Summaries for Douglas 4-5

In Chapter Four, Douglas ushers in the idea of “new girliness,” which she, true to form, looks at through popular media.  She begins by looking at the entrance of “chick flicks” to the movie scene, walking through the their development from when producers at first believed they would be a flop, and then to the growth of the genre.  The first movie she looks at is Clueless, which she believes pioneered the genre and opened movies to the portrayal of women both as feminine and in roles of power, while also enforcing female stereotypes.  Douglas supports parts of some movies, but almost never fully gets behind any piece of modern media.  One part she especially likes from movies such as Clueless and What Women Want is the idea that there is a female narrative, which empowers women and opens up movies to the ideas and feelings of women.  However, she harshly notes that the thoughts that movies show to be prevalent in women’s minds are more stereotypical.  Although I have not seen all of the movies and shows that she mentions and critiques (such as Ally McBeal), I’ve seen a few, so I was able to associate more strongly with those.  In particular, she spends a large portion of the chapter looking at Miss Congeniality and Legally Blonde, analyzing the different portrayals of women in each.  In Miss Congeniality, Douglas praises the “distinctly nongirly elements” of the character of Gracie Hart, yet looks to the conclusion of the movie when Hart “gets her guy” as examples where the movies goes wrong because it shows that “girliness is essential to heterosexual love.”  However, I feel as though she should keep in mind that the movie is designed as a romantic comedy, so it’s a bit of a requirement, at least in my mind, that there is a romantic coupling at the end.  At the same time, I understand her point that the producer does give some power (in Douglas’s mind, unnecessarily) to “girliness” towards the end of the movie.  As for Legally Blonde, Douglas is even more critical and points to the “fantasy [that is supported in the movie] that girly knowledge matters” in the real world, such as knowing the chemical reactions required for certain hairstyles to set.  I had never thought of the movie with the intent of analyzing the gender stereotypes before, but I suppose I see her point.  However, I also think it’s interesting that the movie shows Elle, the main character, pulling away from the stereotype that she needs her dream guy to succeed, while also succeeding in typically male-dominated industry.

In Chapter Five, Douglas looks in depth at the effect of race on feminism and the effectiveness of women to spread their message.  She looks especially at the dichotomy between “Black Speak” and standard white English, and the power it can have over audiences.  Douglas has the perspective that successful (famous) black women have a far easier time being direct about their aims and goals.  They can criticize both white and black men more easily, because it fits better with the “sassy black woman” stereotype.  She characterizes them as “brazen, smart-mouthed towers of strength” that she wishes she could be like at times.  However, Douglas also notes that black women across the board are in a far worse position, aside from the ones who are successful and have the ability to easily criticize others around them without drawing as much ire from others.  Douglas then slides into an analysis of hip-hop culture, trying to figure out where the powerful black woman image came from originally.  She looks to female rappers such as Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and Salt-N-Pepa, and notes how their lyrics are generally in sharp contrast to their male counterparts.  As hip-hop and other elements of black culture spread throughout American society, it gave strength to the movement, allowing black TV shows to proliferate and even directly cause the success of FOX and other networks.  Americans accepted “black TV,” and even began to watch shows such as Oprah’s.  Oprah has (had) the unique ability to have a show that appealed to white women as much as black women, both on account of the issues she addressed and talked about as well as her switching between Black Speak and normal white English.  Her show helped break down a lot of barricades and barriers about race relations as well as empowering women.  Douglas also briefly forays into the scene of TV shows with “token” black roles, such as lab technicians or nurses.  She points to the obvious issues with their roles, and questions why it is so hard for there to be a black female role with no serious underlying issues or domestic problems.  Overall, Douglas believes that black women have misconstrued power on television, and that their situation is far more dire than most believe due to the influence of several powerful black women.  However, it is impossible to say that progress has not been made in the right direction.