Compare and Contrast

Compare and Contrast Essay

The portrayal of women and men in contemporary movies , videos , and TV shows often reflects the traditional gender roles still at work in society . A woman is a man 's friend , hopefully loyal and strong enough to support the man in most situations , but restricted to a supportive rather than active role . A man , on the contrary , is the active force the achiever . Sometimes the woman will break this conventional boundary to demonstrate her own wit and strength . In addition , the traditional perception of a woman as sex

object still shows in contemporary productions

In many movies , women are still depicted in conventional supporting roles , where their main function as heroines is to support their men in their brave adventures and endeavors . Women 's role is not portrayed as unimportant however , while men fight and struggle , the woman most typically remains on the sidelines , and the decisions , too , are often made by men . For instance , in Pearl Harbor (2001 , Nurse Evelyn Johnson portrayed by Kate Beckinsale is affected both by destiny and the dispute of two men who quarrel over her . While men fight in the war , she stays in the hospital , waiting for destiny to turn her life one way or another . Ultimately , she stays with the winner - the one who survives in the battle . Characteristic is the fact that two men are in dispute over a woman who seems to be something like a possession that they cannot divide between themselves . This reminds one of the ancient drive by men to take hold of a woman as a treasured resource . Although the three main characters all demonstrate strong characters , the men nevertheless handle more responsibility

However , some producers choose to portray women in unexpected roles that show their ability to compete with men in the same occupations that were considered traditionally male . In such cases , women are shown by directors to rival and even exceed men with courage , intelligence , and will power . An interesting example is the recent movie Bandidas (2006 in which two Mexican girls effectively oppose the `bad guys ' taking a very anti-feminine route to do so - by robbing banks . The two girls who hardly know how to shoot by some mysterious force have good luck to rob one bank after another . They finally get assisted by the goofy policeman Quentin Cooke , but he looks a little weak in comparison to the passionate heroines . A woman is here shown to be no less successful than man in the most threatening assignments , however , it seems that the producers in such movies are exploiting gender to attract attention Thus , were the main characters in Bandidas men , it would have been a trivial Western , and introducing women as characters does add a new flavour

Finally , women are still portrayed as sex objects . Although this does happen to men as well , but for women it is almost a must . An ugly male character has far more chances than an ugly female , a type still shunned by...