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| Ashley Fink (Lauren Zizes on Glee) |
It should not have to come down to a TV show using a plump girl to show diversity because in reality, not all women are skinny like Victoria's Secret models. But movies and TV shows have portrayed that upon their viewers with the types of actresses they use.
Take, for example, the plain-looking Katniss Everdeen on Hunger Games (again, I'm using my wife as a cop-out here). Katniss comes from an outcast region of the country and is not supposed to be what many consider "sexy". She wears no make-up and cares very little about how she looks. If you read the book, you probably don't imagine her to be a highly attractive person. The same goes for Hermione Granger on the Harry Potter series. Did anybody, when reading the books, imagine Hermione the same way she is portrayed in the movies? I know I didn't. But of course, these women characters are considered sexy when they are put on the big screen.
On the other hand, we see actors like Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Kevin James, Jonah Hill, Drew Carey, etc. These male actors are well known and play prominent roles in movies and TV shows but they are not the least bit attractive (at least from my heterosexual perspective).
So there are two questions to this article:
1. Are there any "unattractive" women that play prominent roles in movies and TV?
2. Why is it that women in the media are expected to look "sexy" while men are not as pressured? If you don't think they are, why not?
14 comments:
1) In order to look up unattractive leading actresses- I typed in Unactactive famous actresses- google actually changed my search assuming I meant "attractive famous actresses". That answers the question! I spent another five minutes searching through sites that listed actresses- but none of them were stars, mostly D-list.
2) I sadly have to agree that this goes deep into the gender codes that are common throughout many societies. Winston Churchill got a pretty wife, and we all have seen a really attractive girl with a guy, that some of the other guys are saying, "how did he get her?" Sometimes girls are attracted to power, confidence, money, athleticism, intelligence, but in general guys are so shallow we base our decision first off physical attraction, and for the media to sell to men they continue to perpetuate that view by a disproportionate of perfectly make-up'd women with toned bodies.
1.) I think there are several unattractive women that play prominent roles in move and TV. Take Sue Sylvester on Glee, Amy Pohler on Parks and Recreation, Roseanne on Roseanne, Tilda Winston in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Helena Bonham in Harry Potter, Rebel Wilson in Pitch Perfect and the list could go on. These are all lead women who would not be described as beautiful sex bombs by any means. I think the women are expected to be attractive and sexy in movies because that is often what men enjoy. However, the women listed above are also very successful and portray different roles. But I think the same is expected for men in a lot of movie and TV roles. Take Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Orlando Bloom, Ryan Reynolds etc, these men are seen as extremely attractive sexy men and they have gotten very famous by filling those roles. But there are also those men such as Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill etc who match the women at the top because they fill different roles than the sexy male leads. I think there are the same amount of sexy men as sexy women in the media because everyone likes that for certain roles but beyond that, there are also out of the box, less attractive men and women who fill DIFFERENT roles but are equally as successful.
1. First off I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A person could be the most attractive person to somebody and the most unattractive person to somebody else. But with that being said I think there are plenty of successful female actresses who are "unattractive." Whoopi Goldberg, Cher, Barbara Streisand, Amy Winehouse... I'm sure you could come up with your own list.
2. Women are expected to be attractive and sexy because that is what our society wants to see. We live in a world if things are working out we don't keep them around. If sex didn't sell people wouldn't be selling it.
1. I honestly don't watch a lot of T.V. or movies, so I don't actually know any actors by name.
2. I pointed out in class that in most mammals, the opposite is actually true--it's the male that must make himself attractive to the female because, frankly, he's expendable, and he needs to do something to distinguish himself from among the competition. It's ultimately the female that calls the shots. I think the reason why we do this backward in human society dates back to our historical behavior toward women--men were dominant, and men called the shots, because women were property. The only way a woman had any say in the matter is if she could make herself attractive to the kind of man she wanted to be with. What we see today is the lingering aftermath of that outdated tradition.
1) The only woman I can think of off the top of my head that I personally don't find attractive is Drew Barrymore. Lately she hasn't really been all that famous, however she has been in a ton of movies and everyone knows who she is. I personally can't stand her or any of the movies she has been in.
2) I have to agree with pretty much everyone here. I think that the fact that most women have to be sexy is because of the deep root of gender roles. However, I believe that that is beginning to change. You are starting to see more famous actors and actresses that are not what you would consider "sexy". But unfortunately there isn't a complete change here because these people aren't playing the "sexy" role in films. They are playing more comedic roles.
