Task 14 - ‘First Paragraph’...

“I’m The Deadliest Women In The World”, in particular reference to Kill Bill: Volume Two (2004) by Quentin Tarantino, how and why have women's roles in action films changed over the recent years?

First Paragraph [Introduction]:

In the nineteenth century, we typically associated the male to be the protagonist/ dominant figure in film, thus society was exceptionally patriarchal. Women usually tend to be represented as emotional, sexual, beautiful and passive. Laura Mulvey argues that cinema audiences look at films in two ways: voyeuristically and fetishistically. This led to objectification and narcissistic towards women. However, now in the twentieth century women are seen more active then passive, more stronger then delicate allowing them to be just as equal as men. With the help of feminists, and World War Two taking an important role, women are becoming more subordinate, prevailing and controlling in both the media and society. David Gunlett agrues that since the rise of ‘girl power’ in the media, through identities constructed by music artists such as Destinys Child, as well as contemporary actresses demanding more active than passive roles, women have become more powerful and dominant. The movie ‘Alien’ (1979), Directed by Ridley Scott, had the first female role in a action genre, this has opened many opportunities for women but women still continue to be stereotyped or objectified.