Analyse how representations of males and females differs through male gaze and female gaze. E.g. the comparison between male and female superheroes, and what is perceived to be the female gaze, e.g. perceptions of very muscular superheroes.
The very premise of these gendered cinematic gazes came from the landmark 1975 essay by Laura Mulvey, "Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema" (https://www.asu.edu/courses/fms504/total-readings/mulvey-visualpleasure.pdf). This would be necessary to cite in the final article for two reasons: 1) to ensure that the author has a thorough understanding of the theoretical concept/terminology in order to discuss it sufficiently; 2) to ensure that the final product not just be a rehash of her now forty-two year old argument. If there has been a noticeable shift in gaze in recent cinema, I recommend that be made the article's focus. – ProtoCanon8 years ago
This could be fascinating. It would be very important to note that the playing field isn't level in terms of the male/female gaze. What gets presented as "catering to the female gaze" is often just a male power fantasy which is assumed to appeal to women for superficial reasons (Superman, Wolverine, Sherlock, eg - not that these men do no appeal to women, but to draw a line between Superman and Harley Quinn would be a gross false equivalence). Additionally, films which are marketed squarely at women are often produced and directed by men (look at the directors of some of the most famous chick flicks of the last decade). – Cat8 years ago
Male dominance for long has suppressed the creative medium into an elaborate masculine fantasy. It is high time that the gender divide must end. Was wanting someone experienced to write about this for a long time. – Vishnu Unnithan8 years ago
As an introvert, I can't help but think about my hidden talents and gifts. And as an advent comic book reader I couldn't help to review old comics like Jean Grey from X-men, The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, and Batman. I'm sure I'm missing quite a few other heroes, but the connections are there and could be analzyed a bit further. For instance, how introverted superheroes are extremely sensitive, intelleigent, powerful, and, potentially, deadly beings/mutants. These superheroes can also encourage people who don't necessarily enjoy being social that they can explore and utilize their gifts and/or talents and should contribute these 'powers' to the greater society.
An extremely interesting topic. It's intriguing to wonder how a hero can be quite introverted, and have a greater effect on the surrounding world as well. It's a point to make that introverted characters may have extroverted personas, kind of like mask or 'another identity' that masks their inner one. Could make them ambiverts or really great actors. I'd want to explore the dynamics of lesser-known heroes as well. – HollyDavidson8 years ago
Essentially, most superheroes are introverts in their public lives in order for them to be able to maintain a balance between their multiple roles. A good topic which would make for an interesting read. – Vishnu Unnithan8 years ago
Extractor. Architect. Forger. Chemist. Christopher Nolan's transposition of recognisable careers into his film demonstrates how successful world-building can be founded upon the subversion of respectable professions into elements of a criminal network. While casual viewers may not realise these terms are associated with each character in the film, the components that make each one recognisable or relatable are integral to the overall plot. Does each 'profession' occupied by these characters show a darker side of these common, everyday jobs?
Wonderful topic! It would be great to have an additional insight into what was essentially a path-breaking complex film. – Vishnu Unnithan8 years ago
Whereas piracy seems to have been effectively policed in other western countries, Australia just can't seem to get it under control. In a time when social media makes spoilers too accessible, is it surprising that Australia remains one of the hotspots for illegal downloading. Furthermore, in today's day and age, is there any reason that movies would be released at a later time in Australia than they would be in other countries?
There's definitely room in here for somebody to talk about licensing fees. Technology has evolved too fast for laws to keep up, and the people who have the power to remedy the issue don't know how. This could be a really interesting topic to cover - I know i'd like to read about it. – smoldoggo8 years ago
Great topic suggestion. Suggest looking at current legislation at the Commonwealth Level, what are the gaps, what are other countries doing to combat this etc. – mattcarlin8 years ago
It might also be interesting to balance this subject with a mention of the obscene level of profit made by Hollywood, surely an incentive for many to illegally download media. – Amyus8 years ago
Such an interesting topic to address, definitely worth the amount of research! (it would need a lot to establish a reputable stance on it) – JulieCMillay8 years ago
There are two kinds of guardians of the galaxy. The first is portrayed in the movie with Starlord, Gamorra, Groot and Rocket. The other guardians are portrayed in the game Destiny. Memes have been circulated on social media lately hypothesising which group of guardians are the coolest. Destiny, you and a fire team take on hoards of enemies and constantly take on boss levels to push back the darkness and restore the travellers light. In the movie, a band of four misfits come together to stop tyrants from taking over or destroying the galaxy. A critical reflection of our humanistic desire for good to overcome evil – who would you prefer to fight this battle for you?
Filmmaking is a business. Hollywood knows that, and so does the general population. For a long time, Hollywood has been ensuring guaranteed hits by extending already existing popular franchises. This would traditionally take the form of a sequel like Die Hard 2; Mad Max 2; Terminator 2 (you get where I am going with this), but in recent years there has been a number of prequels cropping up: Fantastic Beasts, Star Wars, Terminator, Star Trek (both the new films and the upcoming television series). This article would explore the idea of why Hollywood thinks prequels are such a marketable storytelling device? Is it because people love throwbacks and little Easter eggs? Do we love a good origin story? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Yes! I'm very excited for this topic. Part of me wonders if prequels aren't the new sequels. Perhaps the film industry is counting on our nostalgia for popular franchises to make more money. Or perhaps people feel like the original film starting in the wrong place. Maybe we simply have unanswered questions that could only be remedied by a prequel. I'm curious to see what people think! – ReidaBookman8 years ago
A very interesting topic! Are audiences sick of prequels, because they view them as resulting from a lack of creativity in Hollywood? Numerous discussions I've had with viewers of 'The Original Content' have actually commented on the fact that they struggle to enjoy prequels because they feel it takes away from the initial cast or narrative. I think individual enjoyment of 'the prequel' is generational, but I'm fascinated to see what you think! – Madi8 years ago
We now live in a post-Wonder Woman live-action film world, and it's glorious. However, Wonder Woman cinematographer Matt Jensen revealed in a recent interview that the now-iconic No Man's Land scene almost didn't make the cut. What do you think about that? What effect did that scene have on you? (Personally, I've watched the film four times now, and I still cry every time I watch that scene. I come out of the theatre wanting to flip cars!!!)
