On Female Images In The FIlm Sex And The City From The Perspective Of Feminist Film Theory

It is universally acknowledged that the media has already become an indispensable part of people's daily lives, providing us with both knowledge and entertainment. Since the media has been an influential portion in human beings'advancement, it is imperative to probe into its related products. As a powerful means of mass media and an essential source of popular entertainment, the cinema deserves people's sufficient concern.The feminist film theory which is derived in 1970s is a blend of studies on film and feminism theories. Regarded as a constructed world, the film is studied the female identity and as a result, it demonstrates the fact that the female images on the big screen are produced by male desire. Some theorists of feminism film studies argue that it is necessary to break with illusionism from the position of detachment, liberating women from being oppressed and controlled by male desire.As a film with the female-centered story, Sex and the City is hotly discussed recently. Although this film represents seemingly independent women, they are still obedient to the rules of male desire; they are still offering simple role models of attractive and obedient women who are affected by male expectations. By analyzing the female images in the film from the angle of feminist film theories, the dissertation argues that the female images in this film are oppressed, sexually objectified and stereotyped by the patriarchal ideology.The main body of this paper consists of three chapters. Chapter one explores the relationships between heroines and male characters in the film by analyzing inferior female talk to superior male talk. This chapter focuses on displaying that the men strive to hold the power to talk in an aim to satisfy their own desire, making women accept their ideas. Chapter two discloses how the female images are subjected to male gaze by presenting women sexy body and dress-up. And eventually proves the female images are constructed catering to the desire of male visual. In chapter three the writer does the case study by specifying the stereotypical images of female characters from the perspective of construction of female role in male dominant culture.