The Power of Women in Cinema-Female figures in "Contempt", "Ju Dou" and "All About My Mother"

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Women in film and the power they hold
As a general perception in society, women are viewed as inferior to their male counterparts. Men have a prominent role and are assumed to always have the power as compared to women. Their masculinity gives them confidence and strength. One would feel at ease, knowing that a man is a leader and protector at the same time. Women are viewed in contrary to men. The physical build alone showed how fragile and weak-hearted a woman is. Women have always been depicted as scared and need protection. Thus, the quote "damsel in distress". The society has shaped this concept of women continually needing some sort of protection and guidance. However, this notion has been proven to be false as women have shown their own strength and capabilities in several occasions, such as in real-life situations or as depicted in movies with women as a central theme.
Gender-typing in the society has been an on-going issue since it does not only affect gender development, but it is a factor in several important aspects of human's lives such as talents, opportunities, career and occupation, sociostructural constraints, and perception of others as dictated by their gender role. Realistic representations are not often depicted in the media such as in cinema, but presents gender-typing of men and women in a most traditional manner, in regards to personalities, abilities, and aspirations presented. As Bussey and Bandura claimed, gender development and gender role are still perceived to be heavily influenced by society's perception for both sexes.
As quoted from David Gautlett's Media, Gender and Identity, "the traditional views of a woman as a housewife or low-status worker has been kick-boxed out of the picture by the feisty, successful 'girl power' icons." Despite the increasing number of films portraying women as a central theme, evidences still showed that women are not represented fairly and equally in media. It again shows that women are more portrayed in cinema as a mother, wife, or lover. Women are even often represented in a character who is overly-dependent and very emotional in comparison to their male counterparts. As claimed by Montgomery (1984), women are often portrayed in films with "themes of self-sacrifice, defined…in relationship to children or to men, and have encouraged the female audience to identify either female figures on screen who were powerless or victimized, or…with active male heroes".
It has been assumed that post-feminism could be a factor that influenced the views of female in terms of their societal roles (Gautlett). One of the defining features of post-feminism states that as the movement of women is assumed to be mainly concerned with the oppressed, it is their personal decision to change the perception of society. (Orr, 1997, p.34) In decision-making, women's actions as portrayed in the film are divided to being independently healthy and at the same time, being able to maintain their femininity. (Ferris & Young, 2006, p.9) The idea of power feminists against victim feminists puts a highlight on individualism which focuses on the power and strength that one's body possessed as compared to social change. A wo...