Monday, December 9, 2013
who the fuck is "The Girl Next Door"
In respect to the male gaze I realized almost all movies, and even tv shows, have the ideal "girl next door" with the banging body, mesmerizing eyes, luscious hair, perfect tan...etc. Some examples I immediately thought of were, Transformers, Disturbia, Bubble Boy...etc. After making this realization, I wondered why the iconic female in the movies always have to achieve this idea of "perfection". Although some may disagree and consider my reasoning too broad, I feel that the whole hot girl in the movie trends stems from the fact that most directors and writers are male. Granted I realize that there are plenty of female directors and/or writers involved in the business, but the male gaze is everywhere, and can be dated back to before I was born. This style of movies in which this male gaze is present objectifies women to one category: being sexy, and not only that but it somewhat shuts women up because they don't fit the stereotypical hot female these movies create. In the end, my point is for all viewers out there to cut the females in your life some slack if they aren't living up to your "Megan Fox" potential because news flash: those type of women are rare.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In accordance with your analysis, I would just like to add in a little "what the fuck" content myself. Predominantly, why is the idea of perfection among women as you put it, "the girl next door"? Like, who came up with that?
ReplyDeleteAfter thinking, I found that it was designated through both the male gaze, and through a potential level of voyeurism. Yes, in the industry of film, the male gaze attempts to put forth the idea of perfection on women, but specific to my question, I think that the "girl next door" idea comes from those who look at women from a distance, without going deeper than what is at a glance, and that is why it is a nameless girl who may or may not live next door.
I agree with everything you said. I actually think about how much our society sexualizes women in movies quite a bit. I always wonder how women would prefer to see other woman portrayed in movies. Actually a real question I have always kind of wanted to use for a survey is based on the idea that female superheroes are also made to look like what you describe as, "the girl next door". My question is what would your ideal female superhero look like and be... how would you portray her to the world? Someone should grace this question with an answer, I'd be interested to know what you think!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point! Everyone has their own idea of what the "girl next door" is and can be. I do not think that there should be just one type of fantasy girl out there other than just he typical "hot" or "sexy". I think they should show more of the smart and intellectual girl who is also attractive cuz lets be real thats way more attractive than some "hot" bimbo!
ReplyDeleteThe simple fact is that SEX SELLS. It shouldn't be that way but it is. More people are attracted to films with girls who fit society's mold of what "hot" is. It is quite interesting that even thought there are women who direct and produce some of these films the "male gaze" is still prominent! One would think that these women would be the ones to make a change in the media objectifications.
ReplyDelete