Kill Bill Volume Two

Essay Plans

2007-05-11T10:43:00.000+01:00

"The audience may know what to expect, but are still excited by genre texts." To what extent is this true?

Repetitive elements within the slasher genre are:
Final girl, Carol Clover (1992)

Sex equals death in slasher films.

Audiences enjoy repetition and are comfortable knowing what to expect within a media text.
Psychotic murderer, usually a male

Introduction

This essay will explore to what extent the audience are still excited by genre texts, even though they know what to expect with focus on the ‘slasher’ genre and films such as Halloween (1978), Friday 13th (1980), Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Scream (1997).

Recent developments in genre have included the emergence of parody, pastiche and hybrid forms. Show how such developments have influenced the nature of media texts.

Scream is a postmodern text . The phone call could be called a pastiche of ‘When a Stranger Calls’ (1979).
The opening scene also offers intellectual pleasures as the audience who has knowledge of other slasher films becomes the ‘insider’.
Scream is a postmodern text . The phone call could be called a pastiche of ‘When a Stranger Calls’ (1979).
Scary Movie is a parody which has elements from several other films e.g. Scream.

Introduction

This essay will look at the recent developments in genre have included the emergence of parody, pastiche and hybrid forms and how these developments have influenced the nature of media texts, with focus on the slasher genre and films such as Scream (1997) and Scary Movie (2000).

Account for the popularity of one genre of your choice. Illustrate your answer with examples.

Slasher films reflective of the zeitgeist.
Final girl links to second wave feminism in the 1970s.
Scream (1997) reinvigoration of the slasher genre- postmodernism.

Slasher films get progressively explicit as audiences become increasingly desensitized to violence- compare the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre to its modern remake counterpart.

Introduction

This essay will look at the popularity of the slasher genre and will focus on slasher films such as Halloween (1978), Friday 13th (1980), Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Scream (1997).

Does Blogging Help?

2007-02-09T18:47:00.002Z

[1]. How easy has it been to set up your Independent Study blog and to get used to posting things on it? Were you given enough support in doing it? What other help would have been useful?

As we had our practical production blogs, so setting this one up and posting was easy. No other help would have been useful, its pretty straight foward and easy to set up.

[2]. How did the blog help with your research? Did the blog motivate you to do more and better research? How? Why?

Yes i found the blog helpful as all my work was in one place. I suppose the blog did motivate me as it meant i could just post up my ideas anytime and i would know where everything was.

[3]. Is it useful having all the Independent Study/blog tasks posted on the Macguffin blog? Does it make it more likely that you will get them done?

Well i found it useful because i would find all the homework i missed on the Macguffin blog, however it doesnt help havin internet or blogs problems as it didnt exactly let me sign in everytime i tired - i dunno why it has now though [ =S taking advantage of it by doing all my work now lol]

[4]. How often (honestly!) do you check the Macguffin blog? (Remember, it should be at least twice/week).

After 2 or 3 days.

[5]. Has it been useful being able to see and access everyone else’s research and planning through their blogs?

I suppose yes, as you can add to your research and when with our independent studies.

[6]. How do you feel about the fact that your teacher can keep a close check on your progress through accessing your blog? Is it too intrusive and controlling or is it encouraging and supportive?

I think it encouraging and supportive, its intrusive to an extent but thats whats teachers are here for to help us as much as they can.

[7]. How useful have the comments been that you received from…a. Macguffin, b. other students.

I havent recieved any comments from macguffin but other students comments are helpful as i might have missed seomthing out.

[8]. How has the blog helped with your essay planning? How useful was the blog when it came to writing the essay? Do you think your first draft is better because you have used a blog?

Planning my essay was soo much easier as i knew i had most of my research on my blog. After i had done my essay i coudl go through my blog and make sure i didnt miss anything out.

[9]. How would you evaluate the quality of your blog? What could you have done better?

My blog is excellent! Ive done everything and extra too! I dunno what i could have done better though?

[10]. Do you think you will get a better final grade for your independent study through having used a blog?

Well all my research was in one place so i found it easier to do my independent study, but doubt i would get a better grade just because of the blog, as i would have done the research anyway but it would have been on paper.

[11]. Which are the best three blogs? Why?

I believe everyone have good blogs, they all done the research needed to help them. However the blogs i found useful and informative to me were: Navdeeps, Heena's & Avinash's.

[12]. Do you think next year’s Year 13s would benefit from setting up an Independent Study blog?

Yes, it will help them to be more organized with their work.

[13]. Are there any negative aspects to preparing for an Independent Study using a blog?

Not really, except when you have bad internet connections or random blog problems, which btw ive been having!

[14]. What could be done to improve teaching and/or learning in future through blogs?

Erm, for macguffin to actually post up comments on our blogs to tell us if we have missed anything out.

[15]. Overall, are you pleased that we used blogs? Has it been interesting and enjoyable? Why? Why not?

I think its much better than having folders, as it keeps us more organized meaning we didnt lose any sheets, make the blog more interesting and share ideas.

Coursework - 1st Draft...

2007-02-09T18:47:00.000Z

“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?

In the early 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. Theorist 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 less subordinate and more 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 such as Uma Thurman, 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 as it has helped produce films such as ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004) by Quentin Tarantino.

Firstly, women in the nineteenth century were seen with stereotypical roles, such as housewives, the ‘femme fatal’ and passive. Women “didn’t have many rights” [1] to do much in both the media and society, until feminism arised. One of the main reasons as to why women had no right was due to the patriarchal society, “a dual system in which men oppress women” [2]. Men were shown with much more power and dominance compared to women. For example, films from the early 1920’s, Safety Last! (1923), where women were seen as a ‘propp’ as we see the only female character to be featured in an action film as a girlfriend (Mildred Davis): not much importance to film. Normally, the dominant character in a action movie tends to be a male, and “women tend to be passive” [3] damsel in distress. However, ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004) by Quentin Tarantino, challenges the patriarchal society as Uma Thurman plays the protagonist and dominant character, as the “audience would typically expect the protagonist to be a male” [4] instead of a omwne in the action genre.

However, women were pessimistically represented throughout the action genre which the ‘Male Gaze’; a term used by theorist Laura Mulvey in her essay 'Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema' (1975) would support, describes what Mulvey saw as the “male point of view adopted by the cinema” [5] for the benefit of an assumed male audience. However, ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004) does not follow the issues Mulvey raises because Uma Thurman is represented with such great power, more than men with the help of her samuri sword, throughout the ‘The Crazy 88’ scene, where she singled handly killed them, the cameras were focused all on her and the audience were “mesmerized and captivated” [6] left with enigmas of her next move on her revenge to kill bill. However, Uma Thurman is represented as powerful and dominant, men are still getting their voyeuristic pleasures by watching Uma on her Killing rampage as her outfit is tight fitted which makes her attractive to look at the same time. The male audience may feel a little anxious by watching a powerful and dominant women shown in control by using many phalic objects, such as the samuri sword.

Moreover, Uma Thurman is dressed in a bright yellow jump suit, which is very tight. The colour yellow attracts ‘the gaze’ of male viewers and the way she is presented shows off her figure, giving voyeuristic pleasures to the male audience and supporting Mulvey’s theory. However, it can be argued that the yellow jump suit that she wears symbolises a very strong historical male figure in society as The Bride’s costume “alludes to Bruce Lee’s Game of Death” [7]

Mulvey believes the “female body is displayed for the male gaze” [8] in order to provide and provoke erotic pleasure (voyeurism). However, the audience were forced to “see women through a males prospective” [9] because majority of the directors are male. Films such as, ‘Vertigo’ (1958) by Alfred Hitchcock, where women were “repeatedly represented as blondes” [10] and damsel in distress through majorities of his films: as he believed “we should tortue the women” [11]. Laura Mulvey agrues that cinema audiences look at films in two ways- voyeuristically and fetishistically. This led to objectification and narcissistic towards women. However, even though Tarantino is a male director, he portrays women “throughout his films with power and dominance” [12]. Also, Tarantino does not follow the traditional narrative cinema, so it could be suggested it does not follow the issues Mulvey raises in her essay of ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’: as all women represented in ‘Kill Bil’l are acitve than passive.

However, Women were oppressed to be nothing more than “mere sex objects” [13] with their passive roles. The most common stereotypes of women is the term “Bimbo”. However, theorist Gaye Tuchman (1978) suggests that “women were underpresented” and the media are provoking a symbolic nilation of women. She believes “women have little value in the T.V world” [14]. Thus, ‘Kill Bill’ as well as many other action movies such as ‘Charlies Angels: Full Throttle’ (2003), where women are represented as a dominant and heroic protagonists, criticizes Tuchman’s theory as Thurman is shown dominant throught out the film as she singled handly killed ‘The Crazy 88’ (who were all men) and the ring leader of the ‘Deadly Vipers’, Bill.

