Cultural Codes, Stereotypes and Feminism
What is Cultural Code: Cultural code defines a set of images that are associated with a particular set of stereotypes in our minds. This is sort of cultural unconscious, which is hidden even from our own understanding, but is also seen in our actions. The cultural codes of a nation help to understand the behavioural responses characteristic of that nation's citizens.
My stereotype:
‘Golf is for old, posh, rich men.’
This stereotype is mainly Negative as from a perspective of someone like myself who is only 16 but plays golf it can be offensive and judgmental. However from someone who is and old rich man this can be positive and seen as a compliment.
Examples of Stereotypes:
Race,
Gender,
Ethnicity,
Age,
Sexuality,
Cultural/ social group.
The ‘GAMER’ Stereotype:
Stays inside,
Has pasty white skin,
Loves Doritos and Mountain Dew, Junk food in general,
Smells funny,
Doesn’t wash his clothes,
Gets angry at “nerdy” things – Lore, Mistakes,
Loves Memes,
Has no Social Skills,
Doesn’t exercise,
Expresses a lot of obnoxious opinions - PC MASTER RACE, COD is for noobs. Console Peasant, PewDiePie is hilarious, he’s just joking.
Positives and Negative Stereotypes:
Positive Negative
Oxford Graduate, Women Drivers,
The German work ethic and natural discipline, ‘Mincer’
Superman/ Captain America, Working Class characters, especially
Selfless mothers, ‘Shameless’,
Heroic Soldiers. Asylum Seekers,
Hoodies.
Positive stereotype is a positive assumption made about someone based on their looks, race, social group, economic stability or gender. For example, the common belief that women are more nurturing than men is a positive stereotype. Another example is that all Italians are great cooks and lovers.
Negative Stereotype is a stereotype (widely held belief) about an individual or group which displays them in a poor light and is normally entirely unrepresentative of the actual situation.
Advantages vs Disadvantages of stereotype:
One advantage of a stereotype is that it enables us to respond rapidly to situations because we may have had a similar experience before.
One disadvantage is that it makes us ignore differences between individuals; therefore we think things about people that might not be true (i.e. make generalizations).
Cultural Expectations:
Traditionally and genetically
Women carry and give birth to children, they are usually smaller in size and stature than men and therefore benefit from having someone to protect them, usually a man.
Men tend to be bigger and stronger than women, hence they fitted into the role of protector and hunter gatherer.
These traditional and genetic differences between the sexes forged ‘roles’ that were accepted as normal and became part of our idea of what was right and correct (a set of accepted ideals/ideas is called an ideology)
These ideologies were deeply ingrained in societies across the world by the time the media came along, and the Media then took those ideologies and perpetuated them further. (spread the message)
Patriarchal Society:
Patriarchal Society is a society controlled and run by men.
In a patriarchal society, Men are traditionally in the roles of breadwinner, provider and protector.
In a patriarchal society, Women are traditionally in the roles of wife, mother, caregiver for the whole family.
These roles marginalize males and females and keep them in boxes, rather than letting them be who they want to be and do what they want to do.
In a patriarchal society, Men dictate the rules and have the power to keep things the way they are. Therefore, Men are more powerful than women and that Men are the ones doing the ‘looking’.
Because Patriarchal society was the norm in most countries around the world (because of our traditional gender roles) this created and perpetuated cultural expectations.
Key Theorist – Laura Mulvey:
Feminist Film Theorist
Responsible for writing the important essay paper – ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.’ (1989)
Audience Positioning – the audience is being positioned to view events from a certain perspective (Mulvey argues that this is from the perspective of a white male – because most film directors were white and male)
Vantage Point:
Mulvey argues that representation is a construction that we view from a certain vantage point or perspective. She called this ‘The Gaze’. (1975)
Mulvey says that women have learned to see themselves as being ‘looked at’ (This is apparent in many media texts, especially the ‘Carry On’ Films)
Mulvey argues that women have always been looked at, even before the Media as we now know it was born.
-Through Classical Art,
-Patriarchal society,
-Cultural expectations,
-Finally – Hollywood Cinema.
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