Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 23 Issue 3

© 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue III Version I 40 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 C Gender Representation in Female Superhero Movies of Prey expresses Robbie's desire to lead a life as a completely independent person. On the other hand, the director of the movie Black Widow was a woman named Cate Shortland. Natasha's representation in this movie has been so good that Natasha has never been so important in previous Marvel films. Natasha has got satisfactory on-screen time. She acted independently all the time, many skills were revealed, Natasha's supremacy was presented, and She was physically strong in 100% of the scenes. Besides, Natasha has not been represented as a sexual object for male desire. In this study, it is proved that if the director is female, the representation of the female character in the movie is much better. The female protagonist in the movie Black Widow and Birds of Prey respectively got 67% and 61% screen-time, which is a good fit for a superhero. However, in Suicide Squad, Quinn’s screen time is less than other male characters. Natasha and Harley of Birds of Prey are able to act as completely independent people. In Suicide Squad, Quinn is represented as an independent female character in only 40% of the scenes. Natasha and Harley of Birds of Prey did not accept masculinity but challenged it. They have established their own place by overcoming the dominance of patriarchy. But in the Suicide Squad, the issue of accepting masculinity dominance has been noticed. If the main character in a superhero movie is a woman, there should be more dialogue about her. Self- centered language is used in 60% of scenes with Natasha and 64% with Harley. Male-centered language is comparatively much less here. However, in the Suicide Squad, 60% of the conversations were male- centered. Natasha and Harley are represented as Physically strong in Black Widow and Birds of Prey. However, in the movie Suicide Squad, Quinn is portrayed as Physically weak. Natasha and Harley have fulfilled their professional responsibilities with their goals and objectives in mind. But in Suicide Squad, Quinn didn’t have clear goals and objectives. The over- sexualization of Quinn was present in the 30% scene in the movie Suicide Squad. In the movie Suicide Squad, the main female character is objectified in 50% of the scenes. No objectification was noticed in Natasha's case. It can be concluded that Natasha Romanoff has come out of the traditional gender role in the movie Black Widow. The male gaze perspective is totally absent in this movie. She was represented according to the female gaze perspective. Harley Quinn similarly came out of the traditional gender role in the movie Birds of Prey. The presence of the male gaze perspective was much less but not absent though the Female gaze perspective was highly present in the Birds of Prey movie. However, Quinn could not get out of the traditional gender role in the movie Suicide Squad. The presence of the male gaze perspective was widespread. According to the Literature Review, the results of the present study differ from those of the previous study. Previous research has shown that gender stereotypes were much higher. Men have acted longer than women. The male character is portrayed as strong and powerful. Their skills and abilities were more than the female character. Women have not played such a role in the professional area. They have been objectified and oversexualized. Women did not have personal goals and objectives. Women's activities were mostly family and household-based. They Broke down with extra emotion and stress. However, in the present study, the results obtained by analyzing 3 movies show that the gender stereotype has decreased a lot. Women's on-screen time is much longer. Women have acted longer than male characters. The female character is strong and powerful enough. The female character had more skills and abilities than the male character. The woman was not confined to the house but acted from a place of professionalism. The presence of Objectification and Oversexualization is less. Women are moving forward with their personal goals and objectives in mind. They did not break even in the face of severe pressure. In the present study, Representation Theory and Feminist Film Theory were selected as the theories. This study supports the representation theory. According to the analysis, the same person and the same character acted as the female superhero in the movies Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. However, there is a big difference in their representation in both movies. The meaning created by Harley Quinn's representation in Suicide Squad has changed to a different meaning in the movie Birds of Prey. In theory, it is said that the meaning depends on representation. If representation changes then meaning will change. The present study finds a partial reflection of feminist film theory. The male gaze perspective is present in the movies named Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. The presence of fetishism existed for a short time. There were some scenes that gave pleasure to the eyes of men. A lthough most of the time the representation of female superheroes was quite good. Therefore, the present study partially supports the feminist film theory. The strong point of this study is that it is possible to get a complete idea of how the female superhero character is presented. It has been highlighted from different perspectives. Variations and differences between the gender representations of the three movies are clearly visible. All the samples used in the research have been studied on the latest female superhero movies from Hollywood, so it is possible to estimate the present status of female superhero movies in the Hollywood industry. If anyone wants to do some research on the same topic in the future, the current