Nonetheless, action films have tremendous impact, “continuous high energy, huge amount of physical stunts, battles/ fights and martial arts” [15]. In the past, the action genre merely focused more around a male hero or protagonist - portrayed by these most prominent actors such as: Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. Women in the action genre usually play the “roles of accomplices or romantic interests of the hero” [16] , although in modern action films have now featured strong female characters to broaden the demographic appeal. Such as, 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003). This text shows that women have their independence, and show their “strength and physique” [17] as men. This also, shows how society has grown from being patriarchal. ‘Charlies Angels’ along side other action films with leading female protagonists, show how women now have broke that ‘traditional woman’ of being the ‘damsel in distress’ or the ‘femme fatal’.

Since the early nineteenth century, men “have been associated with the heroic” [18] and dominant role in action movies. Such as 'King Kong’ (1933) by Merian C. Cooper. King Kong had reinforced the patriarchal attitudes as the only female character role played the damsel in distress: as King Kong falls in love with Ann Darrow [played by Fay Wray], a thin, blonde, weak/passive character. Society was far more patriarchal and “women were not seen to have a higher status” [19] than men: women were seen as objects of desire. There was hardly any strong female featured in action films. Robocop’ (1987) by Paul Verhoeven, also conveys how “men dominanted the past” [20] and how women were not seen as equal to men till feminism was introduced. Hollywood has been heavily critised because Hollywood used and provoked “the advantage of a patriarchal hegemony” [21] for success. However, both the media and society had changed as ‘Kill Bill’ shows Thurman on a “rampage of revenge” [22] to kill bill. Women prove that they can do just as much as men, as Kill Bill breaks the tradition of having a male as a dominant and heroic character, however ‘Kill Bill’ does not show any misogyny: hatred towards women, because women are represented as dominant and in control.

Moreover ‘Feminsim’, a political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values, attiutdes, social constructions and socioeconomic practices which disadvantage women and favour men, has help women gain there opportunity and rights. ‘Kill Bill’ deals with feminism as women are represented and portrayed as independent and with a higher status which is what feminism wanted to achieve: “equal rights for women” [23]. It also challenges the traditions of actions films by having a female dominant, controlling and popular main character. Feminist Maggie Humm agrues “that with women’s victory in the struggle for suffrage has been accomplished” [24].

However, “The end result of any film is a communication with its audience” [25]. Even though feminism came about, audiences were still used to seeing the male play the dominant and heroic role in film. The audience may be thrown of balance while watching ‘Kill Bill’ as they usually see a male as the protagonist, but however this is not the case: As Thurman is a strong headed, powerful and dominant character. This may seem to shock the audience as they usually identify the protagonist to be a male. Marjorie Rosen (1973) a feminist, “charted the changing representation of women in Hollywood films” [26] has now occurred in film.

Although, feminism played a major role in women’s independence, World War Two also, was a great social opportunity for women. World War Two alongside feminists helped to produce successful films with dominant female roles such as ‘Alien’, ‘Kill Bill’, ‘Cat Women’ and ‘Tomb Raider’.

Moreover, ‘Kill Bill’ seems to subverse dominant ideologies and values, as Tarantino “challenges stereotypes of men being dominant” [27] and in control, as Thurman is dominant throughout the film, as she takes her revenge upon to kill Bill. Thurman breaks this tradition of women just as the 'propp' of a film. David Gaunlett agrues that “since the rise of ‘girl power’ in the media” [28], through identities constructed by music artists such as Destinys Child, as well as contemporary actresses such as Lora Croft, demanding more active than passive roles: women have become more powerful and dominant. Women over the years have become stronger, dependable and respected and are “no longer objectified” [29]. They have become less subordinate to men and are no longer just seen as a tool for pleasure.

As Feminism and World War Two took a great part in womens equal opportunites and independence, the 1970’s is where women started to progress as the first ever female action hero had arised. “The dominance of the male hero in this genre was challenged by Sigourney Weavers, Ripley in ‘Alien’” [30]: which was the first action movie to feature a strong female protagonist. Weavers was seen as “resourceful, self-reliant, hard-assed, feminist action heroine” [31]. Represented as independent, Weavers guided male lead Alien has thus been considered a “prototype for the Girl Power-effect” [32] that occurred in Hollywood towards the early 2000s when more and more action-movies with powerful female leads appeared e.g. ‘Charlie's Angels’, to the mainstream martial arts film e.g. ‘Kill Bill’.

On the other hand, women’s representation in the media tend to revolve around the focus on physical beauty. They are often represented as being the “victim or lover or being part of a context (family, friends and colleagues) ” [33]. Leading females are represented differently when directed by a male or a female director e.g. ‘Kill Bill Volume [One And] Two’. ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004) directed by a male director Quentin Tarantino; shows even though Thurman was the protagonist in ‘Kill Bill’ she was still however acting upon what Tarantino had wrote, this shows how a male is still dominating the film, but women still do have most of the upperhand as “Kill Bill was improvised” [34].

However, a male director meant the audience are forced to see women through a males prospective because majority of the directors are male. Actions films are usually a “male based genre” [35], however Thurman breaks the action ideology, as women have the upper hand and represented as strong and more control. She sends a positive message across proving that women are just as better as men and there is less of the patricharcal society. However, even though Thurman shows a independent strong female, she is directed by a male director Quentin Tarantino. It is likely that male directors portray women characters different from how women directors portray women characters, simply because it’s harder for them to relate to the characters.

Female roles have become more positive, optimistic and superior compared to the early nineteenth century representation of women. Action films in the past had the typical male protagonist strong, muscular and active. Films such as 'The Terminator' (1984) to 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003) show that women have their independence, are strong and just as equal as men, as we see more and more women represented as active and independent in contemporary society. This is evident that womens roles in action films have changed drastically, yet the representation of women has spread over to magazines, adverts, and other media texts, as women continue to grow stronger and more dominant. This illustrates many progressive values and counter-hegemonic representations of females to be seen as equal as men in the media. This strong representation of women shown in the media is shown through text ‘Kill Bill’ because Uma Thurman breaks this tradition of women just as the 'propp' of a film. Thurman has a vicious and “bloody satisfaction” [36] fight with female O-Ren-ishi: the fight between the two female characters are more tough and man-like. “Here we see that the females are active characters and taking up masculine roles” [37], they are no longer portrayed or represented as passive, but just as active as men.

In the 1960s, women were gaining more of their independence slowly as we see more women on screen. On the other hand men still play the protagonist and are still considered dominant compared to women in film and society. Even though there are more women on screen, e.g. "The Avengers" (1961): Directed by Don Leaver, where we have a female character Diana Rigg as Emma Peel featured. Yet there continuesly stereotyped and given typical roles such as housewife, girlfriend, etc... This is very important text as Feminists originated around the 1960s: This show’s how feminists help play a crutial part for womenduring that period of time. This portrays how the attitudes of both genre and society are slowly changing especially towards women .

As ‘Kill Bill’ breaks the tradition of having a male as a dominant and heroic character, however ‘Kill Bill’ doesn’t show any misogyny, hatred towards women because women are represented as dominant and in control (throughout the whole film), as we tend to see a male taking up the heroic and dominant roles. However, Bill did brutally murders his lover [Beatrix], which reinforces the misogynistic as well as patriarchal attitudes.

However, Tarantino “use the non-chronological structure to build tension” [38], which does not follow the traditional narrative cinema, so to some extent we can agrue it does not follow the issues Mulvey raises: as women in ‘Kill Bill’ are active and not passive, and controlling in comparison to the male actors. Also, the samuri sword "the bride" uses can be seen as a phallic symbol and fetish object. Women still being objectified, and men are still dominant as Beatrix is essentially tortured in each instance. Tarantino in his words is “merely reflecting the violence in the society around him...” [39]. Tarantino is showing a positive role for women in this film. For example, Thurman's character, single handly killed ‘The Crazy 88’ (who were all men) and the ring leader of the ‘Deadly Vipers’, Bill. Miramax usually help to produce art house films and in this way Kill Bill was recognised. In previous years there has been an underepresentation of women occuring for some time but in ‘Kill Bill’ “Tarantino has stayed true to the origins of the wuxia plan and made nearly all his central character’s deadly women warriors” [40].

However, the film industry was not the only male centred media, as men were dominant within sitcoms aswell e.g. "Adventures of Superman" (1952), where we still have the male as both the protagonist and hero. However, Lois Lane played by Noel Neill is portrayed as a damsel in distress as superman saves her from crime. This reflects society and their views are still strongly patriarchal. Women were passive and fragile this caused them to be victimized and need to be saved from a man [Superman]. However, today sitcoms such as ‘Sex And The City’ (1998-2004) “Four beautiful female New Yorkers gossip about their sex-lives” [41]. Such humorous comments such as “You men have no idea what we’re dealing with down there”, adds humour to the show and engages the audience. Women in the series are represented as sexually active and in control. This would have been acknowledging as a negative representation of women in the early 90’s where as now it is acceptable for women to be sexually active. This is evident to the fact that society and the media are becoming less patriarchal and women are seen as equal as men

In the past, women were underepresented, passive and suborndinate compared to men. They were hardly featured in any text e.g. magazines, adverts and film. Action films e.g. ‘The Terminator’ (1984), in the past centers around a male action hero or protagonist: society was far more Patriarchal and women were not seen to have a higher status than men. However, now that has changed with the help of feminism and World War Two taking a major role. Since the outstanding and ground breaking release of ‘Alien’ (1979 Ripley) to have the first dominant and heroic women featured in the action genre, women have had appeared more and more continueously. Uma Thurman in ‘Kill Bill’ (Tarantino) breaks and challenges the traditional roles of women being passive as she is more active and dominant. 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003) show that women can be and are independent, strong and just as equal as men. It is now evident that women are no longer objectified, ‘gazed’ upon, and also cinema audiences do not look at films in two ways: voyeuristically and fetishistically. Uma Thurman does not follow the passive role typically associated with women and instead breaks the usual convention of women being passive by taking an active role.

