Audiences views/examples

Character stereotypes can influence an audience views on society, deciding whether something is socially correct or unacceptable.  Three main stereotypes that women are portrayed through are a mother, a sexual object and dependant on men.  Depending on the audience member the views or acceptance on these stereotypes can differ.

Mother – This character is portrayed to cook, clean and look after children like a good mother should.  This can create an expectation on women to be influenced by the characters on screen.  This character affects the audience by making the female viewers think that this is how the media sees women and this is how society should become. Audience members who are not mothers may feel there is pressure to be a certain way.  Actual mothers could relate to the situation on screen this could either be a positive or negative as some women may feel that their family life is more in control that what is being portrayed (dysfunctional screen families) or feel their family is not what society expects (portrayal of a traditional family.)  Men in the audience may see these mother figures and think that this is the correct and traditional way that women should act in the home.  This portrayal shows that women should not be allowed in the work force and be stay-at-homes mothers.  As a whole audience people have very different views on the Mother character.  From a feminist point of view the mother character is more of an expectation that a stereotype, a way the media is trying to change the way that women should act which is quite degrading as it is enforcing a certain way of life instead of giving women a choice.

An example of this character in the film is Marion.  She has a job, no children and is not married.  Her death is seen as a punishment for not abiding by society’s ‘rules’ being a traditional mother figure.  

Sexual Object – This stereotype is quite new into the women characters as this is becoming the future of women portrayal.  This character is seen to be a pleasure object for the male audience.  This can encourage voyeuristic behaviour that is considered derogatory towards women.  Because this character is becoming more accepted in society and becoming the norm in the media it is making the behaviour that use to be frowned upon more acceptable which is increasing the negative portrayal of women.  To women this character is very belittling as they are being shown in a disrespectful way.  Women may think that if others see them in this way in the media it could encourage a false perception in real life.  Putting the thoughts into people’s minds that women are only good for pleasure on screen may make viewers (especially men) think that it is ok to treat women in their lives the same.  Still in society today this inappropriate behaviour creates and unfair interpretation of women that can been seen as quite misogynistic. 

In the film Marion is seen in just a bra and underwear with Sam suggesting they have just sleep together.  At the beginning of the film she has already been given a negative portrayal.  This is used to instantly engage the audience and keep them interested for the rest of the film.  Her death symbolised a punishment for tempting/ encouraging inappropriate thoughts. 

Dependant on me (Week/Vulnerable) – This stereotype makes women look helpless and needy.   It is a way to show that men are the dominant gender and that they are the one with the power.  It portrays women to be week and this character is the one that usually needs to be saved or gets herself into trouble.  An audience watching this could find this character annoying and disruptive on a story line.  It shows a lack of independence from women as the expectation of these characters are to not have jobs and depends on the men for money and a good life style.   Men in movies who act this way to women could be seen as a role model to younger audience members with sets bias opinion and may alter peoples own decisions.  Women seeing these portrayals many find them to be offensive as it suggests women cannot cope without men   

The first part of the film centres on Marion not being able to handle life without Sam as she steels money to be with him.  This foolish act gets her murdered while she is on her way to be with him. 

Conclusion

 

Without the Movement women would not be where they are today. As equals they have stamped their important mark on society which have given them a chance this has given them a chance to be equals with men and finally have some control. Hitchcock has pushed the boundaries of women portrayal and has set up a whole world of opportunity for film makers. Psycho's interpretation of women was one where both sides were shown, controlling and week. The Feminism theory shown in the film was controversial but still would have kept the target audience satisfied with a diverse range of views. In today’s society people could not imagine a world with no women dominance.

 

Societal Implications

Society has become complacent when hearing about horrific crimes against women.  When they see it in films they feel for the characters but think  “it is only a movie.” They do not think that anything like this could happen to them.  This is because people watch films to escape reality but usually films are based on real life.   

