Prompt 6: Gender Roles In Movies

    From Disney princesses to superhero movies, the common gender roles have persistently been this: the hero saves the damsel in distress. This is seen in the 2007 movie Spider-Man 3, where Tobey Maguire’s Spiderman saves Gwen Stacy from falling off a building.  

    This scene has a lot of gender roles engraved into it. Starting off, if you look closely, all officers including the chief, the crane worker, all people in the office except the models, and both photographers were all men. Some might say that it is a coincidence, but I would argue that it is a common gender stereotype that men hold all traditional job positions while women are left to ‘feminine’ and objectifying occupations such as modeling. Before you say that modeling is about being objectifying and the whole point is to attract customers, I’d like you to have some self-reflection about the scene we are given. We have Gwen Stacy and two other women next to a copier dressed in tight clothing, mostly covered except for the deep, unnecessary V-neck that shows half of Gwen’s chest surrounded by bored men sitting at tables. This modeling shoot seems to suggest some kind of weird sexual office fantasy as Gwen is sitting on top of the printer while men around her ‘working’ seem to daydream about something else. The gender roles are clear, men are here to work away and daydream about distractions, and women are here to be the distraction and to be the muse.

    Next, we have the average damsel in distress scene. The building under Gwen gives out and she is left falling to her death until Spiderman comes to save her. Lots of screaming, lots of heroic music. You get the gist. Man saves defenseless woman. Woman falls in love with man. It’s not enough that Spiderman saved her, Gwen has also managed to be in a whimsical daze. She can’t believe that anyone could do such a thing. I probably could. Give me some superpowers, call me a hero, and put me in coach. This gender role is strengthened by the scene where Spiderman kisses Gwen.

    The hero ‘always’ gets the girl because the gender roles is that after being saved the girl falls in love with the person who saved her life. I guess saying thank you and paying for someone’s dinner isn’t enough, you also have to forget about your boyfriend and instantly fall in love with someone you don’t even know the name of. Pressured by a crowd, Spiderman and Gwen share a kiss. Though neither seemed reluctant about it, I would still consider this a norm. Hero saves the girl, girl thanks him with a kiss. After all what’s more appropriate for thanking someone that saved your life than by offering them your body?

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