Feminism and Celebrity Culture in Shakesteen Film
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FEMINISM AND CELEBRITY CULTURE IN SHAKESTEEN FILM by VICTORIA L. REYNOLDS (Under the Direction of SUJATA IYENGAR) ABSTRACT This thesis examines the effectiveness of popular culture’s interpretation of third wave feminist thought. It places a particular focus on the genre of “Shakesteen” films made popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which adapted Shakespearean plays for American teen audiences. Within that focus, this thesis discusses the celebrity personae of two women whose careers were furthered by Shakesteen roles: Julia Stiles and Amanda Bynes. Ultimately, it seeks to determine whether it is possible to portray a political movement in a way that is culturally palatable without compromising the goals of that movement. INDEX WORDS: feminism, Shakespeare, teen culture, Shakesteen, third wave, Julia Stiles, Amanda Bynes FEMINISM AND CELEBRITY CULTURE IN SHAKESTEEN FILM by VICTORIA L. REYNOLDS B.A., The University of Georgia, 2006 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2008 © 2008 Victoria L. Reynolds All Rights Reserved FEMINISM AND CELEBRITY CULTURE IN SHAKESTEEN FILM by VICTORIA L. REYNOLDS Major Professor: Sujata Iyengar Committee: Christy Desmet Blaise Astra Parker Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2008 iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to Mrs. Sally Grover, who began my ongoing love affair with Shakespeare and his varied cultural permutations, introduced me to the concept of academic criticism of pop culture, and ultimately taught me that, even as it seems an eternal fixture in celluloid, in real life, high school does not last forever. For that I am eternally grateful. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, many thanks to Dr. Iyengar, Dr. Desmet, and Blaise for their support and guidance during the long and frustrating process out of which this thesis was born. Your knowledge and insight into your respective fields were invaluable, and I appreciate you all taking the time to work with me. Second, the results of these months of work would not exist without my parents (all three of you). You've given me so much love and encouragement over the years and, even though I didn't always want it, I know that without it, I would never have made it this far. Thank you. A big thank you must also go out to all of the friends and family members who have had to listen to me blather on ad nauseam about teen movies for the better part of a year. Your support and tolerance is greatly appreciated. Final love and thanks go out to Michial, without whom this thesis would not contain the (self-proclaimed) genius of Adam Carolla. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 CELEBRITY CULTURE AND SHAKESTEEN FILM: AN INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1 2 FROM “QUEEN OF (SHAKES)TEEN” TO GIRLS GONE MILD: TRENDS IN FEMALE TEEN IDENTITY FORMATION ....................................................10 Julia Stiles’s Star-Body and Teen Identity Formations...........................................10 Stiles’s Star-Body Part One: Feminism...................................................................13 Stiles’s Star-Body Part Two: Positive Social Message...........................................21 Stiles’s Star-Body Part Three: Academics ..............................................................25 The Modesty Movement .........................................................................................27 3 “HOMEBOYS AND HATE-FUCKS”: THE MALE HOMOSOCIAL, SEX, AND VIOLENCE IN O AND OTHELLO..............................................................35 Introduction .............................................................................................................35 Gender Separation and Hierarchy ...........................................................................36 Circles and Spheres .................................................................................................42 Women as Currency in a Male Homosocial Environment: Criticism and History...............................................................................................................45 vii The Problem of Contemporary Response to the Film.............................................47 Conclusion...............................................................................................................55 4 “A REAL MAN IS DIFFICULT TO FIND”: GENDERED IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN SHE’S THE MAN ...............................................................57 Construction of Femininities in the Film ................................................................60 The Problem of Paul Antonio..................................................................................63 Clothing and Constructed Femininity .....................................................................65 Construction of Masculinities in the Film...............................................................72 Amanda Bynes’s Star-Body ....................................................................................73 5 CAN SEX-POSITIVE FEMINISM EXIST IN POPULAR CULTURE? ..................77 WORKS CONSULTED......................................................................................................88 1 CHAPTER ONE FEMINISM AND CELEBRITY CULTURE IN SHAKESTEEN FILM: AN INTRODUCTION This thesis explores the intersections of current trends in feminism and popular culture in order to determine the effect these intersections have on the formation of contemporary female teen identity. More specifically, I will examine the way these intersections have an impact upon contemporary teen culture through celebrity influence on teen identity formation. I will focus on celebrities who have worked in a specific genre of teen films: the so-called “Shakesteen” films dominant in the late 1990s and early 2000s. While the bulk of this thesis concerns problems that I see regarding pop-cultural representations of teen feminism in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the chronologically reactive nature of conflicting feminisms within the larger movement means that I must briefly summarize feminism's major ideological shifts over time, or “waves,” as they are commonly known. American first wave feminism occurred from approximately 1848-1920, is widely thought to have originated with the (primarily female) proponents of the abolition movement, and held women's suffrage as its primary goal. Famous American first-wave feminists include Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Alice Paul, all of whom were present at the presentation and signing of the Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York on July 28, 1848. This declaration sought to point out the sexism inherent within the documents thought to be the cornerstones of American civil liberties. It did so by appropriating similar rhetoric and language found within these national texts but including women within the groups of people that received the rights bestowed by them. For example, the Declaration of Sentiments turns the following, otherwise 2 familiar, passage from the Declaration of Independence from a critique of British tyranny to one of American sexism with the addition of only two words: We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government.... (Stanton 71, emphasis mine) By appropriating familiar sentiments typically lauded for their liberating qualities in a way that expressed the latent oppression these sentiments enforced on American women, first-wave feminists set a precedent of protests that subsequent generations of feminism would continue to follow, even over a century later. Cady-Stanton and her peers expressed something historical or familiar in an unfamiliar way, and, in doing so, brought attention to a more contemporary sociopolitical issue. Many critics of this first-wave movement claimed that its proponents were neglecting their natural femininity in trying to enter into what had been a traditionally male sphere of influence. Later in the twentieth century, second wave feminists built upon the achievements of first-wavers by extending the presence of women in the public sphere first established by their enfranchisement in 1920. Second wave feminists worked to use these broad political rights to obtain rights that seemed closer to where and how women lived their lives day to day: within their marriages, as they raised their families, and in the workplace. Second wave feminism is split into two disparate movements: second wave liberal feminism and second wave radical 3 feminism. Liberal feminism is typically thought to have begun with the widespread entry of women into the workforce during and after World War II. This phenomenon so fundamentally