In this session, we looked at gender representation in media through film/tv shows or games. We also looked at the gender representation of our fantasy brief characters.
WWW: I learnt more about what gender means and it isn’t just male and female, it has meaning. And is more about a person character rather than their sex. I learnt this by researching Metroid Prime 2 and the character of Samus.
Gender representation in Fantasy films, these films and novels are very much male-driven and have a strong male representation, this is true especially in the earlier films. Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit is very much male-dominated and the top roles of wizards, Orcs, Elves and Hobbits are male. There are no strong female characters. I think that Fantasy films have always been geared up to the male demographic and this is why the female roles are weak. On the other hand, Fortunately, there has been a shift in the popularity of strong female characters. Such as in Harry Potter where Hermione Granger is portrayed as a strong character, there has been a noticeable increase in intelligent and capable female heroines within fantasy novels. Katniss in the Hunger Games and Beatrice from the Divergent series. It is a positive change for the role of women in a march towards true gender equality. Disney has also moved with the times and has made female roles more powerful and meaningful. The film Frozen is a good representation of this as it shows Elsa as a young, independent, caring, and politically powerful figure, who overcomes her mysterious powerful fear with the help of her younger sister Anna. There is no prince charming to save the day.
As you can see in the photos, the films are very male-dominated.
In the film Frozen you can see from the poster that the lead role is a female (Elsa) followed by her sister Ana. Elsa is shown in the middle of the poster in front of the other characters she looks dominant, powerful and strong.
When I look at my fantasy series, I too have made a mistake I feel, by not adding any female characters, they are male, especially the main characters. I guess I wanted to appeal more to the male demographic. Maybe next time I will add a strong female character to give gender equality. I could also invent a character that is gender-neutral so that none knows what they are. I think that gender equality is important and we should have a positive representation of both male and female roles in films as it needs to appeal to both genders as in today’s day there is a big mix of people that watch fantasy films. It is important not to offend anyone in your target audience, this could cause your film to fail.
Here are pictures of my final characters, they are clearly showing a male representation.
Both characters clearly have male features, you can tell by a first glance that they are male, or what is perceived as male (stereotype). Especially Bartosz the villain on the right he is bold and rugged looking and is built like a male. Zeph also has a male outlook with his shapeless masculine physique and short hair. Men are associated with fighting in battle so maybe this is why I was influenced to have my characters as male.