An Unimaginable World: rey

E S S A Y N O T E S 2 // E S S A Y S T R U C T U R E & C O N T E N T

04:59

ESSAY STRUCTURE I. Introduction - What? - Why? II. Main Body a. Bechdel Test - find out if film in general can be seen as f...

04:59

ESSAY STRUCTURE

I. Introduction

- What?

- Why?

II. Main Body

a. Bechdel Test - find out if film in general can be seen as feminist

aa. problems/critiques of the test

b. Rey's portrayal

ba. she is the main character in the spotlight

bb. she is strong (not just physically though she fights Finn & Kylo Renn in combat, but also intelligent and many other things -> allowed to be as diverse in talents and characteristics as male heroes, -> she is no Mary Sue (Lantis, 2015)

bc. she has weaknesses asks for help

bd. not overly sexualised (appearance, not a love interest, comparison with Leia)

be. she is equal (men she surrounds herself with treat her with respect, does not act as representative for her entire gender, McDougall, 2013)

c. Branding and merchandising

ca. Poster

cb. Star Wars toys (Hasbro) and #whereisRey

III. Conclusion

- Rey is a feminist role model, not because she's strong, but she embodies what feminism wants: equality

22/02/16 // P O S T E R S U B M I S S I O N

22:27

03/02/16 // P O S T E R D E S I G N

17:16

Draft 1 When starting to think about the design and layout I wanted my poster about my cultural text 'Feminism in Star Wars: The F...

17:16

Draft 1

When starting to think about the design and layout I wanted my poster about my cultural text 'Feminism in Star Wars: The Force Awakens' to have I instantly knew two things I wanted it to have:

1) A relatively simple, minimalistic design that wouldn't distract too much from the content while still provoking interest.

2) A picture of Rey since she was my main focus in my analysis.

A quick Google image search left me with two pictures I wanted to include.

from http://www.vogue.com/13380323/star-wars-hair-daisy-ridley-rey-triple-bun/

from http://www.adweek.com/prnewser/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2015/10/SW-THE-FORCE-AWAKENS.jpg

I experimented with a few things until I had two relatively similar but different drafts.

Both include the same photo of Rey and the title, have a black background, colour scheme, etc. but in the end it all came down on how I wanted it to look.

I asked myself: Do I want it to look like the Action Sci-Fi film it is or do I want to focus on my analysis of the female and use more female fonts?
I chose the ladder since I felt it agreed more with Rey's character.

C O N S I D E R I N G A C U L T U R A L T E X T

16:41

After Seminar One I considered two cultural texts for my analysis. I knew I was very interested in gender, feminism and identity and tried ...

16:41

After Seminar One I considered two cultural texts for my analysis. I knew I was very interested in gender, feminism and identity and tried to find connections to my other interests to find a suitable subject matter.

I recently watched the new Star Wars film and remember being impressed with their change in direction when it comes to gender roles and stereotypes as well as ethnicity. Since I have only watched the film twice so far, I asked myself if a closer look would support my first impression or if there was much more to find in the films than I first noticed.

Since I'm currently researching into fashion photography as an industry for one of my other modules I also thought of Vogue Magazine and how it is a magazine primarily made for women and yet can be accused of objectifying them. I wondered if I could find any proof that it isn't what it seems, especially when thinking of John Berger's famous quote 'Men act, women appear.'.

I was more intrigued by possibly proving myself wrong and seeing in how far specific social constructs such as gender roles and white-normativity have influenced my views and opinions and decided to analyse Rey's representation in 'Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens'.

We were giving a few questions and important points to keep in mind while looking at and choosing a cultural texts, so I went ahead and tried to answer as many as possible with my choice in mind.

Looking at a ‘cultural text’ in context:

• Consider who made/produced it, and when and where it was produced/made.
J.J. Abrams, USA, 2015
It's a new story set within the old Star Wars universe from George Lucas's six films (1977-2005).

• Consider the site or space in which it is viewed/consumed. Is there an intended audience?
Right now it is viewed in cinemas around the world and will move on to home appliances such as TVs and computers soon enough. The intended audience is fans of the old films as well as possible new fans of all ages and generations.

• How does the context impact upon the ways in which we ‘read’/understand the ‘cultural text’?
We instantly compare the new film to George Lucas's original six, especially when it comes to reappearing characters, concepts, settings and storylines. This instinctive comparison makes the progress of female protagonists in film much more obvious.

Reading a ‘cultural’ text:

Consider which theories, themes or ideas from the lecture programme come to mind when looking at this ‘cultural text’?

John Berger, Ways of Seeing - I'd like to put his words 'Men act, women appear' to a test in the context of this film
Judith Butler, Gender Troubles - Gender as a performance?
Masculine/Feminine are taught behaviour codes - Rey as typically feminine/masculine?
Issues of power: Men over women: Relationship between Rey and the men around her (Finn, Han Solo, Kylo Ren?)

Think about specific lectures that you could talk about in relation to this ‘cultural text’

Intersectional Self

For your next seminar:

Locate and peruse journal articles, books and book chapters relevant to your area of interest, and do the following…

Find one journal article and one book/book chapter that either deals directly with your ‘cultural text’ itself or with themes that you think are relevant to your ‘cultural text’/its maker or producer.