Framing the women in a position of subordination and weakness
When women do appear in the movie posters, their presence is always accompanied by that of the male characters to the effect that they appear framed by their masculinity. This establishes a relationship within the posters such that the women are portrayed as subordinate to masculine authority and desire. This is especially true of Chicago, in which the portrayal of Catherine Zeta-Jones’ and Renee Zellweger’s characters flanking Richard Gere’s character sets up what Solomon-Godeau (1996) would call a “fantasy of possession”[1].The manner of their stance in the posters implies the leading male’s success in asserting his possession over multiple women. Possession suggests the objectification of women as accessories for the leading male to flaunt as signals of his masculinity and dominance, and this automatically leaves the women to occupy a subordinate position in the poster.
Likewise in Million Dollar Baby, the female lead is relegated to a subordinate position, though in a slightly different manner. Although the poster appears to depart from traditional depictions of women by depicting its female lead, Hilary Swank’s character prominently, we would not say it is entirely radical in its depiction. Our viewing of the female lead cannot be divorced from the presence of two men on either side of the poster which makes her appear framed within a patriarchal context. Whatever messages of feminine empowerment and physical prowess sent by her chiselled features and hardened expression are ultimately neutralised by the fact that she cannot break out of the patriarchal frame in which she has been placed. This leads to our reading of the poster as one that portrays women as subordinate to the patriarchal context from which they cannot escape, though in a more subtle manner than other posters.
Regardless of their position in movie posters, women are inevitably depicted as the subordinate gender. As Philip Green argues, “even [if] a female protagonist is meant to admired for her toughness [it is also equally important to remind] us, the audience, that she is different, and that she carries her difference with her like an unmistakable threat.” to the men[2]. It appears that in order to neutralise this threat, women must always occupy a subordinate position in the posters. That this needs to be and is always done is telling of a patriarchal attitude inherent in the mainstream movie industry that does not allow women to assert their independence and strength separately from the male presence.
In depicting women as subordinate to male superiority, authority and desire, movie posters also portray the female gender as inherently weak and passive. The proximity of strong and dominant male characters to the female characters translates to the inability of women, old and young alike to exist independently from the male presence, hence their weak nature. This is clearly evident in Crash. The poster’s depiction of an agonized father hugging his young daughter immediately evokes the viewer’s sympathy on the grounds that the young daughter needs her father’s protection in order to thrive in the world of the movie. Furthermore, the fact that her back faces the viewer is telling of the poster treating her as an anonymous victim; her faceless nature translates to an underlying message of the female gender as being weak from young and therefore in need of protection from a male source.
In Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, we see a drastic contrast between Liv Tyler’s character and the other male characters in that she lacks the weapons and aggressive stance that the others have. Her simple pose and feminine clothing depict her as a gentle female patiently awaiting the end of the war being fought by the male characters, as is implied by the poster’s contents. This translates to feminine passivity and in turn her weakness because she does not participate in the same activity that seems to be dominated by the male characters.
All in all, the representation of women in movie posters is such that they always occupy a subordinate position in relation to its masculine visual elements. The lack of authority accorded to women in the movie posters automatically leads to their depiction as weak and passive. That this is a trend that is found in all posters depicting women indicates an overtly patriarchal attitude in the movie industry as it constantly depicts the female gender as essentially inferior to the male gender.