Other Texts Which I Can Refer To:

"How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways"

10 Things I Hate About You By Gil Junger [1999] is a remake of the classic Shakespare play "The Taming of the Shrew.", set in a modern day highschool. This linking to "She's The Man" which was a remake of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." There are two sisters, one who cares about her image more than anything. And the other who sees that there are more things to life than just looking good for a guy. We see two different types of representations in this film.

I will be referring to this film, as it links directly to "She's The Man" and due to the representations of females both being challenged and reinforced in this film.

Other Texts Which I Can Refer To:

"Sex. Clothes. Popularity. Is there a problem here?"

Clueless by Amy Heckerlings's [1995] is a historical text which i will be referring to this links to Mean Girls. As it shows the typical representation of females e.g. only focused on their image. This shows how historically, females were typically represented.

I will be referring to this text and comparing it to Kill Bill alongside by main focus of She's The Man. As both the other text represent females in challenging roles, whereas, Clueless focuses on Popularity and Image.

Other Texts Which I Can Refer To:

"Welcome to Girl World"

Mean Girls By Mark Waters. Represents females stereotypically. For example, image obsessed. The females in Mean Girls are not seen as strong, or dominant. Compared to Kill Bill, this film doesn't do justice in showing women in a new light.

I will be referring to Mean Girls, to show how certain representations of women still remain in todays society and contempory film.

Other Texts Which I Can Refer To:

"Revenge is a dish best served cold"

Kill Bill By Quentin Tarantino. Shows a woman in control, it representes her as dominant and challenging. Compared to films like, Mean Girls etc. Kill Bill helps challenges typical stereotypes of women and shows them to be just as strong and dominant as men.

I will be referring to *Kill Bill* as it shows how the representation of woman are changing in society and in contempory film.

10 del.icio.us Tags Linked To My Study

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html

This first link explicitly links to my study, as it mentions one of the key theories which i will be talking about throughout my study.

http://bananaboijohn.blogspot.com/

The second link is helpful, as he is looking at how the representation of women has changed. Which is what i am looking at, allowing me to link my study to his.

http://marlowmedia.co.uk/

This link talks about gender equality. Which is useful to my study, as we don't see gender equality in "She's The Man" up until end of the film.

http://theoryhead.com/gender/

This is a link to a book, which will be useful to my study, as it covers the issue of gender, which will be looked at in my study.

http://www.theory.org.uk/directory.htm#

This features many useful links on the website, e.g "Gender mostly women" and "Queer theory/culture"

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hzi9401.html

It shows how females are portrayed. And how their representation has changed over the last twenty years. Helpful, as i am looking at how the representation of females has changed recently.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-dressing

This link explains Cross Dressing, which is a theme in my study and it is linked to the representation of the protagnist in my study.

http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/10006166-shes_the_man/

This is the link to rotten tomatoes, it has all the reviews for "She's The Man" on that page from rotten tomatoes.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/library/publications/16+/shakespeare.html

This talks about adaptations of Shakespeare plays. Even though it doesn't mention "She's The Man" as one of them, it is useful to see other films that have been made in relation to Shakespeare plays.

http://jtmd.blogspot.com/

Navdeep's Blog links to mine as she is looking at how, stereotypical roles of females have changed in modern films. This links to mine, as it shows the representation of females changing.

Theorys

*Queer Theory-About Sex and Gender*

is an anti-essentialist theory about sex and gender (and often other aspects of identify, especially race) within the larger field of Queer studies. It proposes that one's sexual identity and one's gender identity are partly or wholly socially constructed, and therefore indivduals cannot be described using broad terms like "homosexual," "heterosexual," "man," or "women."

Theorys

*Todorov-Equlibrum, Disequlibrum, Resoultion*

There are five stages the narrative can progress through:

A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.)
A disruption of that order by an event.
A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

http://ict.tippinst.ie/~bgoldbach/mw/handouts/todorov.doc

Theorys

Laura Mulvey's Theory-

"Argues mainly that the cinematic apparatus (specifically of classical Hollywood cinema) inevitably puts the spectator in a masculine subject position, with the figure of the woman on screen as the object of desire. In classical Hollywood cinema, viewers are encouraged to identify with the protagonist of the film, who tends to be a man. Meanwhile, female characters are, according to Mulvey, coded with "to-be-looked-at-ness."

