Representation of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in American Film
In today’s consumption mediated society much of the stories are produced and disseminated by the different media usually in the form of the film. Much of what the audience knows and cares about is mostly based on narratives, images and symbols displayed. How the different audience constructs the various social identities, how they understand what it means to be male or female, being of a particular race or being of a particular social class is profoundly shaped by the commodified texts in the films.
In my project, I will argue that American films are central to what ultimately comes as people’s social realities. In short, it explains that the films are increasingly segmented by different social constructions of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Since it is an integral part of the American cinema, my study will provide a fascinating mirror of the evolving values in America Hollywood brand power. The strongest element of the study will be the well-developed historical perceptive in all the chapters on particular cultural.
Abstract
Based on different research sources the paper will be divided into five different sections; “Race and Ethnicity,” “American Film and Class,” “Gender and American Film,” American Film and Culture” and “Sexuality.” The opening section will provide a substantial introduction to the general American film history and structure. Part two and part four will be the most developed sections of my study where I will discuss race and ethnicity and American film and gender respectively. For the four sections, I will take the time to present some of the less visible yet more privileged positions of maleness, heterosexuality, and whiteness. The chapters in all the sections will trace the filmic images development and the different personal challenges faced by both the performers and directors.
Much of my research will involve viewing and analyzing peer-reviewed research papers available online and in the library. I will also consider some films as an example in my argument. Besides, I will examine different journals on the topic. Another critical literature that is essential to my project is the recent theoretical approaches to the topic of my study.
Annotated Bibliography
Davies, Jude, and Carol R Smith. “Gender, Ethnicity, and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film.” 2013, doi:10.4324/9781315063089.
The journal is about the representation of different groups of Americans defined by sexuality, gender, and ethnicity. The authors are concerned with the utilization of cinematic images of identity. Based on production, different periods have experienced penetration of non-male, non-straight and non-white filmmakers in Hollywood. It will help me to back my point that American films have impacted our social constructions from historical and modern perceptive.
Subero, Gustavo. Gender and Sexuality in Latin American Horror Cinema: Embodiments of Evil. , 2016. Internet resource.
The journal explores issues of sexuality, gender, racism, homosociality, and others through the narrative of horror lens. It especially offers an analysis of monstrosity and different monster figures as a way to play out social anxieties in different gender groups or societies. It looks at a wide range of films from different countries and thus draws points of commonality as well as differences in different aspects of the films. It is effective to delve into different ways in which sexuality and gender have been displayed in films.
Benshoff, Harry M, and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Wiley, 2011. Internet resource.
It is a synthetic and historical text that offers a comprehensive overview of cultural, aesthetic and industrial factors that have continually shaped the cinematic representation of sexuality, gender, race, class and also physical ability. Its aim to chronicles the different cinematic history of the diverse cultural group and also examines forces of bias. Ultimately, it provokes the relationship of American national culture and film.
Mask, Mia. “Contemporary Black American Cinema.” 2012, doi:10.4324/9780203118146.
The journal is a collection of different scholarly essays that are informed by both the methodological and technological shifts in the last 20 years. It brings together the best of the historical and modern aspect of American films. It examines various familiar cinematic subjects. The essays will be referenced to offer insights on how different characters have been used to display different social aspect of our society.
Benshoff, Harry M, and Sean Griffin. Queer Images: A History of Gay and Lesbian Film in America. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Print.
The journal is about the representation of bisexual, gay, lesbian and queer sexualities over a century. It explores the different ever-changing images of the queer characters on the screen, the work of various filmmakers and also cultural histories of the queer audiences. It thus offers a general overview of sexuality and film culture. The journal will be important in supporting my views of how films have affected sexuality and gender from different perceptive.
Rocchio, Vincent F. “Reel Racism.” Apr. 2018, doi:10.4324/9780429497742.
It is a peer-reviewed study that looks beyond the reflection media theories to examine the active participation of film in racism. It focuses on methods and frameworks in analyzing films for production of their meaning and how the meaning contributes to justifying and legitimizing violence based on race. It will aid in the process of analyzing some of the films that will be used to back my arguments.
Cloarec, Nicole, David Haigron, and Delphine Letort. Social Class on British and American Screens: Essays on Cinema and Television. , 2016. Print.
The book examines the two popular media from the 20th and 21st century that have directly shaped the representation of social status in the film. It explores different questions through the analysis of wide range of both American and British productions. It is thus helpful in exploring the relationship between American films and social classes.
Korgen, Kathleen Odell. “Multiracial Americans and Social Class.” 2010, doi:10.4324/9780203883730.
The book examines the two popular media from the 20th and 21st century that have directly shaped the representation of social status in the film. It explores different questions through the analysis of a wide range of both American and British productions. It is thus helpful in exploring the relationship between American films and social classes.
Ross, Steven J. Working-class Hollywood: Silent Film and the Shaping of Class in America. Princeton, N.J: Princenton University, 1998. Print.
study is about the rise of the working-class movement in the American media during the 20th century. It demonstrates how the filmmakers were more concerned with the conflict of social class during the silent era and compared to other periods. Also, it shows how the movies have aided people’s belief that the United States is a classless nation.