Feminism in life on mars
Liberal feminist
A liberal feminist response might suggest that the 70s representation is intended to be ironic and should be accepted as such, in the belief that a contemporary audience viewing this would question and challenge these values, thus challenging the dominant social values of contemporary society. They might argue that the female roles are necessarily limited by the legislation of the period and that, in fact, Annie Cartwright is important within the narrative. Her journey may be perceived as the beginning of a shift to more positive representations of women in the media, which is what they seek. However, the notion that women themselves are constrained by social stereotypes or ‘norms’ is exemplified by Mrs. Raimes’ comments on the “lady policeman”.
Radical feminist
A radical feminist response may reject the representations as illustrative of a male-dominated hegemony in which the (male-dominated) media producers of the text (male writers, directors, the BBC) are reinforcing patriarchal values. They may argue that even though the text is intended to be viewed in context (i.e. the “dated” gender roles of the 70s are intended to be seen ironically through 21st century eyes), the gender stereotypes are still being reinforced for mainstream audiences. They may believe that the only way to challenge this is to have media texts produced by women.
Socialist feminist
A socialist feminist response may see the representations as reflecting the agendas of the elite capitalist groups within society. The police station may be read as a microcosm of a world in which women have only domesticated (nurturing) or sexual roles which are undervalued by society as a whole, but which are essential for society to function. The female characters’ subservient roles are emphasised by their lack of empowerment and agency (e.g. the male reaction to Annie’s psychological evaluation of the killer), which reflects unequal pay structures and employment prospects.
Bell Hooks
Bell hooks’ theory argues that feminism is a struggle to end
patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination, and
that the position of the underrepresented is by class and race as well as gender.
In life on mars we can see the contrast between women’s different social positions within society. Maya represents how women’s social roles have changed to be more equal however Annie contrasts this and shows how in the 1960s. In this time period it shows that men are superior to women and have more rights.
Representation
- In 1973 men has more rights than women so the character Annie didn't have as many rights and is mistreated. When sam asks Annie to help them with the case, she seemed a bit timid, probably because none of the other detective have asked for her input before.
- When sam says that Annie has a BA in psychology they all mock her as if it isn’t important or an achievement. This could suggest that even though she may be more intelligent than the others, they believe that it isn't her job to be doing what they're doing so they ignore the fact that she can help.
- Annie isn't taken seriously by the male detectives and they treat her like a sexual object. They joke around and ask her for a strip tease and one of them say he looks at her lips all the time which shows their lack of respect towards her.
Socialist feminist view
The police station may be read as a microcosm of a world in which women have only domesticated (nurturing) or sexual roles which are undervalued by society as a whole, but which are essential for society to function. The female characters’ subservient roles are emphasised by their lack of empowerment and agency (e.g. the male reaction to Annie’s psychological evaluation of the killer), which reflects unequal pay structures and employment prospects
Mise en scene
In the 1970s clip, all the men are dressed in casual wear, whereas women all have to wear a specific uniform that makes them stand out against the men. Having to wear long skirts down to their knees.
Binary opposite
Annie vs Maya
Annie and Maya show a clear contrast of the respect and rights towards women.
Maya is a modern day police detective and when she is discussing the case with Sam we can see that she confidently inputs her opinions however Sam does start to interrupt her so she can't get her point across. Maya is very independent as she will go with her gut feeling, just like what she does when decides to go and investigate on her own.
Annie is a police women in the 1970’s and when Sam asks her to input her ideas she seems confused and so do the other police detectives. Annie wouldn't feel comfortable to voice her opinion on the case, possibly because of the reactions she will get from the male police detective.
These two binary opposites show that as time goes on, equality changes and that women's roles in the workplace have developed.
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