Unit 4 Coursework Blog Ragz: October 2014

· “It isn’t just progress or equality that demands women be treated differently in superhero blockbusters – it’s the laziness that seems to go into shaping them.”

· “The battle for equality between men and women in superhero films is a fight plenty will volunteer for, but the narrow field of roles (and powers) afforded to women isn’t just about equality – it’s about boring storytelling.”

· “Women are allowed to fit into one of a handful of painfully rote moulds.”

· “The pre-assigned roles for women are less interesting, less important, and simply more played-out than their male counterparts.”

· “The Female characters are ranging from deadly super-spies to Norse goddesses and the high-powered executives in between; Marvel’s movie universe has all the makings of a gallery of strong, interesting women.”

· “There is much to be said about the intelligent, witty, independent and charming Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and her constant need to be rescued (in Iron Man and Iron Man 2… and Iron Man 3), proving that the ‘damsel in distress’ trope is alive and well – even if the damsel in question is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.”

· “....even fans of the film will concede that Jane’s existence functions largely as a walking, talking plot device.”

· “The issue got even worse in Thor: The Dark World – a film that would (for a nice change of pace) find Jane infected by the film’s Macguffin, thereby requiring her to play a more active role in the plot.”

· “Sif had quickly emerged as the only real ‘warrior woman’ seen in a superhero film to that point – despite being more of an ‘Asgardian’ than a bona fide superhero.”

· “A warrior goddess (who managed to exude sex appeal without showing skin)”

· “One of the most promising super powered women in Marvel’s stable was reduced to one of the most stereotypical soap opera tropes imaginable.”

· “Seeing women running, screaming, and needing rescue has gotten old – fast.”

· “The Dark Knight trilogy had Bruce Wayne embarrassed and rejected by the women of Gotham for a change.”

· “Nearly every typical male superhero uses their gifts to attack, exercising power and dominance over whoever they face. Yet the female superheroes (who are presumably their equals) are relegated to support roles; or even more troubling, have their powers originating from an unnatural energy source, or a mental abnormality.”

· “...just decades ago doctors were still pointing to ‘female hysteria’ as a cause for dozens of mental and physical afflictions. “

· “Yet a lack of control is still used as a uniquely female trope: Rogue was unable to control her powers, hurting the men in her life she most cared for. Mystique’s gift is mired in issues of self-confidence, being led (against her will at times) by the men in her life. Fantastic Four‘s Susan Storm can disappear from sight, and lashes out emotionally with blasts of nonlethal energy when not complaining about her powers.”

· “The notion of a woman being unable to control her superpowers is widespread”

· “If a super powered woman is laughing or taking pleasure while using her powers in a film, odds are she’ll be a villain or morally ambiguous at best (hell, even Anne Hathaway’s Cat woman stopped enjoying herself once she decided to fight for good).”

· “The best example is possibly Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who only fully realized her true power in X-Men 3: the Last Stand. Embracing her mutation doesn’t help her come to terms with who she really is (the theme adhered to for nearly every other film and character), but causes her to side with antagonist Magneto, with her murderous spree only stopped once she begs Wolverine to kill her. Because she just can’t control herself.”

Ø http://whatculture.com/film/chick-flicks-10-feminist-friendly-blockbuster-movies.php/4

· “Due to the different directors of the two movies, there were very different ways of treating the character. It’s quite a fascinating difference and it brilliantly shows the difference between a feminist and anti-feminist character.”

· “In Iron Man 2, Black Widow was more of an object. She spent most of the movie bending over various objects in revealing clothing.”

· “Natasha Romanov developed no character of her own, instead simply acting as something that Robert Downey Jr. and the audience finds sexy.”

· “The Avengers was a bit of a boys’ club but given the treatment of Scarlett Johansson, it qualifies as a feminist movie.”

· “Black Widow was a very useful character. She recruited Bruce Banner without the use of seduction techniques, she discovered Loki’s plan and she deactivated the Tesseract. As a bonus, Black Widow doesn’t even have the most revealing costume, an honour bestowed upon Hawkeye.”

· “Hawkeye ended up as more of the disappointing female character; his costume being more revealing, having less screen time and getting captured by the enemy.”

