The representation of gender in this film poster is interesting, as it represents women both as free – from the bright colours of their clothes, to their unanimous happy facial expressions – yet as still under the control of men, shown by one man sternly looking over at the woman in the foreground, his expression and posture unapproving. These two messages seem to clash, but I think they’re meant to come together to show the women trying to be free from male dominance, which would be a progressive view from the 60’s, and reflective of ongoing social changes.
However, the women are represented in an almost childish way, the oversaturated colours of their clothes reminiscent of what a child would wear, their frivolous running and skipping is behavior you’d expect from a child, not an adult. This is contrasted by the man stood to the side, dressed entirely in muted colours with a serious stance – he is the adult here, the one who’s doing what’s expected of him, and the women he’s looking over are in the wrong. This would be a more typical representation of women from that time period, that they don’t really know what they want, and can’t be trusted with more serious decisions, unlike men. However, it could alternatively be read as progressive, with the women just wanting to make their own choices, but no matter what they do they can’t be free from men.
All the women, bar one in pink, are wearing yellow dresses, and those in yellow are following the leader character in pink, many of them looking to her as they run. This could be interpreted as being critical of women in the ongoing women’s rights movement – they see one woman doing something different and want in, following blindly like children. Rejecting men and society – shown by them running from the city to the grass, following the leader – rejecting what is sensible. The idea of women not being sensible could also be seen in the prop of a guitar case, music is a difficult career to pursue, one that lacks a guarantee of success so by choosing that the women are being reckless. This would align with Liesbet van Zoonen’s theories on gender representation, where she states that the media reinforces patriarchal ideologies that dominate and oppress women.Another theory that this poster aligns with is Stuart Hall’s theory of representation, where he states that representations reflect hierarchies in society as dominant groups are in charge of what is produced. This is shown in this poster as even though there are eight women shown and one man, the billing block only credits two women and six men.
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