Born Anna Mae Bullock always had a special voice. Soon after arriving in St. Louis to live with the mother who had walked out when she was small, the now teenage Anna soon attracts the attention of pop group leader Ike Turner. She becomes the band's singer, his wife, and mother to his children - not all hers. In love with Ike and determined not to leave in the way her mother had, she finds herself the target of increasing violence from her unstable husband who can't see who is making the band such a success

Tina had many struggles in her like she was abused Ike and abandon by her mother and father so she was looking for love in Ike, she seen him as a leader who was controlling. Tina want to sing so badly the so put up with the abuse for many years.

The women in this film were used are sex objects to sell music. The clothes they wore help to draw men to the concerts the dance step were sexually exotic.

After Tina got tired of being abuse she looked to a spiritual power to help pull her from the abuse. She started to taking charge of her sing and fought back that when she started her new life. This was a positive start to a new life: stepping out on own her making a life without the man who was abusing her. Writing song for herself believing in herself

The best part of the movie was in the limousine when Ike hit her and she started to hit and kick him back I was clapping and yelling “YOU GO GIRL.”

Yes this is a positive film. Because she finally stop taking the abuse and stepped out on her own. It she that anyone who is being abused can take back their life and live.

www.officialtina.com

Melinda Scott WS200

Blog#4

Willie Gibson

The film is about a group of four young African American women living in south central Los Angeles. Each comes from a modest somewhat poor family life living in a poor neighborhood, where drugs and gang violence are prevalent. The frustration of trying to live according to the social rules seems to get them nowhere, so the women decide to rob banks as a way to attain financial success, get back at society and take charge of their lives. Each character goes through some type of adverse situation that requires the need for money or revenge.

The film addresses gender by presenting these women as attractive and strong charactered women that struggle with the conflicting duality of acceptable social patriarchal female behavior and a more rebellious feminist behavior. This is shown through the way they interact with men in a more submissive manner, using there femininity to attain money, favors and power. Their behavior is then portrayed as being more masculine amongst themselves with the use of vulgar language and physical violence. I think it gives females a positive and empowering image by showing the ability to manipulate and control in order to attain the things that the women desire.

I feel that the film could be viewed as a feminist film because of the clear presentation of the struggles that women are forced to deal with in a patriarchal society. It then shows how these women overcame their adversity and persevered the dominance of the patriarchy.

I enjoyed the film for the perspective that it brought to me about some of the many scenarios of sexism that women are faced with. I liked how the women were able to be strong and aggressive, while maintaining their femininity. In my own family I have women that reminded me of some of the characters. The strength and ability to fight to overcome adverse situations is something that I could identify with and something that I am accustomed to seeing.

To learn more about this film go to the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zPZdxojbpc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_It_Off
http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/18/1618/summary.php

A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own is based on the real lives of professional women baseball players during World War II. The movies main characters include Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna, and Tom Hanks. The movie begins as the sports industry sees Americans longing for their favorite past time, baseball, during WWII. Since the men are at war sport executives decided to recruit women to play baseball professionally to help aid in the depression of Americans and the lost revenues of the baseball empire.
Women however are recruited not only on their athletic ability but their physical appearance. The movie takes you the journey of two sisters who join the Rockford Peaches baseball team. It shows the journey of these women athletes and the struggles they face having husbands at war, sibling rivalry, and overcoming the stereotypes that women face in professional sports.

Gender Issues:
This film addresses gender in a contradictory manner. They portray these women as athletes with the abilities of men. However, the emphasis placed on physical beauty (for example the recruiter almost turning down an extremely talented player due to his opinion of her lack of beauty) and the ‘skimpy’ uniforms make the gender divide between women and men in baseball apparent.

Female Representation:
Women are also represented in a contradictory manner in this film. They are tough and they endure bruises and emotional pain that the game and the war put on them. They are tough, like men are portrayed to be in our patriarchal society. The emphasis placed on physical beauty though almost makes the women seem objectified in a sense. The character Madonna plays makes this most obvious.
Another notable female representation that I find a little disturbing is when Tom Hanks who plays the role of the coach for the Rockford Peaches makes a memorable quote, “There’s not crying in baseball” when one of the women shows a vulnerability. The use I believe is to characterize women being less strong then men. I have seen men baseball players cry though during a loss, victory, and retirement speech. Unfortunately though, in sports, male domination is still very common.

A Feminist Film?
I think in ways it is and in other ways it is not. I do not wish to repeat myself but due to its contradictory nature that I previously discussed the issues that make this both a feminist film and not a feminist film are noted above.


