MEST 4: Research & Production: May 2010

Are females in teen movies always seen as bimbos and sex objects? Why might this be?

To a large extent females in teen movies are seen by audiences to be bimbos and sex objects. This could be due to the way they are represented by the producers and the costumes that they are dressed in, which are mainly revealing, sexual and provocative. A vast majority of the time, “female stars are constructed to appeal to male desire”[1] and therefore in order to appeal to a traditional male audience, females in teen movies are represented as passive objects. Laura Mulvey argued that “Hollywood cinema objectified women in an image for the pleasure of men.”[2] This idea is evident in the 2004 movie, ‘Mean Girls, which follows the protagonist on her journey to becoming a ‘plastic’. The plastics, as the main protagonists of the narrative, are shown to be complete opposites. Regina George is constructed to be the ‘femme fatale’ of the movie, with ‘her lackies’ Karen Smith (the ‘bimbo’) and Gretchen Weiner (the ‘sheep’) following her every move which suggests the idea of a young women being like a child wanting to be exactly like her favourite ‘Barbie doll’.

At the start of the movie, it is evident that Karen Smith, the first of the plastics that we are introduced to, is a bimbo. The scene depicts the ‘plastics’ partaking in a physical education lesson where Karen runs to catch the ball but ends up accidentally hitting it with her ‘boobs’ instead. Another female character, Janice, who contrastingly is shown to be a gothic, more ‘masculine’ figure, tells the protagonist: “That’s Karen Smith, she’s one of the dumbest girls you’ll ever meet.”[3] The closes up shots of this group of friends sitting on the grass depict them mocking her and what she did to the character Damien in their English class. “She asked me how to spell ‘orange’!” [4]This denigrates her in a sexist way and reinforces her status as the bimbo.

Further, an enduring common stereotype of a young female is the ‘bimbo’, which is typically denoted through, blonde hair, flashy make-up, large breasts, mini skirt and high heels. These stereotypes can have an impact upon females for instance; if they are continually stereotyped negatively they will start to accept the labelling. As a result, this leads to the self-full-filling prophecy as they will start acting like the ‘typical’ bimbo as they are being regarded as as. Also, she is seen to be uneducated, helpless and stupid; this appeals to a primary audience of males due to predatory male desire, which reinforces the idea of Mulvey’s theory of the active, controlling ‘male gaze’. Females in teen movies are more frequently given the passive roles rather than the active whereby, “In the past, lead roles for women have always seemed scarce compared to males”[5]

Moreover, female teenagers are represented as passive objects due to their role they have been given in cinema. Mean Girls is an example of a film which provides visual pleasure through voyeurism, and they way in which the opposite sex has a sexual interest in looking at the sexual activity or intimate behaviours, which may be considered of a private nature. An example can be taken from the text ‘Mean Girls’ as there is a shot of the character ‘Regina George’ on the bed with her boyfriend.

This argues that female actresses had limited roles against men as they over powered the cinema. In ’Mean Girls’ the female actresses have the roles of being a distinctive ‘girly’ girl. However, males play part in more of the action part of the narrative. “When females have roles, they are mostly shown as being negative roles,”[6] this can be seen in the movie Mean Girls as they are constantly being represented negatively throughout the film, which is due to the role that they have been told to play and take part in. This can be due to the clothing they wear and the way they act. For example; the medium slow motion shot of the four main protagonists in Mean Girls draws attention to the clothing, which is exceedingly provocative which backs up the quote above. What’s more, a long shot shows the way the ‘four plastics’ walk in the corridor. The plastics were made to walk in a confident and sexual way which resembled a predator going after its prey, reinforcing that they are ‘man eaters’.

More to the point, “The typical complaint is that women in films are either 'virgins, mothers or whores”[7], this quote shows that women have set roles in the viewers eyes, which portrays the fact that there will always be an appalling and negative reputation for females. This can be seen in the text ‘Mean ‘Girls’ as there is a particular scene in the film showing Karen Smith going inside her bedroom with a male, Which then her mum knock on the door and say’s: “Can I get you kids anything? Something to eat or drink, How about a Condom?”[8] This quote shows that sex today has become more accepted in society as mothers are not telling their children not to have sex but offering those condoms and near enough saying that is acceptable. However, this goes against the typical ideology of women as they are meant to be represented as housewives that cook and clean for their family. Also, it shows how values have changed over time in society as parents in the past would educate their child about something useful and necessary. The fact that she said ‘kid’ makes the scene more dramatic as it shows that their not even old enough to have sex; it almost patronizes them.

