In my presentation I have laid out examples of representations of hysteria in film ranging from Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession to John Cassavete’s Love Streams and Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman. This includes film clips, screenshots, and research from Helene Cixous and Laura Mulvey. I include examples of heavily male gaze tinted films, male directed films without objectification, and female directed films. I talk about hysteria as spectacle (Cixous) and woman as spectacle (Mulvey). These are the things I have considered while writing my script.
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Artist statement and Collage
Final Project – Hysteria Script
The idea of hysteria manifesting itself through a woman as a spectacle for men is a prominent point made by Hélène Cixous and Catherine Clément in The Newly Born Woman. I wanted to write a script for this project because the idea of spectacle made for and by the male gaze is inherent not only in hysteria, but in the DNA of film and feminist film studies. Laura Mulvey addresses the woman as spectacle in her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, and identifies the value of a woman’s appearance as her to-be-looked-at-ness. The emphasis on a woman’s appearance in relation to her overall value is the omnipresent oppressor in our patriarchal society, one in which the hetero eurocentretic capitalistic male gaze is the definer of criteria. The purpose of a woman is essentially to be desirable enough to be a viable commodity and if they’re not they have no business being seen. “With the circus and the cinema, we have moved into the institutionalization of hysteria: spectacle cashing in on the exchange of money” (Cixous p.13). This statement perfectly illustrates the environmental conditions of patriarchy, capitalism, and institutions that are needed in order to serve as a stage and catalyst for hysteria to manifest because hysteria does not surface without the presence of bondage or spectatorship.
In most of the films (Possession by Zulawski, The Brood by Cronenberg, Repulsion by Polanski) that I watched by male directors that depicted hysteria – the woman almost always serves as a manic spectacle while still maintaining a level of attractiveness for the male spectator or else there would be no reason for the male to watch or endure the emotional distress present in the situation. What usually sparks the episode of hysteria is infidelity (or any sexual act-or lack thereof) or some form of transgression against prescribed gender roles. The woman simply exists and only becomes the hysteric once the man steps in and identifies a “problem” which is usually some unexplainable force (such as an undiagnosed mental illness or paranormal entity) that controls her and causes her to undermine him as her superior and owner. In doing this, the agency is taken from the woman, but the blame is still posited on her instead of on the society in which she resides. We only see what she has done and not what she has endured.
This of course isn’t always the case as there have been emotionally intelligent depictions of hysteria and mental illness portrayed by men… or rather one man – John Cassavetes with the collaboration of his wife Gena Rowlands. His female characters exhibiting signs of hysteria are usually cracking under the pressure of gender roles and expectations. The female characters even when experiencing near psychosis are desperately attempting to regain themselves. We can always see them thinking. They have objective and purpose. Everything is done as if their lives depend on it. Another thing he does is he flips the camera towards the spectator while the spectacle is happening. In A Woman Under The Influence he focuses on the reactions of the partygoers exiting the party who watch Gena Rowlands bizarrely dance on the couch after her return from treatment. In Love Streams, Gena Rowlands’ character desperately attempts to make her daughter and ex husband laugh to no avail. Instead of us watching her we watch the ex husband and daughter as she slips in and out of frame. Cassavetes also doesn’t leave hysteria just for women. The male characters in his films can often be seen as hysteric and his character in Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky is a true hysteric.
I chose to write a silent film because I didn’t want to explain what was happening to the protagonist, but rather have the viewer experience what she experiences and feels. Cixous and Clément emphasize fragmented memories and relation to youth. In my film the protagonist is caught in an obsessive recounting of memories and images from her youth intertwined with nightmares of her current situation and future. The emphasis here is still placed on appearance and aging because unfortunately those are the ever present criteria in which we are being appraised. It’s not that the psychosomatic symptoms of hysteria presented in film are always wrong, but it’s the fact that the cause is often absent and we are watching the “hysteric” through a male’s eyes. It’s about his perception and not hers. My script on the other hand is about her perception.
Post 14; Final Project
Presentation
Attached above is my presentation for my final research project. the topic of my research was gender inequality within the legal framework. I chose to share and research this topic because it is not only a very prominent and pressing issue within the legal world, but also personal. I wanted to research and learn what to expect as a woman pursuing a career as an attorney. stereotypes and sexism aren’t things that we can control however they are things we can speak up against and limit by using our voice and establishing our power.
Research Summary
Gender inequality as a whole is an issue that has been prolonging and continues to need reform. Sexism and stereotypes within the workplace is also one of the most prominent forms of gender inequality. Because I am pursuing a career within the legal framework I wanted to not only learn about but also prepare myself for setbacks that could occur relating to the fact that as a woman we tend to experience inequalities when pursuing a career within a predominantly male driven field. Some of the most important takeaways from my research is the fact that there is a sense of equality between junior attorneys however when it comes to leveling up and becoming those in charge (senior positions), men prevail over women and it is much harder for women to be put in a position of power over men within the legal framework. This is a very pressing issue because when a field is led predominantly by men, especially within the legal framework it can cause drastic and one sided effects for society due to the legality of the political framework and making and enforcing laws. Gender stereotypes and categorizing women as gentle and mild gives off the sense of weakness and not being able to speak up which is two things a lawyer must not be and must do in order to succeed. Although these are some very important aspects collected from my research the struggle of gender inequality within the legal framework is a very pressing issue that needs continued reform in order to show real change.
