The dystopian adventure fantasy thrillers, The Hunger Games (2012, Directed by Gary Ross and is originated from North America) and Snowhite and the Huntsmen (2012, Directed by Rupert Sanders and is originated from America) contradict one another in the representation of their lead female protagonists; in independent films women are represented as strong and independent where Hollywood films do this but have to reinforce the fact that women need a man to protect them. The Hunger Games presents a world that is unlike our own where there are 12 districts governed by the Capitol and every year one boy and one girl are chosen as tributes from each district to compete in the hunger games; the children have to fight to the death and the remaining survivor wins the games. In this year's games Katniss volunteers as tribute in place of her sister. She is presented as a strong independent woman that can look after herself and her family and use her feminine attributes to her advantage to achieve her survival; she is the lead in the rebellion against the Capitol. In comparison Snowhite and the Huntsmen is presented in a kingdom that is governed by a a queen that is in fact a witch and uses the youth of women to stay young. Snowhite is presented as a vulnerable girl that escapes the castle she was trapped in for most of her life and sees the carnage and ruin that the evil queen has made in her reign and starts a revolution with the help of the Huntsmen; a romance blooms between them and their love is the driving force to overthrow the evil queen. The difference in the female protagonists are the fact that Katniss uses love as a tool in which to overthrow the Capitol which is a contrast to the love between Snowhite and the Huntsmen which is the striving force that is able to keep the strength of the rebellion whole. Therefore, Snowhite is portrayed in the Hollywood light by giving mixed messages that yes she is strong and can fight in battle, however she is still weak to the power of love and loss, more so than the character of Katniss, portraying Snowhite in more of feminine light where Katniss is an independent woman striving to save her district and prove the Capitol of their wrong doing.
In this type of hybrid film there is always the well known use of 'the kiss' which is stereotypically used as a display of romance and passion. In 'The Hunger Games' scene, it shows the motherly side of how Katniss looks after Peter, and gets him through recovery. However, both these scenes show how eventually during a film, a kiss is shared between the main two stock characters, Katniss and Peeta, in this type of fantasy thriller. In 'The Hunger Games', it was a political movement on Katniss' part, so that the Capitol would have more of a story on their district and support them, which meant more of a chance of them surviving; in one way this reinforces the fact that Katniss is strong and always plotting on how to keep herself alive, which shows the character's personality to be manipulative in a way tot result in good but at the same time uses her emotional detachment to achieve the winning of the hunger games- this reinforces the modern female stereotype of women; whereas in 'Snowhite and the Huntsmen', it is the inclusion of a scene from the traditional fairytale, where true love's kiss brings her back to life; this emphasises how Hollywood has to always reinstate the importance of a man and make Snowhite weak to the power of poison and love- having to rely upon a man to stay alive. The cinematography of this film use contradicting camera shots within certain scenes such as this one, as in 'The Hunger Games', Katniss is dominant as she is the one leaning down to kiss Peeta, whereas in 'Snowhite and the Huntsmen', the man is dominant as he is leaning down to kiss Snowhite; there is the same use of a high angle close up shot which look down upon Peeta and Snowhite which shows that they are the subordinate character within this scene.
The rebellious attitude of the main female protagonists is introduced within the beginning of their journeys and is eventually gained throughout. In 'The Hunger Games', this scene shows her independence and strength against the Capitol, and how she takes risks to achieve the best result; it almost foreshadows the rebellion she will lead- this is where it starts. She is capable on her own and she does not need a man to help her through it. In 'Snowhite and the Huntsmen', it shows how she does not trust anyone and she is already wielding a knife against the Huntsmen- she is strong and brave and won't be used and manipulated by anyone- she can stand up for herself; this is a contradiction to the fairytale. However even after this display of her strong womanly independence you witness her following the huntsmen with a desperate display of body language because she obviously does not want to be left on her own- this yet again reinforces the importance of a man. The use of camera angles on these women protagonists is an eye line, medium shot- as if for the female audience to relate to them, they also are not made to be seen through a 'male gaze' which adds to their strength and independence that is portrayed. In these two contrasting scenes, the two female protagonists' costumes are completely opposite: Katniss is in her hunger games outfit of tight trousers and top, her hair pulled away from her face in her famous plait, no makeup, holding a bow and arrow- this costume can be seen to enhance her feminine attributes due to the tightness of her clothes however the use of the phallic objects convey that she is strong and is as if she is showing that she is as strong as a man through this weapon of choice. On the other hand, Snowhite is in a dress, dirty, ripped and torn from her venture from the castle, her makeup is still in tact but the smear of dirt on her cheeks highlight her distressed state, her hair is messy and in knots and is wielding a knife- her appearance is the traditional highlight of 'damsel in distress', but the use of the phallic object could portray a contradicting aspect to Katniss' stance- that she is desperate to be strong enough to keep herself alive however it just proves and furthers the point at this part in the film she is weak and in need of help.
In any genre of film there is always the significance of men's importance in the narrative; stereotypically this is that the man is the dominant role and is the heroine's protector. Even though majority of this film shows katniss' bravery, independence and strength, there is always a scene where a man intervenes and 'saves the day'. Even so, the man lets her escape his wrath but from there on out she is looking after herself with no man watching her back or helping her out- in fact she does this for Peeta as he is the weaker party out of the two which supports my theory on how independent films contradict Hollywood as they allow their women to be the stronger party. This scene shows how the huntsmen is completely protecting Snowhite and she is 'running for her life'- this conforms to the stereotypical Hollywood formula of the man protecting the woman as they cannot protect themselves. its almost as if the director is saying 'yes women can be strong at times but at the end of the day they need men to protect them'. The portrayal of Katniss' power within a scene is conveyed through the camera angles: there is a high angle for Katniss when she is almost defeated but then it is an eyeline shot when the man lets her escape which conveys that even though she has just been saved by a man the rest is up to her and now she has no men's help in the rest of her journey.
