Representation of Women in the Past

In the 1950's to the 1970's there were only 25-30% female characters.Action adventure shows- 15 percent of the leading character were female.
Women's movement had been largely ignored by television.
Female charcters were unlikley to work.
Men to be the dominant character making all the decisions.
Men- assertive.
Females- passive.
The role of a women in a film almost always revolves around her physical attraction.
Women are given less screen time.
Male role films- Indian Jones
Female leading roles- Tomb raider.
Tuchman asserts that those women who were shown to be working were portrayed as "incompetents and inferiors" , as victimes, or having "trivial" intrests.

Dyer 1987- Womens issues have arrived on the media agenda- documentaries, discussion programmes and dramas on female topics such as infertility, cervical and breast cancer, rape etc.

Kathi Maio- observed that Hollywood's about gender were "often reprehensible."
E. Ann Kaplan- "women are ultimately refused a voice, a discourse and their desire is subjected to male desire. They live out silently.