women and film

[katielouise]

Hi guys, I'm new to this forum but it looks interesting! I would be so grateful if you could fill out this survey for me. It's for my A Level Media Studies course, on the subject of Women and Film. If you have any other opinions regarding the subject, I'd be happy to hear them! Thanks again

p.s. if you don't want to answer any of the questions, just leave them blank

1) Are you:

Male -

Female -




2) How old are you?




3) Which town/city do you live in?




4) Which type of school did you attend or currently attend? (comprehensive, grammar, private etc)




5) Which religion are you or your family?
Christian -
Muslim -
Jewish -
Sikh -
Hindu -
Buddhist -
Other (please state) -
None -




6) Which country do your family originate from? (Previous 2 generations)




7) Which celebrity do you most aspire to be like and why?




8) Which role would a female have to play in a film in order to keep you interested in her?




9) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made in the last 20 years?




10) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made over 20 years ago? (If you know of any)




11) When watching a film, do you feel you take on the persona of the lead character?




12) Can you name 3 female film directors?




13) Do you ever feel that a woman’s image is being exploited in films, and if so in which films?




14) Do you agree with the view that, in order for a woman to become an idol or ‘star’ in the film industry, she must be good looking?




15) Do you think that the same applies for men?

[Thursday Next]

1) Are you:

Male - no

Female - yes

2) How old are you? 25

3) Which town/city do you live in?
London

4) Which type of school did you attend or currently attend? (comprehensive, grammar, private etc)

Comp

5) Which religion are you or your family?

None - but I don't think this is relevant to your survey

6) Which country do your family originate from? (Previous 2 generations) Britain

7) Which celebrity do you most aspire to be like and why?
I don't aspire to be like any celebrities

8) Which role would a female have to play in a film in order to keep you interested in her?
A difficult question to answer - not a role where she has no personality of her own and exists only to be rescued and bedded by the hero.

9) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made in the last 20 years?

Agnes in Show Me Love

10) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made over 20 years ago? (If you know of any)

Ripley from Alien/Aliens

11) When watching a film, do you feel you take on the persona of the lead character?

That very much depends on the film.

12) Can you name 3 female film directors?

Katryn Bigelow, Sofia Coppola, Mira Nair

13) Do you ever feel that a woman’s image is being exploited in films, and if so in which films?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean - exploited how?

14) Do you agree with the view that, in order for a woman to become an idol or ‘star’ in the film industry, she must be good looking?

No , but it probably helps.

15) Do you think that the same applies for men?

I think it is the same, but men seem to be able to play 'young' parts when they are older, while older women are much less likely to be main characters/ romantic leads etc.

If I were you I would look up some actual film criticism for your essay, it will sound much better to quote a published critic than 'someone on a messageboard' and you will get a better grade. I think you have picked a potentially interesting topic, if you go into more depth than 'women in film have to be pretty, doesn't that suck' which is a bit GCSE level. The female director angle could be good. Good luck :)

[katielouise]

Thanks alot :)

Oh I know! this isn't all the research I'm doing, we just have to include perceptions of the general public and this is a good way to reach a wide variety of people :). I'm already working on the female director thing hehe. thank you anyway though x

[Thursday Next]

I'm already working on the female director thing hehe. thank you anyway though x

Yeah I gathered that from your question about it, just thought it was quite an interesting aspect because there really aren't as many female directors.

It might also be interesting to look at the way different directors portray women - for example both Stanley Kubrick and Pedro Almodovar feature female nudity in their films, but I always feel that Almodovar is much more sympathetic towards women, while in Eyes Wide Shut, Clockwork Orange and Lolita, the way it is filmed makes the viewer (of whatever gender) much more complicit in the male gaze. Perhaps that is what you mean by 'exploiting female images'.

[Johnners]

1) Are you:

Male - Yes

Female - No



2) How old are you?

16



3) Which town/city do you live in?

Wakefield



4) Which type of school did you attend or currently attend? (comprehensive, grammar, private etc)

High School



5) Which religion are you or your family?

None


6) Which country do your family originate from? (Previous 2 generations)

England



7) Which celebrity do you most aspire to be like and why?

None



8) Which role would a female have to play in a film in order to keep you interested in her?

Not really easy to answer I mean....I'm like well-written, interesting characters, the same with male characters. But if you mean would they have to be good looking...then no, but it wouldn't hurt.



9) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made in the last 20 years?

20 years? Hmmm...Amelie in 'Amelie' comes to mind.



10) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made over 20 years ago? (If you know of any)

Hmm, Gena Rowlands as Mabel Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence.



11) When watching a film, do you feel you take on the persona of the lead character?

Yes, I think that's the intention of most films, but not all the time



12) Can you name 3 female film directors?

Ida Lupino, Sussane Bier, erm....Sofia Coppola.



13) Do you ever feel that a woman’s image is being exploited in films, and if so in which films?

Well it'd be difficult to mention specific films, but overall I rarely see well written female characters or good roles for actresses, especially in the past 5 or 6 years.



