Feminist Analysis of Pop Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Feminist Analysis of Pop Culture - Essay Example Women were projected as mere puppets, and men became all the more chauvinist and domineering. Thus, a need for Third-wave feminism arose, which could deal with the changing norms of objectification. The third-wave feminism provided a strong base that not only transferred the improper objectification in the favor of women, but also upheld womanhood irrespective of race, color, ethnicity and sexual-orientation. Literature and media gained influence from Third-wave and hence, a new-age approach towards feminism developed. This paper is an attempt to identify the core beliefs of new form of feminism, and will analyze its representation in media through a movie that follows similar lines. For this paper, acclaimed director Zack Snyder's year 2011 movie Sucker Punch has been selected to be reviewed, which comprehensively displays post-feminist discourse and entails a convincing portrayal of third-wave feminism in popular culture forms. Understanding Third-Wave Feminism: Feminism in contemp orary era has evolved into a modernized (I-e well-acquainted with the current scenarios) avatar known as the post-feminist approach. According to Judith Butler, the very essence of third-wave feminism implies that â€Å"challenging gender roles alone will be inadequate to effect social change. The new goal for feminist and sexuality movements should be to defy the faith in the existence of an innate sexuality and natural sex categories† (Hull 54). The theory entails that women do not need to fight for gaining self-identity, or long to change the sex-based symbolism in a male-oriented society. Instead, it suggests that women should acknowledge their womanhood and use it to empower themselves; instead of despising being a female, they have to use their femininity for achieving the maximum benefits. Constructivism rules this new doctrine. According to Leslie Heywood and Jennifer Drake â€Å"contradiction marks the strategies and desires of third-wave feminists† (Zeisler 1 16). Empowerment is the best word that can describe the approach of this barely structured but extremely powerful theory of feminism in the present age. It cleverly switches gear and transforms significant norms that targeted women before into a tool for them. That is because stereotypical concepts and images that were termed as embodying womanhood, actually were a product of male preferences. The discrimination based on color, physique and race, and â€Å"mirroring the erasure of black womanhood from pop culture† emerged because they preferred white women (Hooks 264). Sex-display genre, which included pornographic images, restrictive attires like corsets, performances like erotic dances, and strip-tease, etc., developed to further objectify women and they became entities of gaining pleasure only (Nally 621). Third-wave feminism re-applied these self-induced norms from a female-benefiting perspective. The take of contemporary females of pop culture, and eminent third-wave act ivists on the genre of sex-display has been an ironic one, and as per Judith Butler’s queer theory, it is also comical. A culture of giving men what they want to see but at the same time being in control and making fun of male preferences started off convincingly with Madonna, and has come of age now with the likes of Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and Kei$ha (Halberstam 8). Rachel Shteir describes that today â€Å"