Key Theory 8 - feminist theory - Lisbet Van Zoonen

Key Theory 8 - feminist theory - Lisbet Van Zoonen
  • Gender is constructed through codes and conventions of media products, and the idea of what is male and what is female changes over time
  • Women's bodies are used in media products as a spectacle for heterosexual male audiences, which reinforces patriarchal hegemony (men dominating society).

Applying Van Zoonen

  • objectifying women 
  • Making statements on how to judge a women even though the target audience is women and typical housewives for the time this was published.

  1. Analyse two of the images included in this article. Consider shot type, costume, and especially the anchorage provided by the lexis of the captions. What ideological perspectives are being constructed? The series of images of Alfred Hitchcock uses gesture codes of pointing, talking and using his hands a lot to express himself inflicts the ideology of  a patriarchal society that is dominated by men (this is even admitted and reinforced in the article by Alfred himself. The use of anchorage e.g unravels the mystery: this is direct and makes the target audience who are women to feel special and individual by making them think that they are being called a mystery which manipulates them into reading the article that actually just mocks their role in this period of time. 
  2. How does this interview reflect the representation of women in 1964? How does it differ from how women are represented in 2018? At the time this article/magazine was published women did have the right to vote. However, there was a lot inequality between genders e.g. general freedom, marriage, fashion and appearance, all of these aspects were determined and dominated by men. Whereas, in modern day 2019 there is much more equality for women. In this interview Alfred mocks, insults and objectifies women as he states, recommends his past experiences with encounters with women and his personal opinion. 'unobtrusively seductive creatures' by saying this he sexualises them and states that they are only there for sex. 
  3. In what ways does this article confirm patriarchal hegemonic ideologies relating to women? There is only one main image of a solo women on the other side of the double-spread, there is the gesture code of the women looking very seductive and mystical which emphasizes what he's said in the interview.  The small details in the Muse en scene such as the bold deep set eyes and the plump lips are purposefully sexualized to reinforce that this is men are wanting. At the time media only featured white English people/models. This relates to the racial inequality that was present at the time. Although this image is the biggest image on the article, the series of images of Alfred himself are even positioned before any other images on a separate page, which reinforces how he would be seen as superior and special to the audience.
  4. Research Alfred Hitchcock, particularly accusations made about him by the actor Tippi Hedren. Discuss your findings.  English film director and producer, widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Hitchcock's portrayal of women has been the subject of much scholarly debate. Tippi Hedren at the time was a very famous actor that worked with Alfred with his work. However, cases of sexual harassment has recently emerged between Alfred and Tippi. The Mast head from the guardian: 'Star of The Birds and Marnie says director grabbed her, attempted to kiss her and had a secret door installed between his office and her dressing room' 

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