Bibliography:
'Books':
[1] Welldon, Estela V. (1988): Mother Madonna Whore. United Staes of America, The Guilford Press.
[2] Murphy, Peter F. (2004): Feminims & Masculinities. United States: Oford University.
[3] Bennett, Jacqueline; Jones, Tanya & McDougall, Julian (2002): A2 Media Studies For OCR. Great Britian, Hodder & Stoughton.
[4] Mckee, Alan (3003): Textual Ananlysis a beginner's guide. London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi: SAGE Publications Ltd.
[5] Mulvey, Laura (1975) Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema, Screen.
[9] Murphy, Peter F. (2004): Feminims & Masculinities. United States: Oford University.
[10] Cosslett, Tess; Easton, Alison & Summerfield, Penny (1996): Women, Power And Resistance. Great Britian
[11]
[12] Hartley, John (2002): Communication, Cultural and Media Studies The Key Concepts. London, USA & Canad: Routledge.
[13] Mulvey, Laura (1975) Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema, Screen.
[14] ‘Sight And Sound’ (June 2004).
[16] Tuchman, Gaye (1978) ‘Introduction: the symbolic annihilation of women by the mass media’, in Tuchman, Gaye, Kaplan Daniels, Arlene and Benet, James (eds) Hearth And Home: Images Of Women In The Mass Media, New York: Oxford University Press.
[17] Dutton, Sullivan and Rayner, Phillip (2003) ‘Studying The Media’, p-112
[21] Cosslett, Tess; Easton, Alison & Summerfield, Penny (1996): Women, Power And Resistance. Great Britian.
[23] Welldon, Estela V. (1988): Mother Madonna Whore. United Staes of America, The Guilford Press
[24] Murphy, Peter F. (2004): Feminims & Masculinities. United States: Oford University.
[25] Lovell, Alan & Sergi, Gianluca (2005): Making Films In Comtempopary Hollywood. Great Britan, Hodder Education.
[26] Rosen, Majorie (1973) Popcorn Venus, New York:Avon Books.
[27] Smith,Jim (2005): Tarantino. Great Britain:Virgin Books Ltd.
[28] Gaunlett, David (1995) Movng Experiences: Understanding Television’s Influences And Effects, London: John Libbey.
[34] Rance, PTJ (2005): Martial Arts. Great Britain, Viring Books Ltd
[30] Clark, Vivienne; Baker, James & Lewis, Eileen (2002): Key Concepts And Media Skills For Media Studies. Great Britain, Hodder & Stoughton.
[32] Clark, Vivienne; Baker, James & Lewis, Eileen (2002): Key Concepts And Media Skills For Media Studies. Great Britain, Hodder & Stoughton.
[35] Bell, Angela. Joyce, Mark. Rivers, Danny (199): 2nd Edition Advanced Level Media. Britian: Hodder & Stoughton
[38] Smith,Jim (2005): Tarantino. Great Britain:Virgin Books Ltd.
[40] [10] Rance, PTJ (2005): Martial Arts. Great Britain, Viring Books Ltd.

'Newspapers & Magazines':
[6] Sound And Sound Magazine, June 2004

'Internet':

[7]http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_Film_of_the_week/0,4267,1059290,00.html
[8] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html
[15] http://www.filmsite.org/actionfilms.html
[18] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_movie
[19] http://www.filmsite.org/actionfilms.html
[20] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hzi9401.html
[29] http://www.theory.org.uk/giddens.htm
[31] ‘Alien’ 1979 http://www.filmsite.org/alie.html
[33] http://www.mediaknowall.com/gender.html
[37] http://cbjuicyfruity.blogspot.com/
[39] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jun2004/kill-j25.shtml
[41] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159206/

'Moving Image Texts':
[22] ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004, Quentin Tarantino): beginning scene.
[36] ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004, Quentin Tarantino)

Task 13 - ‘Detailed Essay Plan’...

2006-12-23T15:18:00.001Z

“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?

Introduction: [Task 14]

Paragraph One: Representations of women in the past: [REPRESENTATION & HISTORICAL CONTEXT]
- What they were represented as e.g. housewives, caring, passive, etc…
- Why they were represented like this e.g. Patriarchy.
- ‘Levi Strauss’ [Binary Opposition]:
-Normally, the dominant character in a action movie tends to be a male, and women tend to be passive and damsel in distress. However, in Kill Bill Uma Thurman is the dominant and main character, as you would expect the hero to be a man instead of a woman.

Paragraph Two:
· ‘Male Gaze’ - The term used by Laura Mulvey in her essay 'Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema' (1975) to describe what she saw as the male point of view adopted by the cinema for the benefit of an assumed male audience. To an extent Kill Bill does not reflect this.
· Laura Mulvey agrues that cinema audiences look at films in two ways- voyeuristically and fetishistically.This leads to objectification and narcissistic. The female body is displayed for the male gaze in order to provide erotic pleasures (voyeurism).
· Women were oppressed to be nothing more than mere sex objects, with their passive roles. The most common stereotypes of women is the term “Bimbo”.
· Emanuel Levy (1990) concluded that physical looks and youth were far more important for the female stars. For men, attractive looks were a weak basis for longevity of appeal.
· Tuchman (1998) – symbolic nilation: invisibilty of women – underpresented.

Paragraph Three: Actions Films in the past: [REPRESENTATION]
- The main action centers around a male action hero or protagonist - portrayed by these most prominent actors: Bruce Lee, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, etc…
- Women in action-films usually play the roles of accomplices or romantic interests of the hero, although modern action films have featured strong female characters to broaden demographic appeal.
- Society patriarchal, harder for women to have leading roles in films.

Paragraph Four: Male domination: [HISTORICAL]
- E.g. [1980’s] - 'The Terminator' (1984) by Jamkes Cameron and 'RoboCop' (1987) by Paul Verhoeven. Men were typically a hero/ protagonist.
- Society was far more Patriarchal and women were not seen to have a higher status than men: women were seen as objects of desire.
- There was hardly any strong female featured in action films.
- ‘Robocop’ (1987) also shows how men dominanted the past and how women were not seen as equal to men till feminism was introduced.
- Audience would read a text from a males point of view. [AUDIENCE]
- Only male directors. [Why?]

Paragraph Five: Feminism:[POLITICAL CONTEXT] –
- Political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values, social constructions and socioeconomic practices which disadvantage women and favour men:
-Kill Bill deals with feminism as women are shown as independent and with a higher status which is what feminst want to achieve: equal rights for women.[REPRESENTATION]
- How they changed the world for women e.g. Equal Rights/ Opportunites. [SOCIAL CONTEXT]
- Kill Bill and many other films, challenges the traditions of actions films having a male dominant/protagonist character. [VALUES&IDEOLOGY & SOCIAL CONTEXT]
- First, Second and Third Wave of feminism.

Paragraph Six: Audience:
- The audience may be thrown of balance while watching Kill Bill as they usually see a male as the protagonist, but however this is not the case: As Uma Thurman is a strong headed, powerful and dominant character. This may seem to shock the audience as they usually identify the protagonist to be a male. [AUDIENCE]
- Marjorie Rosen (1973) a feminist – changing representation of women in Hollywood.

Paragraph Seven: World War Two:
- World War Two was a great social opportunity for women [1939-1945].
- Women's work in the two World Wars of the twentieth century was an important factor in the course of both wars. This involvement changed the social status and working lives of women in many countries from that point onwards. [HISTORICAL CONTEXT & SOCIAL CONTEXT]
- World War Two alongside feminists helped to produce successful films with dominantn women such as kill bill, cat women, tomb raider, etc..

Paragraph Eight: Women gained dominance and much more [Womens Roles Have Changed]: [SOCIAL CONTEXT]
- ‘Subversive’ - Undermining of dominant idoelogy and values:-Kill Bill is challenging stereotype of men being dominant and in control, as Uma Thurman is dominant throughout the film, as she takes her revenge. Uma Thurman breaks this tradition of women just as the 'propp' of a film.[VALUES & IDEOLOGY]
- Women have more dominance and power than before, many films such as ‘Cat Women’, ‘ Tomb Raider’, ‘Charlie’s Angel’s. [ECONOMIC CONTEXT]
- David Gunlett agrues that in contemporary society, genderroles are more complex and that the media reflects this. He agrues that much of this is due to the rise of ‘girl power’ in the media, through identities constructed by music artists such as Detinys Childs as well as contemporary actresses e.g. who are demanding less passive film roles.
- Subordinate to men and are no longer just een as housewives but also breadwinners.

