A Small Step towards Change: A Comparative Analysis of Violent and Sexual Representations in Movies between the 1980s and 2000s

RM 215

The misrepresentation of minorities in media is a fragment of the faulty representations of their identity as a whole. However, it is important to note that contemporary movies might change the representation of minorities in movies. The purpose of this research study is to quantify, in particular, the representation of minorities’ (non-white and women) violent and sexual representations in movies. This study is a comparative analysis of movies from the 1980s and the 2000s. Research design is a content analysis to measure representation by violent acts, sexual acts (hypersexualization), sexual activity, and consequences. The paper will first establish literature review on sexual representation of women, violence, and interpretation of minorities based on their media representations. Then the study will provide a list of ten research questions that are based on the literature review and compare both eras. The content analysis methodology of our research is explained, followed by the results of our coded data. Lastly, the discussion, based on the findings, supports that there might be a change in contemporary movies’ violent and sexual representation of minorities.