On the other hand, female stars are making the films more exciting and thrilling to watch. This can be due to “The number of female protagonists which has increased and female characters play a larger part in propelling the narrative forward”[9]. This can be obvious through the role of being a sexual object to satisfy the male desire or being a ‘bimbo’ to make the film appeal to a wider market. Also, the quote shows that females are being used to make the film more recognised and known, and this will be done by the way they act on screen and the role that they will play.

The main protagonists are dressed in tight costumes such as; long leather boots, tight leather like red skirts and boob tubes. The connotation of this specific colour red signifies love, passion and romance. Combining both the connotations and provocative clothing shows that the text is partially for a male audience because, males are seen to be attracted to the female body, and the red connotation represents romance between the opposite sexes. Therefore the "Audience gains voyeuristic pleasure from watching a film"[10]

Also, the text can be viewed from a C1 and below demo-graphic audience. As, the film is based on teenagers it would not make sense if A and B socio demo-graphic groups were watching it; other than for surveillance purposes. Moreover, the audience can relate to the text for escapism and surveillance purposes. Whereby; they may relate the text to their personal relationship or watch the film for their own visual pleasure. The target audience for the film is mainly targeted at females who may watch the text for personal identity.

The reason why I have chosen to look at the film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ in contrast to mean girls is because, it is a well recognized mainstream hit whereas, mean girls is a modernized version of a teen movie in today’s generation. The film is about a man who moves into a New York apartment building and becomes interested in his pretty, quirky neighbour Holly Golightly. Her lifestyle is somewhat different as it is confusing and fascinates Paul. It is said that in public she flirts around, being sexy and sophisticated but when the two are alone she plays a sweet and vulnerable act. Even though, Audrey Hepburn plays a daring and sexy part in this film. She does not expose her body in an appealing way and to satisfy the male audience and their desire.

Although, she is sexy, stunning and sophisticated she does not show it in a seductive or provocative way. For instance; she does not show off flesh and is only a one man’s women. Never the less, in mean girls this is represented in the opposite way as young teenage girls are seen as sexual objects and dumb blonde bimbos.

By this, we can see how much society has changed over years gone by as, films in the 60’s were seen to be more about housewives and even though they were sexy they didn’t make it seductive in order to please the audience. Therefore; this goes against the typical values for women as their roles are changing as years go by.

Never the less, this is not the type of representation we as the audience would accept from a 1960’s film. As females were more to be seen as housewives, this goes against the hegemony values as this film shows a women that is seductive and sexy in a discreet way. Though, a vast majority of the time, the props that were worn throughout the movie was a long black dress which could signify that she’s powerful, has strong emotions and is sophisticated. Also, the fact that she wears a dark colour dress can be because, she’s feeling inconspicuous and maybe empty.

Whilst studying the title on a number of different media platforms we can identify how this representation can be presented on broadcast, print and e-media. For example, for e-media the representation of teenage girls can be exaggerated on websites such as; miss bimbo. Whereby; the audience can create characters to their own likening. The user generated content allows individuals to get more involved with each other and share their opinions. On the website, www.missbimbo.com people can get involved with each other and talk amongst them. The website is more concentrated on how consumers can create their own characters and can browse the site for fashion tips and news etc.

Currently, in the 21^st century we as the audience look at “teen films as addressing major issues like, alienation, delinquency, rebellion, sex and gender”.[11] A great example of reinforcing this quote would be in the text ‘Mean Girls’ whereby; the main four protagonists form a group called ‘the plastics’. The plastics are represented as high maintenance ‘bimbos’, who attract the voyeuristic pleasure of the male audience. Also, the assumption of the girls promoting sexuality and “humour arises from the use of sexual innuendo, double meanings, embarrassing situations, stereotyping of gender and sexuality”[12]

Further, the primary audience which relates to the text “Mean Girls” and follows the conventions of a typical teen movie are females. The reason why the primary audience is females is because the text is almost an eye opener for teenage girls and their stereotypes. However, the secondary audience would be males typically for the ‘male desire’ and the attraction to the female body and the way in which the they are represented on screen.

Taking a scene from the text the character ‘Regina George’ said “stop calling each other sluts; it makes it okay for boys to call you that”[13] This shows that there is an increase in female awareness of the patriarchal society and that they are attempting to stop the negative stereotypes.

To conclude, I agree that females are seen as bimbos and sex objects in teen movies because, the representation on screen is negative and the way in which they are constructed in cinema are in a sexual way whereby; they appeal to the male desire. This can be evident to the film mean girls as they are mainly dressed in a sexual way in order to grab the males attention, maybe not on screen as the film is targeted a female audience but the school environment where the film is mainly shot. This follows Mulvey’s theory of the ‘male gaze’ as a male audience may watch the film for their own visual pleasure. Also, the film takes us on a journey about the different beliefs and ideologies that arise in a teenager’s life and how they are stereotyped in today’s society.