Overall, I feel that this movie was empowering for women for the most part. I used to love watching this movie when I was growing up and participating in softball. It gave me a sense of belonging in a realm that is predominantly male dominated. I own the movie and it has been a favorite of mine and many of my female friends. I think it shows women that they are as capable as any male even in the most male dominated of professions.

To read more about a league of their own and see video clips please visit the following sites:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104694/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_League_of_Their_Own

http://baywood.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parent&backto=issue,7,8;journal,30,141;linkingpublicationresults,1:300322,1

http://aagpbl.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ti2uGMU00

Blog #4 - Nine to Five

by Michele Schwamberger

The movie, Nine to Five, directed by Colin Higgins in 1980 is about 3 women who work at a business office and their boss is a man. The boss, Frank, is a “pig”. He treats the women horribly and he is very sexist. The company chose Frank over one of the women (Violet) for a promotion because Frank is a male. This didn’t make Violet happy. Frank’s secretary, played by Dolly Parton, was always being propositioned by Frank, which she didn’t like or appreciate. The other women in the company thought that she liked it and that they were having an affair and that is how Dolly got this position. Needless to say, Dolly didn’t have many friends at this company because of that. The women at this office would constantly gossip about her to other employees. The 3 women and Frank were blackmailing each other also. The women found out that Frank was embezzling and they basically kidnapped him so they could prove he was guilty. The movie is very funny and I think a “must see”.

The gender issues in this movie are very prominent. At the beginning of the movie, the males are the leaders and the females are looked down upon. The boss is very sexist and constantly sexually harasses his secretary. The women have the “assistant” jobs while the male is the CEO of the company. The women are represented as just that – women in this film. They are belittled and looked down-upon and the men are treated better with higher-paying jobs and more responsibilities. The women have to stick together in order to overcome all the negatives in their jobs. At the beginning of the film, I did not feel that the film gave a positive or empowering representation of females because of all the obstacles they have to run through, however, at the end of the film, the women are portrayed differently. At the end, the females are the ones in control and making all the decisions which shows them in a more positive and powerful role.

I do not consider this film a feminist film because the roles of men and women were not equal. Even at the end of the film, Frank, the male boss gets a promotion to go and start up a new division of the company, while the women stay at the old company. However, the women are now in charge of the old company, but Frank still received another promotion.

I liked this film. I thought the movie was funny and my sisters and I have watched it many times. However, after learning more about feminism, I don’t like what the film represents.

RESOURCES:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080319/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_to_Five

http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Five-Jane-Fonda/dp/B000059HAM

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DEEDE1538F93AA25751C1A966948260

My Review of The Color People

The Color Purple



By Michelle Rush


The Color Purple is a 1985 drama. This film is based on the novel, The Color Purple written by Alice Walker. It was directed by Steven Spielberg.

This story begins in the Southern United States in the 1900's. It follows the life of an uneducated black girl, Celie. She has been pregnant by her father twice by the age of 14. Both of her children were taken away from her at birth to never be spoken of. Her father forced her into a marriage to a man she called "Mister." Mister goes on to treat her like a slave, beats her, and even rapes her. I do not want to blow it for those who have not yet seen it. I'll wrap this up by telling you that Celie ends up overcoming her fears enabling her to break free from her husband's chains.

Actually, I have owned this movie since i was a little girl. My mother was the one who introduced it to me. I think she may have used Celie's story as an inspiration in her own life for many reasons. My mother was trapped in a marriage to my father who mentally and physically abused her for many years. He made her feel like she was not good enough for anything better. Thankfully, just like the story, my mother grew strong and divorced my father and made a way to a better life for us.

I have watched this movie time and time again and I never grow tired of it. I can never watch it without having a good cry. In my opinion, this movie touches your heart like no other can or will. It is a great feminists story of hope, struggle, and victory.