Ashley Fung Post 14 Final Project
Project link:
I decided to make my creative project a parody of the song “Montero” by Lil Nas X because in this song he speaks about his life as a gay man and how society perceives him as the devil because of his identity. This is similar to how in our society, people paint women out to be unathletic and not worthy of receiving equal overall treatment in the world of sports. Some people fail to recognize the difficulty of being a female athlete and tend to claim that the women’s game is easier or less intense than the men’s. This lack of unequal treatment that society holds on him made me think about the gender inequalities seen in sports worldwide, also it’s a catchy and great song. The parody I created mentions some historical moments which are clear indications of how women are not treated fairly in sports compared to their male counterparts. For example, in the song I keep referring to the 2021 NCAA March Madness tournament because there were so many events during that tournament that did not give women equal opportunities compared to the men’s tournament. For starters, they did not provide the women in that tournament with an actual weight room, only one rack of dumbbells and a couple of yoga mats, meanwhile they gave the men a huge weight room filled with machines. In addition, they gave the men PCR test daily but only gave the women an antigen test that does not catch early stages of covid. The March Madness tournament did not even provide the female athletes with adequate food, they served them frozen pre-package meals while the men dined at a buffet every day. The destruction to the physical and mental health of female athletes during this tournament is inexcusable. Furthermore, I also mention ESPN and commentators because many commentators manipulate linguistics in order to make women seem inferior to men. Additionally, ESPN and NCAA websites promote and broadcast men’s sports way more than they do for the women. For example, the men’s college basketball games were allowed 8% more fan capacity than the women’s. To make matters worse, for fans following the game statistics through the NCAA website’s posts, there were 18 posts uploaded of only the men’s tournament before the first post of the women’s tournament. Also I allute to some professional players such as Lebron James and Sue Bird because they have identical statistics and have won the same titles and championships during the same time frame, yet their pay is nowhere near equivalent. Throughout the song I state that change needs to occur and that we must stop this trend of history repeating itself. Women are constantly being mistreated in the world of sports and it’s time to break the stigma that the patriarchal society in which we live in holds against women. Lastly, I end my parody piece by stating that we are all human so we should all have equal access to the wonderful treasures of our world.
[Lyrics to Montero parody for WGST, advocating equality for all genders in sports]
The inequalities are insane
Title 9 only saved us yesterday
21st century, we still fighting for equal pay
Been praying and wishing for some equality
March Madness weight room, NCAA didn’t even try
Sue Bird and Lebron stats, don’t even lie
Unfairness constantly revealed, it doesn’t even hide
So many hard working women, that the world not treating right
All day, we see on ESPN That women are neglected
And just wondering when
Someday, I hope we all ascend
We need equal rights it’s time to break the trend
We deserve what we want
We deserve what we need
We been fighting it for it
It’s time to make a change
We deserve what we want
We deserve what we need
We been fighting it for it
It’s time to make a change
Mmm, mmm, mmm Mmm, mmm, mmm
Ayy, ayy
All these women are thriving
And I just feel that the world is not trying
So stressful this life got me crying
End the patriarchy, we must start defying
Oh, oh, oh, I see Women don’t get the same sports publicity
Commentators call women, girls, just to demean
Forcing women’s games have a lower fan capacity
I can’t believe March Madness only gave men PCR’s, Talk about,
Not caring about women, even during a pandemic, a pandemic!
All day, we see on ESPN
That women are neglected
And just wondering when
Someday, I hope we all ascend
We need equal rights it’s time to break the trend
We deserve what we want
We deserve what we need
We been fighting it for it
It’s time to make a change
We deserve what we want
We deserve what we need
We been fighting it for it
It’s time to make a change
Oh, all genders deserve equal rights
Equal participation and opportunities
This world needs to do better
After all, we are all humans
Final Project
For my final project, I decided to make a syllabus for a class I made up that focuses on Machismo in the Latin culture. This issue has always been an issue I despised and wished I would go away. Personally, being a woman of the Latin community, I have experienced my fair share of experiences within my community and even my own family. I think that if this an available course, I would register for it.
I have also made a drawing, which is the drawing attached to this post. I made this drawing based on what I learned and have heard from machistas. These men always put women, men, and their children down. I hope the image is impactful to you and that you would look into the articles and videos I have attached to the syllabus.
Final Project Scavenger Hunt
This assignment allowed me to look at projects I did not hear be presented. I greatly enjoyed the variety of visual, charts graphs, and anecdotes that my fellow students presented to best illustrate the topics they have chosen for their final projects. Seeing these presentations has provided me with many different and new valuable perspectives on the issues regarding the questions of gender roles and society’s impact on them as well as the ever-changing social dynamics that are influenced by these gender roles and how they influence day to day life of everybody on the plnaet.
I also found it interesting how there were a lot of similar topics being discussed which really supports the many statements of this being important. These topics must be discussed more openly in more aspects of everyday life so as to open up and expand upon the existing dialogue between all people so that everyone feels comfortable being who they are and not who they were told that they have to be based on some outdated stigmatized notion of their gender identity perpetuated by society and pushed on us by parents and other people in our lives.
Post 14 : Final Project
My Final Project is a syllabus on my class “Gender Studies 2210 : Toxic Masculinity”
