MID TERM PAPER INSTRUCTIONS: Human Sexuality Move Critique – Critical Evaluation of the Depictions of Human Sexuality in the Movies
This assignment will help you examine popular culture and movies to see how they shape our ideas about sexuality. Like television, films tend to depict sexual stereotypes and to adhere to mainstream sexual norms. Media educators Gross and Gerbner argue that the commercial structure of the mass media limits the opportunity for representing diverse characters. Too often networks and film companies shy away from portraying the multiple and diverse dimensions of sexuality for fear of alienating or offending advertisers, investors, and audiences.
This assignment is to assess whether you are able to critically evaluate depictions of people’s sexual behaviors in feature films. Many motion pictures portray the diversity in human sexuality in inaccurate ways, leading to misunderstanding and heightened stigmatization of people who do not adhere to the mainstream sexual norms. Some movies, however, are lauded for dispelling stereotypes and providing accurate insight into human sexuality. Films, like any forms of media, have a powerful impact on how we view the sexuality of others and ourselves. Negative and or misinformed attitudes about sexuality leave people vulnerable to neglecting and understanding their own sexual needs and being judgmental of others. Providing accurate information can help correct fears, myths and misconceptions many people have about the diversity present in our society. Studies have shown that a combination of education and face-to-face interaction has a greater impact on changing attitudes than using either strategy in isolation.
After selecting and viewing one of the films listed on the next page, the student will write a 4-pages critical evaluation on whether the sexuality issue/s portrayed in the film was accurately depicted in the character. You must use reliable research on the sexuality topic portrayed in the film so that you are prepared to say whether the viewer would be misinformed or informed properly about the sexuality issues portrayed in the film. Cite any research used (minimum 2 additional sources).
The paper must include the following:
1. What was the sexual content/messages of the movie?
2. Was the content/messages stereotypical of our culture and if so, how?
3. Do you think it was an accurate portrayal of sexuality in our culture? Why or why not? A minimum of 5 examples of correct or inaccurate depictions (comparisons) must be included in the paper.
4. Would you change this movie in any way to better portray this sexuality issue?
5. What implicit and explicit messages does this movie contain about sex and sexuality? What do you think about these messages? Are they positive or negative?
See instructions for written assignments found in the syllabus. Submit your paper through BB on due date assigned in syllabus.
The following films are suggested and approved for this assignment. If you want to select another movie that is not on the list, please e-mail me, I MUST approve your alternate film selection.
1. The Birdcage (1996) A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancé’s right-wing moralistic parents. (Comedy, gay).
2. Boys Don’t Cry (1999) A drama film based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transsexual man who was raped and murdered by his male friends after they discovered his gender history. The movie received lots of media attention when its star Hilary Swank, who played Brandon, won the Academy Award for Best Actress. (Drama, transsexual).
3. Brokeback Mountain (2005)- Sexuality of both characters portrayed as fluid. The film displays a love relationship between same-sex male partners in the American West; who are simultaneously struggling with their opposite gender relationships. Self-acknowledgement and self-acceptance in recognizing one’s own sexual identity is portrayed. (Drama, gay, questioning)
4. But I’m a Cheerleader (1999) – Satirical romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit and written by Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, a high school cheerleader whose parents send her to a residential inpatient conversion therapy camp to cure her lesbianism (Comedy, lesbian)
5. The Crying Game (1992) The Crying Game is about the experiences of Fergus (Stephen Rea), as a member of the IRA, his brief but meaningful encounter with Jody (Forest Whitaker) who is held prisoner by the group, and his unexpected romantic relationship with Jody’s transgendered girlfriend, Dil (Jaye Davidson) whom Fergus promised Jody he would protect. However, unexpected events force Fergus to decide what he wants for the future, and ultimately what his nature dictates he must do. (Psychological thriller, romantic, transgender)
6. In and Out (1997) Howard Brackett’s high school English students are astonished. Is it really true that their favorite high school teacher may be gay? But hey, he can’t be gay; he’s about to get married! Then again, he also teaches the drama class and boy, does he love those Barbra Streisand records. (Comedy, Gay, questioning)
7. Kinsey (2004). A biographical film written and directed by Bill Condon. It describes the life of Alfred Kinsey (played by Liam Neeson), a pioneer in the area of sexology. His 1948 publication, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (the first of the Kinsey Reports) was one of the first recorded works that tried to scientifically address and investigate sexual behavior in humans.(Drama, sexuality research)
8. Midnight Cowboy (1969). Hustler Buck forms an unlikely friendship with junky Rico “Ratso” Rizzo. Academy Award winner for Best Picture. (Drama, Male Prostitution)
9. Milk (2008). The story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California’s first openly gay elected official. (Drama, Gay rights)
10. Monster (2003). A crime drama film about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in Florida in 2002 for killing six men (she was not tried for a seventh murder) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Wuornos was played by Charlize Theron and her fictionalized lover, Selby Wall (based on Wuornos’ real lover Tyria Moore), was played by Christina Ricci (Drama, prostitution).
11. Moonlight (2016). Following the life of Chiron, a young, queer Black man growing up in Miami, the film’s sensual cinematography and weighted tones of latent sexual expression paint a vivid and complex exploration of identity (Drama, sexual identity).
12. Philadelphia (1993). When a man with AIDS is fired by a conservative law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small-time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit (HIV/ADIS, gay).
13. Reader (2008). Focuses on the definition and consequences of sexual abuse. It involves the relationship between a teenager and a much older woman (Kate Winslet) in post WWII Germany (drama, sexual abuse).
14. Secretary (2002). Erotic black comedy romantic drama film directed by Steven Shainberg. he film explores the intense relationship between a dominant lawyer and his submissive secretary, who indulge in various types of BDSM activity such as erotic spanking and Petplay (Comedy, BDSM).
15. Taken (2008). A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who was kidnapped on a trip to Paris to be sold into prostitution. Sex (Drama, Sex Trafficking)
16. To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995). Three drag queens (Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo) travel cross-country until their car breaks down, leaving them stranded in a small town. (Comedic drama, transsexuals)
17. TransAmerica (2005). A comedy-drama starring Felicity Huffman, who plays Bree, a transsexual woman. At its heart, “Transamerica” (Weinstein) explores familiar themes of family bonds, interpersonal connection and parent-child dysfunction, but with an unconventional and morally problematic twist: The parent here is a preoperative transsexual man.