Ø http://griid.org/2013/02/12/normalizing-male-dominance-gender-representation-in-2012-films/

· “The Avengers, we are privy to a perfect representation of women in films. Five men standing, preparing to protect the city of New York from being wiped off the map, and there is one woman with them. She is dressed in a suit that perfectly forms to her curves, as to appear appealing, and she armed with the smallest weapon. This is how women are portrayed in cinema.”

· “Women are constantly being misrepresented in these films, shown for purposes of objectification, support of the male characters, and mostly as love interests that drive the male characters.”

· “...gender role reversal in one of 2012’s big blockbuster hits, The Hunger Games.”

· “Generally, in superhero movies, the gender roles are stereotypical.”

· “There is a man who comes to save the woman from peril and is deemed a hero. We are seeing the same amount of gender stereotypes in the superhero genre films that were released in 2012, namely, The Avengers, the Amazing Spider Man, Snow White and the Huntsman, and The Dark Knight Rises.”

· “In this instance, there was not a woman that needed protection; however, we still see stereotypical gender roles. The men are all fighting for control of the situation, each claiming to have the best solution to the problems they face. On the same level, they are trying to undermine the other male characters with snide comments.”

· “The main female character, the Black Widow, fights on the same level as the men do, an area we see a small amount of gender equity in the film. However, she is still much sexualized. When we first meet her character, she is playing the role of a prostitute, and is extremely scantily dressed.”

· “In The Dark Knight Rises there are two strong female characters, Cat woman and villain Miranda Tate.”

· “While both of these women demonstrate courage and confidence, they are not independent of men. Miranda Tate deceives Bruce Wayne and sleeps with him.”

· “The Cat woman character is often represented as being selfish and wanting her own freedom. Her character ultimately succumbs to Batman’s plea that she helps save Gotham, but her decision to come back and fight Bane was to be with the hero Batman.”

Ø Feminism at the Movies - Edited by Hilary Radner and Rebecca Stringer, Published 2011.

· P36. "Lad Flicks": Discursive Reconstruction of Masculinity in Popular Film.

· P268. From Victim to Vigilante: Gender, Violence and Revenge in the Brave One (2007) and Hard Candy (2005).

· P44-6. The Queer Limits of Lad Flick in Masculinity.--"... The presence of an attractive women to 'reassure' viewers of the protagonists sexuality".-pg45

Ø http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Persuasions

· “Persuasions returns to work at a New York City strip club….Persuasions returns to Genentech for observation but later appears again as an exotic dancer.”

Ø http://www.livescience.com/46380-superheroes-and-violent-play.html

· “Watching TV shows with Iron Man or the Hulk might make little boys more prone to gender-stereotyped play and make both boys and girls more likely to play with pretend weapons, new research finds.”

Ø http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/312/superheroes-superpowers-and-sexuality

· For the men, they are at least six feet in height and are very muscular with wide shoulders and narrow hips. This body type seems to be an exaggerated ideal for American men, as many constantly go to the gym to lift weights and talk of gaining a “six-pack” of well-defined abs or increase the size of their “guns” on their upper arms.

· “Even the facial characteristics of the men promote certain ideal features.”

· “They are clean shaven and have a strong, distinct jaw line. This may be to suggest strength on the part of the man, to compliment the strong body.”

· “For the women superheroes, they are built to promote their sexuality. Nearly all of the women have hourglass figures that could rarely be accomplished in real life, like Barbie, with a small waist and large bust and hips. The breasts especially are very pronounced. These women are seen as beautiful in the American culture, and other women try to emulate the body styles. Unfortunately, some pursue this in the unhealthy manner of eating disorders while trying to achieve the pronounced waist and others resort to plastic surgery to increase their bust size. The heroines also have long hair, not too long, but falling to somewhere in the middle of their back, and worn loosely with perhaps a headband to hold it back off of the heroine’s face.”

· “Skin tight jumpsuits seem to be the standard attire for the superhero male, with muscles showing clearly through the material.”

· “There are typically briefs or a belt of some kind drawing attention to the narrow hips, or some sort of shoulder covering designed in a triangular fashion that once again draws attention to the waist and hips.”

· “Two features of the costumes would suggest a presentation of the hero’s machismo by drawing the observer’s attention to a finely cared for body as well as the groin area.”

