This essay aims to analyse the
representation of women, with specific reference to“The Witches of Eastwick”
(1987) and “Hocus Pocus” (1993). Representation is defined as being “the
process by which the media present us to the real world” (Bennett P et al,
2006, Page 269). For the purpose of this
essay, the DVD covers of both of the films are going to be analysed. This essay aims to show that through hegemony,
both of the covers impose the ideological beliefs of societies view of women.
On the cover of ‘Hocus Pocus’ the female
stars are shown predominately in front of the moon, which is iconographic of
horror and often is seen as a centre of supernatural activity, this suggests
that in this film they are at the centre of the activity, thus representing
them as being powerful. Iconography is defined as the “specified
or traditional symbolic forms associated with the subject or theme of a
stylized work of art.” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/iconography). The
“Witches of Eastwick” women are shown as being slightly faded into the
background which suggests that they are in more of a supporting role, with Jack
Nicholson portrayed much more clearly, with lightning surrounding him
suggesting his is an important primary role, which supports the theory that
“men are often presented in films as the people in and of history, who shape
the destinies of both their own lives and the societies they inhibit. Women on
the other hand are typically in supportive roles” (Jacobus Fourie, P. 2001,
Page 234). On the other hand, the representations on the covers are as similar
as both sets of women are represented as sexual objects.
On the
‘Witches of Eastwick’ front cover, only the women’s faces are shown, which
suggests that what they look like is what matters, this is similar to the
‘Hocus Pocus’ cover, where Sarah Jessica Parker is wearing a significantly
shorter skirt to the others and straddling the handle of the vacuum cleaner
showing the garter on her leg, which is sexually suggestive and appealing to
the male gaze. The vacuum cleaner handle is phallic imagery, further suggesting
the sexuality of Sarah Jessica Parker. “Mulveys concept of the male gaze can be
found in both print and televisual text, where a woman’s body is represented as
an object of the masculine gaze and a producer of voyeuristic pleasure.”
(Carilli, T. 2005, Page 6) Bette Midler is notably central in the picture,
which is a statement that she is dominant, and the most powerful of the three. Also,
through ideology, the cover is pragmatically suggesting an association between
women and vacuum cleaners, which attaches itself to the stereotype that women
should be domestic. So although the women are seen as being independent here,
with no men on the front cover, they are still tied to the stereotypes that
surround women in the media. This is supportive of the statement that “women
are shown as being subordinate, passive, submissive and marginal, performing a limited number of secondary and
uninteresting tasks confined to their sexuality, their emotions and their
domesticity” (Strinati, D. 2004, Page 171) In this case, the task confined
to their sexuality in terms of domesticity is cleaning.
Each
woman on the cover is representative of different facets of the courtesan archetype
of the female stereotype, with Sarah Jessica Parker shown as the stereotypical
‘sex object’, which is reinforced by the statement that “Mulvey’s theory
argues that in nearly all media representations of women, the viewer is put in
the masculine subject position, with the figure of the woman on screen as the
object of desire.”
( http://mediaalevel.edublogs.org/2010/07/02/the-male-gaze/). Bette Midler
shown as the matriarch (or earth mother) and Kathy Najimy as the good wife. A
matriarch is “a woman (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/matriarch). These
facets are considered the typical stereotypes of women, and the fact that they
are represented by separate women suggests that they cannot be more than one. These
representations also reinforce Hollywood’s patriarchal society beliefs and
values, in terms of how women must behave. For instance, a housewife cannot
also be seen as a sexual object and vice versa. This reinforces Rosemary Bettertons’
statement that “through the representation, women are reduced to the status of
objects” (Betterton, R. 1987, Page 199). Similarly in ‘The Witches of Eastwick’
cover, the lightning coming from Jack Nicholson’s hands, surrounding the three
women suggests that they are within his control, which creates a sense of
patriarchy. Therefore following the hegemonic model and adhering to the
standards of patriarchal society.
Patriarchy
is defined as being “the manifestation and institutionalisation of male
dominance over women and children in the family and the extension of male
dominance over women in general. It implies that men hold power in all the
important institutions in society and that women are deprived of access to such
power” (Burton, M. Reed, T. 1999, Page 46). In this context, Jack Nicholson is
the primary male authoritive figure and he has power and authority over the
three women above him, suggesting that they are subordinate. This supports
Mulvey’s statement that “men are the central agents in most mainstream popular
films, with women serving as the decorative objects of their actions or
desires.” (Kramarae, C. 2000, Page 197) On the back cover, Jack Nicholson is also seen
raising his arm in the direction of the three women, who are shown in a
considerably smaller picture while he is shown as being much larger, this may
be interpreted as him asserting his masculinity and authority over the women.
