Bossy Women: Portrayals of Female Power in Hollywood Films

Name of student

University of the Incarnate Word

Abstract

Hollywood films notoriously repackage stock characters which personify conventional, oversimplified, and often demeaning stereotypes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how powerful women are depicted in the films, The Devil Wears Prada and The Proposal, and consider how these portrayals contribute to gender biases and the “Bitchy Boss” trope. This paper addresses the commonalities in the cinematic representative images of powerful women in the media by examining similarities in: physical appearance, attitude behavior, and the ability to sustain romantic relationships. Furthermore, this paper will discuss how cliché depictions negatively influence and affect audience’s perceptions.

Keywords: gender, stereotypes, biases, power, media, film

Introduction

Mass media act as one of the most persuasive influencers in shaping our beliefs, expectations and perceptions. In fact, media’s images of gender affect our perceptions even if we’re not consciously aware that it is occurring. In Western media, gender is regularly depicted in a very narrow and stereotypical way, which perpetuates an unrealistic and distorted view of reality for both men and women. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how powerful women are represented in the films, The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and The Proposal (2009). Both films feature a female boss who possesses power, success, and wealth, yet act as the antagonist. This paper will first discuss the portrayals of women in Hollywood and then conduct a textual analysis of the aforementioned films to examine how women in power are portrayed in ways that contribute to gender biases and stereotypes towards women.

Literature Review

Underrepresentation of Women

One of the most common ways that media distorts reality and cultural life, is by underrepresenting women (Spiker, 2012). In mass media, female characters are repeatedly given stereotypical characteristics and story lines which adhere to cliché and established ideals of femininity. Such stereotypical portrayals limit our perceptions of human possibilities and have the power to distort how we see ourselves and what we consider to be “normal” and “desirable” in regards to gender.

The media have created two images of women: good woman and bad woman. “These polar opposites are often juxtaposed against each other to dramatize differences in the consequences that befall good women and bad women” (Wood, 2004). “Good” women are typically young, thin, submissive, and exceptionally beautiful. Furthermore, “good” women are depicted as motherly, overly dependent, passive and considerably vain and domesticated. In fact, Wood states that female characters “devote their primary energies to improving their appearances and taking care of homes and people (Wood, 2014). Moreover, the media regularly places emphasis on female sexuality and upward mobility through men, which reduces and undermines female advances and accomplishments (Ouellette, 1999). In short, this submissive and sexualized type of woman is considered to be “ideal” in society, yet the image is unrealistic and sexist.

Additionally, such representation fails to show the diversity amongst women and thus contributes to misrepresentation of the real world. In comparison to men, women receive less visibility in terms of personality and livelihood. In fact, it is much more common to see dependent rather than self-sufficient women in the media. Dutt states that while some genres portray women as independent, powerful and agentive individuals, many still succumb to patriarchal constructions (2014). Furthermore, when female characters stray from traditional roles, they are typically presented as flawed if not evil. Wood states that the lack of (diversity amongst) women in the media results from the scarcity of women in charge (2014).

Existing literature reveals that the media uses successful and wealthy women as objects of cultural derision (Lee et al., 2012). In fact, reality shows like The Real Housewives of New York City primes its audience to judge the extravagance of women by showing these ladies as arrogant neglectful of their private duties as mothers and tending to the home. Moreover, money is shown to negatively affect women’s ability to be self-aware, have relationships, and be competent mothers. This performance is termed as the “rich bitch,” “a bourgeois feminine character done up as a cartoonish trope,” whom sacrifices motherhood, empathy, and altruism (Lee et al., 2012). In short, this character trope pursues selfish material gains single-mindedly. “Always gendered (female), always classifies (leisure), and almost always rationalized,” (Lee et al., 2012). In relation to my study, this character relates in many ways to Hollywood’s female “bitchy boss” trope. The character type is typically an older women who is dominant, upper-classed and generally racialized as a white women.

Following the literature review, this study considers how powerful women are “othered” in Hollywood films and deemed “bad women” by showcasing them as the antagonist. Furthermore, a lack of diversity is prevalent in regards to the portrayal of women in the media which leads to a very limited idea of women’s possibilities in regards to profession, character and appearance.

Method: 

Through the use of textual analysis, I examined two films that were made in the early 2000’s, both of which feature a female (boss) character who acts as the antagonist. In my analysis, I examined and compared how the two films adhere to narrow and stereotypical character tropes which promote gender biases and negative stigmas towards powerful women. In doing so, I focused on three themes: appearance, attitude and behavior, and lastly, one’s ability to maintain romantic relationships.

Analysis: 

Women are not commonly portrayed as bosses in the media. However, on the occasions that they do, they usually take on the Bitchy Boss trope, which popular culture has adopted into its collection of stock characters for women. For the most part, successful women are labeled as “workaholics” and are portrayed as cold, insensitive, and willing to sacrifice their health and/or time away from family in order to excel in their career. Furthermore, money and success is regularly shown to destroy rather than enable women in their abilities (Lee et al., 2012.

To illustrate the following, I looked at the films: The Devil Wears Prada and The Proposal, both of which feature a female boss who is characterized as a cold and unpleasant superior in the work place. In doing so, I found that there are three common themes that are embodied by the “bossy” female character.