Paragraph Nine: Alien (Ridley Scott-1979): [HISTORIAL]
- First female action hero.
- Active protagonist’s role in ‘Alien’ (Ridley Scott-1979). Here, her character is strong, determined and able to achieve what she wants.
- Alien was the first action movie to feature a strong female protagonist, independent of a guiding male lead Alien has thus been considered a prototype for the Girl Power-effect that occurred in Hollywood towards the early 2000s when more and more action-movies with powerful female leads appeared from the comedic (e.g. Charlie's Angels) to the mainstream martial arts film (e.g. Kill Bill).

Paragraph Ten: To What Extent Are Women Dominant & Independent: [REPRESENTATION]
· Women’s representation in the media tend to revolve around the focus on physical beauty.
· Women are often represented as being the victim or lover or being part of a context (family, friends and colleagues).
· Leading females are represented differently when directed by a male or a female director.E.g. Kill Bill Volume [One And] Two.
· ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004) has a male director Quentin Tarantino. This shows even though Uma Thurman was the protagonist in ‘Kill Bill’ she was still however acting on what Tarantino had wrote, this shows how a male is still dominating the film.
· The audience are forced to see women through a males prospective becasue majority of the directors are male.[AUDIENCE]
· Actions films are usually a male based film however Uma Thurman breaks the action ideology, as women have the upper hand and represented as strong and more control. She sends a positive message across proving that women are just as better as men and there is less of the patricharcal society. However, even though Uma Thurman shows a independent strong female, she is directed by a male director Quentin Tarantino. It is likely that male directors portray women characters different from how women directors portray women characters, simply because it’s harder for them to relate to the characters.[VALUES AND IDEOLOGY].

Paragraph Eleven: Womens roles in actions films have changed over the recent years: [POTICAL & SOCIAL CONTEXT]
- 'The Terminator' (1984) Directed by James Cameron, because this shows and proves that womens roles in actions films have changed.
- 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003) Directed by McG, because this text shows that women have their independence, are strong and just as equal as men.
- Kill Bill Volume Two (2004) by Quentin Tarantino, because Uma Thurman breaks this tradition of women just as the 'propp' of a film.

Paragraph Twelve: Kill Bill Volume Two:
- As Kill Bill breaks the tradition of having a male as a dominant and heroic character, however Kill Bill doesn’t show any misogyny, hatred towards women because women are represented as dominant and in control, as we tend to see a male taking up the heroic and dominant roles. However, Bill did brutally murders his lover [Beatrix], which reinforces the misogynistic as well as patriarchal attitudes.

Paragraph Thirteen: Tarantno:
- Tarantino does not follow the traditional narrative cinema, so to some extent we can agrue it does not follow the issues Mulvey raises: as women in Kill Bill are active and not passive, and controlling in comparison to the male actors. Also, the samuri sword "the bride" uses can bee seen as a phallic symbol and fetish object.
- Women still being objectified, and men still dominant as “Beatrix is essentially tortured in each instance.
- Tarantino is ‘merely reflecting the violence in the society around him...’.
- Tarantino is showing a positive role for women in this film. For example, Thurman's character, single handly killed ‘The Crazy 88’ (who were all men) and the ring leader of the ‘Deadly Vipers’, Bill.
- Miramax usually help to produce art house films and in this way Kill Bill was recognised. [ECONOMIC CONTEXT].

Conclusion: Sum Up All Arguements:
- Women weren’t much in text in the past. However now that they are they are being stereotyped but Uma Thurman breaks and challenges the traditional roles of women being passive as she is more active and dominant.
- Action films [main ones] in the past centers around a male action hero or protagonist: Society was far more Patriarchal and women were not seen to have a higher status than men.
- Feminsts changed the world for women e.g. Equal Rights/ Opportunites.
- World War Two was a great social opportunity for women.
- Alien was the first action movie to feature a strong female protagonist, independent of a guiding male lead Alien has thus been considered a prototype for the Girl Power-effect that occurred in Hollywood towards the early 2000s when more and more action-movies with powerful female leads appeared.
- Women are often represented as being the victim or lover or being part of a context (family, friends and colleagues). Leading females are represented differently when directed by a male or a female director.E.g. Kill Bill Volume [One And] Two.
- 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003) Directed by McG, because this text shows that women have their independence, are strong and just as equal as men.
- Women still being objectified, and men still dominant as “Beatrix is essentially tortured in each instance.

Task 14 - ‘First Paragraph’...

2006-12-23T15:18:00.000Z

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.

Task 12 - 'Historical Texts'...

2006-12-22T23:14:00.002Z

Safety Last! (1923):
· Directed by: Fred C. Newmeyer.
· Genre: Action / Comedy / Romance.
· Plot Outline: When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.
· Cast: Harold Lloyd as the boy, Mildred Davis as The Girl, Bill Strother as The Pal, Noah Young as The Law, [Etc…].
· Women are seen as a ‘propp’ especially in this text, as we see the only female character to feature in an action film as a girlfriend: not much importance to film. Women are often represented as being part of a context (family, friends, colleagues). Also, in action films, women tend to take the role of helper [Propp’s Thoery] or object, passive rather than active. Often their passivity extends to victimhood as we see in superman in 1952. This reflects society, as this shows how patriarchy society and the media are.

King Kong (1933):
· Directed by: Merian C. Cooper.
· Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Thriller.
· Plot Outline: A film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal giant gorilla who takes a shine to their female blonde star.
· Cast: Fay Wray as Ann Darrow, Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham, Bruce Cabot as John ‘Jack’Driscoll, Frank Reicher as Capt. Englehorn, Sam Hardy as Charles Weston, Noble Johnson as Skull Island nation leader, [Etc…].
· Women are portrayed as the damsel in distress and are stereotyped. King Kong falls in love with Ann Darrow [played by Fay Wray], a thin, blonde, weak/passive character. This reflects how society are objectifying and oppressing women. Women are shown to not have much power or authority compared to men. Men still play the leading role [protagonist] as King Kong himself is a male. Men are represented as powerful, dominant and strong. This is evident that both society and the media are strongly patriarchal, as women struggle for their rights. On the other hand, women's work in the two World Wars of the twentieth century was an important factor in the course of both wars. This involvement changed the social status and working lives of women in many countries from that point onwards.

"Adventures of Superman" (1952):
· Directed by: Howard Bretherton.
· Genre: Action / Family / Adventure.
· Plot Outline: The Man of Steel fights crime with help from his friends at the Daily Planet.
· Cast: George Reeves as Clark Kent, Bill Kennedy as Announcer, Jack Larson as Jack Larson, Noel Neill as Lois Lane, John Hamilton as John Hamilton, [Etc…].
· We still have the male as both the protagonist and hero. However, Lois Lane played by Noel Neill is portrayed as a damsel in distress as superman saves her from crime. This reflects society and their views are still strongly patriarchal. Women were passive and fragile this caused them to be victimized and need to be saved from a man [Superman].

"The Avengers" (1961):
· Directed by: Don Leaver.
· Genre: Action / Comedy / Mystery / Thriller.
· Plot Outline: A quirky spy show of the adventures of an eccentricly suave British agent and his predominately female partners.
· Cast: Patrick Macnee as John Steed, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, Honor Blackman as Catherine Gale, Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel, Linda Thorson as Tara King, Patrick Newell as Mother , Ingrid Hafner as Carol Wilson, [Etc…].
· Women are gaining more their independence slowly as we see more women on screen. On the other hand men still play the protagonist and are very dominant compared to women in film and media. Even though there are more women on screen, yet however there are being stereotyped and given typical roles such as housewife, mothers, etc… This is very important text as Feminists originated around the 1960s: This show’s how feminists help play a crutial part for women in that time. This portrays how the attitudes of both genre and society are slowly changing especially to women.

Alien (1979):
· Directed by: Ridley Scott.
· Genre: Action / Sci-Fi / Horror / Thriller.
· Plot Outline: A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates.
· Cast: Tom Skerritt as Dallas, Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, Veronica Cartwright as Lambert, Harry Dean Stanton as Brett, Bolaji Badejo as Alien, Helen Horton as Mother (voice), [Etc…].
· First female action hero: Here, her character is strong, determined and able to achieve what she wants. Alien was the first action movie to feature a strong female protagonist, independent of a guiding male lead Alien has thus been considered a prototype for the Girl Power-effect that occurred in Hollywood towards the early 2000s when more and more action-movies with powerful female leads appeared from the comedic e.g. Charlie's Angels to the mainstream martial arts film e.g. Kill Bill. This text reflects how society has changed as we have the first female action hero.

'Historical Text' [Pictures]...

2006-12-22T23:14:00.001Z

"Safety Last!" (1923)

"King Kong" (1933)

"Adventures of Superman" (1952)

"The Avengers" (1961)

"Alien" (1979)

Basic History...

2006-12-21T21:03:00.000Z

1950's:

Male Hero - Asseritve/ Dominant.
Female - In Need Of Protection.

1960's:

Men - More Intelingent.
Social Revelution.

