of the year which she plans to use for new breasts.
Kath talks about how women are represented in movie "bad teacher". her main claim is that "this trailer skews the roles of women in many aspects that, although they seem like harmless jokes, result in poor views of women." Specific example in the movie is how Elizabeth strive to get larger breasts. The visual element is cool. perhaps could use another picture on her seductive body position that has been taught about in the writing. The writing well addressed movie goers, perhaps need more professional analysis for movie critics, like how the make-up of the scene plays. Don't think its necessary to use actor names, as we are not focusing on how well he/she plays the role
ReplyDeleteKathryn's main pop culture item is the movie entitled Bad Teacher. Her audience is composed of movie-goers and critics, so we can assume people will more than likely know about her item in question. Her main point is here: "This trailer skews the roles of women in many aspects that, although they seem like harmless jokes, result in poor views of women." Although there is nothing that outright says her audience is movie-literate people, i think it's OK because there will be non movie buffs (like me) that will be reading it as well. There is only one visual element, but it seems to match with her main idea. And as to your question- using the character names in context of the story as well as the real names of the actors can work. I suppose it all depends on how you want to describe the character.
ReplyDelete