· “The jumpsuits also typically have an insignia of some sort emblazoned on the chest, again drawing attention to how wide and strong the chest and shoulder area is”

· “Accenting these suits are calf boots which emphasize the leg muscles of the hero to fix our attention on the man’s strength.”

· “…the outfits are designed to draw attention to their large breasts, narrow waist, and wide hips.”

· “The only possible reason for them to be portrayed wearing this torturous foot-ware is because we as a culture find heels attractive.”

· “They add definition to calf and leg muscles, but they are treacherous to wear. They might even be designed to raise women’s respect for the superheroes because we admire everything that they manage to accomplish in said shoes."

· “In a survey distributed across campus about superheroes, when asked about their favourite attributes of superheroes 40% of females and 32% of males responded that some physical aspect of this hero was their favourite attribute or the reason that particular hero was their favourite.”

· “The majority of superheroes exude an extremely exaggerated masculine – feminine ideal.”

· “Superheroes that do not have as pronounced physical sexuality are not as popular, such as the androgynous original Rogue from the X-Men. Through the development of the X-Men however, Rogue became steadily more feminine, with larger breasts and tighter clothing, until we are faced with the Rogue of the new X-Men movies who has a respectable sized chest, wears tight clothing, and first experiences her powers while making out with her boyfriend.”

· “. We have no room for heroes who do not exaggerate the ideals we have and emulate.”

Ø http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/312/2/superheroes-superpowers-and-sexuality

· “The way female heroes are described places a heavy emphasis on their appearance and femininity. The X-Men member Emma Frost is described in her bio as follows:

‘A diamond-sculpted seductress with the brains to back up her body of work, Emma Frost amassed wealth and influences enough to attract the attention of the planet’s social elite. As White-Queen of the exclusive Hell-Fire Club, Frost’s power plays frequently put her at odds with the heroic X-Men. (www.marvel.com)’”

· “The words “diamond-sculpted seductress” at the very beginning of her description immediately indicates her exaggerated femininity. Also, the fact that brains come second “to back up her body of work” indicates that brains are not what a woman should have first, but looks are.”

· Marvel Comics continues to describe their female heroes with phrases like, “Feline fatale…pretty little paw,” for Black Cat

· “Femme fatale…lured by her beauty, many a man has felt the Widow’s Sting” for Black Widow 1

· “Tempering telepathy and telekinesis with warmth and compassion, Jean secretly hungers for a passionate partner,” for X-Men’s Jean Grey, and “a classic beauty in every sense of the word,” for Storm, also of the X-Men (www.marvel.com).

· “DC Comics does not appear to be much different for they describe Cat woman “in a tight leather cat suit…the Princess of Plunder…[whose] heart would always belong to Batman,” and exalting Wonder Woman as being “as beautiful as Aphrodite” (www.dccomics.com).”

· “The creators were describing the heroes’ physical prowess and the heterosexual tendencies of the Human Torch. It all points to them being the strong male. It implies that heterosexuality is important and should be imitated, as well as being strong with sharp senses and they must be a seeker of justice.”

· “In RH Robbins’ chapter on the Cultural Construction of Identity, Robbins mentions how Linguist Robin Lakoff “was one of the first to draw attention to the way that a woman’s identity in society influences how she speaks” (Robbins, 2006, pg. 205)”

· “Lakoff says women are “constrained to minimize their expressions with…tag questions…rising intonations…the use of hedges… [and] indirection” (Robbins, 2006, pg. 205).”

· “Relative powerlessness of women, stemming form their relatively weak social position” (Robbins, 2006, pg. 205).

· “In Ultimate X-Men Vol. 3: World Tour, a graphic novel compilation of 8 X-Men serial comics, both Jean Grey and Storm frequently minimize their expressions (Miller, 2002). Jean Grey ads tag questions like, “You don’t think he might have, you know, gone over to the other side or anything, do you?” and “it’s highly unlikely we’re both off the mark, right?” Storm on the other hand used hedges more frequently like, “Somebody calls an ambulance! I don’t think Bobby’s breathing here!!” Instead of saying “Bobby’s not breathing,” Storm adds a hedge to leave an opening for someone to affirm what she is saying.”