1970's:

Second Wave Of Feminism.
'Alien' [1979] - Ripley Was The First Women To Be A Hero In A Action Film.

1980 & 90's:

Stronger Women [Roles].
Still A Herooc Male.

2000:

Films Such As 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003) Released.
More Women Seen On Screen With Dominant Roles.

Useful Article: Kill Bill Vol.2...

2006-11-26T20:36:00.000Z

Here is a article i found from Jatinder’s blog [Thank You!] on Kill Bill Volume Two. I found this article very useful because it talks a lot about the audience,Tarantino and also Beatrix:

‘Beatrix is essentially tortured in each instance. The Madsen sequence is the most horrific. Beatrix is shot in the chest with a shotgun blast of rock salt, left to writhe in pain, tied up with belts and ropes, dragged across the desert floor, threatened with having her eyeballs burnt out with Mace and finally buried alive in a pine coffin. Budd leers and gloats over her the while, deriving great pleasure from her agony. What is one to make of this?’

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jun2004/kill-j25.shtml

However, it also tells us how Tarantino is ‘merely reflecting the violence in the society around him...’. The article also tells us how the audience found Kill Bill ‘entertaining and amusing’. [It talks about Killl Bill in more depth]

This article will help me because it is the other side of my agruement on how women are being underrepresented as it reinforces the ‘misogynistic’ as well as ‘patriarchal’ attitudes because Bill brutally murders his lover [Beatrix Kiddo]. Moreover, Kill Bill does challenge and break the tradiotnal roles of the male being the heroic/domainant chracter and women being the passive/ damsel in distress character.

Task Eleven: 'Mini Essay'...

2006-11-26T17:13:00.000Z

Women usually tend to be represented as emotional, sexual, beautiful and size/physique. However, in Kill Bill, Uma Thurman [Beatrix Kiddo/The Bride (Black Mamba)] is represented as a strong, dominant and in control.

Kill Bill challenges the patriarchy society, as a male is not the protagonist/dominant character in Kill Bill, and this also occurs in many other films such as' Charlies Angels' and ‘Tomb Raider’. Men are shown to have less control compared to other actions films, Such as ‘The Terminater’, where you would expect to see the man as the main character. Women prove that they can do just as much as men. As Kill Bill breaks the tradition of having a male as a dominant and heroic character, however Kill Bill doesn’t show any misogyny, hatred towards women because women are represented as dominant and in control, as we tend to see a male taking up the heroic and dominant roles. However, Bill did brutally murders his lover [Beatrix], which reinforces the misogynistic as well as patriarchal attitudes.

Furthermore, Uma Thurman is being represented as dominant and in control, but however to an extent can we say she is being represented fairly: as Kill Bill is directed by a male director. Women directors and male directors portray women in different ways even though male directors try to portray women as fairly as possible. So the audience is seeing everything from a male prospective. However, to an extent we can say that Uma Thurman is being objectified but however she isn’t because she is dominant and portrayed as powerful and controlling. Uma Thurman doesn’t follow the passive role and instead breaks the usual convention of women being passive by taking an active role. Additionally, the male gaze is used in the film but to a certain extent because ‘The Bride’ wore tight and attractive outfits: as men gaze upon her this also objectifies her. On the other hand, even though Uma Thurman is represented as powerful and dominant, men are still getting their voyeuristic pleasures by watching Uma on her Killing rampage as her outfit is tight fitted which makes her attractive to look at the same time. The male audience may feel a little anxiues by watching a powerful and dominant women shown in control by using many phalic objects.

However, Tarantino does not follow the traditional narrative cinema, so to some extent we can agrue it does not follow the issues Mulvey raises: as women in Kill Bill are active and not passive, and controlling in comparison to the male actors. Also, the samuri sword "the bride" uses can bee seen as a phallic symbol and fetish object.

Moreover, a different viewpoint can be taken showing that Tarantino is showing a positive role for women in this film. For example, Thurman's character, single handly killed ‘The Crazy 88’ (who were all men) and the ring leader of the ‘Deadly Vipers’, Bill. In conclusion, Tarantino shows how women are becoming more independent and dominant within the media as well as society.

Laura Mulvey...

2006-11-19T22:34:00.000Z

Her theory is that women and men both gaze upon each other in sexual context. What May attract the men is Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, as some men might find it attractive to have a controling and attractive female protagonist in a film.

Hollwood female characters of the 1950s and 60s were, according to Mulvey, coded with "to-be-looked-at-ness." Mulvey suggests that there were two distinct modes of the male gaze of this era: "voyeuristic" (i.e. seeing women as 'madonnas') and "fetishistic" (i.e. seeing women as 'whores').

To an certain extent i do agree with Mulvey's theory, women today are still objectified and in other media text aswell, such as magazines. However, the audience are forced to see women through a males prospective becasue majority of the directors are male. On the other hand, women are not the only sex that are gazed upon, women also gaze upon men just aswell: even though women are gazed upon much more than men. So in the end both sexes gaze upon eachother.

Book Research...

2006-11-14T18:38:00.000Z

1] Mckee, Alan (3003): Textual Ananlysis a beginner's guide. London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi: SAGE Publications Ltd.

2] Hartley, John (2002): Communication, Cultural and Media Studies The Key Concepts. London, USA & Canad: Routledge.

3] Bell, Angela. Joyce, Mark. Rivers, Danny (199): 2nd Edition Advanced Level Media. Britian: Hodder & Stoughton.

4] Murphy, Peter F. (2004): Feminims & Masculinities. United States: Oford University.

5]Smith,Jim (2005): Tarantino. Great Britain:Virgin Books Ltd.

6] Lovell, Alan & Sergi, Gianluca (2005): Making Films In Comtempopary Hollywood. Great Britan, Hodder Education.

7] Cosslett, Tess; Easton, Alison & Summerfield, Penny (1996): Women, Power And Resistance. Great Britian.

8] Clark, Vivienne; Baker, James & Lewis, Eileen (2002): Key Concepts And Media Skills For Media Studies. Great Britain, Hodder & Stoughton.

9] Bennett, Jacqueline; Jones, Tanya & McDougall, Julian (2002): A2 Media Studies For OCR. Great Britian, Hodder & Stoughton.

10] Rance, PTJ (2005): Martial Arts. Great Britain, Viring Books Ltd.

11] Welldon, Estela V. (1988): Mother Madonna Whore. United Staes of America, The Guilford Press.

Women In Adverts

2006-11-14T17:05:00.001Z

1] Objectified Women -

because they mainly show women shaking their ass.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W_XjBxRWCyg

2] Traditional Role Of Women -

because women are usually stereotyped to be in the kitchen doing the cooking.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QMaI0NxSOtw

3] Progessive Women -

because the women is represented as dominant and in control and typically a man would be associated with a car advert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdT9oURGtTc

A Bit About Actions Films In The Past...

2006-10-11T18:32:00.000+01:00

Action Films have tremendous impact, continuous high energy, lots of physical stunts and activity, possibly extended chase scenes, races, rescues, battles, martial arts, mountains and mountaineering, destructive disasters (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), fights, escapes, non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and adventurous heroes. Action films and adventure films have tremendous cross-over potential as film genres.

The main action centers around a male action hero or protagonist - portrayed by these most prominent actors: Bruce Lee, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, etc…Women in action-films usually play the roles of accomplices or romantic interests of the hero, although modern action films have featured strong female characters to broaden demographic appeal.

They almost always have a resourceful hero(ine) struggling against incredible odds, life-threatening circumstances, or an evil villain, and/or trapped or chasing each other in various modes of transportation (bus, auto, ship, train, plane, horseback, on foot, etc.), with victory or resolution attained by the end after strenuous physical feats and violence (fist fights, gunplay). Action films have traditionally been aimed at male audiences, ages 13 to the mid-30s in both American and world-wide markets.

This film genre actually began with the silent era's serial films around the time of Edwin S. Porter's classic action-western The Great Train Robbery (1903). And it has remained strong throughout all of cinematic history. Action films then expanded in the 80s and 90s, with the growth of special effects techniques and in response to jaded audiences who demanded faster plots (coherent or not), greater violence, and stimulation.

http://www.filmsite.org/actionfilms.html

However, actions films now have changed esp the roles of women, even though women are still gazed upon by men (Laura Mulvery Theory - 'Male Gaze'), they still are in control and dominant. Women in the past had the domestic/heroine role but now they are the protagonists/hero. We all know womens independence was due to the rise of feminism, which occured during the 1960's. In the cinema we can see the development of an impressive variety of female characters and protagonists, and the development still continues.

BloG BuddieZ...

2006-10-09T19:49:00.000+01:00

My Blog Buddy from my class is Heena!...

Heena's Independent Study question is... 'Are women in films represented as sex objects to entertain and pleasure men, with particular reference to Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle (2003)?'
Her overall study is very similar to mine as we both will be looking at representation of females in the action genre of movies.
She is also looking at same theorists, such as Laura Mulvery 'The Male Gaze Thoery', Levi Strauss-hero vs. villain.
We both are refering to each others main text. One of her text is will be referring to is Kill Bill and that is my main text, as i am referring to her main text.
We both are using the same key words.
She talks about how women are represented as sex objects and i talk about how they represented as the protagonists, so this will help us to see the other side of our question.

