pOST wORLD wAR ii: Representation: Women
During WW2, the women had to pitch in and help out in their communities as all of the men were off at war. This provided a lot of empowerment for women, as they had something to do other than be cooped up in their house doing "women" jobs such as house work. If the women hadn't pitched in as they did, life would have been even more awful for those who weren't fighting in the war.
A lot of affairs also happened around this time, due to all the Americans coming over with their nice and charming accents, and due to the women feeling so empowered they felt they had the confidence to do it. This is portrayed in films such as 'Brief Encounter', as the main female has had an affair. In 'Brief Encounter' the film is completely central around Laura's affair. It's portrayed as a very thrilling, love filled event, however at the end of the film she goes to confront her husband. Due to the time that it was filmed, her husband is very forgiving and has a "it could have been worse" attitude towards it, as the war was going on and things simply could have been worse.
Something else in film that evolved from the empowerment of women during WW2 is the femme fatale character in film noir. The femme fatale character, as stated by the Merriam Webster Dictionary is: "a very attractive woman who causes trouble or unhappiness for the men who become involved with her". You can see this kind of characters in films such as: "Pulp Fiction", "Sherlock" (2009 film) and "Under The Skin". A femme fatale will often be very aware of how much power they have and use it to their complete advantage. In Under The Skin for example, the femme fatale is a sort of succubus type alien creature, who seduces men and has sex with them. After she has done that, she then proceedes to kill them. This to me is a very literal and prime example of a femme fatale.
Contrasting to the strong females of femme fatale are the female characters from films pre WW2 such as Ilsa from Casablanca who is a very two dimensional character who relies heavily from the support of her partner(s). She can't make any decision for herself, she has to run it past others first. This isn't a very positive image for a woman, as she doesn't seem to have any independence or confidence.
A lot of affairs also happened around this time, due to all the Americans coming over with their nice and charming accents, and due to the women feeling so empowered they felt they had the confidence to do it. This is portrayed in films such as 'Brief Encounter', as the main female has had an affair. In 'Brief Encounter' the film is completely central around Laura's affair. It's portrayed as a very thrilling, love filled event, however at the end of the film she goes to confront her husband. Due to the time that it was filmed, her husband is very forgiving and has a "it could have been worse" attitude towards it, as the war was going on and things simply could have been worse.
Something else in film that evolved from the empowerment of women during WW2 is the femme fatale character in film noir. The femme fatale character, as stated by the Merriam Webster Dictionary is: "a very attractive woman who causes trouble or unhappiness for the men who become involved with her". You can see this kind of characters in films such as: "Pulp Fiction", "Sherlock" (2009 film) and "Under The Skin". A femme fatale will often be very aware of how much power they have and use it to their complete advantage. In Under The Skin for example, the femme fatale is a sort of succubus type alien creature, who seduces men and has sex with them. After she has done that, she then proceedes to kill them. This to me is a very literal and prime example of a femme fatale.
Contrasting to the strong females of femme fatale are the female characters from films pre WW2 such as Ilsa from Casablanca who is a very two dimensional character who relies heavily from the support of her partner(s). She can't make any decision for herself, she has to run it past others first. This isn't a very positive image for a woman, as she doesn't seem to have any independence or confidence.
POST ATOMIC
After the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was a great deal of fear over the fact that both the cities were wiped out in seconds. People, houses, businesses were just obliterated. In the centre photo above, you can see a black scorch mark which is one of many found around the cities after the blast. They are often referred to as shadows.
Here are some statistics from the blasts that I found on the Telegraph website on an article from July 2005 titled: "Children Of Hiroshima": http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/24/secondworldwar.japan
Here are some statistics from the blasts that I found on the Telegraph website on an article from July 2005 titled: "Children Of Hiroshima": http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/24/secondworldwar.japan
Technology
Early cameras were very large and bulky, which meant that the majority of early films were filmed on set rather than on location, as they needed a power source and such. An example would be Casablanca (1942) and Rebel Without A Cause (1955). Both of these films were filmed on set, and you could tell this very clearly due to how controlled they were. By the time Easy Rider came out in 1969, cameras were smaller and more portable which allowed them to film on location. In Easy Rider there are lots of shots of Wyatt and Billy on the road, which I think may have been done so frequently to show the new film technology off.