-Michelle Rush




http://www.fast-rewind.com/

http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/purple.html



http://www.geocities.com/soho/lofts/6124/

A League of Their Own By Kelly lever

This movie was based on a true story during WW2. This was time when many men were fighting over seas which left a lot of opportunities open for women here in the US. This movie was about women who started a women's baseball league. It starts by depicting two sisters who are good at softball living in a small farm town. Scouts (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League) had told them that they should tryout and with a little convincing Dottie Hinson and her sister Kit tried out. They were a good team match a pitcher and catcher for the Rockford Peaches. There couch played by Tom hanks was an alcoholic who was always yelling and telling them they could be better. By the end he lightened up, showing his heart. Dottie played like a star; making the paper and really holding the team together. Her and Kit got into a fight and Kit ended up getting traded to a different team. Dottie's husband came back from the war and Dottie quit because of it, but by the end Dottie came back to play the last game and it happened to be against her sisters team. Kit was up to bat and hit a far ball but it wasn't a home run. She rounded the third base and kept going for home. Dottie was waiting with the ball but she ended up dropping it and Kit scored and her team won.
This was the first time I had seen this movie before but I had hear good things about it. This film definitely dealt with gender issues. It made me recall the article called "In World War Two, Women Got to Work" by Betsy Kuhn. When Betsy talks about the jobs and opportunities that opened up for women because the men weren't here. The film shows that even sports were options for women then. This movie made women seem tough, strong and able to do what men do. It is very inspiring to see women push themselves and become so good at what they love to do.
I do consider it a feminist movie. It showed women with power, with strong backs and willing to work hard for the game. At the same time though they are still dominated by a male couch. Even though by the end he shows some heart to the girls and is ice to them, it is funny to me that the couch is male. It is like no matter were women turn there is always a male over them. I think this was also displayed when Dottie quit when her husband came back home. It was like the male is present in the home again and she felt out of her position playing in the game. I enjoyed that she can back to play the last game though. That showed me that she felt like she could do what she wanted without being swayed by an outside source. The fact that her husband was supportive was also key to me. He didn't try to make her not play and he let her make her own decisions, which was nice to see.
This movie was humorous and fun to watch. I rarely watch movies, so it was nice to sit down and watch a movie that was empowering to women and not selling women short. This movie make me realize that if you want something you have to be your own drive. One can't let gender, or any else get in the way of living life ones own way. I think that this story can relate to more then just sport issues. I think it showed me that women can be just as acomplished as men at what even they put there hearts and minds to.

Kelly Lever

Resources:
"In World War Two, Women Got to Work" Betsy Kuhn in 33 Things every Girl Should Know about Women's History
www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5949031/review/5949032/a_league_of_their_own
http://www.movie-gazette.com/cinereviews/539
Galt, Margot Fortunato. Up to the Plate: The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Minneapolis, Lerner Publications Co., 1995.

Lucky Brand Woman

By: Caroline R
http://www.ltcconline.net/lukas/gender/menincontrol/pics/mencontrol3.jpg

In this ad the women is very fixed up and is wearing revealing clothing. Her body is the so called, “perfect” figure. She has on tiny shorts and very high red high heels and is sitting on a bar. Her nails are manicured and she is covering her apple red lips with one hand while the other is pouring a man coffee. Her body is being used to sell Lucky Brand Fragrances, if you take out all of the words the picture does not advertise the product what so ever. I think this ad is offensive to women, she is serving a man and above his head it reads, “Get Lucky!” Why does a women pouring coffee mean anything but that? Why didn’t the company use a barely dressed male to pour a women coffee, after all the fragrance is for men and women. The answer is easy, women are viewed as people who should serve men, and this advertisement does nothing to change that stereotype. The words, “Get Lucky” above the man feeds into the ideology that men are looking to get something from women. I would have viewed this ad as sexy if it was just of this man and woman posing, but instead they had to put a coffee pot in her hand, which makes it sexist. I do not think the intention of this ad was to be anti-feminist but I would have to choose that over feminist. Advertisements cannot get much more anti-feminist then having a woman barely dressed serving a man.

I believe advertisement destroys body image for young girls and women. Even if a parent never buys a magazine, every child goes to the grocery store and there they are in the checkout line at eye level for every young girl to see. What has recently surprised me is the barely clothed pregnant celebrities posing for magazine covers. Some may view this as a positive advertisement, but when you take a closer look at those covers, the moms to be are barely dressed and are advertising how little weight they have gained. It is horrible when women begin bragging about how few pounds they gain which are suppose to be nourishing their baby with. Even the magazines aimed for younger girls are promoting the, “picture perfect teenager,” the only difference is they have a little more clothing on. It is the responsibility of advertisement companies to promote a healthy, diverse image of young women. It is great to see that Dove finally decided to change their campaign and photograph real women. Think about your everyday life, sure we all compare ourselves to others and wish something could be different about ourselves, but when have you ever seen a women that looks like a cover model? The answer to that should prove to us that those models are not real women and are usually air-brushed; it is disturbing that for most of us it takes a long time to figure that out. The best way to protest this negative advertising is for women to quit buying the magazines that target us and promise to help us in every aspect of our life. Every single woman’s magazine says something on the cover about losing weight, having sex and cooking. Why do we keep buying these, they are filled with tiny, fake women and products that promise to help us look like that. If the magazine editors are so into helping women why don’t they write about something more than skin deep topics?

For a final thought on the magazine industry, think about the cover of Cosmo verse the cover of Forbes and then think about why women are viewed as inferior to men. My response is, Forbes is all about money, leadership, business and technology. Cosmopolitian is about sex, dieting, guys and gossip, what message does that give women and young girls.