THE SPATIAL CONSTRUCTION, REPRESENTATION OF THE 21ST CENTURY WOMEN, AND THAI WOMEN’S DECODING VIA HOLLYWOOD FILMS

Abstract

This study has three main objectives: (1) To study the construction of the 21st-century women's space through Hollywood film narration, (2) analyze the representation of femininity in the 21st century appearing in Hollywood films, and (3) analyze Thai female viewers’ decoding of the meaning of femininity in the 21st century transmitted through Hollywood films. Content analysis was conducted on 12 Hollywood films screened during 2001-2017, namely Legally Blonde, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Million Dollar Baby, The Devil Wears Prada, Wanted, the Blind Side, the Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Zero Dark Thirty, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Begin Again, Room, and Wonder Woman (2017).

The findings show that for the couple relationship, the studied films in the 21st-century construct women's personal spaces with negotiated power to be equal to men. A tendency of women who do not cook is also presented. Most women are found to have power over their bodies completely, except in "the Devil Wears Prada," in which the social value of slim women has power over women, leading them to lose their weight. Besides, most women perceive sexual relations as their happiness and pleasure and do not adhere to the value of celibacy.

Regarding the construction of women's social space, most films present women's power over men as a leader in society and their work. Moreover, the construction of new social spaces as women's alternatives is found increasingly. Importantly, women in the 21st century negotiate and seize more social spaces. Even in the patriarchal society, sub-cultures are created by women to oppose the great traditional culture of the society. Other interesting issues found commonly in many films are the gigantic mobilizing power of motherhood, the perception of marriage as a major part of women's lives, and beauty with a good personality as a kind of women's power.

Furthermore, the representation of women found mostly in Hollywood films in the 21st century is women’s beauty with a slim figure, despite an introduction of a plump heroine and Asian beauty in some films. The most presented characteristics of women are being themselves, self-confidence, leadership, bravery, extroversion, generosity, and faith in themselves, while the capable women are also presented with their clear goal, strong determination, persistence, patience, and being a fighter, including great endeavor.

From analyzing the decoding of the viewers who are Thai female receivers on the femininity in the 21st century through Hollywood films, it is found that mostly they have a dominant or preferred reading as intended by the filmmakers, and can also catch up with the latent ideologies presented in the films as well.

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