Feminist approach and victimzed men

In “Women and representation: Can we enjoy alternative pleasure” Gaines examines the gaps between feminist approach in terms of suggesting a new relation of the gaze on screen and the pleasure of women- spectators. As Gaines points out, feminist film theory in an attempt to struggle for the equality of the sexual representation in mainstream cinema and television suggests an alternative representation of woman; rather than being represented as “to-be-looked-at” object, women should be the subject of the gaze. While film feminists have intellectually pursued the “correct” formula for film practice, it is the fact that women – averaged spectators- enjoy the traditional representation of themselves and are not ready for an alternative representation because the former has brought them pleasure. Therefore, Gaines concludes “the “correct’ formula for alternative feminist film practice, the rearrangement of the “relation of looking,” and the rejection of closure offer feminists a rather tight-lipped satisfaction.”

Gaines’s work productively engages with Negra and Tasker’s article, Neoliberal frames and genres of inequality. Their focus in this article is on the gender representations in the two sub-genre, recession – era chick flicks and male-centred corporate melodrama. In these genres, men are usually represented as victims; they are in economic and emotional crisis and ask women around them for help. The images of victimized men can be found in the two shows that we watched in class -  Ray in Hung and the nurse’s boyfriend in Parks and Recreation. Their redundancies are comically exploited in the favor of feminist senses. While enjoying the feminist quality in the representation of men as victims in these shows, I cannot help thinking that women like the poet and Ray’s wife in Hung and the nurse and Leslie are also victims because they have to “forced” to be heroes for men. To understand my feel, it might be helpful to turn to Gaines’ point: as a female spectator, I am not ready for the subversion of the representation of women; so I did not have the “pleasure” in its true sense when watching the shows.