· “When Jean Grey and Storm are discussing Professor Xavier’s book, Storm says, “I saw the chapter on ‘a mutant alternative to boom-and-bust economics’ and went straight back to Cosmo and People Magazine, girlfriend,” which implies that women do not or should not have an interest in such highly academic matters (Miller, 2002).”

· “ For the men, during a scene where Professor Xavier is grading their attempts at crime solving, there are two full pages of argument between the male teams as to who had the better bust; Wolverine, Bobby, and Colossus who busted a multi-million dollar drug ring and “maimed, killed, or disfigured over twenty human beings in a blaze of Adamantium Fury,” or Cyclops and Beast who broke up some muggers, checked two guys into rehab and made plans for the ex-muggers’ futures (Miller, 2002).”

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Critical Investigation Tutorial- Write up

· Question: Why do comic book movies like The Avengers reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and what impact does this have on audiences?

· Angle/hypothesis: Comic book movies reinforce traditional gender stereotypes.

· Linked production: film opening (with at least one female character) – working with Armond and Zaid.

· Representation – think about under-representation (lack of female characters, also lack of depth to female characters).

Research

http://screenrant.com/female-superhero-women-movies/

http://www.newsarama.com/15438-move-over-boys-10-female-superheroes-who-need-movies.html

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/24/us-university-to-offer-course-in-marvel-movie-studies

http://www.participations.org/Volume%209/Issue%202/8%20Burke.pdf

Book Mr Halsey needs to buy: Film and Comic Books (Paperback) Ian Gordon (Editor), et al.

To Do Next

> SHEP - write up

> Include : Representation, Media effects, Moral panic, Media technology and he digital revolution -changing tech in the 21st century

> Theories: Gender and ethnicity, Marxism and hegemony, liberal pluralism, audiece theories , genre theories and contemporary media landscape.

Critical Investigation Proposal

Why do comic book movies like The Avengers reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and what impact does this have on audiences?

Hypothesis/Angle:

Comic book movies reinforce traditional gender stereotypes.

Linked Production Piece:

Film opening (with at least one female character) – I am working with Armond and Zaid.

Media Representations

Women have been represented as the weaker sex and have been given less importance, by the producer of the film. The representation of women is not fair and not accurate either as it shows that women do not fit the model to be superheroes, but inferior compared to male superheroes. However, it is accurate in terms that men have become the dominant gender. The self-representation of women survives through the character of Black Widow, also known as Natasha Romanov, she is the only female avenger and it presents her as the minority. The representation of men in comic book movies is portrayed as powerful, muscular and strong as superheroes stereotypically are. However, women are also under-represented as there are not as many female characters as there should be; the females have been put there for the male gaze.

Media languages and Forms

The denotative levels of the meaning is that women have become inferior in the representation of Marvel comics movies, this is evident from the fact that the Black widow is presented as the only women and that in comic books itself women are always presented as the princess from Propp’s characters types. This is evident from not only comic books but there TV series, where the hero always saves the princess. For example, in The Amazing Spiderman series Spiderman saves Mary Jane from several villains.

The connotations of the Black widow are that she could also be a femme fatal due to the fact that a black widow spider is known to kill their partners. The significance of the text’s connotation is that it could reinforce and subvert the stereotypical view of women. It reinforces the stereotype as the Black Widow is the only women in the Avengers and has no film that led to the build up to her character like Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man or Thor. On the other hand she is only women, which could connote she is a representation of women as strong, independent and self-made. The non-verbal structures of meaning in the text are the clothing as Captain America’s costume connotes his patriotism for his country, Iron Mans suit is red and yellow, which connotes fire, in some sense a hot shot that is like a lone wolf. Thor’s costume represents his heritage of Asgard and his origins. Hulk is a large green behemoth that where shredded trousers; this presents him as a wild character. Black Widows costume is a full black body suit which creates an enigmatic presence as she could be two faced. The lighting throughout the film presents the heroes in light; however in some scenes black widow is presented in low key lighting, this could present her darker side. Black widows expressions in the film are more serious due to the circumstances and problems that are faced by them as a team. The dominant images that are being portrayed are that women are inferior to men and are the weaker sex. However, in the scene where black widow is first introduced she is portrayed as a femme fatal as she is tied to a chair and trying to trick the General and Hench men using her assets and manages to escape with ease. This subverts the stereotypical portrayal of women. During the scene the camera is the point of view of the General and also the camera angles put us as an audience look down at Black widow, making her look weak but this is then contradicted by what happens next as she manages to fight of the General and Hench men.

