Commodification of Women

So, it has been a crazy week.  Take a view at the commodization of women in different roles, just that I have come across in the past two days:

Newsweek had a cover with Angelina Jolie, with a head shot.  Decorative and artistic, but why?  She has directed a new movie, and is advertising for it.  The article is well written, and powerful, when the focus is on the movie.  But, the need to feed the story of celebrity was clearly pushed by the editor.  The author gets out of her area of expertise, and we get to hear about personal things. . . In the middle of the article is a photo shoot of her.  Legs and all.  What is the purpose of this?  In an article that deals with mass rapes, repeated rapes, genocide, starvation, and other attrocities, why is the director who is trying to personalize a story of tragedy and shed light on an often ignored event, being turned into a sexual object?  Read the article, decide for yourself if the photo shoot is in line with the story, and decide for yourself if the director is sexualized.  Why don't we see Spielberg being sexy promoting Schindler's List?

The link to the Newsweek article follows: 
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/12/04/angelina-jolie-directs-a-film-about-the-bosnian-war.html

The new season of The Bachelor begins soon, apparently.  Short promo.  I tried to find a copy of it.  Couldn't find it.  But, it is  simple.  Attractive brunette, red dress, alone, post-sunset, in front of the beach.  The woman begins to break down.  The sobbing is almost surreal.  It seems more like a fake overlay, it is so over the top.  No words, no tag lines, nothing as she sits their, before the camera, sobbing.  After about 15 seconds, the title The Bachelor, rolls in.  "The new season starts soon. . . "

Sociological Images at www.thesocietypages.com ran a 1980 copy of Siskel and Ebert's long-running movie review show.  In it, they discuss the slate of new movies that embody women as victims for men's base instincts.  Rape, murder and torture are brought to women that break the mold and try to be independent.  The two critics felt this was a direct response to the feminist movement, and the threat it created to men.  They discussed how these movies were unique as they were shot from the view of the killer, not the victim. 

And, as I try to get my thoughts on keyboard, I see a commercial for a show I have watch with a tad bit of guilt, but always justify as a study for Sociology.  Wife Swap has decided they will get on the celebrity band wagon.  To be fair, they have had special episodes where as they have swapped husbands, but that is not the norm for the show.  Again, it is the wife that is replaceable.  Is it the concept that the home belongs to the man, so that you can't kick him out?  Or, possibly, is it a fear that a man being bossed around by a woman and children is too much?  What dynamics are at work here?  Can a masculine gendered male leave his home and follow another man's plan? As I write it, I can't picture it. . .

We watched the The Help last night.  It is not a comedy, the way commercials make it feel.  There are some funny parts, but especially for white culture, it is an eye opener.  It is just a bit too easy to push it away over the top, though.  It reminds me of Slaughter-House Five.  There are parts that are deniable so that you don't have to face the hard facts.  As if the director didn't want to make the viewer feel too guilty.  That is too bad.  It could have been so good. . .