Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

In many societies in developing countries, women are not given a chance to communicate their issues. The organisation within these societies places men at the top, giving them the opportunity to make all the important decisions. This situation is reflected in the two films which fall under this study, namely, Water and Moolaadé both of which are fictional representations of the oppression of women. In this study, an attempt is made to explain communication struggles in the two films: Water, reflecting Indian society and Moolaadé, reflecting African society. To understand the outcome of these struggles against patriarchy, the study looks at two types of feminism: Indian feminism and African feminism and attempts to find the sense that characters in the film can be understood. The analysis also looks at what the women, who act as feminists in the films have achieved out of their struggles to break the silence and how their voices have influenced or sensitised the silenced majority of women in their societies. Feminist communication theories have been used to analyse the female voice in the films. In the conclusion, I have argued that in both films women have managed to transform their respective societies. However more potential to social transformation are revealed by women depicted in Moolaadé than in Water, where there is very slow pace of change.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of California, Santa Cruz, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 291-310) Also available online. Restricted to UC campuses.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 10, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Lee Wilkins. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2003. / Restricted until October 2004. Bibliography: leaves 117-121.

Empowered, embattled and embittered women seem to be everywhere in the media today. Either in film, on television or on the Internet, there are more and more women being shown in a variety of working roles. Women are being shown in nontraditional jobs, they are allowed to work in the man's world and they can take charge. All of these things are remarkable but a note of caution is needed, for while these women are working the boardroom the girls are taking over.Women in power are increasingly being shown as unattractive, undesirable and unpleasant. While their counterparts- girls, are shown as loving, lovable and sweet. Films are reinforcing the girlish archetypal ideal by allowing girls to be the winners in nearly all situations.Female characters may begin the story as independent women but they are soon shown the error of their ways and are quickly reduced to a more pleasant, more malleable girl by the film's end.The content analysis of 37 Best Actress Academy Awardwinning films revealed that women are reduced to girls nearly 87 percent of the time. These women gave up their careers, or at least their career goals. They changed their appearance, they altered their personal goals and they suddenly found a way to express more emotion than they ever had in their life as a woman.Further analysis revealed that several subthemes were present in the films. In 19 of the 37 films women were raped or they were the victims of attempted rape. In 12 of the 37 films women were widows, they either began the film as a widow or they were to shortly suffer the grief of widowhood. In 22 of the 37 women are the victims of violence or they are threatened with violence and in 15 of the 37 films the characters are threatened with the loss of their home or they are struggling to make the journey to their home.The final analysis revealed that women were either pitied, maligned, abused or raped while girls were celebrated, loved and adored. / Department of Journalism

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Kansas, 2008. / Adviser: Catherine Preston. Includes bibliographical references.

Em cenário brasileiro, os estudos de gênero se consolidam no final da década de 70, com fortalecimento dos movimentos feministas que possuíam reivindicações específicas do universo feminino. Ao longo dos anos, esta luta por direitos de igualdade, construiu uma significativa representação da imagem da mulher na sociedade, que busca ultrapassar a imagem tradicional e estereotipada, advinda de forças patriarcais e machistas. A construção dessa mudança é o resultado de muitas elaborações críticas e teóricas por parte da comunidade acadêmica que, interessada nos estudos culturais e pós-estruturalistas, começou a pensar criticamente sobre as questões de gênero, e mais especificamente sobre a posição e representação da mulher no contexto sociocultural. Portanto, compreender a analítica da categoria gênero, levou para a sociedade, o reconhecimento de uma variedade de formas de interpretação, simbolização e organização das diferenças sexuais nas relações sociais, perfilando um crítico discurso que se espalhou também pelas ciências da comunicação, sobretudo o cinema. Nesta perspectiva, a intenção desta pesquisa é apresentar um estudo sobre a imagem da mulher na cinematografia brasileira dos filmes dirigidos por mulheres no período entre 2002 a 2012. Os filmes foram selecionados e categorizados de acordo com uma ficha de análise em três diferentes categorias, filmes que reforçam a identidade da mulher, filmes que questionam a identidade da mulher e filmes que desconstroem a identidade da mulher e, diante disso, busca apresentar uma reflexão que vai além da categorização identitária, como um modo de interrogar a construção de premissas definidoras de gêneros e aliando-se ao conceito de performatividade para abordar a impossibilidade de definição de identidades, por meio de características normalizadas para a definirem. / In the Brazilian context, gender studies are consolidated at the end of the 70s, with strengthening of feminist movements who had specific demands of the feminine universe. Over the years, this struggle for equal rights, has built a significant image of women's representation in society, which seeks to overcome traditional and stereotypical images, arising from patriarchal and chauvinistic forces. The construction of this change is the result of much criticism and theoretical elaborations by the academic community, interested in cultural studies and post-structuralist, he began to think critically about gender issues, and more specifically on the position and representation of women in sociocultural context. Therefore, understanding the analytical category of gender, took to the society, the recognition of a variety of forms of interpretation, symbolization and organization of sex differences in social relations, outlining a critical discourse that is also spread by the communication sciences, especially cinema. In this perspective, the intent of this research is to present a study on the image of women in Brazilian cinematography of films directed by women between 2002 and 2012. The films were selected and categorized according to a summary sheet in three different categories, movies that reinforce the woman's identity, films that question the identity of the woman and movies that deconstruct the identity of the woman and, before that, seeks to present a reflection that goes beyond identity categorization as a way to question the construction of premises defining genres and combining with the concept of Performativity to address the impossibility of defining identity, through standard for defining characteristics.

