Individual Presentation or Panel Title
Tropes of Women in the Action Genre
Abstract
In the action genre, women are often shown as sidekicks or damsels in distress. Since men are so often portrayed as the hero/protagonist, when women step into the hero/protagonist role, they are not viewed as women, but men masquerading as women. Filmmakers utilize codes, here called “tropes,” that serve as extra markers to identify the women protagonists as women. However, the literature identifying these tropes was several decades old. This paper asked if any of the tropes still remained within more modern action films. Using a generative method to code Hansel & Gretel:Witch Hunters (2013), Pacific Rim (2013) and Haywire (2011) for five different tropes found within the literature review, the films revealed that four (daughter hood, revenge, appearance and fetish) tropes were still present within the text, one (motherhood) had been eliminated, and a new trope (partnership) had appeared within the texts. These findings indicated that codes to identify women action heroes as women were still a necessity within the genre. However, the codes are changing, and are not as strictly adhered to as described by the literature for previous films.
Location
Glass Dining Room
Start Date
3-5-2014 2:30 PM
End Date
3-5-2014 3:20 PM
Tropes of Women in the Action Genre
Glass Dining Room
In the action genre, women are often shown as sidekicks or damsels in distress. Since men are so often portrayed as the hero/protagonist, when women step into the hero/protagonist role, they are not viewed as women, but men masquerading as women. Filmmakers utilize codes, here called “tropes,” that serve as extra markers to identify the women protagonists as women. However, the literature identifying these tropes was several decades old. This paper asked if any of the tropes still remained within more modern action films. Using a generative method to code Hansel & Gretel:Witch Hunters (2013), Pacific Rim (2013) and Haywire (2011) for five different tropes found within the literature review, the films revealed that four (daughter hood, revenge, appearance and fetish) tropes were still present within the text, one (motherhood) had been eliminated, and a new trope (partnership) had appeared within the texts. These findings indicated that codes to identify women action heroes as women were still a necessity within the genre. However, the codes are changing, and are not as strictly adhered to as described by the literature for previous films.