Because Women are seen as the weaker sex and the sexual object they are automatically stereotyped to be usless.  Marion fits under the typical beautiful, blonde, deperate woman.  Even though she is seen to have power at first glance, she actually does not, as she is paranoid, guilt ridden, and has impaired judgement in her belief that money would mean that she could fix everything.  She is this common stereotype that is quickly dying out as femle characters in films become more dominant. 

Hitcock took many risks within the film to try to satisfy the audience and take a step into modern film making.  Psycho was one of the first films to show a proper flushing toilet; and to have a female seen in just her bra and petti-coat.  As these were new concepts, there were both negative and positive implications.

Negative: To show that women as a sexual objects instead of human beings.  
                   Makes the male seem more powerful and dominant. 


Positive: To show women in a different way, not just the 'problem' charcters.  Makes the women seem like they have an actual role, to show they have importance - reward for the male. This could also be a negative relating back to the sex appeal.            
                  

 

"Does feminist mean large unpleasant person who’ll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings? To me it’s the latter, so I sign up." -Margaret Atwood

 

http://ecosalon.com/40-quotes-on-feminism/

Meaning/ Directors Purpose

Hitchcock’s purpose for the portrayal of the females in Psycho was to meet audience expectations and create a shocking horror.  The female roles makes the audience feel sympathy, but also hate as they do create problems for the other characters.  Marion’s love for Sam drives her to steel the money and fight for him.  This could be seen as a problem to society as she in going after someone who has already been previously married and this is sometimes not accepted, especially if the male is not officially divorced.  In society it is commonly known that crimes are performed by men so when Marion steals money it may cause quite a shock as it is not seen as the norm.  For women to commit crimes is very unusual as people perceive them as being nurturers and protectors.   

Director’s purpose: To create the shock factor.  Hitchcock wanted to challenge people reactions as all the evil that happens in the movie happens in real life, however people are quite sheltered from it so when they see it through something they want to be entertained by.  It can make them think about what is really out there considering the Psycho characters and their problems exist are in fact true to life.

Supporting Evidence

Hitchcock used many techniques to portray Marion depending on her circumstances.

Marion has 3 main personality stages throughout the film:

- She has control of her life and she is happy with Sam.  Her clothing consists of her bra and petti -coat (which is white to show purity).  Marion is seen here as a sexual object and Sam seems to be in control as they go to kiss.

  

 

-          Her vulnerable side starts to show  as she feels she needs Sam, seeing stealing the money as a way to achieve this.  Her camera angles are always at eye view so the audience can relate with her and feel on her level.  She is now in black because she has done something wrong.

 

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-         Finally she is seen in the shower washing away her sin as she has decided to return the money. She is still viewed in a low angle shot as she is in danger, but has felt she has gained back her independence.

 

 

 

   

Hitchcock - Psycho

A well-known film that feminism can be interpreted through is the famous work of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

 

Hitchcock portrayed the main female lead Marion, as being independent, dominant and in control of her own life as she has a job, is not married (but in love).  He still had to base his film around the societal changes and the people within it: feminists, sexist males and traditionalists.   

Hitchcock, being a traditionalist himself, still kept the weak, vunerable female stereotype as it was his plan to kill her off after the first 30 minutes of the film to please the audience and to keep the horror theme alive.  But, mainly to show her courageous move of stealing her bosses money required a punishment ,as it was seen as an ‘unwomanly’ act.



Feminism and the media - Target Audience

During the time of the feminist movement the media had to adapt to the changes. Women began to be portrayed in a different way, stronger and more dominant, to satisfy a larger target market. Before the movement many media like movies and television programs were used to encourage women to stay in their “rightful”gender roles. The government had a large influence on this as back then women and their families were the main audience. Shows like the Brady Bunch portrayed the female characters as being weak and better off in the home. Such characters were used in the hope of being role models for house wives.

 

-          The first 30 seconds of the clip it quickly shows that the mother has to deal with the children’s problems and the father cannot be disturbed whilst playing golf. The children look to the father as having more power to sort out the issue. 

With the changes, and in most households, in society today the mother is seen as being the dominant parent.  Although Norman's mother controlled his life, there was no balance of a male role model.  This is in contrast to how Marion was portrayed.