Post 4 Bethany Si Yue Mong

     In Making Movie Magic, Bell Hooks said, “Changing how we see images is clearly one way to change the world.” Media always portrayed women and minorities as the one who are manipulated by men. Women are usually the auxiliaries of men and minorities are usually subordinate to men. Because we all live in a patriarchy society, men always have power reserved to dominate our society. As a result, women and minorities become the victims under the male violence in media.

     In mainstream media, men are mostly portrayed to be the strong and women to be the weak. Bell Hooks said, “Strong texts work along the borders of our minds and alter what already exists. They could not do this if they merely reflected what already exists.” Because of the influence under the patriarchy society, as well as men are physically stronger than women, it becomes normal and common for media to portray women to be subordinate to men. However, alternative media mostly hold views different from/ opposite to the mainstream media. They always present media sources which reflect the views of minorities and women.

     I found it interesting that a mainstream media, Disney, presents alternative media sources in a cartoon called “Pocahontas.” I believe that most people would know this is a story about an English soldier fell in love with a Native American girl. And, at the end, the Native American girl saved the life of her lover, the soldier, and subside a war between the English and Native Americans. I think this is very inspiring because mainstream media does not often portray women to be the one who “save the world.” Also, mainstream media do not present that women can be perfect without men or superior to men. As it said in Naomi Wolf’s book, “Women are allowed a mind or a body but not both.” (Wolf 59) However, I think there are reasons Disney chose to present an alternative cartoon to its viewers. It is familiar to all of us that the prince always saves the princess from danger in Disney cartoons. However, due to the changing society, female becomes more independent and gets more power in media and the society. Therefore, Disney wanted to present a more up-to-date image of women. Also, female media consumers increased in large numbers and became more critical than it was. This is one of the reasons that I believe Disney wanted to reshape its image from a more conservative basis to a more open minded one in order to get more supporters.

“Movies do not merely offer us the opportunity to reimagine the culture we most intimately know on the screen, they make culture.” – Bell Hooks

     The phrase, “負け犬” (Japanese) is a term from Japan, which is widely used in Asia in recent years. If I translate this term directly, it means “fail dog.” It symbolizes women who aged around 30-40 who are not yet married and have well paid jobs. It is a very sexist term which discriminates women. Because the term “負け犬” is highly abused, TVB, a well-known media in Hong Kong, made a television show called “中女告白” to criticize people who produce and use this phrase, as well as those who discriminate against middle aged unmarried women.

     In the show, it interviewed around ten middle aged unmarried women. Some of them are normal women but some of them are celebrities in Hong Kong. They talked about their opinions towards the phrase “負け犬” and shared their dating experiences. They criticized the phrase “負け犬” and interpreted the point of views of a lot of women (especially aging women) nowadays. I think this television show is very touching, inspiring and successful alternative media. First of all, it is because women are seldom the focus of television shows. Although women are in media, they are always portrayed sexually or negatively. However, this show gives a say to women and offers an atmosphere for them to criticize the popular culture and society. Secondly, I think this show is very educational as it makes viewers to reflect themselves and think of what they do lead to different consequences. Thirdly, it also changes how men and women see gender, relationship and marriage. Here are the Youtube links to the television show that I discussed about. I recommend everyone to watch it especially those who are interested in the Asian culture. Although this show is in Cantonese, I am more than happy to translate for you if you want to watch. Please watch it! It only takes 20 minutes!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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Works Cited:

- “Making movie magic” - Bell Hooks,

- “The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women” - Naomi Wolf