Depictions of girlhood and young women in the media reflect prevailing power structures and norms. In order to understand and challenge these structures, it is important to underscore how they are produced on film. As Coppola's works tend to put the young woman and her experiences in focus, the exploration of how women are represented in her work as a female filmmaker can illuminate how she both adapts to and opposes patriarchal structures. By taking factors such as the intersectional aspects of gender, class and sexuality into consideration, a more nuanced interpretation of complex societal norms and power structures concerning young femininity can be identified. This thesis examines the representation of young women in Coppolas three first films; The Virgin Suicides (1999), Lost in Translation (2003), and Marie Antoinette (2006). By using a multimodal critical discourse analysis focusing on the semiotic concepts of denotation and connotation, as well as applying an intersectional theoretical framework, the study finds similarities in the representation of young female characters in Coppola's three works. Based on the intersectional gender perspective, common depictions of women's gender, class and sexuality are made visible. The representation of the characters both challenges and reinforces patriarchal norms and social structures. Common to all young female characters is a dissatisfaction with the situations that they find themselves in due to a patriarchal social structure. Trapped by class affiliation, gender normative structures and sexual expectations, Coppola’s young women seek liberation from patriarchal structures, but despite their attempts they never fully succeed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-532584 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Jansson, Olivia, Mamberg, Edith |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för informatik och media |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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