Waiting for a reply from the other class!...

Self Directed Research - Report

2006-10-08T21:33:00.000+01:00

Representation Of Women In The Media -
http://www.mediaknowall.com/gender.html

Rotten Tomatoes review on Kill Bill Volume Two -
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/ny-killbill2-movie,0,5136424.story?coll=ny-movies-bigpix

Male Domination In The 1980's

Kill Bill Trailer

Laura Mulvey -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Mulvey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_gaze

Levi Strauss –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss

Feminsim –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism

Feminist film theory –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_film_theory

First-Wave Feminism -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-wave_feminism

Second-Wave Feminism –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-wave_feminism

Third-Wave Feminism –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-wave_feminism

Other Text - 'The Terminator' (1984) -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/

Other Text - 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003) -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305357/

Other Text - 'RoboCop' (1987) -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093870/

Other Text - 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001) -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146316/

More Key Words

2006-10-04T19:26:00.001+01:00

'A' List - The most soughtafter and popular Hollywaood actors, cast byt film producers with the aim of securing a large audience and the film's commercial success.

Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, David Carradine, etc... would be classified under the 'A' list.

Antagonist - The principal opposing figure or villian in a narrative, set in binary opposition agaisnt the progagonist.

The villian would be David Carradine Bill (Snake Charmer). However, even though Uma Thurman 'Beatrix Kiddo/The Bride (Black Mamba)' is set out to kill bill he would be our main villian but however hes not the only villian... Lucy Liu O-Ren Ishii (Cottonmouth) (archive footage)... Michael Madsen Budd (Sidewinder)... and Daryl Hannah Elle Driver (California Mountain Snake).

Anti-narrative - A text that challenges the traditional idea of sequential linear narravtive by using flashbacks, unrelated images and altered time sequences.

Kill Bill has a non linear narrative and uses many flasshbacks, for example when Uma was telling Bill why she had ran away from him with his baby, as we go into a flashback where she founds out when she was pregnant.

BCU - A close-up camera shot, particularly of an actor's face, showing prominent detial and facial expressions as a means of creating intimacy and audience engagaement with the thoughts and emotions of the character.

Tarantino uses lots of close-ups in Kill Bill to show the facial expressins of his character for example when Uma Thurman saw her child was alive in the final chapter of Kill Bill, she startede to cry and was in shock.

Femme Fatale - IN freanch film noir theory, a female character who uses her sexuality, often in devious, disreputable, secretive ways, to achieve the ends she desires.

Kill Bill doesn't have the femme fatale which normally is most films, as women in Kill Bill ar erpesented as dominant and strong instaed of 'damsel in distress' or a 'femme fatale'.

Flashback - A scene in a film which disrupts the chronological narrtive by going backward in time ro recall past events.

Tarantino uses qiute a few flashbacks to tell the story and events and how it had lead to Uma wanting to kill bill.

Gender - Psychological and cultural aspects of behaviour associated with masculinity and feminity, acquired through socialisation, in accordance with the expectations of a particular society.

Representation - The process whereby the media construct versions of people, places and events in images, words or sounds for transmission through media texts to an audience.

Representation is very important to my study because women are represented with a higher position than men and Kill Bill challenges the traditional leadiong roles in action films, which tend to be men.

Director - the individual responsible for the overall creation of a film, including the mise-en-scene and the structuring of individual shots and with artistic control over the film's final appearance, including the way in which it is edited and constructed.

Homage - when one film director pays tribute to another including images, scenes or stylistic features typical of the other director as an acknowledgment of his/her influence and importance.

Other Text - 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001)

2006-10-04T19:26:00.000+01:00

'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001) Directed by Simon West

Angelina Jolie .... Lara Croft - Protagonist

Plot - Lara Croft is a wealthy, British archeologist/tomb raider who tries to thwart a secret society/doomesday cult seeking two pieces of a mysterious device hidden in two different places of the world in order to use it during a rare planetary alignment to bring them unlimited power to control or destroy the world.

I also will be refering to 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' because this text like 'Charlies Angels', also shows how women are becoming more independent and have dominant roles in films. However, this isn't to say that women still ain't 'gazed' upon by men because they still are.

Other Text - 'RoboCop' (1987)

2006-10-04T19:13:00.000+01:00

'RoboCop' (1987) Directed by Paul Verhoeven

Plot - Detroit - in the future - is crime ridden, and run by a massive company. The company have developed a huge crime fighting robot, which unfortunately develops a rather dangerous glitch. The company sees a way to get back in favour with the public when a cop called Alex Murphy is killed by a street gang. Murphys body is reconstructed within a steel shell and named Robocop. The Robocop is very successful against criminals, and becomes a target of supervillian Boddicker.

Peter Weller... Officer Alex J. Murphy/RoboCop - Portagonist

- I will be refering to Robocop as Robocop (1987) also shows how men dominanted the past and how women were not seen as equal to men till feminism was introduced. Just like 'The Terminator', men were seen to have the lead roles in action films but now this has changed as society has became less patriarchal and women now are gaining there independence and equal rights and many films such as 'Charlies Angels' and 'Kill Bill' show how women are becoming more independent.

Other Text - 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003)

2006-10-04T18:57:00.001+01:00

'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003) Directed by McG

Plot - Natalie, Dylan, and Alex, three glamorous, tough-as-nails, investigative agents - who work for the Charles Townsend Detective Agency - are sent undercover to retrieve two missing jewelry bands. These are no ordinary wedding rings. They contain valuable information that reveals the new identities of every person in the FBI's Witness Protection Program. After five of the program's participants turn up dead, only the Angels can stop the perpetrator, using their expertise as masters of disguise, espionage and martial arts.

All three are the main protagonist -
Cameron Diaz... Natalie Cook
Drew Barrymore...
Dylan Sanders Lucy Liu... Alex Munday

- I will be referring to 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003) because this text shows that women have their independence, are strong and just as equal as men. This also, shows how society has grown from being patriarchal, however men still do hold more power, as we have a male director in for ‘Charlies Angels’ and male directors represent females different compared to how a female director would represent females. Males still have that power and control, but ‘Charlies Angels’ along side other action films with leading female protagonists, show how women now have broke that ‘traditional woman’ of being the ‘damsel in distress’ or the ‘femme fatal’.

Other Text - 'The Terminator' (1984)

2006-10-04T18:57:00.000+01:00

'The Terminator' (1984) Directed by James Cameron.

Plot - A machine that looks human is sent back in time to the late 20th century. His mission is to kill Sarah Connor and her unborn son, John Connor. Doing so would result in having John's entire existence destroyed so he won't exist to help the humans fight a war against the machines. Kyle Reese, one of the soldiers in this war, has been sent back in time to stop the Terminator.

Arnold Schwarzenegger... The Terminator - The Protagonist.-

I will be referring to ‘The Terminator’ because this shows and proves that womens roles in actions films have changed. As you can see men were seen more dominant and had all the leading roles, for instance in 'RoboCop' (1986). This shows and reinforces the fact that society was much more patriarchy, but now this has all changed as their are many action films with leading females roles.

Textual Analysis: Kill Bill

2006-10-02T01:04:00.000+01:00

Last Chapter- ‘Face to Face’

M-This scene (chapter) starts from a black fade in from a previous chapter. We hear music- in a different language (foreign). The fade leads us into the next scene where we see a car approaching in a hurry- the audience are left with an enigma as they wonder where she is going. We see different types of shots of Uma, we then see a sudden close-up of her face which leads us to the next scene, where it shows a different representation of women (housewives and sex objects) compared to the rest of the film. A female narrator (Uma) is heard as the music stops. She explains where and who she has come to ‘Esteban Vihaio’- a pimp, friend of Bill’s mother, ran a brothel and has a army ‘The Acuna Boys’. Estaban sees a beautiful women (Uma) approaching and he welcomes her. They both talk to each other about bill. ‘She asks him where is Bill?’ and he tells her where he is, and we have another black fade out when a close up of Esteban face is shown. This then leads us to the next scene, which is black and white, however Uma is in colour- this is one of the conventions of a art house film. We hear music as she approaches her destination and gets out of the car. The camera is now behind her and as she pulls out her gun, the music gets faster and with more tense and drama. The audience here are left with an enigma- ‘Is she going to Kill Bill?’ As she opens the door we see a long shot of her from inside the house. She checks around the house with a gun still in her hand. As she approaches the back garden door and as she turns around with the camera as well in a medium shot we see her holding a gun, showing her power and control because of the gun. Then all of a sudden we hear dramtic music as the camera quickly zooms in her with a close-up of her face, her facial expressions shows she is shocked- the audience are left with an enigma. Then we see a little girl in a medium shot in her pj’s telling Uma to ‘Freeze Mommy!’ and we also see Bill with her. We then get another close-up of Uma’s face as they pretend she shot them. Here, is when we see Uma’s weak side as through out the whole film she is shown as controlling and strong. She starts to cry as the audience sympathises with her. This is when we realise Uma child is alive. After tucking in B.B (her child, here we see her maternal side) we hear the theme to Kill Bill as Bill and Uma both confront each other. As Uma tried to grab his sword, he shots the fruit next to her on the table and she moves back and she stops. They both start to discuss how to solve the problem in a long shot view. The all of a sudden Bill is seen with more power as he shoots her with a dart full of truth serum. This shows how we see a change in the role of who’s more powerful. We then go back to a flashback as Uma starts talking as we see why she wantd to get away from Bill. We then come out of the flash back with a fade out and we see Uma and Bill sitting at a table where she attacks him- taking back control from him. We then see Bill get up and walk off slowly in a long shot view and then all of a sudden he collapses. Here Uma is shown with more power and her revenge is fulfilled. A close up is shown again of Uma crying, this is kind of shocking to the audience as Uma has been represented as power and with no fear. We then cut to see a long shot of Uma carrying away B.B, as she shuts the door, we hear the engine of the car and a black fade occurs again. We then see another heading written in big, white, bold and striking against the black background. We then hear a t.v. of a cartoon show and see B.B on the bed- enigma to audience. We establish the new setting in a hotel. Then as the camera gets closer to the door near B.B we hear a female crying (Uma). The camera then cuts to a birds eye-view shot and see her crying on the floor holding a teddy. Then we have a close-up of her crying and hugging the teddy, and then suddenly start laughing and we hear a festive music with the television and cuts to Uma waling up to B.B. The lost shot shows a happy mother and daughter relationship (which the audience my connect with also) and then cuts.

