Role of film in society
The film is a mirror of the society and the director knows which side to show. Film as a media of communication holds a strong influence on its viewer. It is used as a means to provide some strong message or act as a source of entertainment. It helps to create trends too. Though, being a male-dominated field, women are breaking this norm. Still many issues are needed to be addressed in the film industry. There is no guideline for women protection or any formalized rules for working in this industry. Equal work pay is still a dream of many actresses.
Stereotypical roles
Actresses were expected to be slim, skinny and white. The majority of the role is given to actresses of such features. In the film industry, we not only faced gender discrimination but racial discrimination is also witnessed. It is believed that the movie is run by a male actor, who has more fans following than the female actor. For this reason, the whole story revolves around the male actor and female actor is just use as a prop. It is seen that an actress is more subjected to wear sexually appealing clothes than men. She is shown as a prized object to be earned or won by misogynist man. She is depicted as an ideal fantasy of a hungry man. She is used as an object instead of a character in a film. It is seen that more money is given to a woman for playing a hypersexual role. Even if she is not used as an object, her role in the movie is limited to caring for children, gardening, shopping, etc.
Impact on woman and young girls
Seeing yourself as an object of pleasure or half-naked (even when the story doesn’t require) affects one’s confidence and one starts questioning her self-worth. Unrealistic beauty icons shown on a big screen create inferiority in the mind of any ordinary woman. Her image in society is deteriorating continuously due to the stereotypical ideas and roles of the woman shown through cinema. Man is shown as a good leader or a successful businessman whereas a woman is shown as jealous being, cheater, gold-digger, sexual item, etc. Such stereotypical roles shown on screen have a strong impact on the mind of young girls. It breeds the ground for discrimination and sometimes promotes violence too. It also creates an anxiety problem in young girls and they became more conscious about their appearance. It further leads to an eating disorder and depression. Some of the girls and women even ended up investing more in cosmetic products and fancy clothes to match the image of the ideal woman depicted through this medium. Some even prefer to get cosmetic surgery usually for getting a pointed nose, full lips, and large breasts etc.
Impact on society
According to research, it is found that when we continuously see a nude woman standing beside a car at the launch party (or any other such instances) we start presuming them as an object of pleasure. Certain image is set in our mind which influences our social life too. It gradually makes us sexist. It also pushes domestic violence when it is normalized in film. Moreover, abusive language is also normalized through the movie. You all must have noticed that it contains words related to a woman’s body more often. Such words are used widely by people of every generation without concern that it is an attack on woman integrity. Movies which show a woman as an object also disturb man-woman relation in reality and cause disorder in society at large.
What can be done?
It is we as the customers who can make changes by boycotting such movies. It is usually seen that movies which objectify woman or have item songs earn more money than the movie which doesn’t include such scenes. Producer and director make such films because it is demanded by us and to make more money through it. The Censor Board should formulate some guidelines to combat this issue. Strict rules and regulations must be applied. Age limit must be set and implemented for the customers of adult movies. Children should not be used in the pornography business.
What you can do?
- Connect with woman-centric organizations to spread awareness.
- Boycott movies where a woman is objectified.
- Write articles, opinions and genuine posts for this noble cause.
- Discuss and debate on this issue.
- Discuss this with young girls and boys and prevent such hazardous ideas from brewing inside them.
- Use social media for showing your dissatisfaction and raise this issue to the national and international levels.
- Write to your favourite male or female actor about this.
- Avoid words that objectify women and body parts.
- Celebrate all types of women and persons and stop body shaming each other.
- And the most important thing is to give a woman the respect they deserve and treating them as equal human beings.
Edited by Ojaswi Gupta
Approved & Published – Sakshi Raje