Usually in most films like the two I am studying there is a use of cinematography portraying the male gaze where the woman are shown to be strong but in a sexual light. However, these hybrid films only use the male gaze once if anything when the female protagonists are trying to get the attention of the audience to recognise and notice the change coming; in the hunger games there is a scene where Katniss goes on a talk show and the part where her dress inflames could be a metaphor for how she will change the world they live in and is going to start the rising of a revolution over the Capitol. Nevertheless, she is 'dolled up' in a red dress where the top part hugs her breasts and waist and emphasises her womanly curves and then it flares out at the hips, she wears makeup that makes her face 'glow with beauty' and her up-do shows the curve of her neck- these are womanly stereotypes that are usually presented in hollywood films. The close up shots used in this scene makes her the centre of the shot and makes her be seen through the male gaze as it focuses upon her bum, breast, waist, hips and face/ neck/ shoulders- the fire that inflames on her dress draws the attention to her- she is singled out from the rest of the tributes and makes her adamantly the symbol for the rebellion- the fire symbolises and foreshadows that she will be a danger to the power of the Capitol but also signifies passion and sexuality as a woman. Also, In Snowhite and the huntsmen, there is a use of the male gaze in the scene where Snowhite and a dwarf are dancing beside the fire with the huntsmen watching and the use of camera shot and angle makes it seem like we are seeing Snowhite from his perspective; this gives the audience an emotional attachment to the huntsman.
The resolution of these films end in a battle scene- the final battle; they both end in a clear resolution that the female protagonists have won. In the hunger games it is a fight for survival where in Snowhite and the huntsmen it is spurred by the need to be the fairest in the land however both these drives for their own fight shows that the women are strong and can fight their own battles; in the hunger games this is true as Katniss is fighting to keep both her and Peeta alive, where in Snowhite and the huntsmen she is always looking for help from the huntsmen. In Snowhite and the huntsmen this scene shows how she has an army of men to fight the evil queen's disciples so that she can focus on the queen herself; this shows she os a good leader and is brave to be able to put her plan into action. The fact that she kills the evil queen herself immediately shows how this has strayed from the stereotypical 'princess' representation that Hollywood usually uses. However the fact that she has a man fighting half her battle for her illustrates how it is still portrayed that women need a man's help to be able to succeed. In these certain scenes the cinematography is mainly showing the dominance of the female protagonists; the camera angles are often making Katniss the bigger one in the shot or the centre and using a slight low angle to signify that she is the stronger one out of the two of them and she holds the key and power to their survival. When Katniss is helping Peeta up onto the cornicupice the camera looks down on Peeta struggling to avoid his feet getting bitten off by the wolves below and his face has a frantic expression which is emphasised using a close up. These signify that Katniss is the strong and brave one not the male protagonist. The camera angles often used are a slight high angle when looking at Snowhite and an eye-line shot when looking at the Huntsmen which shows that he is slightly more in control than she is. When Snowhite kills the queen the camera is low angle close up which shows that even though she is now on the verge of death the fear and angst she has brought into Snowhite's life will never disappear.
Overall, both these films use their lead female protagonists as a symbol of the rebellions they are to lead. However in contradiction to one another the independent film makes their female protagonist as a strong independent woman that uses her womanly attributes to her advantage to gain her survival, where the Hollywood film portrays their female protagonist as strong but always reinforces the fact that the women need a man to help and protect them to achieve their success. Independent films allow more of a scope for women to be presented as strong and independent as they do not reinforce the fact that women ALWAYS need a man to look after them and then use the traditional kiss as a way of showing her manipulation and clever thinking as to getting the result she needs. Also, women are presented more masculine as there are no dresses, frills or ruffles and are in jeans, covered in dirt with no makeup- a normal everyday girl and not an unattainable beauty. I think that Katniss has been exposed to the audeince in this light as to be an aspiration to the young teenage audience, conveying that being independent, strong willed and fighting for what you believe in is never a bad thing if done in the right way; it gives women a role model that is and everyday looking girl that is just trying to protect her family- it is achievable. Hollywood films show that even when there is an odd film where the women is 'supposedly' independent and strong etc there is always the establishment of the male stock character looking after her and showing that women always need a man even if they think they can survive without them. Even though they allow the women to be de-feminised in some scenes such as dirty, armoured clothing, there are still the regular occasions with the dresses, makeup and feminism reinforced and are usually well known actresses. The casting of the film Snowhite and the Huntsmen used the well adored actress 'Kristen Stewart' from the film 'Twilight' that had such as fan base it was guaranteed to bring the viewings in for this Hollywood film due to the use of the actress; also the use of the well known 'swoony' 'Chris Hemsworth' loved by the female fan base meant also a guaranteed viewing of this twisted fairytale. The use of these well known Stars meant that Hollywood was making sure they had a guaranteed audience for the film- not for the storyline but for the cast. The audiences that were received by these films were due to predetermined expectations of the audience: The Hunger Games due to the book already being read by millions; Snowhite and the huntsmen due to the interest in the twisted fairytale but mainly due to the casting of actors and actresses- meaning the difference between the two were simple: one was for the story where the other for the cast.
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