In the film, The Devil Wears Prada, Andrea Sachs, a recent graduate, is hired as the second assistant to Miranda Priestly, a powerful and demanding editor-in-chief of a high fashion magazine. Due to the pressures of Miranda and the world of fashion, Andrea eventually changes her attitude, behavior and style to essentially that of Miranda Priestly’s taste in order to fit in and excel at her new job. In doing so, her private life and relationship with her long-time boyfriend, Nate, begin to dwindle. Throughout the film, Miranda is portrayed as merciless, unsympathetic, exhausting to those around her and eccentric in her request. For example, when Miranda first meets Andrea, she is shown as dismissive and critical of Andrea’s style (prior to her “makeover”). Furthermore, in one scene Miranda demands that Andrea finds her a flight home for that very night, all the while there is a hurricane taking place, making the task impossible and completely out of Andrea’s hands. When Andrea fails to find a flight, Miranda ruthlessly insults Andrea’s appearance and work ethic and says that she has never been so disappointed by an assistant.

In the film, “The Proposal” a similar storyline follows. The film’s plot surrounds Margaret, a callous and overbearing executive editor who learns that she is facing deportation from the U.S. because her visa has expired. Determined to retain her position she pressures her assistant, Andrew Paxton, into marrying her, even at the expense of permanent deportation and the incarceration of Andrew. Prior to their sudden engagement, Margaret forces Andrew to cancel his plans to attend his grandmothers 90th birthday. Furthermore, Andrew his co-workers refer to Margaret as the “witch” of the office and it is made evident that they fear and loathe her presence. For instance, each time Margaret enters the office everyone instantly becomes tense and all smiles drop from the room. In one dramatic scene, she is called a “poisonous bitch” and a “monster,” in front of the entire office and is then told that she has no life outside of work and will die with “nothing and no one.”

Appearance

The similarities between Miranda and Margaret, in regards to appearance, set the tone for what powerful women look like. These individual characters are gendered (female), classed (upper-class), and racialized (white) in the same exact manner. Furthermore, both women are presented as mature women (25+), whose body type can be labeled as petite. In regards to apparel, the women are characterized as posh and fashionable. The issue is that this narrows representation and essentially establishes an idea or image of what powerful and successful women should look like. Thus, it is exclusive to a specific type of person and limits what society considers acceptable and attainable based solely on looks.

Attitude and Behavior

Secondly, powerful women are often pigeonholed as callous, “bitchy” and overbearing bosses, rather than determined, authoritative, or simply stern. Moreover, audiences are often positioned to judge these characters negatively because of their harsh personality and qualities that show lack of respect, altruism and empathy. For example, when Margaret overtly dismisses Andrews plans to attend his grandmothers 90th birthday, or when she offers the family pup to the preying eagle in exchange for her phone. Miranda is also shown to regularly treat others in a condescending manner, for example, each time she is finished speaking to Andrea, she contemptuously says “That’s all.” followed by a shooing motion. This behavior shows how poorly Miranda treats those who she considers beneath her. Margaret and Miranda’s characters act as the villain of the two films, with all other characters showing obvious signs of dislike and fear towards the women. This sort of framing of the female boss creates a negative impression of how women who take on authoritative positions in the work world act.

Romantic Relationships

Lastly, these two films show that powerful women are unable to sustain healthy and successful relationships. This notion ultimately comes as a result of their commitment to their careers, which takes away from their ability to fully commit to their significant other and/or love life in general. For example, Miranda is always shown as possessing success and control at all times and in every aspect of her life, on the contrary, she lacks such success and control in her marriage. In the one and only scene that Mr. Priestly is shown, he and Miranda are having an argument about her being late to dinner because of work. Mr. Priestly is shown as dismissive and fed up with his wife, yet she pleads and tries to reason with him. Towards the end of the film, Miranda confesses that she and her husband are getting a divorce. She states that she can only imagine what the headline will read: “Dragon lady… Career Obsessed Snow Queen Drives Away Another Mr. Priestly.”

In the film, “The Proposal,” Margaret is also shown to be out of touch with her love life. As mentioned earlier, in one scene she is told that she has no life outside of her work and that she will die miserable and alone because of it. Additionally, in scenes where she must be intimate with Andrew in order to keep up the façade of their engagement, she is presented as awkward and unable to show affection. Lastly, Margaret voices her inability to be in a relationship by telling Andrew that she’s always been alone because she is comfortable that way and it makes things easier. The following examples reveal how both Miranda and Margaret are painted as incompetent lovers who neglect personal relationships for the sake of their careers.

Conclusions

In conclusion, while these films were made in the early 2000’s, it is evident that these thematic narratives influence the way that women with power are viewed. Although women are receiving more diverse roles in the media, nonetheless, these former depictions paint a narrow and negative impression of female bosses which encourages the idea that women who are vocal are “bitchy” and/or “bossy.” Additionally, the lack of diversity amongst powerful women in the media sets the tone for how authoritative women must act and look. Thus, it is important that the media introduces successful and diverse female characters who do not play into the bitchy boss trope, for it can discourage girls and women from wanting to pursue success in their professional careers.

Works Cited

Dutt, R. (2014). Behind the Curtain: Women’s Representations in Contemporary Hollywood. Media@LSE, 1-40.

Lee, M. J., & Moscowitz, L. (2012). The “Rich Bitch”: Class and Gender on the Real Housewives of New York City. In Gender, Race, and Class in the Media (pp. 143-156). Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Ouellette, L. (1999). Inventing the Cosmo Girl: Class Identity and Girl-Style American Dream. In Gender, Race, and Class in the Media (pp. 258-270). SAGE Publications.

Spiker, J. A. (2012). Gender and Power in the Devil Wears Prada. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology, 16-26.

Wood, J. T. (2014). Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender. Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture, 31-41.