FrOm..*Wikipedia*

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

Cross Dressing In "She's The Man" [With Help From Alice's Blog]

>Many different types of Cross-Dressing.<

>In “She’s The Man” we see cross dressing occur due to Viola trying to hide her identity. We also see this type of cross dressing in, “Twelfth Night” By Shakespeare.<

>Viola is only able to play football, dressed as a man. However, when she reveals her true identity, she is able to successfully fulfil her goal.<

>The stereotypes of women, to an extent still remain as the females in this film are seen as weaker and to not have the same ability as men to play football. However, their representation is being challenged as they are fulfilling their goals by representing themselves differently.<

Ten Words/Definitions That Link To My Study:

*Alternative* - Describes any media that challenges dominant values and idelogy. This Links to my Study as in "She's The Man" we see the dominant values being challenged. e.g. Men being a male sport, and the stereotype of only men being able to play football is challenged.

*Binary Opposition* - By Levi Strauss, narratives are structured around oppositional elements in human culture. We see this occur when Viola is juxtaposed aganist Monique, in terms of their image. As Monique seems to be more feminine.

*Feminism* - Political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values. This is a key study which i will be linking as it consists mainly of women, and as i am studying the representation of women. This study plays a key role of the changes of those representations.

*Gender* - Psychological and cultural aspects of behaviour associated with masculinity and feminism acquired through socialisation. We see how Gender affects the characters in this film. As Gender is a key issue in this film alongside representation as both are represented in different ways.

*Queer Theory* - By Butler, Judith [1956-] a study that questions sexuality, gender identity and their representation in the media. In "She's The Man" this study will be key, as the issue of sexuality is explored in "She's the man" and all the three main points that this theory looks at. Can be seen in "She's the Man"

*Post-Feminism* - Part of Postmodernism, which takes the achievement of feminism for granted and views it as ineffective in explaning the current condition of women and the many identity choice they face. In She's The Man we see how Viola faces "Identity choices" and this links to the Post-Feminism theory as it is explicity seen in the film.

*Protagonist* - The leading Character/hero in a film with whom the auidence can identify with and from whose point of view the action is positioned. The protagnist in "She's The Man" is Viola, and i will be focusing on her throughout the film, as she is key to my study.

*Signifier* - A physical object used to represent a mental concept. E.g. The Football that Viola is holding in the film, signifies masculinity. Or, the tampons seen in Viola's bag, [even though she is dressed as a man] signify her feminity, and represent her true colours and who she really is.

*Subversive* - Undermining of dominant ideology and values. She's The Man, challenges typical female stereotypes, as it represents a women in control and not as a housewife. It challenges the mainstream values by allowing Viola to break the norms and values of society and do what men are usually only seen to be able to do. [Play Football]

*Target Auidence* - the intended auidence for a media product. I felt the primary auidence for "She's The Man" would have to be teenage girls. However, the secondary auidence would be men, e.g. "Male Gaze". Lastly, other auidences, may just be fans of either the stars or the Genre itself being Comedy.

PeOpLe's BlOgS...tHaT i'Ve CoMmEnTeD oN....

Alice:http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34170927&postID=115850282742924578

Anika:http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32340875&postID=115806519647894144

Heena:http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=31412118&postID=115831139759284131

Kiranjit:http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34158691&postID=115807174750892776

Navdeep:http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34031519&postID=115841489243453075

ReViEw FrOm...RoTtEn ToMaToEs...

"Some are still-born, some achieve mediocrity, and some have cliches forced upon them."

Opens March 17

In the new teen comedy "She’s the Man," Amanda Bynes plays a high school girl who passes for a guy. It’s a movie plot that has become overly familiar in the last 20 years, but this time it comes with a slight twist. The surprising curve in this film that wavers from painful-to-watch to decently entertaining can be found in the film’s source, Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night." But of course, knowing the attention span of its intended audience, the film obviously doesn’t repeat the play word for word, with only the "Some are born great . . ." speech remaining partially intact. A trio of writers has dumbed down the Bard sufficiently enough to make this strictly a teen film for teens. Adults need not apply. But that’s understandable in a film filled with beautiful young faces, even if some of the high school "boys" look like they’re in their 30s. It probably won’t register with the target audience, but director Andy Fickman has at least retained some of the character names, such as Duke Orsino (Channing Tatum) in place of the Duke of Orsino, Malvolio cameos as a pet tarantula, and the great comic character of Sir Toby Belch has been reduced to the minor role of a roommate. TV starlet Bynes ("What I Like About You") plays Violet, who goes undercover at a preparatory school just to play soccer when her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) leaves town at the start of the school year without telling the parents. This means Violet has to room with a bunch of guys, turning showers, locker rooms and dorm rooms into mine fields as well as showcases for cheap laughs. But it also means passing for a guy, as she does with an artificial, irritating voice that makes her sound neutered. "She’s the Man" finds its own tension when Violet falls for her roommate, Duke. She finds him an oh-so-sensitive sort who stammers and gets all clammy around girls. That happens, even in Shakespeare.As usual in these frothy teen films, all the adults are idiots. But here at least their slots are filled by entertaining talents, such as David Cross as an ebullient school principal, Vinnie Jones as a soccer coach, and Julie Hagerty as, of course, a ditzy mother.Director Fickman shows little inspiration beyond his core material, falling back repeatedly on the ever present montage, such as the formula girl-turns-boy sequence, soccer drills, and others. But, naturally, he also accentuates the physical elements of his comedy, with many pratfalls on the soccer field, and, for laughs, eventually resorting to the old Tampax-in-the-nose sight gag. Shakespeare would have been so proud.