Em cenário brasileiro, os estudos de gênero se consolidam no final da década de 70, com fortalecimento dos movimentos feministas que possuíam reivindicações específicas do universo feminino. Ao longo dos anos, esta luta por direitos de igualdade, construiu uma significativa representação da imagem da mulher na sociedade, que busca ultrapassar a imagem tradicional e estereotipada, advinda de forças patriarcais e machistas. A construção dessa mudança é o resultado de muitas elaborações críticas e teóricas por parte da comunidade acadêmica que, interessada nos estudos culturais e pós-estruturalistas, começou a pensar criticamente sobre as questões de gênero, e mais especificamente sobre a posição e representação da mulher no contexto sociocultural. Portanto, compreender a analítica da categoria gênero, levou para a sociedade, o reconhecimento de uma variedade de formas de interpretação, simbolização e organização das diferenças sexuais nas relações sociais, perfilando um crítico discurso que se espalhou também pelas ciências da comunicação, sobretudo o cinema. Nesta perspectiva, a intenção desta pesquisa é apresentar um estudo sobre a imagem da mulher na cinematografia brasileira dos filmes dirigidos por mulheres no período entre 2002 a 2012. Os filmes foram selecionados e categorizados de acordo com uma ficha de análise em três diferentes categorias, filmes que reforçam a identidade da mulher, filmes que questionam a identidade da mulher e filmes que desconstroem a identidade da mulher e, diante disso, busca apresentar uma reflexão que vai além da categorização identitária, como um modo de interrogar a construção de premissas definidoras de gêneros e aliando-se ao conceito de performatividade para abordar a impossibilidade de definição de identidades, por meio de características normalizadas para a definirem. / In the Brazilian context, gender studies are consolidated at the end of the 70s, with strengthening of feminist movements who had specific demands of the feminine universe. Over the years, this struggle for equal rights, has built a significant image of women's representation in society, which seeks to overcome traditional and stereotypical images, arising from patriarchal and chauvinistic forces. The construction of this change is the result of much criticism and theoretical elaborations by the academic community, interested in cultural studies and post-structuralist, he began to think critically about gender issues, and more specifically on the position and representation of women in sociocultural context. Therefore, understanding the analytical category of gender, took to the society, the recognition of a variety of forms of interpretation, symbolization and organization of sex differences in social relations, outlining a critical discourse that is also spread by the communication sciences, especially cinema. In this perspective, the intent of this research is to present a study on the image of women in Brazilian cinematography of films directed by women between 2002 and 2012. The films were selected and categorized according to a summary sheet in three different categories, movies that reinforce the woman's identity, films that question the identity of the woman and movies that deconstruct the identity of the woman and, before that, seeks to present a reflection that goes beyond identity categorization as a way to question the construction of premises defining genres and combining with the concept of Performativity to address the impossibility of defining identity, through standard for defining characteristics.