WWII Compared to Today
When you compare WWII with film and television today, there is a stark difference. First looking at women in WW2, like I mentioned above, they were starting to feel empowered, however there was still lots of oppression towards women, and they weren't able to get themselves into positions of power, or have bold careers. Today there is a lot more power for women, women have a louder voice and are in a better position of power. We have more females in political power, more women working in the services such as the fire service, women doing jobs which were once seen as a mans job such as building/construction. Due to this, in film and television now, you see a lot more strong female characters.
When you look at films from WW2, the lead females are often very two dimensional and need to rely on someone (usually a man) like Ilsa from Casablanca. They don't have much of a personality and seem to only feature in the film for the lead mans purpose to be a love interest. In the film Easy Rider, the only females that feature in it are prostitutes which doesn't really provide a very healthy image for women.
Today in films there are a large amount of strong female characters in film and TV. You can test how far this movement has really come by conducting a Bechdel Test, which is where you see if: 1. there is more than one woman in the film, 2. they talk to each other about something other than men.
An example of a TV show that passes the Bechdel test is Jessica Jones, as Jessica has regular conversations with her boss about things over than men. Another thing with this TV show is that there are a lot of good (but uncommon) relationships which aren't usually featured in films and TV all that often: there is an interracial relationship and a lesbian relationship. Lesbian relationships in film and TV are becoming more common, however they're usually between the younger generation, whereas in Jessica Jones, the lesbian relationship is between two middle aged women, and not only that but one of them is also having an affair. In my opinion, this TV show is one of the few helping to bring more equality to TV and film due to the diversity of all the characters. It's insane how different this series is compared with films from WW2.
When you look at films from WW2, the lead females are often very two dimensional and need to rely on someone (usually a man) like Ilsa from Casablanca. They don't have much of a personality and seem to only feature in the film for the lead mans purpose to be a love interest. In the film Easy Rider, the only females that feature in it are prostitutes which doesn't really provide a very healthy image for women.
Today in films there are a large amount of strong female characters in film and TV. You can test how far this movement has really come by conducting a Bechdel Test, which is where you see if: 1. there is more than one woman in the film, 2. they talk to each other about something other than men.
An example of a TV show that passes the Bechdel test is Jessica Jones, as Jessica has regular conversations with her boss about things over than men. Another thing with this TV show is that there are a lot of good (but uncommon) relationships which aren't usually featured in films and TV all that often: there is an interracial relationship and a lesbian relationship. Lesbian relationships in film and TV are becoming more common, however they're usually between the younger generation, whereas in Jessica Jones, the lesbian relationship is between two middle aged women, and not only that but one of them is also having an affair. In my opinion, this TV show is one of the few helping to bring more equality to TV and film due to the diversity of all the characters. It's insane how different this series is compared with films from WW2.
Technology is one of the main things that sets today's film and TV apart from WW2. Like I mentioned above, cameras from WW2 were very big and bulky. Not only were they big and bulky, but they were expensive too and so only film studios and such had them. Now, cameras have reduced in size dramatically, but also in price which means that more people are able to afford and own a camera, which means more content is being produced everyday. This is amazing to think about, as films used to be so complex and difficult to make from not only filming them with a giant bulky camera on set, but to spending forever editing it by cutting up the film.
In recent years, editing is getting easier and easier, which means that films can be released much sooner, as most editing is now done digitally using computer programmes and software. Along with ease of editing, today there are special effects. There are explosions and CGI. The quality of the picture is grater, and people can film virtually anywhere, which means there is an incredibly wide variety of films available to watch.
