DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN’S ROLE IN SCI FI

FILMS

The Changing Role of Women

• Victorian era• Suffragettes• Women get the

vote• WWI 1914 – 18• WWII 1939 – 45• 1950’s Baby boom• 1960’s Women’s lib

• 1970’s women’s lib 2nd wave

• 1980’s Globalisation

• 1990’s Gulf war the 3rd wave feminism

• 2000 continuation women in leadership roles… 4th wave feminism?

1930s Women• Women mainly domestic or traditional roles –

Encouraged back into the home.• ‘New Women’ called ‘Vixens’ – not conforming

to traditional roles – moving away from marriage.

• Less vibrant decade for women • Depression meant less jobs for men• 1932 BBC Marriage bar meant married women

had to resign from work• 1930 Amy Johnson first woman to fly across the

Atlantic • 1938 The Married Women’s Association,

promote equality in marriage• 1939 outbreak of the second world war impacts

women’s lives profoundly

1970s• 1970 first meeting of the women’s liberation

Movement in Britain• Equal Pay act enshrines in law the principal of

equal pay for women• Women’s Lib Protestors disrupt the Miss World

Contest• Lots of Feminist literature published – eg: Kate

Millet, Germaine Greer

• 1971 Switzerland finally gives women the vote• 1971 First Women’s lib march in London• The US ban sexual discrimination in the

workplace• 1973 women are allowed on the floor of the

London Stock Exchange

• The women’s Aid Federation is set up to unite women’s refuges for battered women throughout Britain

• 1975 The sexual Discrimination act is passed making it illegal to discriminate against women in Education, recruitment and advertising

• Employment Protection act introduces maternity provision and makes it illegal to sack women who fall pregnant

• 1976 The Domestic Violence act enables women to obtain court orders against violent husbands

• 1979 Margaret Thatcher is elected Britain’s first woman Prime Minister

1980s• Power dressing for women, shoulder pads, suits,

reflecting the emergence of women in managerial positions

• 1983 Dr. Sally Ride becomes first US woman in space

• 1984 The equal pay act introduces equal pay for equal work

• 1986 The Sexual Discrimination Act enables women to retire at the same age as men

• 1987 Diane Abbot becomes Britain’s first black woman MP

• 1988 Benazir Bhutto becomes first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan

• 1988 First woman judge, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss

1990s and beyond…• 1990 Women in Navy able to go to sea for the

first time. Although still unable to go on submarines or be deep sea divers

• Independent taxation for women, women no longer taxed at same rate as husbands

• Mary Robinson becomes Ireland’s first woman Prime Minister

• 1991 Stella Rimmington first woman to head MI5

• Helen Sharman, Britain’s first woman astronaut

• 1991 Edith Cresson becomes France’s first woman Prime Minister

• 1992 Jo Salter qualifies as the first woman fast-jet pilot

• 1993 Gulf War – U.S women allowed to engage in mortal combat for the first time.

• 1994 The WRAF is integrated into the RAF• The Church of England ordains first woman

priests• Criminal Justice act marital rape is deemed

illegal• 1997 In the U.K for the first time some army

frontline jobs are offered to women. The move stopped short of allowing female military personnel to be infantry soldiers, tank crew or submariners

• Mary Robinson is appointed UN High Commissioner. The highest rank any woman has held in the UN

• 1999 Patricia Purves appointed first army woman brigadier

Women in Metropolis

• Two strong images are presented of women in this film.

1)Maria - in your

own words

DESCRIBE how

Maria is shown.

Why is this?

2) Women in the Eternal Gardens and of course..dun, dun, Duhhhh! Evil Maria!

Describe how she/ they are shown. Why could this be?

Women in Blade Runner

• Female replicants of Zhora, Pris and Rachel can be compared.

• Describe and compare/contrast the roles of these ‘women’ and how they differ from ‘Maria’ or ‘Evil Maria’ in Metropolis.

• Why has this ‘development’ occurred in the characterisation of these women? What has happened to generate this change?

Zhora, Pris and Rachel

Trinity in The Matrix

• Describe the character of Trinity.

• How is she similar and or different to other women characters in the past films.

• Why has this development of her characterisation occurred?