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Gender and identity in the media
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Gender and identity in the media
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Student number: 21505969 Assessment 2: Media, Culture and IdentitiesThe conflict between Angelina Jolie’s celebrity image as a female heroine, sex symbol, an activist
and a Dame, identifying how Jolie is constructed in the media
Introduction
This article will explore how Angelina Jolie’s role as an onscreen female heroine has changed to align
with modern day feminist discourses. There will be analysis of Jolie’s sex symbol status to
demonstrate how Jolie’s image is portrayed in the media. The emergence of Jolie’s changing celebrity
image as a dedicated humanitarian around the world will be analysed to inform how Jolie’s position in
the media has vastly transformed over the past two decades.
The beginnings of Jolie’s film career breakthrough launched when Jolie starred in the film Lara Croft:
Tomb raider (2001). Jolie plays a British female action heroine on a fearless quest to save the world,
though interestingly the film places prominence on the portrayal of the father and daughter relationship
(Tasker,1998). Jolie and her on-screen father Jon Voight (played by Jolie’s real-life father) are united
together in the film to provide Croft’s character, as the active woman, with an influential father figure to
guide and strengthen her position to fight and combat her opposition. Though, as Tasker (1998)
highlights Jolie’s later action heroine film roles including Mr and Mrs Smith (2005) and Wanted (2008)
portrayed Jolie as the female action heroine, who leads and coaches the central male protagonist to
become powerful. This shows Jolie’s pursuit as an onscreen female heroine has been a progressive
process for Jolie as she has clearly modified her role as the female heroine to acclimate with modern
day discourses. On the other hand, Tasker (1998) argues that the context of the films narrative functions
to re-inscribe traditional female roles. The female heroine arguably creates divide among feminist critics
as strong and powerful women are ambiguous in nature, the presence of the female heroine creates
ambivalent audience reactions (Tasker, 1998, p6). This suggests that Jolie is an onscreen chameleon as
the roles Jolie plays are often unpredictable signifying that Jolie was uncertain of her own identity as the
female action heroine.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) is one of the most popular cinematic female action adaptations within
the world of computer gaming with increased cultural visibility (Brown, 2004). Before, Jolie starred as
Lara Croft, it was actress Rhona Mitra who became the embodiment of Croft in the computer animated
series Tomb Raider (1996). Therefore, Tasker (1998) argues that there is no place the action heroine is
unable to explore, suggesting that the strong, active and independent woman can be recreated to enable
the active woman to appear on screen as well as on computer games. Jolie’s presence onscreen as Croft
resulted in Jolie becoming ‘objectified’ by heterosexual boys and young men in the media (Rosalind,
2007). Jolie’s character became an object of collective fascination as Tomb Raider (2001) collectables
, Student number: 21505969 Assessment 2: Media, Culture and Identities
such as comic books and action adventure games are available for predominately male audiences
(Rosalind, 2007). Jolie’s character as Lara Croft has become sexually appealing to male audiences and
the computer games are reconstructed technologically and cosmetically to illustrate Jolie’s on-screen
likeness to the character of Lara Croft (Brown, 2004). Therefore, Rosalind (2007) highlights further that
the animated computer games of Jolie’s character represent this image of a female with no physical
imperfections, which demonstrates ideologically that Jolie is expected to meet standards of physical
perfection, classifying Jolie as a sexual object that attracts the male gaze. Although, it could be argued
that because Jolie’s character Croft wears masculine clothing and demonstrates a tough persona, that
Jolie is in pursuit of fighting for a cause not for a superficial title based on appearances (Brown, 2004).
Yet, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) franchise became a turning point of succession for Jolie’s
identity as the role enabled her to engage as a female action heroine involved in gun fight scenes (Elliot,
2015).
Furthermore, Jacobs (2000, p14) emphasises that cinematic violence is largely related to fantasies of
control and loss suggesting that the pleasure in gunshot sequences simultaneously reflects individual
recognition and desire to fight back to gain mastery over one’s life. At the time, this reflected Jolie’s
personal identity when she announced publicly that she struggled to find her own identity and purpose in
the world and action sequences became her outlet to fight back and find her identity (Elliot, 2015).
However, whilst Jolie was filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) in Cambodia, there was a civil war
occurring in the country with active landmines that children and their families would step on, increasing
the death toll and number of injured people in the country (Brown, 2004). This became a pivotal turning
point in Jolie’s identity as Jolie was deeply shocked about her own lack of knowledge of the war and
conflict that goes on in war torn countries (Elliot, 2015). From this point on, Jolie educated and
researched around world issues with focus on refugees, poverty and sexual violence against women and
children. Wilde (as cited in Dollimore, 1991, p7) emphasises that humankind learn and develop a sense of
self-realisation and identity from experience and self-oppression. Jolie has experienced her own
personal defeats as she openly stated that in the early 1990’s during her early career that she battled
internally with herself. This reinforces that her strength and power comes from the internal pain and
suffering she has endured, making her an advocate of suffering (Brown, 2004).
Additionally, Wilde (as cited in Dollimore 1991, p48) also states that individualism is achieved from the
transgressive desire whereby the individuals public voice that seeks to defend cultural differences and
persecution. It could be argued that Jolie seeks to defend and protect victims of conflict, but the
interesting aspect is that Jolie herself is a victim in the media as Jolie’s honesty about her personal issues
in the media illustrates a level of vulnerability (Elliot,2015). Jolie has been a victim of depression, drug
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