On the other hand, the women are shown on the right, which implies that they
are dominant, and there are three of them while there is only one male, which
could be an implication that they are in fact the ones in possession of the
power.
Similarly, in terms of women possessing power, on the back cover of
‘Hocus Pocus’, Bette Midler is again seen with lighting coming from her hands
(which appears to be iconographic of power in supernatural horror films), over-powering
a teenage boy, showing that she is dominative over a male in the frame. But
this contradicts her aforementioned matriarchal role. Or it could also be seen
as affirming it, as she is reinforcing her position as the most powerful and
the leader of the group.
Also, in
the picture underneath the characters are seen looking up in fear, which further suggests that she is feared and thus powerful, which implies again, that the women are in
control in the films. On the cover of the ‘Witches of Eastwick’,
Jack Nicholson, the primary authoritative figures name is over the three female’s
names, which further suggests that he takes a more dominant role and that he is
more powerful than they are. Whereas on the cover of ‘Hocus Pocus’, Bette
Midler’s name is above the other two and she is central, suggesting that she is
the more dominant in this scenario. Furthermore, on the back cover of the film,
Bette is again shown in the middle of the other two, which suggests that she is
in some way the centre of the group and thus ‘the powerful one’, contrasting
the idea that only men can assert power.
Although,
it could be argued that Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer on ‘The
Witches of Eastwick’ are represented as powerful here, as they are above Jack
Nicholson, which suggests that they are dominant over him. However, they could
be seen as having power here, they are still there to appeal to the male gaze,
which supports the statement that “although females are as competent and
capable as any male, women must still adhere to traditional standards of
feminine beauty.” (Meyers, M. 2008, Page 20) This could also be applied to the
‘Hocus Pocus’ cover, in that although Bette Midler is seen with lightning coming
from her hands, connoting power. But she is also wearing make-up, which
suggests that she is trying to appeal to the male audience, thus adhering to
the traditional standards of feminine beauty.
Although,
this could be interpreted differently in that Kathy Najimy and Bette Midler are
both wearing non-revealing clothes, unlike Sarah Jessica Parker. This is a comment on the matter of age,
implying that older women are not sexual. This is a pluralist statement that
not all women are sexual objects, and that they can take on other roles in
society. She is represented as being a temptress; reinforcing the idea that she
is there for the sole purpose of being looked at and observed as a sexual
object. A temptress is “a woman who sets out to allure or seduce a man
or men” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/temptress). This could also be seen as a statement that
only young women can be seen as desirable. By not conforming to being a sexual
object, they imply that there is more to them than their bodies or what they
look like. This could be seen as “a departure from Disney tradition, in which
beauty (at least for women) is consistently touted as the ultimate virtue”
(Booker, M. 2010, Page 54.). Similarly
on ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ cover, only the women’s faces can be seen, which
implies that although their faces and what they look like is important, their
bodies do not have to be seen in order for them to be validated by the male
gaze. This further supports the theory
that women, like men can be powerful. But despite them having power, a woman being
represented is far from flattering, and considered negative as “witches” are
seen as hags.
Due to
the age rating difference between the films, there is a definite difference in
the way the women are represented also. With ‘Hocus Pocus’ being a PG, the
women are not shown to be under the power of dominant male, as the
representation of them being a sexual object to a man would be deemed
inappropriate to a PG audience. This goes against the usual patriarchal
structure of a Disney whereas with the ‘Witches of Eastwick’ being an 18, the
women being shown as objects to the man would seem more acceptable to an 18
plus audience. Although feminists would argue that despite the rating, the
representation of women as objects is still not acceptable, as the cover is
still patriarchal in the image that it portrays of the women. But in opposition to this, although both sets of women in each film are represented similarly
in that both texts show a trio of women, surrounded by lightning, which
suggests that they are powerful, there are significant differences between
them. On the ‘Hocus Pocus’ front cover, the three women are the only characters
that can be seen, which suggests their importance and protagonist status in the
film.
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