“In this new world of modern woman, clothes and fashion occupy a central place, and Chinese female film stars looked to be the very embodiment of modernity.” Lee Ou Fan writes. To realise that the rise of celebrity influence in China was ignited by the start of cinema was enlightening as it never crossed my mind to question where our current culture of celebrity idolisation came from. This initial obsession with female stars of course came hand in hand with the fetishisation of women. Actresses were portrayed in media to cater to the male gaze of different societies, in Hollywood the stars were glamorous and dressed to be provocative, whilst in China, stars wore long gowns and had to appear effortlessly “chic”. It doesn’t come as a shock that female stars nowadays are still subjected to sexualisation and are still expected to comply with misogynistic expectations. Indeed some progress has been made over the past centuries but the continuous increase of attention to fame, heightened by the internet, inevitability aggravates our patriarchal system. It is difficult to foresee a future where women are no longer trapped by our own misogynistic ideals.
Yanisha Chung 3035977733
Your response demosntrates thorough understanding of how modernity impacts gender constructs with respect to the film medium. I appreciate your honest reflections on celebrity culture and fame and how it is impacted by the medium, and the contradictory gender ideals depicted in these forms.