Narrative

In relation to the narrative, the audience is positioned to be looking up to the superheroes. As an audience we are put in a position where we see the heroes in an inspirational light where we are viewing their selfless acts of justice and protecting us. This contrasts the stereotypical view of women as usually the main group of civilians being saved are women and children. The narrative subverts this view, even though other Marvel films like Thor and Iron Man presented women to be vulnerable. All the heroes are delineated with egos and their mistrust issues become present as soon as they meet, for example the scene where Thor attacks Iron Man in order to take Loki back to Asgard, this is the first meeting between the two heroes. The narrative function of all the characters fit together like a puzzle, this is due to the fact they all play their part in stopping the villain, identified by Propp’s character types, Loki. The heroes are identified by the use of their costumes and the colours that have been used, with the exception of Black Widow and Hawkeye. They both are presented as wild cards due to their all black attire; this is due to the fact the connotations of black are evil, darkness and we associate it with the unknown, furthermore it’s questionable that they both may be anti-heroes in the film. As a villain Loki is identified easily due to his helmet possessing horns, which are connotations of the devil and demons. The major themes of the narrative are the representation of women, equality and team work. The values of team work shine out as the previous Marvel productions presented the strengths and weaknesses of the heroes, this movie brings them all together working effectively as a team in order to accomplish a mission/goal.

Genre

The genre of The Avengers is fantasy, Sci-fi and action. The conventions that present The Avengers as a fantasy is the inclusion of the Norse gods, Thor and Loki, who have been a part of Nordic myths and legends. The fact that the movie includes legends makes it look surreal, especially with the way they have been shown there costumes emphasise their heritage quite a lot. The generic conventions that present this as a sci-fi movie are the use of alien-like beings that begin an invasion; this is due to the fact that there ships look more alien like rather than a mythical race of creature from another dimension.

The generic conventions that present this as an action film are the multitude of fight scenes, between all the characters, one memorable fight scene is Thor verse Iron Man where Thor’s lighting strike powers up Iron Man’s suit. Also there is a lot of destruction, like the falling building and the power houses in Thor and Hulk competing over whose stronger. To a large extent the characters are determined via genre, such as Thor and Loki belong to the fantasy genre, and whereas Iron man belongs to the Sci-fi genre and Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye belong to the action genre. To a minor extent the audience is cheated of their generic expectations this is due to the fact that the amount of action that was present was not there, it did consist of a lot of fight scenes, however it lacked a bit with the fight against the Chitauri (Alien race). On the other hand, it does fulfil the audience’s generic expectations, as the Norse Gods have been presented effectively from their costumes and manner of speaking makes it more believable that they are actually from Asgard. The stars of the movie feature Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man). All three of these stars have strong associations with the genre as they play the heroes in their individual films.

The Institutional sources that backs The Avengers is Marvel, Paramount picture and Disney studios motion pictures. Marvel had a hand in shaping the actors that played the roles of all the characters. For example, Marvel’s the incredible Hulk was played by Edward Norton, who initially was approached for the part but was later rejected, for not being “creative” and a “collaborative spirit”. Furthermore, in October 2010 the Walt Disney Studios had agreed to pay Paramount pictures at least $115 million for worldwide distribution rights for avengers and Iron Man [1]. The source is a commercial institution as it doesn’t have a license fee which is paid by the public; furthermore it makes a difference as a public service would be making no profit. However, in this case the Avengers made $1,518,594,910 at the box office worldwide [1]. The current COO and publisher for Marvel is Dan Buckley and the Editor-in-Chief is Axel Alonso. The former Editor-in-chief and publisher was Stan Lee, who is also one of the founders of Marvel [2]. The founder of Disney is Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney, and the current chairman and CEO is Bob Iger [3]. The Avengers was distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in cinema April 11^th 2012 in the USA and 26^th April 2012 in the UK [4]. The DVD and Blu-ray of The Avengers was released on September 25^th 2012 [5+6].