I - Its Hollywood and there has been lots of promotions to help promote Kill Bill and reach its audience, such as trailers, posters. Kill Bill can be seen as mainstream or even a art house film. There are ethnic minorities represented in Kill Bill and it also happens to be a women, who is shown as strong headed female.

G - Kill Bill is a Action, with art house conventions as it has many flashbacks and some scenes are black and white. It can also be classified into to many other genre's, drama, and thriller. However, its not your average action film as you would stereotypically expect a male to be killing and avenging people, but its a woman instead. The audience are in shock and thrown of balance as they are watching something that they did not expect, as it not very often they see a woman in control, there are some films where a women has more control over men, for instance 'Charlies Angles'.

R - In the text Uma Thurman is represented as powerful, dominant and in control. Men are shown to have less control compared to other actions films where you would expect to see the man as the main character. However, even though the main character is white we also have ethnic minorities represented as well. Vivica A. Fox ‘Vernita Green’ a black woman is represented as powerful and superior. Women are represented with much more power and independence today, they prove that woman can just as much can do the same as men. However, are not shown in a negative way but also poerful as women but women such as Uma Thurman show they have more power as she is the dominant protagonist.

A - The main target audience for this text would be the middle class, ages 18 and over. Males and females would be the target to this text. It is targeted at males because of the genre, action. Also, because of the main character Uma Thurman, as they feel attracted to her. However, females also feel they can relate to main character as she is a female who has more power then men: they feel they are just as good as men and have the same control.I - Actions films are usually a male based film however Uma Thurman breaks the action ideology, as women have the upper hand and represented as strong and more control. She sends a positive message across proving that women are just as better as men and there is less of the patricharcal society. However, even though Uma Thurman shows a independent strong female, she is directed by a male director Quentin Tarantino. It is likely that male directors portray women characters different from how women directors portray women characters, simply because it’s harder for them to relate to the characters.

N - The narrative has chapters which are spread in a two part series, Kill Bill volume One and Kill Bill Volume Two. Kill Bill is divided into ten chapters, five chapters per volume. As is common in Tarantino films, they are not arranged in chronological order.

Feminism!

2006-09-24T18:36:00.000+01:00

Feminism is a diverse collection of social theories, political movements and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerned with the experiences of women.

Feminism - Equal rights to both men and women.

First-Wave Feminism - During the nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the United States. It primarily focused on gaining the right of women's suffrage. The term, "first-wave," was coined retroactively after the term second-wave feminsim began to be used to describe a newer feminist movement - being able to vote.

Second-Wave Feminism - A feminst activity which began during the early 1960s. It was largely concerned with other issues of equality ranging from the economic to the reproductive of women and to improve womens rights on the political side.

Third-Wave Feminism - Began in the early 1990s. Third-wave feminism seeks to challenge or avoid the second wave's "essentialist" definitions of femininity. It largely focuses on the inclusion of women in traditionally male dominated area's.

Feminism is very important to my independent study, as women are represented as powerful and dominant rather than a male. Kill Bill and many other films, challenges the traditions of actions films having a male dominant/protagonist character. The audience may be thrown of balance while watching Kill Bill as they usually see a male as the protagonist, but however this is not the case: As Uma Thurman is a strong headed, powerful and dominant character. This may seem to shock the audience as they usually identify the protagonist to be a male.

del.icio.us Links

2006-09-24T18:05:00.000+01:00

http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/library/publications/16+/strongwomen.html
This is going to be relavent because it talks about ‘strong women’, such as Charlies Angels’, which is one of the text i am going to refer to.

http://mediaknowall.com/gender.html
This website talks about the representation of both men and women, as my independent study focuses on how women, esp how Uma Thurman is represented.

http://cbjuicyfruity.blogspot.com/
This is Charanpal’s independent study on Kill Bill, which will help me to write my own independent study.

http://www.rishikillbill.blogspot.com/
This is Rishi's independent study which is also on Kil Bill and focuses on the representation of women aswell, which will be very helpful to me.

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html
This website talks about Laura Mulvey and the male gaze which is very important for my independent study, as men gaze upon Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hzi9401.html
This is a link about the portrayal of women. This tag is useful as it talks about how women are being oppressed by men in society.

http://www.theory.org.uk/giddens.htm
This talks link about how gender is represented in society today.

http://bananaboijohn.blogspot.com/
This link is helpful, as he talks about how womens representation has changed, which links to my independent study.

http://marlowmedia.co.uk/
This link talks about gender equality.

To What Extent Are Women Dominant & Independent?

2006-09-20T20:56:00.000+01:00

Women’s representation in the media tend to revolve around the focus on physical beauty. However, women are often represented as being the victim or lover or being part of a context (family, friends and colleagues).

But, to what extent are they dominant and independent? Leading females are represented differently when directed by a male or a female director.

For instance, ‘Kill Bill: Volume Two’ (2004) has a male director Quentin Tarantino. This shows even though Uma Thurman was the protagonist in ‘Kill Bill’ she was still however acting on what Tarantino had wrote, this shows how a male is still dominating the film. However, women do have more power than before.

Key Words

2006-09-19T10:19:00.000+01:00

Art House - A cinematic production generated by aesthetic and cultural production values rather than commercial consideration.

I wasn't too sure whether i could clearify Kill Bill in the art house genre, but it does have some aspects of a art house film.

Binary Opposition - A term used by Claude Levi-Strauss as part of his agrument that narrative are structured around oppositional elements in human culture, for example, good and evil, life and death, night and day, raw and cooked.

Normally, the dominant character in a action movie tends to be a male, and women tend to be passive and damsel in distress. However, in Kill Bill Uma Thurman is the dominant and main character, as you would expect the hero to be a man instead of a woman.

Feminism - Political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values, social constructions and socioeconomic practices which disadvantage women and favour men.

Kill Bill deals with feminism as women are shown as independent and with a higher status which is what feminst want to achieve: equal rights for women.

Male Gaze - The term used by Laura Mulvey in her essay 'Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema' (1975) to describe what she saw as the male point of view adopted by the cinema for the benefit of an assumed male audience.

Males find Uma Thurman attractive and would gaze upon her, as they may find watching a smart, attractive and desirable women in control appealing.

Hero - The principal male or female protagonist in any narrative, with whom the audience identifies and who exhibits moral virtues in line with dominant ideology.

The hero is an very important topic in Kill Bill as you tend to find men to be the hero/protagonist, however in Kill Bill its a women and the wudience are thrown off balance and shocked to see a women in power and a hero.

Subversive - Undermining of dominant idoelogy and values.

Kill Bill is challenging stereotype of men being dominant and in control, as Uma Thurman is dominant throughtout the film, as she takes her revenge.

Symbol - A sign that bears no obvious visual relation to what it represents.

In Kill Bill Uma Thurman uses a sword to show how powerful and controlling she is.

Miramax - A film corporation founded by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 1979, under the ownership of Wlat Disney Studio Entertainment from 1993.

Miramax are the institution thet helped create Kill Bill, as Kill Bill does have a art house feel, as it does use some of the conventions of a arti house film, such as flashbacks, non linear narrative, etc...

Non-Linear narrative - A aequential narrative which doesnt have a striaght beginning, a middle and an end, its interupted with flashbacks, etc...

Tarantino uses a non-linear narrative in Kill Bill, as we see a continuous flashback within both Volume One and Two.

Patriarchy - Male domination of the political, cultural and socioeconmic system.

