Belonging: Identity * Rosalind is disguised as Ganymede, and Celia as Aliena * During the Epilogue, Rosalind returns the audience to reality by stripping away not only the artifice of Ardenne, but her character as well * Celia and Rosalind are a perfect example of showcasing identity as their relationship is stronger than normal friends, and they both contribute to each other’s identity. * There is also physical identity that is present in the play, including Rosalind having a double identity as Ganymede. Ganymede represents strong homosexual connotations * Rosalind’s choice of alternative identities is significant. Ganymede is the cupbearer and beloved of Jove and is a standard symbol of homosexual love. In the context of the play, her choice of an alter ego contributes to a continuum of sexual possibilities.
A major theme that has been discussed in the literary community is the homoeroticism in the play. When read contemporarily, it can be argued that there is intentional homoeroticism or homosexuality. The issue is complicated further when one takes into account the way sexuality was viewed in the time the play was originally written and performed. Before delving into the relationships in The Twelfth Night, one must first examine the way that sex, sexuality, and gender were thought of and portrayed in Renaissance England. In his honors thesis, Leigh Bullion describes it perfectly: Sexuality in the early modern period was regarded very differently than it is in our culture.
Nancy Pineda. Marlen Delgado Vasquez February 21st 2013 Essay #1 Contemporary movies have changed the messages towards gender’s depictions in a more realistic perspective. Having a combination of both contemporary and traditional portrayals we often found a reasonable representation of our society. Of the many influences on how we view men and women, media are the most pervasive and one of the most powerful (Wood 31). The article: “Gendered Media: The influence of Media on Views of Gender” by Julia T. Wood affirms that media expresses the illustrations of sexes and these are distorted and stereotypical.
Bordo’s sense of humor and easy to relate style of writing makes her essay an interesting read and opens up the idea that men are starting to deal with being in the “sexual spotlight.” After reading this essay, I agree with Bordo’s argument. Men are entering a world of sexual critique. It is different than what we are accoustomed to. The introduction of men into a world of sexual critique and a constant gaze of desire from the opposite sex and, more importantly, the same sex, brought about many different evaluations and opinions. According to Bordo’s claims made in the essay, a man’s worth and pride are challenged with accusations that “real” men do not choose clothing that will enhance their appearance, do not look in a mirror, nor are they even supposed to know what a mirror looks like because each of these things would – stereotypically, of course – immediately turn a man gay.
‘Literary approaches to the contestation of hegemonic masculinity continue to possess agency, despite the fact that literature no longer occupies a dominant position in the cultural sphere’ (West, 2000). Discuss how two core texts challenge hegemonic constructions of masculinity? The concept of hegemonic masculinity was first proposed during a field study of social inequality, the project provided empirical evidence of the existence of multiple hierarchies in gender construction. It was understood as a pattern of practice and not just a set of role expectations. It became distinguished from other masculinities, more so the subordinate masculinities of previous studies.
Discuss the ways in which feminist theories have informed a contemporary understanding of media and gender. Consider at least two feminist perspectives in your answer. This essay will analyse various feminist media theories and explore their relevance with regard to our understanding and interpretation of contemporary media texts. Feminist media theories generally regard the media as being male dominated and examine gender inequality and its effects on media content and representation, “emphasising the important role of women in the media and the role of women in defining reality through media content” (Fourie, P. 2001). The development of feminism over time has seen many different feminist perspectives emerge such as liberal feminism, conservative feminism, radical feminism, socialist feminism, black feminism and lesbian feminism.
Sadaf Karim English Language & Literature ‘’Compare/ contrast how the female characters in Slum dog millionaire and Romeo and Juliet are used to enhance male power’’ The theme which has been chosen is the female characters within Romeo and Juliet and Slum dog millionaire. I have chosen to focus upon the main female characters to further explain and show how they are presented throughout both plays. The screenplay in Slum dog millionaire was written for a western audience; given that it was set in India may have had an influence on how it was written as they would want to present a genuine perception to the lifestyle within the Indian slum. Therefore, the Indian viewpoint on how female characters should act can be highly important; due to their traditional roles. Females were seen as the secondary carers for the family whom socialise within the home, whereas the males where the primary providers for the family (the breadwinners) who socialised outside the home.
In this case, feminism’s gender perspective was concerned with ensuring women’s contribution to the largely male-dominated discipline of international relations would no longer be ignored. Additionally and on a deeper level, adopting a gender perspective would also mean acknowledging that traditional concepts, theories and assumptions of understanding the world are gendered and masculine biased. In this essay, I will be analyzing specific tenets of feminism using Bryan Forbes’ 1975 science fiction thriller ‘The Stepford Wives’ based on Ira Levin’s 1972 novel of the same title. Firstly, I will give a brief plot summary of the film. This essay will then describe how certain scenes and interactions in the film, mirror that of the ever-sensitive relationship between feminists and international relations’ scholars.
How does Shakespeare upsetting the ‘traditional roles’ add to the play? How is the language supportive of this idea? Because Midsummer night’s dream was written during the renaissance by William Shakespeare, the play had a great deal of aspects that indicate how the relationships were between male and female back then. Although women were recognised more during the renaissance than during the middle ages, they still were treated unequally. There were a few female artists that flourished, but most of them were children of bigger ones.
Both the movie and the novel follow this basic plot, but of course the novel was more detailed. For the most part the movie was close to the book. New Moon is narrated in first person by Bella and has an obvious parallel with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet because even Bella recognizes that she is in danger of playing out history’s greatest romantic tragedy. Keeping Romeo and Juliet in the forefront of the readers mind actually helps the author build the tension for the climax of the story because we can all see the tragedy that is waiting to happen. There wasn’t much narration on what Bella was feeling internally.