The portrayal of women in films has always been a topic of debate. There was nationwide debate about the movie Animal. It contained several instances of misogyny. However, can we look at the movie in isolation? There are tales of misogyny and sexism everywhere. Can we look at one movie as an exception? Less discussed movies like Pushpa or Kantara show men molesting their love interests. No one has critiqued them, maybe because they are considered regional films from a national lens.
Trivialising rape: A common phenomenon
In 90’s progressive actors like Aamir Khan acted in movies like Dil, where rape was trivialised. For that matter, he acts like a captor and teaches the woman a lesson by recreating a rape-like environment. In most movies from the decade, the hero would chase his love interest on college campuses, which was nothing short of sexual harassment. There would be a fat girl among the actors who would be body-shamed always. After the plots became repetitive, the narratives started changing. But did not change the station of women in movies totally over the years.
International examples
Even more depressing is to see the rape culture as humorous and the fault of women. The movie Sixteen Candles showed that girls who drink are asking for it. Whatever happens to that kind of girl as a result is funny. Samantha, a high school student in this film, has a crush on Jake Ryan, who is already dating Caroline, the popular cheerleader and homecoming queen. After developing feelings for Samantha, Jake takes advantage of Caroline’s drunkenness to the point where she is helpless and almost unconscious by engineering a situation where another boy takes advantage of the situation.
Jake says he would rather date Samantha, who is socially awkward. Still, he doesn’t hesitate to put his current girlfriend in danger to achieve it. The intention is for us, the audience, to feel compassion for Jake because he doesn’t seem to mind risking everything to get her.
When Caroline wakes up the following morning, she discovers that she had sex with the geek without consent. The joke is that even though the cheerleader wasn’t interested in having sex, they did. But the fact remains that Caroline had sex with whom she did not consent. Not only is the lack of consent wrong on so many levels, but the jokes in this movie about women are disrespectful, ridiculous, and shameful.
Barbie: A path-breaking success
In 2023, the Barbie movie generated so much excitement among women internationally. It became a major success, breaking records as the biggest box office opening in 2023 and the highest-grossing film directed by a woman. However, ‘feminist garbage‘ and ‘anti-men‘ are prevalent in the chatter around the movie. In reality, the Barbie movie was never anti-men but was anti-patriarchy.
We have seen a positive change in how female characters are portrayed in movies, with films like “Wonder Woman,” Barbie, and Black Widow breaking stereotypes. However, there are still movies that often objectify young women on screen.
Portrayal of women in films over decades
In between, there are two more decades. We observed marked improvements in storytelling with movies like Rang de Basanti, Jab We Met, and 3 Idiots. The disturbing trend of glorifying violence in men is a sure-shot formula to success. We also observe the complete absence of women’s agency in films like ‘A Wednesday, Baghbaan, and Kal Ho Na Ho’. We see movies like ‘Ghajini, Khakee, Golmaal, Gangajal, and Haasil‘ where violence is glorified and women are marginalised. Later on, we see alcoholism glorified in a film like Aashiqui 2. Alcoholic abuse is a grave matter. We cannot sympathise with the perpetrator.
Negative signals continue to drive narratives in Bollywood
Movies like Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Kabir Singh, and Raanjhanaa glorify stalking, sending the message that a man should pursue what he wants, regardless of a woman’s wishes.
Disturbing trends in exploring queerness in movies
Another issue is the lack of lesbian-themed movies. While ‘Love, Simon,‘ ‘Call Me by Your Name,’ and ‘Heartstopper‘ have brought queer love stories into the mainstream, there is still a lack of rom-coms featuring queer women. This reflects a broader problem of women, in general, being underrepresented for generations. In contrast, men have had the privilege to express themselves, both personally and professionally. Even within the queer community, media representation tends to focus more on gay men. It is already challenging to find movies centred around women. When it comes to queer women of colour, it is even more difficult.
The final thoughts on the portrayal of women in films
There are many more such examples. However, at changingcontent.com, we are waiting for the day when there is more ‘Kill Bill‘ and less ‘Kabir Singh‘. In the former, a woman takes revenge in a lyrically violent manner. She single-handedly stands up to her adversaries who had separated her from her unborn child. In the end, she rises like a phoenix without losing her femininity, her ability to love and nurture, and her inner mother. Kill Bill has never been part of the recommended watchlist for little girls. There are reasons. There is a blood bath and an exaggerated depiction of violence. Keeping that aside, we wish every little girl could unleash the warrior in her someday. We need our girls to think beyond the problematic stereotypes of pink, makeup and damsels in distress. They should know that in some fairytale love stories, the prince morphs into the beast, and she has to be her knight in shining armour.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content, which we define broadly to include media, policies, law, and history—encompassing all elements that influence the lives of women and gender-queer individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
