"You get what you want; you want what you get."
Oh how right you are graphically and musically out dated mini-movie-doc-type-thing. How right you are.
Being appalled at images in the media is common. We all have something we don’t want to see. Don’t want to hear. Could live without reading or every knowing because it repulses something within us. For me it’s negative things relating to children. Hatred against religion because it’s religion. Denying atheists and homosexuals the right to adopt because of biases.
However, I’ve grown loath in acknowledging movie gender stereotypes in things I enjoy. Not because I’m callused or don’t care. It’s just grown all the more annoying to want to sit down and enjoy my couch and snacks when some random image of some woman’s breasts come on screen; the relation to the comedy, horror or romance is little to none. When breasts are just there to be breasts is when it really gets under my skin. Which is usually 95% of the time.
That is not to say I have objections to the female. By all means, support that it is beautiful. Be proud of what you have, curves or not. I myself happen to be of the female sex and I have no qualms what so ever wit my anatomy except maybe a few extra pounds it wouldn’t hurt to shed.
However, when the female body is paraded as a type of sexual object. Female nudity is never there because it’s “unavoidable” or “necessary” as it would be in documentaries [there’s that sliver of 5%]. When there is female nudity it is always to objectify the woman to the male audience in some way, hence it’s presence in male oriented movies.
Not sure if any of you noticed, but full/breast and rear nudity isn’t ever in movies geared to women. Or “chick flicks.” We get to see ourselves everyday and homosexuality isn’t taken into account during production. Pardon my digression.
All this to say that despite me being repulsed by such things and being forced to completely ignore otherwise good movies or look away, I am but one person. One person in what’s possibly a very small minority.
Minority? Oh yes. Movies keep getting pumped out that have such lewd images because the minority is but a small handful of sand amongst a mile long shore of otherwise pleased viewers. While I may be apposed I am but one.
Relativity sets in also and works against me! That unfaithful tempest that it is. I also am sure I enjoy things that others will likely be turned off by.
Jenifer mentioned she hates horror films. I’m loath to admit I startle easy but I love them. I love seeing what people they attract, how the writer and producers, actors and directors, staff and all of the above decided to try and spook me this time. However, she also mentioned something else: where is the line?
When do I go from Saw to snuff? From getting a chuckle out of an absurd zombie killing spree to being aroused by inhumane torture of human beings?
Regardless of the extremes, I’m being fed something I want. I search it out and it’s there, waiting to take me with both hands [or bloody stubs] and embrace me. The same goes for the gender stereotypes and the objectifying of a person with emotions and feelings. When did she go from kick ass heroine to a sex kitten? When did her clothes go from being tight because that’s what necessary to being tight because she’s a busty female? However unappealing these images are to me they exist because they appeal to people.
We get what we want. Things exist because we eat it up, gorge ourselves in it like dry earth eagerly soaks up rain with is parched, gaping lips. If people didn’t want to objectify women, regardless of cause of reason, the images wouldn’t be there. If people wanted to see men as anything but strong and commanding or stupid, we would.
To be fair, mental stereotyping is necessary. It’s a helpful tool the mind uses to create shortcuts and thusly helps with memory and such. However, when those stereotype become damaging to how we view other human beings and how we group them, especially an entire sex, we must as a society be willing to change our views; We need to be aware of what we’re feeding ourselves and what we’re allowing to be conditioned into us.
"If people didn’t want to objectify women, regardless of cause of reason, the images wouldn’t be there."
ReplyDeleteWe "eat it up" because that is all we know.
Now that I know that there are better movies than Iron Man I don't go to those movies anymore-- I don't go to Cinemark anymore, because those movies suck.
For example, have you noticed that when you ask someone what their musical tastes are, it is rare to find a generic answer these days. I rarely hear names that I can recognize. MTV and the popular media has less and less control over what music people listen to. This is because of the internet where people have such a sensory overload,they are allowed to formulate their own personal tastes.
Since mainstream theaters give us a limited selection of films we can watch we formulate our tastes within this limited range. Thus all we know are films that objectify women, and thats all we demand. when we are offered something else we would like we would jump on it. I did.
A homogeneous culture is impossible to keep up when it doesn't monopolize the media. the internet is an open forum for people to explore their tastes. We see it in music more often today. The reason it doesn't happen with film or television is because its hard to have independent theaters, films, and television. In turn this limits what we expect.
None of us are a small minority? Have you ever gotten a piece of sand or dirt in your eye, it will irritate the heck out of you and can do some big time damage. One banding with another one can do just that become "big time damage".
ReplyDeleteBut I wonder about the woman who is fascinated with her body and if the fascination came from the medias imagery of women, or if she just likes what she sees?
I know that most porgnographis stars of doing it to make the BIG BUCKS, but in general they make less than their male counterparts do. How many porn stars (male/female) do it because they really like it?
How does one convey to a mate that "damn, I like what I see?" Is it politically safe to tell your lover, "I love your boobs?" Do women like the way their lovers look at them with admiration and also desire?
What is overload, what is enough, or is this all about individualism? Yes, we need real guidelines on what is acceptable and what we can leave behind. The next time I see a female run her fingers over a ripped male body or watch him flex his chest muscles to get attention, I will look to see who is really watching with bated breath. I would like to know if she is watching because this is something or someone who might interest her, or if she has been so well trained by men that she watches what she is told. Perhaps I will find, it really is a little of both.