Empowered or Objectified?: The Representation of Women in 21st Century Action Cinema
Translated title
Empowered or Objectified?
Authors
Cirkic, Melita ; Maj, Maria
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-01-09
Pages
137
Abstract
Afhandlingen undersøger actionfilm i det 21. århundrede og hvordan kvinder fremstilles. Den spørger, om de især ses gennem det mandlige blik – et kamera- og fortælleperspektiv, der gør kvinder til seksuelle objekter for mænd – eller om de i stedet fremstår som selvstændige, forandrende og normbrydende helte. Fire casestudier af filmene Charlies Angels (2000), Wanted (2008), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) og Atomic Blonde (2017) danner grundlag, analyseret med Laura Mulveys og Elizabeth Hills’ teorier. Mulvey, med udgangspunkt i psykoanalyse, beskriver kvinder på film som erotiske spektakler og ser objektgørelse som undertrykkende. Hill betoner derimod, at actionkvinders identitet bestemmes af deres handlinger snarere end af køn og krop, og at de kan overskride genrens normer. Analyserne peger på et blandet billede. Nogle centrale kvinder i de fire film lykkes især som normbrydende figurer, mens andre primært udsættes for seksualisering og objektgørelse. Englene i Charlies Angels, Fox i Wanted og Lorraine i Atomic Blonde iscenesættes ofte som spektakler, men de udviser samtidig styrke og dominans, især over for mandlige modstandere. Furiosa i Mad Max: Fury Road undgår næsten helt unødigt fokus på sin seksualitet. Set i en sociohistorisk kontekst synes alle fire film dog tilpasset traditionelle skønhedsidealer, understreget af at de betydelige kvinder spilles af konventionelt smukke Hollywoodstjerner. Derfor muliggør Hills’ ramme en styrkende læsning, men ydre æstetiske og kulturelle normer begrænser stadig fuld frigørelse.
This thesis examines how 21st-century action films portray women. It asks whether they are mainly seen through the male gaze—the camera and storytelling framing women as sexual objects for male pleasure—or whether they appear as independent, transformative, and transgressive heroes. Four case studies of Charlie’s Angels (2000), Wanted (2008), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and Atomic Blonde (2017) are analyzed using Laura Mulvey’s and Elizabeth Hills’s theories. Drawing on psychoanalysis, Mulvey argues that film often presents women as erotic spectacles and that such objectification is oppressive. Hills, by contrast, emphasizes that action heroines are defined by what they do rather than by gender or anatomy, and can break genre norms. Findings show a mixed picture. Some key women in the four films succeed mainly as transgressive figures, while others are chiefly sexualized and objectified. The Angels, Fox, and Lorraine are frequently staged as spectacles, yet they also assert dominance, especially over male opponents. Furiosa largely avoids unnecessary sexualized display. In their socio-historical context, however, all four films appear aligned with traditional beauty standards, reinforced by the casting of conventionally beautiful Hollywood stars. Thus, while Hills’s framework supports an empowering reading, external aesthetic and cultural norms still limit that empowerment.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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