This is an amazing piece of film. It has amazing music and it plays a huge role in Wonder Woman's development as a hero! – Sean Gadus8 years ago
If someone from film would take it on, perhaps. I'm not sure what it does aesthetically or narratively. That's not to say it doesn't have precisely the sort of emotional impact or resonance with viewers you describe, of course. Whether someone could write a tenable essay on affect in that scene is questionable, I think. I'm confident someone could write an essay deconstructing the scene technically. – Paul A. Crutcher8 years ago
The scene can be analyzed through the lens of how difficult it is for women to express themselves publicly. Since this movie is the first superhero blockbuster with a female lead (not counting Catwoman) and the first to be directed by a woman, you can go into some detail on Patty Jenkins and her process making the film. Or even analyze how Wonder Woman proves to her comrades, and the audience, that she is a bonafide superhero who could help end the war if given the opportunity to fight in the front lines. – Rico8 years ago
Wonder Woman was a brave, much-needed and very important film for the sexist male chauvinist society of our times. – Vishnu Unnithan8 years ago
In the last few years there have been an influx of superhero movies and they have subsequently dominated the box office. The pro-comic book inspired attitude is fairly recent but not necessarily new in terms of fandom. Things like comic-con have been going on for years, but lately they taken taken on epic proportions. Why our society crave and eat up the classic comic hero's journey again and again and again?
Yes, they are but I love them anyway. – Munjeera8 years ago
Yes, the are, but I mostly dislike them anyway. An exception is the new Wonder Woman movie, which my daughter and I enjoyed quite a bit.
– Ben Hufbauer8 years ago
Hi Ben, What about Captain America: Winter Soldier? You can't hate Captain America can you? What about Black Panther? I am waiting with bated breath for BP. The music from the trailer sounds awesome. The best soundtrack yet I am guessing. – Munjeera8 years ago
Perhaps you could discuss history f superhero fandoms and the fandoms about the superhero franchises generally. – J.D. Jankowski8 years ago
They're the popular way to tell the heroes journey. They're importance varies from character to character, but at the very least they'll have a solid core emotional story to them. They can be pretty simple as well. Ant-man has a nice father daughter theme in it. The Sam Raimi Spider-man films have "with great power comes great responsibility" down to a t. Also, if you're just talking about their monetary success, it's pretty simple: kids. – KyleThomson8 years ago
Quite broad. As others have noted, the big-ticket superheroes today have disparate origins, purposes, and journeys. The "superhero" movie subgenre might deserve some questions, but whoever wanted to tackle the questions would need to establish the themes common to the superhero journey and the outliers to those themes. That is, do *Deadpool,* *Guardians of the Galazy Vol. 2,* and *Wonder Woman* offer parallel themes? If so, what are they? – Paul A. Crutcher8 years ago
I think we have become obsessed with superheroes because we lack real heroes. Heroes in the past have fallen and it seems as if there is a disappointed generation out there. Also, these are scary times. Is it any wonder we take solace in the idea that someone will rescue us from ourselves? – Munjeera8 years ago
Every new interpretation, every re watch and every new instalment brings with it excitement, apprehension and familiarity. whats wrong with craving a bit of hope, humour and strength? – miaraszewski8 years ago
Superhero movies can be considered to be over the top and overdone. But before applying a binary yes no response to this questions, I think it would be helpful to examine this from a different paradigm. If we look at the geo-political state of the world over the last 15-20 years, things have been rapidly declining. Superhero movies offer what the real world cannot - a form of escapism that is affordable, relatable and has generated a lot of buy-in from fandom the world over. Lets be honest, we have all wished for some type of supernatural ability or power at some point in our lives to help us deal with a real world issue we were dealing with in the hopes that it would solve the problem and we would emerge victorious. We have all fantasied and wished for it at some point. Superhero movies are an extension of that inherent wish/fantasy. It is appealing to us to see average people go through a transition of some kind (spider bite/gamma radiation exposure/ being born on another planet/ or a genius tech billionaire) and able to overcome adversity of all types. – mattcarlin8 years ago
Not at all! Movies such as superhero movies, activates our imagination to believe the most unimaginable scenarios. For the duration of that movie, we forget the rules of reality and get absorbed in another world, where we are not limited by our human potential. We are indeed able to explore feeling extraordinary. – poojanair8 years ago
Superhero movies to me do not activate the imagination. Rather they are are a reinforcement of everything that is wrong with the world (fictional or not). This is why most superhero movies are being set in the modern real world. Granted, movies like batman etc who make up their own dystopian world are the exception, but look at captain america and the fact it was set it WW2 their battle with hydra. This is drawing an abstract parallel to the political state of Germany and Europe at the time. Then fast forward to modern day, we are still fighting racists, biggots and other closed minded people. Superpower or no, this still has the ability to be subversive and abusive to people. – mattcarlin8 years ago
I gave up on superhero movies after CA:Civil War. Gone are the good old days of old where we had one Batman/Spidey film every 2-3 years. – Vishnu Unnithan8 years ago
Well, I have heard about the marvel comics that they are going to introduce more characters in their upcoming movies and I think it would be fun for super hero lover. – sarahharvey7 years ago
