The Portrayal of Women in the Media

[Chernaudi]

Overall, I think that the media spends too much time spewing crap and pressing people to be like someone else instead of letting people be themselves.

That's something that seems to be getting under Kristen and Rob's skin a lot, though they try not to show it or be overly critical of it. Because, after all, their media attention has allowed them plenty of good experiences in their careers, but, just like with normal jobs, they do have things that they don't like, and just like the invasive, purvasive press, the media trying to pressure people to be like someone else seems off putting to them, and is off putting to me.

I mean, we shouldn't cast all of our aspirational views away, because we, as people, should see the good qualities in others and aspire to equal that. But at the same time, we shouldn't be busting our butts and (some cases literally) killing ourselves to be like others. It takes away the uniquness that we as individuals have, tests our self-esteem, and is BORING!

The media should use the good that celebs and film stars and musicians do to build up our self-esteem and illustrate good qualities that we should strive for, not to look or act like them because of the media's own bullcrap standards. We're told that "aww, look at Kristen and Rob, more people should be EXACTLY like them." Oh yeah? Well, a lot of the media wolves are just money hungry people with superiority complexes and are also pretty freakin' stupid a lot of the time, too! Should we adopt all their standards? I think not.

We should look at the good qualities of people like Kristen and Rob, and at the same time not emulate what they do to the point where we lose ourselves.

[Tornado]

Another problem with the industry overall is that everyone is afraid to take risks. They like to stay where it's nice and safe. Why risk putting a woman with a realistic look in a film? What if no one sees it? We know they like this person, or this other person looks like so-and-so, so we'll use them. We know this model and type of person works, so it's nice and safe. We can be assured of this result.

This is exactly why we see so many sequels. If something makes money, Hollywood will milk it to death rather than risk trying something new. And this is why established stars can command such huge salaries. The Hollywood moguls can be pretty sure they'll get their money back because they know that person has fans who are likely to see the movie they're in, so it's a risk they're willing to take. So many projects get turned away because they're considered not commercially viable. I tried to market a screenplay myself, and this was exactly what I was told. Yes, it's well written, but sorry, it's not commercially viable, so no go.

[Esme echo]

Hmm . . .

When my grandmother was a girl her family lived in southern Alberta, wheat-farming. Drought eventually drove them out, but while they were there she described attending Chataquas. These were traveling shows that presented news, plays, dances, cultural lectures and so forth to people in outlying areas. They were a life-line to isolated communities.

It seems to me that the only way to circumvent the materialistic, sex-driven culture of Hollywood-type entertainment is just such an organization: a group who presented values-based entertainment on a smaller, local scale. A traveling company would probably not work, but locals could loosely organize and put on events . . . if they were passionate about it.

Aack, I've changed my mind! It sounds like too much work! I'll just refuse to subsidize the media garbage by not attending stuff I think is anti-social or anti-feminist!

[Tornado]

I like that idea, actually! When I was younger the church I went to often put on dramas and things like that. I was usually involved in one way or another. It was heaps of fun! However, the church I'm going to now is a lot smaller, so there is no opportunity for that kind of thing.

I'm trying to enter the mainstream now, with my screenplay and a couple of books I have written, hoping to provide some entertainment that are not necessarily conforming to stereotypes (I hope not, anyway!). It's next to impossible in a country like Australia, that is so far away from everything else, and has a very limited entertainment industry. It's times like this I wished I lived in the Americas or the UK.

[Esme echo]

Have you thought about publishing online? You could put a chapter or two online, and if people liked it, they could order the rest of the book. Just a thought . . .

[Tornado]

A few months ago I was about to self publish my novel as an e-book, but then I started working for a (very small) publisher, and she is against self publishing. She's seen a lot people regret those kinds of decisions. As a result, she is considering publishing my book herself. However, it's not a sure thing, and I've told her that if she says no, I will publish it as an e-book. Even if she does publish it, we will probably eventually do an e-book version of it anyway.

[drJ4twilight]

The Media generally portrays women in a sexist way, focusing only on physical attractiveness.
The Media also highlights 'sports' for men - which focusses on their brute physical strength -rather than their intelligence or emotions. That is why i like the Twilight Saga - Bella is not potrayed as a beautiful goddess character. Sure, she becomes a beautiful vampire diva in the end (just as we can all dress up and look beautiful) but this is just an 'accidental' after effect of her true goal - which is to be 'happy'. Just a few thoughts!

[Esme echo]

Welcome to the Lexicon, drJ4twilight! I think you are quite right about the media portrayal of men; women are not the only sex that receive stereotypical treatment by the media. I read a statement by Tim Allen a while ago that resonates with me:

Men aren't allowed to have self-esteem, because we're already supposed to have all the power -- according to feminist college professors. But most men earn less than they want, barely the minimum wage. They're drones. They do stuff they don't want to do to support their families, and they're not sure why they do it. They don't know what they're doing half the time, and any time we stick up for ourselves, we're pigs because we don't know how to articulate our frustrations and joys.

My husband said, "Amen!" when I showed this quote to him. Life is no easier for men than it is for women. Too often women try to mold men into someone more like themselves, which never works! [It's the whistling pig proverb: Never try to teach a pig to whistle. Why? Because it doesn't work, and it irritates the pig!]

I may have said this already, because I feel strongly about it: I think the greatest danger of media arises when lazy, self-involved people thoughtlessly drink in media messages and accept them as a portrayal of reality -- which they emphatically are not!

[Tornado]

I agree Esme. Men get a bad rap these days. In a lot of ways it's a knee jerk reaction to the general behaviour of men towards women, and the fact that women have long been viewed as "the weaker sex". As with most things, unfortunately, the people with the loudest voices tend to take it too far in the other direction.

This is evident in some things MR put in the Eclipse script. I am pretty sure that MR would consider herself a feminist, and I must confess I think she's one who tends to take it a bit too far. I can understand it - being a female in that industry can't be easy - but why is it so repellant for Bella to be seen as totally devoted to Edward?

Some people clearly see it as a sign of weakness, but it doesn't go both ways. He's still allowed to be totally devoted to her, and stand there like a spineless twit while she rides off on a motorcycle with his rival. That's not a problem. He can still be totally devoted to her beyond the point of reason, but she's not allowed to be like that. She has to be strong at every turn. She can never show weakness, which is not only impossible, but also presents an unrealistic role model. I don't know anyone who isn't weak at some point.

Sorry. I think I'm rambling!

[Esme echo]

No, that was a great rant, and I agree with you completely!

MR's interpretation of Twilight makes me nuts. The worst disconnect in my mind was when Edward peevishly snapped at Bella for tripping in the greenhouse. Edward would NEVER have done that. Rob interpreted Edward a lot darker and depressed than SM wrote him, which I'm sure factored in to that scene, though.

I'm not sure what else we can say about women in the media! Media has been roundly condemned. Does anyone have a defense for it?