I think the entertainment industry has shifted a lot away from the "ideal" woman look. The sexy and perfect image is still there but it is now no longer a requirement for women in order to become successful in the industry. For example, Rebel Wilson, popularly known recently as Fat Amy. Beloved by all, but she is not nearly the size of actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow. I think that it's not just women in the media but in general, it is more expected that females look the part of trophy housewives. I also think that it is even more expected for everyday women to look the part than women in the media.
There is no unattractive women that play main roles and that's just the way it is. People both male and female want to see sexy women.
Its true women have more pressure to look sexy and attractive. However I believe men have some sort of pressure but not as much as women. For example in young adult tv shows men and women both have to be good looking, for example, 90210, gossip girl,etc.
Some guys are not physically attractive in some films and that only because it's not a requirement, however women need to look sexy in Hollywood majority of the time that's the only way they will make it.
This make me think of the chris rock bit we watched in class. There is a part where he talks about how he lives next to a dentist and how someday he wants black people to just be mediocre and succeed like that.
I feel the same way about actresses outside of the stereotype. These actresses have to be extremely funny or thats it. there is no room for not normal in hollywood.
I think there are actresses that are less attractive than others, but who is to say what qualifies as attractive? One of my favorite actresses is Melissa McCarthy because I think she is HILARIOUS. I would consider her to be somewhat famous, but the thing that is interesting to me, is that she always plays similar characters and is known for her humor. I cannot think of any actresses off the top of my head that play main roles in movies and are neither funny nor attractive. I think this trend is seen in male actors as well. Many of the less attractive men are known more for playing the "funny role" than the superhero-type roles. I think a pressure on male actors to be attractive does exist, but it is true that it is much more for women. I think it goes back to what we discussed in class about gender roles, women in general have a higher expectation when it comes to physical appearance and that is reflected in the entertainment industry as well.
1) The only unattractive women that I know of in the entertainment business are comedians. So you can be pretty or funny.
2) This idea continues, to be in the entertainment business you have to be well... entertaining. So more people are entertained by a pretty women providing an average performance, than an average girl playing a very convincing role. Men are often entertaining in comedic or violent roles, so there is less of a focus on looks.
Dan Johns...
1. Generally, I don't think that unattractive, or less attractive women make it to the lime light in movies/film. If they do, I think they usually get a pretty serious makeover first, or they get touched up enough after to make them pretty - not that difficult to do with today's technology. Most of the women that play prominent roles are attractive, which is at least part of the reason they got there.
2. As with pretty much everything we discussed in class this week - women are simply held to a higher standard when it comes to physical appearance in our society/culture. It's just they way that things have come to be. If our culture accepts unattractive men in real life, than it is more likely to expect them on center-stage as well.
1. I think the majority of leading roles are played by attractive women. If the woman is just an average looking person I feel like they work with her make up and hair and clothing to make her seem appealing. Producers pick the image of their movie or television show and fill in actresses to fit that need. Unless the woman plays a role that needs an unattractive person, producers find woman that are beautiful.
I also think that we automatically view actresses as beautiful. Maybe they wouldn't stand out in a crowd off the TV screen, but because they are in a movie or a TV show, they automatically view them as good looking or better because of what they do.
2. I think that women are under much more pressure than men to look beautiful. I think that we are hard on ourselves if we don't look a certain way because of what the media portrays. I also think this pressure can come from men. Men have expectations, and even if they say they don't it is talked about all the time. Men point out attractive women and desire after them. This then causes us to look at ourselves and how we fail to qualify in those areas. THis can cause self-esteem problems and issues with self worth. Society has sadly become this way and I don't know if it will ever change.
Obviously most of the women that are featured in major roles are really pretty women. In fact, instead of just getting a truly unattractive female actor for the lead role of monster (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340855/) the makeup people spent on average spending two hours a day making Charlize Theron unattractive.
Women really are expected to pay more attention to their looks and men are traditionally expected to pay more attention to being able to provide. It's a sad reality in the world that we live in and I dream for the day that both women and men are treated as equals in all facets while still respecting our biological gender differences.
1) Well there is that one TV show with Melissa Ann McCarthy in the TV show Mike and Molly. She is the leading role and she is hilarious.
2) Even though that actress is in a lead role, the problem is that show is not that big. I feel in movies and big TV shows that actress still needs to be attractive because people want to live in this ideal world that they have portrayed in their heads.
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