Theories/Theorists Relevant To My Study:

Laura Mulvey: "Male Gaze" Theory!

Todorov-Equlibrum, Disequlibrum, Resoultion!

Propp!

Feminism!

Queer Theory-About Sex and Gender!

Social Context: Helps show change taking place in society, how women are able to do things men can. Equal opportunities, to an extent-as Viola still has to be a man to achieve this success. Socially, women are now seen as equal to men as they are able to apply for the same jobs etc.

Historical Context: Traditionally, women were seen as housewifes, and their status was much lower then males. The first wave of Feminism, which was in nineteenth century to the early twentieth century focused on gaining women the right to "suffrage" [right to vote] Shortly, the second wave followed. Feminism helped women to be recognised in society.

Economical Context: Produced from a high budget company "Dreamworks" American film, mainstream film. [High Budget]

Political Context: Women such as Margerat Thatcher have made a name for women in the political section. By enablling a woman to reach so far in the politcal section, it is allowed women to gain a status.

Ideology and Values: Female Protagnist: usually we only have a male protagnist, and the female is not a main character, and is only there for the "Male Gaze."

Independence: Can be seen through Viola, as she doesn't rely on anyone and takes on challenges. Moves away from typical female sterotypes, and on her own two feet shows everyone what she can do.

However, it shows that she was only able to achieve success by turning herself into a man. As this was the only way she would be accepted to play football. This is typical, as football is seen as a men's sport.

Narrative:
"Its time to settle the score"
The narrative of the story is:
Viola is a college student and is part of a girls football team, she is dating the boys football team leader. Suddenly, the girls football team is dropped and through her anger she drops her relationship with the football leader as well. Viola has a brother who loves music, and sets off to London for 12 days, Viola's mother wants Viola to be more feminine. But gives up and says "Sometimes i think you might as well be your brother." Which gives Viola an idea!!

She becomes her brother for 12 days and goes to his college "illyria" to take part in the football, disguised as her brother to beat her own college "Cornwall." Along the journey of being her brother, she discovers many things, e.g. how guys think about girls, and boys persepective on things.

Viola shares her room with her brothers college roomate "Duke." He fancies Olivia who is Viola/Sebastians Lab partner. Duke makes a deal with Viola, if Viola can get Olivia to go out with Duke, Duke will teach Viola Football skills. This is what Viola needs to get into the football team so she agrees. However, along the way, Olivia starts to fall for Viola/Sebastian. Unknown to the fact that he is actually a girl.

Viola's brother comes back a day early, a day before the big match, what Viola has been waiting for, the reason she got herself into the mess in the first place..for the match!! As Sebastian is getting his luggage into college, Olivia kisses him, Duke watches and thinks it is Viola who is dresses as Sebastian. Causes them to have a fight.

The Big Day arrives, and the real Sebastian is on the pitch inside of the fake one. The first half is played terribly, and then Viola explains everything to the real Seb and Viola goes on the field as Fake seb to play aganist Cornwall and to beat them. They win and triumph, at the end, she shows how girls can play football just as well as guys. Her and Duke get together as always it is a happy ending.

Audience:
Primary Audience/Target Audience: Teenage Girls mainly, as it shows a women's representation being changed. So it is more likely to appeal to them.
Secondary Audience: Teenage Guys, e.g. Male Gaze [Laura Mulvey's theory] Only watching it for the women.
Other Audience's it may appeal to:
Comedy Genre fans, or Shakespeare Fans, as the idea arose from Shakespeares novel "Twelfth Night."

Representation:
"Guys are better at this, it's not gonna happen"

Viola [Main Character] - Is represented differently, as she is into football, and doesn't care so much about image compared to other girls. She is seen in her brothers clothes or in a hoodie and jeans. Doesn't like wearing dresses etc. Doesn't really show her feminine side, expresses her masculine side more in the film. Moves away from the typical representation of women, which shows how the historical representation of women is breaking. Allowing new representations to take place.

Olivia/Monique: Typically represented, especially Monique. As she is always worried about her image, and is seen to be constantly wearing bright colours and either skirts, or dresses etc.

The two girls who come to talk to Viola/Sebastian in the resturant: Typically represented again, as the first girl is wearing a short top and short skirt, and the other girl is wearing a dress. They are only there to be looked at, as sex objects. This is typical of how women are usually represented.

