Theories

Stereotype theory 

The stereotype theory was created by Tessa Perkins. Stereotypes are usually created by the media. A stereotype is an assumption made based on a person or group of people. often a stereotype falls within these aspects.

personality

behaviour
appearance
sexual orientation

Perkins argues that if creating a stereotype was easy and straightforward then the audience would simply grow tired and the stereotypes would no longer work and the audience would not accept any form of stereotype.

Perkins view comes from the idea that it’s not as simple as placing a person/persons into a category. She states that their are 5 assumptions:-

1. Stereotypes are not always negative
2. They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful
3. They can be held about one's own group
4. They are not rigid or unchanging
5. They are not always false

Perkins also states that all stereotypes have some form of truth behind them, otherwise they wouldn't be as influential on the audience viewing the stereotype.

Here is a short scene taken from the film Cabin in the Woods. In this scene they have created a stereotype. This scene connotes to the viewer that this group of teenagers misbehave and are careless with no respect for society. As one of the teenagers is smoking an illegal substance we are able to see that they do not care for rules. In this scene these teenagers are shown in a negative light. Within less than a minute they have been able to create a stereotype for teenagers.

Feminism theory

The feminism theory is a set of beliefs made about women. Feminism is about the fact that women should have the same equal rights as men. They believe that in the film industry women are mostly shown in a negative way and that they are often shown to be an objective for men to use and take advantage of. They also feel that women are oppressed by man. They believe the media portrays this and keeps the subjective view going.

Laura Mulvey argues that the women are only shown in  the media due to their sexuality and physical appearance. She argues that there are three common traits in the film industry. These include:

• The males are the main characters who control the action and movement of the film
• Women are often shown to be passive and lead by the male. They are passive due to the male Gaze. This is when the camera is made out to be the eye of a real man and that we only see women in the media how ever the male wants to show the female.
• We watch these representations as we gain pleasure from them.

This scene is taken from “It Follows." It portrays the girl to be vulnerable and powerless to the men. The girl is wearing very little clothing which follows on from what Laura says about the way women are treated. The girl in the film is also shown to be passive. We see two men in this short clip. The first man is protecting the girl by holding up a weapon when they sense danger, the second man is shown to be the villain and powerful. We as the viewers see this, as the girl is crying and trying to escape as she does not want to be around him. The clip shows the key points made by Laura Mulvey.