Media Values and Ideology

The main value that is being presented is the representation of women as the weaker sex and has been perceived as less important compared to men. This reinforces the traditional stereotypes of women being the inferior sex and perceived to do the labours of the household and not capable of matching the working capacity of men. The way men have been portrayed by Marvel has always been a spandex-clad, clean-shaven, macho man that has been through a tragedy, for example, Tony Stark’s life is dependent on an arc reactor, which keeps him alive, or Dr Bruce Banner, also known as The incredible Hulk, who became the emerald beast due to a gamma bomb where he was exposed to gamma radiation, although the Hulk isn’t spandex clad he is still established as muscular.

Media Audiences

The Avengers is targeted at the Marvel fan base, the target demographic is made up of a majority of males that are aged between 12 years old and 35 years old, and belong to the B, C1 and C2 demographic. Marvel is a mainstream media institution so the target audience are mainstreamers, also the explorer psychographic as the Marvel cinematic universe is still a new media institution. The assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within The Avengers is that they seek adventure and action, as well as have a link to the explorer psychographic. Also, it implicates they possess the characteristic of loyalty, which links to brand loyalty of Marvels previous products of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.

The conditions the audience is likely to receive the Avengers is in a positive way as it is a world renowned thus this will positively impact the Avengers box office revenue. I already know that Marvel has a fan base that is spread across the world, presenting it as large in size and constituency. The possible reading of the Avengers is that the producers of the text have portrayed the women as weak and the weaker sex, the probable reading of the text would be the purpose of making the movie which would be to further the avengers narrative in to one cohesive unit and cross promoting their individual films via this multi-star cast production. The audience pleasures consist of using women as a sex object to attract the male gaze; this is evident from Black widow wearing a tight black body suit. Also, there is evidence of attracting the female gaze with the use of costumes. According to Bulmer and Katz theory of uses and gratifications there is evidence of escapism, as the audience is known to escape reality and avoid there real life problems and relieve stress form work.

Furthermore, the personnel identity section of the theory can also be applied to the Avengers, this is due to the fact that the hulk is known to be an outcast that the section of the audience who are socially out casted, like the teenagers that are demonised by the media, are to identify with that character. As a member of the audience I read the avengers as Marvel fan, and to see whether it is able to top the previous Marvel productions, as well as make comparisons between the broadcast and print platforms. In terms of evaluating this text, personally I would draw comparison to the comic book versions of the characters. My reading and evaluation is heavily influenced by my age, gender and background. The ages 10-35 years are targeted by Marvel’s fan base, and also they mainly target men. In regards to my background I have read and kept up to date with Marvel Productions.

SHEP

Social

In terms of social aspects, The Avengers presents a lot of controversy, as modern women are most likely going to criticise the fact that women have been under-represented and shown in a manner where they are actually stereotypical and traditional ideologies that have been shown.

Historical

Historical aspects of The Avengers link to the comics of Captain America, which were released during the Second World War, in order to boost morale of the soldiers on the frontline. Furthermore, The Avengers links in to the ideologies that were portrayed before women had rights that actually were established and carried out by society.

Economical

The source is a commercial institution as it doesn’t have a license fee which is paid by the public; furthermore it makes a difference as a public service would be making no profit. However, in this case the Avengers made $1,518,594,910 at the box office worldwide [1]. This adds to the profit that previous productions like Iron Man, Thor and Captain America have made.

Issues/Debates:

Ø Representation and stereotyping: This directly links to my study as the question of how gender stereotypes are presented, in particular the under-representation of women and the stereotypical model of male superheroes.

Ø Media Effects- This links to my study as it shows how this product influences the media and presents its effects upon the audiences in the process of the film’s release.

Ø Ownership and Control- This links to my study as there have been speculations and disagreements in terms of how much Influence and control Stan Lee actually has over the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since he had sold Marvel to Walt Disney.

Ø Media technology and the digital revolution- changing technologies in the 21^st century- This links to my critical investigation as the newer forms of technology have empowered the audiences, but not changed the ideologies or views that have been seen as traditional.

Theories:

Ø Gender and ethnicity

Ø Marxism and Hegemony

Ø Liberal Pluralism

Ø Audience theories- Uses and Gratifications

Ø Genre theories

Ø Contemporary Media Landscape

Research Plan

Media text: Marvel’s The Avengers

Other Media Texts:

Ø Iron Man

Ø Thor