Femininity and Audience: A Study on the Audience Perceptions on Construction of Femininity in Fantasy Films

Abstract

Fantasy movies have a huge audience fan base. The money involved in the production of these movies was met by the large revenue generated by them. The unnatural world created by the visual effects draw the attention and interest of many movie lovers. Nevertheless, the gender portrayal of these movies follow the pattern of the movies of other genres. The femininity and masculinity propagated by these movies are abided by the rules of the patriarchal society. This research study aims to find out the audience perception about the femininity in the fantasy movies. In order to obtain a deeper understanding, focus group was used as a method to examine the attitudes of the audiences pertaining to the femininity portrayed in the high fantasy movies. The results presented the understanding and opinion of the audiences with respect to the roles and characteristics of female characters in top rated fantasy movies.