Duke: [Viola's Roomate]: Represented as quite sensitive for a guy, as he talks about emotions and feelings a lot in the film. Not seen as a typical guy, but has some qualites of a typical guy to an extent.

Duke's friends: Typical, as they just stare at women and don't see Viola/Sebastian as cool until they see he has been with a lot of girls.

The Main Representation is based on Viola, as she is not typically represented. It shows, how she is different as she is able to move away from dresses etc, and come more towards football.

Genre:
"She's the man" is classed under a Comedy. However, it can also be seen as a Chick Flick. As it has the typical conventions in it e.g. high school romance, sterotypical girls etc.

"This year's must-see comedy" - Bliss!

Institution:
Lakeshore Entertainment and Dreamworks Pictures are the insitutions. Dreamworks is well known, and have produced other films such as:"Over the hedge," "Just like heaven" and "Madagascar." These are well known, and are known to be a success which is why Dreamworks may help produce them.

Media Language:

Film starts at the Beach, everyone is wearing beachwear and playing football. *Non Digetic* music-drums etc. *Digetic* Music from characters playing football e.g. screams, shouts, laughs etc.
The shots from the Beach scene are freeze-framed into credits. The shot of the character is freeze-framed next to their name. Bright colours.
Long Shot of them all playing football, then medium close ups of the football getting kicked. High angle shot of ball being kicked up high. Representing, two white characters, one male, one female. Close up's are used for expression, e.g. when the two charcters kiss, there is a close up to emphaise their relationship.

Long shot of girls on field, being told their football team has been cut. Coach discriminates aganist gender. Medium shot, of girls and boys talking. Medium close up of Viola's Face, to show her anger/disappointment.

Viola is juxtaposed with another girl, who is wearing a pink top and has her hair done. As Viola is not seen as very feminine. Whereas, the other female [Monique] is seen as very feminine. Medium close up of the two talking. *Digetic sound* of their speech, and *Non digetic* of Viola's music from headphones.

Long shot of Viola's mother who has brought Viola a dress, Viola doesn't want to wear it. Moving away from typical female clothing. Brother represented as a rebel, going to London and not telling parents. Room has negative, dark colours.
Mother influences Viola to be her brother. "If you can't join them, beat them"

Music plays, as Viola is being transferred into her brother. Comical, Medium, close up of Viola's face. *Non-Diegetic* Music playing. Montage shots, of Viola following men in the street to see how they act. Representation of Old men, black men, white men etc.

As Viola is leaving for [illyria-her brother school] she is holding a football. Usually assosciated with men. She is moving away from the typical female sterotypes by holding this ball. "oh little girl, your finally going to be a lady"

As she enters school, heavy rock music is playing she is acting cool. Until she panics and music cuts, camera slowly moves up to her body, revealing her as her brother. This creates suspense.

Everyone is looking at her, making her nervous. Different angle shots of Viola turning to look at people who are looking at her. The angle of the shots make her look lost.

Moves in with roomate>Tampons in Bag, represents her gender. Before, whilst packing to leave for illyria. There is a close up of the tampons, to help represent her true colours.

In the showers changing room after football. Viola has a close up of her face, to help express her anxiety. As she is worried, she can't take a shower with men.

Darker scene, cloudy weather. Viola in a pink dress on the football pitch. Whereas, the guys are in shorts and t-shirt.[its a dream] Water drops on her, in her dream and in reality. Popular students take her into a hall with other students, it is dark, not much lighting, *Diegetic sound* Evil laughter.

High Angle shot of carnival, *Non-diegetic* music, and *Diegetic* sound of children screaming. Montage shots, of Viola running around to get changed..into a female/male.

In the resturant: different girls apporach Viola/Sebastian. Wearing, short skirts or dresses, only there to be looked at. Typical, and sterotypical representation of women, in a negative way.

Barbie girl ringtone, which again emphaises, Viola's true colours. In the toilet, there is a cat fight. Sterotypically, girls fight over men. However, Viola is not presented to be fighting over anyone, but is trying to stop the fight. Which shows how she is being represented differently from the other two girls.

The match..big crowd, roars of applause. Faces painted, *Diegetic Sound* of clapping and cheering. Natural lighting as it is being shot outside.

As my Independent Study, I will be focusing on how the representation of women in film has changed, due to it being challenged. As over the years the representation of women has changed in a number of ways, in both postive and negative ways. My main text that I shall be referring to is "She's The Man." However, I will also be referring to other texts such as, "Kill Bill" and "Mean Girls" As in all three texts, women are represented differently. "She's the Man" being more masculine. Whereas, "Mean Girls" being typical, and representing females typically, as image and body obesessed etc. In "Kill Bill" representing the female as more dominant and in control.