Films from WW2 were very static and almost false, like in Rebel Without A Cause. The acting from the time of Rebel Without A Cause was also drastically different to how it is today. With most films you will loose yourself in the acting, and sometimes forget that it is just a film. Whereas with Rebel Without A Cause, you are very conscious of the fact that it is a film.
Films today are a lot more realistic, not just with their acting, but the themes and events taking place within them. Films today are sometimes based on actual events, or future events which not only makes them more believable, but more realistic. An example would be the film 2012, which is an action disaster movie centring around the fact that one day our film will cease to exist. Some of these disaster films are sometimes a bit repetitive and predictable, however you can't deny the difference between them and the films from WW2. WW2 films were often about love or war, as those were the current events.
However today, due to the wide availability of the internet, people are able to see what is happening allover the world around them, which means that a wider variety of films are available.
In recent years, editing is getting easier and easier, which means that films can be released much sooner, as most editing is now done digitally using computer programmes and software. Along with ease of editing, today there are special effects. There are explosions and CGI. The quality of the picture is grater, and people can film virtually anywhere, which means there is an incredibly wide variety of films available to watch.
Films from WW2 were very static and almost false, like in Rebel Without A Cause. The acting from the time of Rebel Without A Cause was also drastically different to how it is today. With most films you will loose yourself in the acting, and sometimes forget that it is just a film. Whereas with Rebel Without A Cause, you are very conscious of the fact that it is a film.
Films today are a lot more realistic, not just with their acting, but the themes and events taking place within them. Films today are sometimes based on actual events, or future events which not only makes them more believable, but more realistic. An example would be the film 2012, which is an action disaster movie centring around the fact that one day our film will cease to exist. Some of these disaster films are sometimes a bit repetitive and predictable, however you can't deny the difference between them and the films from WW2. WW2 films were often about love or war, as those were the current events.
However today, due to the wide availability of the internet, people are able to see what is happening allover the world around them, which means that a wider variety of films are available.
How It Impacts Me
Modern technology impacts me as a film maker, as it is now easier than ever for me to create films and videos. In my free time, I just take my phone and use the camera on it to record myself drawing and then I post the videos onto Youtube. If I had tried to do this maybe twenty years ago, this wouldn't have been possible, as "normal" people with a "normal" income were unable to afford a camera to the standards of the ones we have today. Here is one of my Youtube videos:
Youtube influences me, as it is one of the main websites I go on, and you can find all kinds of stuff. I find that if I am stuck on something such as needing to do a specific thing on photoshop, I can just look up on Youtube how to do it. This easy access information is amazing, as you can learn something in a few minutes just by watching a video, it's like having your own personal teacher.
I have lots of control over what I watch these days, as there are so many platforms to consume material. If there is a certain show that I want to watch and all the episodes are available, I can watch it for as long as I like and as many episodes as I want. I don't feel as though I am being influenced too much, as I have a choice over what I watch. I used to just watch what was on TV, especially before we got Freesat and just had the standard 5 channels. You just had to watch what was on the television, or nothing at all (unless you put a video or a DVD on). It's amazing how much content there is available to us now.
I have lots of control over what I watch these days, as there are so many platforms to consume material. If there is a certain show that I want to watch and all the episodes are available, I can watch it for as long as I like and as many episodes as I want. I don't feel as though I am being influenced too much, as I have a choice over what I watch. I used to just watch what was on TV, especially before we got Freesat and just had the standard 5 channels. You just had to watch what was on the television, or nothing at all (unless you put a video or a DVD on). It's amazing how much content there is available to us now.
Sources:
http://www.imdb.com/search/title?count=100&keywords=femme-fatale&num_votes=3000,&title_type=feature&
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/24/secondworldwar.japan
http://www.imdb.com/search/title?count=100&keywords=femme-fatale&num_votes=3000,&title_type=feature&
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/24/secondworldwar.japan