Kill Bill challenges the patriarchy society, as a male is not the protagonist/dominant character in Kill Bill, and this also occurs in many other films such as' Charlies Angels'

Comments I Have Made On Other Blogs

2006-09-17T18:14:00.000+01:00

Navdeep
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34031519&postID=115841502304470508

Avinash
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34131960&postID=115792775318661338

Heena
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=31412118&postID=115831139759284131

Dinveer
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34065324&postID=115799060927370573

Rishi
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34072898&postID=115792677516067717

Trailer

2006-09-12T15:29:00.001+01:00

Male Domination In The 1980's

2006-09-12T15:10:00.000+01:00

In the 1980's males were dominating and seen were in many actions films such as, 'The Terminator' (1984) by Jamkes Cameron and 'RoboCop' (1987) by Paul Verhoeven. Society was far more 'Patriarchal' and women were not seen to have a higher status than men. The patriarchal society had made it harder for women to achieve leading roles in films. There was hardly any strong female featured in action films. However, society has developed and there are many women that have a leading role in action films, Such as Cat women.

Wider Contexts And Theorists

2006-09-10T21:48:00.003+01:00

Social Context: How women are now represented in a more positve way and how society is becoming less patricharcal.

Historical Context: Women were seen more fragile and were not seen as important as men.

Economic Context: Miramax usually help to produce art house films and in this way Kill Bill was recognised.

Political Context: Shows how women have moved and gained equal opportunites as men. They becoming more dominant and controling.

Theorists:
Laura Mulvey-
Her theory is that women and men both gaze upon each other in sexual context. What May attract the men is Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, as some men might find it attractive to have a controling and attractive female protagonist in a film.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Mulvey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_gaze

Levi Strauss-
Normally it is a male who is a dominant character and women tend to be passive and damsel in distress. However, in Kill Bill Uma Thurman is the dominant and main character, as you would expect the hero to be a man instead of a woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss

Feminsim- Females are now more independent and equal, esp in the film industry today, many films such as 'Charlies Angels' and 'Kill Bill' are being released, where women are shown with more or equal power as men.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism

Feminist film theory- discussions of the function of women characters in particular film narratives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_film_theory

Review From Rotten Tomatoes

2006-09-10T21:48:00.002+01:00

By John Anderson

Honeymoon killer: Having dispatched most of her would-be assassins, The Bride now gets to throw the razor-studded bouquet. Electrifying, in its rhythms and tension and its sense of cinema. With Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Gordon Liu. Written and directed by Quentin Taran.tino. 2:20 (gore, violence, vulgarity, adult content, live burial). At area theaters.You learn a few things from "Kill Bill: Vol. 2," the second half of Quentin Tarantino's ultra-violent revenge thriller and a film of stunning virtuosity and emotional clout. For one thing, did you know that if you close your eyes, Michael Madsen sounds exactly like Nick Nolte? More significantly, "Kill Bill" was never going to be one movie, no matter what Miramax or Tarantino claimed last year. And most interestingly, it seems that when a two-part movie does arrive, even as fraternal twins, one sibling can make the other look even better than it did on its own.

For all its balletic butchery and virtuoso Hong Kong-inspired choreography, "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" seemed a less-than-substantial piece of work from a director as lauded as Tarantino. (The film was heralded in its own credits as "The Fourth Film by Quentin Tarantino ... ." as if we should be grateful.) But in light of "Vol. 2," the first "Kill Bill" takes on a grandeur it initially lacked. The second film makes the first one better -- this despite the fact that the two movies together reverse the standard one-two combination of traditional melodrama; the real orgy of violence was concluded before the heart of the story had been established.

Yet the technique works remarkably well. Much of this success has to do with what we already know. In "Vol. 2," when Uma Thurman's Bride is visited at her wedding rehearsal by Bill (David Carradine, every crag in his face a monument in John Ford-inspired black and white), the terror is palpable. We know, and she doesn't, that the happy afternoon is going to end in slaughter. But they speak and they speak (it's a daring move to start what is ostensibly an action movie with 15 minutes of dialogue), but we're drawn into the rhythm because we know where it's going, and that it won't be going well.This is all flashback, as is the terrific episode in which The Bride -- OK, she has a real name, Beatrix Kiddo -- is trained in kung fu by the imperious Pai Mei (the wonderful Gordon Liu).

Thurman and her nemesis, played by Daryl Hannah, also have a brutal, gloriously violent battle, which ends with perhaps the grossest thing Tarantino has ever committed to film. Madsen, playing the aptly named Budd, thinks he's taken care of the Beatrix problem for his brother by burying her alive. But even this does not deter Beatrix from her mission to Kill Bill.It's a powerhouse movie, one that draws on a variety of cinematic tropes for its look and feel and perhaps the co-opted muscle of certain borrowed sources -- a Tarantino film wouldn't be one without at least some of his encyclopedic video-geekiness finding its way onto the screen. But at the same time, "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" feels totally original. It validates the other half of the story. And it may even prove that Quentin Tarantino is as good a director as he has so long been purported to be.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/ny-killbill2-movie,0,5136424.story?coll=ny-movies-bigpix

Representation Of Women In The Media

2006-09-10T21:48:00.001+01:00

Representations of women across all media tend to highlight the following:

· beauty
· size/physique
· sexual/fragile
· emotional dealings
· relationships

However, this has now changed as women are proving they are just as equal to men and take the same roles men do, because Kill Bill Uma Thurman is represented as a hero/protagonist and is in control, as women tend to be represented as femme-fatal or a damsel in distress. Uma Thurman breaks this tradition of women just as the 'propp' of a film. However, Kill Bill isnt the only film that represents women powerful also films such as 'Charlies Angels'.

http://www.mediaknowall.com/gender.html

M.i.g.r.a.i.n Notes

2006-09-10T21:31:00.000+01:00

Media Language
Use of black and white, different shots throughout, black outs-creating enigmas, its fast paced, uses her sword to show how much power she has, use of chapters, dramatic music used.

Institutions
The institutions for 'Kill Bill Volume Two' is Miramax Institutions. They are a very well known instituions and have produced many successful films such as 'Chiago' and 'Pulp Fiction'.

Genre
The genre for Kill Bill is action. It can also be classified into to many other genre's, drama, and thriller. However, its not your average action film as you would stereotypically expect a male to be killing and avenging people, but its a woman instead. The audience are in shock and thrown of balance as they are watching something that they did not expect, as it not very often they see a woman in control, there are some films where a women has more control over men, for instance 'Charlies Angles'.

Representation
In the text Uma Thurman is represented as powerful, dominant and in control. Men are shown to have less control compared to other actions films where u would expect to see the man as the main character. However, even though the main character is white we also have ethnic minorities represented as well. Vivica A. Fox ‘Vernita Green’ a black woman is represented as powerful and superior. Women are represented with much more power and independence today, they prove that woman can just as much can do the same as men.

Audience
The main target audience for this text would be the middle class, ages 18-27. Males and females would be the target to this text. It is targeted at males because of the genre, action. Also, because of the main character Uma Thurman, as they feel attracted to her. However, females also feel they can relate to main character as she is a female who has more power then men: they feel they are just as good as men and have the same control.

Values and Ideology
Actions films are usually a male based film however Uma Thurman breaks the action ideology, as women have the upper hand and represented as strong and more control. She sends a positive message across proving that women are just as better as men and there is less of the patricharcal society. However, even though Uma Thurman shows a independent strong female, she is directed by a male director Quentin Tarantino. It is likely that male directors portray women characters different from how women directors portray women characters, simply because it’s harder for them to relate to the characters.

Narrative
The narrative has chapters which are spread in a two part series, Kill Bill volume One and Kill Bill Volume Two. Kill Bill is divided into ten chapters, five chapters per volume. As is common in Tarantino films, they are not arranged in chronological order.

The Bride" (Uma Thurman) was the deadliest assassin of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, until the day she decided to leave the business, and assume a new identity and get married. But it was on the day of her marriage that her old "friends" - O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), Budd (Michael Madsen), and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), and her boss, Bill (David Carradine) - find her and assassinate the entire ceremony while Bill shoots her in the head, putting her in a coma. After four years, the Bride awakens from her coma and starts her revenge.

Media

2006-09-10T13:56:00.000+01:00

Women usually tend to be represented as emotional, sexual, beautiful and size/physique. However, in Kill Bill, Uma Thurman [Beatrix Kiddo/The Bride (Black Mamba)] is represented as a strong, dominant and in control. However, can we agrue that this is a fair representation of women? As it is likely that male directors portray women characters different from how women directors portray women characters, simply because it’s harder for them to relate to the characters. So to an extent we can say women are independent, however their are far more independent than before as males were usually associated with the action movie genre, they usually tend to be the protagonist/ hero.

Brief Summary

2006-09-10T13:21:00.000+01:00

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

For my independent study i will be focusing on the representation of women in action films and how they have changed, as we typically associate the male to be the protagonist/dominant figure in the film. My main text i will refer to will be 'Kill Bill Volume Two' (2004) by Quentin Tarantino. I will be also referring to other films such as ', 'Terminater' (1984), 'RoboCop' (1987) and 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (2003). In all these films women are represented differently, 'Charlie's Angels' women are represented as dominant and in control and however in 'Miami Vice' as men are seen to have more control than women.