14) Do you agree with the view that, in order for a woman to become an idol or ‘star’ in the film industry, she must be good looking?

No but generally that's always been the case, but obviously there are many exceptions to that....and there are still plenty of good actresses out there that aren't particularly good looking.



15) Do you think that the same applies for men?

Not nearly as much, although it obviously helps.



Are you also going to write about what kind of cinema appeals to female viewers? Because all the women I know have completely different tastes in film to the men I know.

[undercoverlover]

1) Are you:

Male -

Female - x




2) How old are you? 19

3) Which town/city do you live in? London

4) Which type of school did you attend or currently attend? (comprehensive, grammar, private etc) comprehensive

5) Which religion are you or your family?
Christian -
Muslim -
Jewish -
Sikh -
Hindu -
Buddhist -
Other (please state) -
None - x

6) Which country do your family originate from? (Previous 2 generations) england

7) Which celebrity do you most aspire to be like and why?
probably susan sarandon because shes always standing up and speaking out about the things she believes in which in her position could be detrimental to her career, shes a risk taker

8) Which role would a female have to play in a film in order to keep you interested in her?
She'd have to be an independant type of person, someone that is standing up and doing the right thing. But they would have to have a sense of humour, even if ur standing up to something horrible u should always laugh in the face of danger

9) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made in the last 20 years?
Erin Brockovich, Jackie from Stepmom or Harper from Angels in America

10) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made over 20 years ago? (If you know of any)
Katherine Hepburn in Adam's Rib

11) When watching a film, do you feel you take on the persona of the lead character?
occasionally but theyd have to be an exceptional character

12) Can you name 3 female film directors?
sophia ford coppola, jane campion, nora ephron

13) Do you ever feel that a woman’s image is being exploited in films, and if so in which films?
not anymore

14) Do you agree with the view that, in order for a woman to become an idol or ‘star’ in the film industry, she must be good looking?
to me, to be an idol means u have to be striking in every way, that doesnt necessarily mean good looking. Good looking is not enough, you need charm and an engaging personality. Marilyn Monroe was stunning looking but she charmed nearly everyone she met. Katherine Hepburn had striking features but she was not what i would call stunning but there was something more to her that made her an iconic figure

15) Do you think that the same applies for men?
i dont think that good looks are essential - Humphrey Bogart? Johnny Depp who i think we can all agree is breathtakingly beautiful has such a following because he knew that being beautiful isnt all a person can be and reached beyond that and that why he has such staying power

[Piddzilla]

1) Are you:

Male - yes

Female - no


2) How old are you?

31


3) Which town/city do you live in?

Lund, Sweden


4) Which type of school did you attend or currently attend? (comprehensive, grammar, private etc)

University


5) Which religion are you or your family?
Christian - secular though...


6) Which country do your family originate from? (Previous 2 generations)

Sweden with some roots in Poland


7) Which celebrity do you most aspire to be like and why?

I have never thought about that. Probably none.


8) Which role would a female have to play in a film in order to keep you interested in her?

Any role if the part is well written.


9) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made in the last 20 years?

Ester Hershagen (Mona Malm) in Den tatuerade änkan (1998)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120299/


10) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made over 20 years ago? (If you know of any)

Ripley in Alien


11) When watching a film, do you feel you take on the persona of the lead character?

No


12) Can you name 3 female film directors?

Maria Blom, Sofia Coppola, Suzanne Osten


13) Do you ever feel that a woman’s image is being exploited in films, and if so in which films?

Do you mean in what particular kinds of films or do you want titles? I do think that the images of both men and women are being exploited in films but female characters are more often than male characters being reduced to objects and something pretty to look at.


14) Do you agree with the view that, in order for a woman to become an idol or ‘star’ in the film industry, she must be good looking?

In general, yes.


15) Do you think that the same applies for men?

In general, but not as often, yes.

[Scarlett O'Hara]

1) Are you: Female

2) How old are you? 22

3) Which town/city do you live in?

Madrid

4) Which type of school did you attend or currently attend? (comprehensive, grammar, private etc)

University

5) Which religion are you or your family?
Christian

6) Which country do your family originate from? (Previous 2 generations)

Spain

7) Which celebrity do you most aspire to be like and why?

Dunno

8) Which role would a female have to play in a film in order to keep you interested in her?

It depends on the film

9) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made in the last 20 years?

Satine, from Moulin Rouge

10) Who is your favourite female film character from a film made over 20 years ago? (If you know of any)

Scarlett O'Hara, GWTW; and Sugar Kane Kowalczyk from Some Like it Hot

11) When watching a film, do you feel you take on the persona of the lead character?

Not always

12) Can you name 3 female film directors?

Sofia Coppola, Nora Ephron, Penelope Spheeris

13) Do you ever feel that a woman’s image is being exploited in films, and if so in which films?

Yes, especially in the movies that have sexual content in them...

14) Do you agree with the view that, in order for a woman to become an idol or ‘star’ in the film industry, she must be good looking?

Totally

15) Do you think that the same applies for men?

Yes