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Emily Salamander
ENG W-170
16 December 2013
A Womans Dependency for Power
In the article Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender
Aaron Devour argues that in the United States there is a patriarchal gender schema. He
supports his claim by discussing the ideology that women are naturally more inclined to display
feminine traits due to their smaller frames and emotional hormones, including characteristics of
being weak, subordinate, emotional, and passive. Meanwhile masculinity is associated with
qualities of a leader and is often seen as desirable in our culture. For example, men and
masculinity are often associated with being intelligent, levelheaded, independent, and aggressive.
Devour argues as a result of these ideologies women are seen as the opposite and have a
natural dependency on men to take care of them; while simultaneously being labeled as
heterosexual and maternal (Devour 113). In the films The World is Not Enough and Charlies
Angels representations of masculinity and femininity construct/reinforce male dominance by
displaying women as naturally dependent on men for power. In both films femininity is
constructed on the main female characters ability to seduce men and use men as tools; depicting
women as dependent on a mans approval and protection.
In Charlies Angels the female characters, Dylan, Alex, and Natalie, are the heroines.
Contrastingly, in The World is Not Enough the main female character is the villain Elektra and
the hero is the main character James Bond. Despite the main female characters playing binary
opposites of good and evil, they are presented in comparable ways.
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The opening scene in Charlies Angels shows Dylan, one of the Angels, disguised as a
large African male wearing a stern face. Numerous glances are made in her direction as she
moves through a plane. Passengers on the plane scurry to get out of her way and briskly move
out of the aisles, avoiding eye contact out of what appears to be intimidation. However, that
intimidation that Dylan provoked as a man soon switches to friendliness as a woman. After
Dylan captures the bad guy she removes her fake masculinity, stripping away her male disguise.
The end result is a beautiful smiling woman with her hair blowing in the wind. Before when she
was dressed as a man she avoided eye contact with any of the fellow passengers and the camera.
However after her transformation into a woman her curves in her tight-fitted outfit reveal her
womanliness and her eye contact with the two other women on the boat as well as the camera
reveal her femininity. While the character, Dylan, has not changed, her gender identity has. As a
man she was a person of coercion, somebody that people gawked at for his size and stern look.
As a woman she demands the eyes of viewers in her sleek tight-fitted outfit and friendly smile;
attention and respect are not given to her like they were when she was man, instead she must
demand the gaze of the viewers by sexualizing her body.
Playing the role as protagonist in The World is Not Enough is the main character James
Bond. Where in Charlies Angels it took three women to take down a bad guy, it takes only one
Bond. His masculinity is verified in the various ways that he dresses, seduces women, and
remains dutiful to his country. His properly fitted suit and well-groomed appearance gives the
image of efficiency. His love for country and perseverance to serve the MI6 remains a quality of
admiration. Most importantly, his love and ease at attaining women is seen as desirable and
extremely advantageous. The Angels, however, are portrayed in a different light. Where Bonds
outfit is classy and sophisticated with his clean-cut appearance, the Angels are dressed in tight
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revealing clothing. It is not what they are wearing that is defining them; it is what is underneath.
While Bond is fighting for his country, the Angels are fighting for a man, Charlie. The Angels
show an emotional need to have a man in their life, each having or desiring a relationship.
Contrastingly, Bond has numerous romances throughout The World is Not Enough but never
commits to a relationship or depends on the opposite sex for emotional security.
In Ralina A. Joesphs article Tyra Banks is Fat: reading (Post-)Racism and (Post-
)Feminism in the New Millennium, Joesph uses the Tyra Banks fat scandal as an example when
discussing the idealized image of beauty that is expected of women in our society. She talks
about how Tyra Banks as a model, and idealized image of beauty, was well respected and highly
praised. She was able to use her beauty to start two shows, including a talk show. As a host she
often highlighted body issues that women have in our society. However she was also
simultaneously was advocating for such beauty standards in her other show Americas Next Top
Model. It was not until Tyra Banks fat scandal hit the news that her true feelings on the issue
were revealed. After Tyra Banks lost her power as an image of desirability, magazines and other
media plastered images of her everywhere and Tyra Banks became angry, no longer compliant.
The media disrespected her because she no longer represented the standard of beauty that she
was expected to be. As soon as she her body became curvier and she was not posed in an
acceptable manner she became criticized for how she acted, her power was lost. This highlights
Devours argument of the idealized woman with respect to beauty. In order to be respected in
todays society women must display an image of desirability. Therefore women must present
themselves in a way that society finds acceptable; this includes being heterosexual, attractive,
and compliant.
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In both films the power of seduction is used as a tool, but for different reasons. In
Charlies Angels the Angels sexualize their bodies to seduce men, earn respect, and receive
power. Attracting the opposite sex either in hopes of getting what they want or in hopes of
getting into a relationship. Their outfits reflect their need to use their body and power of
seduction as a weapon. In their combat attire they continue to wear heels, elongating their legs,
their hair is down, despite the numerous times the villains continue to use it as leverage, falling
on their cleavage of their low cut blouses. Contrastingly, Bond uses the opposite sex to achieve
his task without revealing his body, or impairing his ability to fight. He does so by charmingly
seducing women with his words, he also does so for different reasons. Unlike the Angels he does
not need the opposite sex to be attracted to him to accomplish his task, he just seduces them for
his own sexual pleasure. He has the capability and proper skills to kill and take down the bad
guy; it is only by choice that he willingly chooses to use his body as a tool. Unfortunately, for the
Angels the same does not hold true. Despite what appears to be excellent fighting skills they are
not the agent that Bond is. To become a sexual object to obtain power is not an option, it is a
requirement.
The Angels require a male character to be attracted to them to have power. The power
that the Angels have is not the wit, skills, or critical thinking abilities that Bond has, instead it is
their ability to attract a man. In the article Putting a Dominatrix in Her Place: The
Representation and Regulation of Female Dom/ Male Sub Sexuality Khan focuses on movies
that involve sexual dominant female characters. Khan draws attention to the common theme in
the films for women, despite their sexual dominance or appeared sexual preference, reveal
underlying desires to have a man to take care of them and be in a heterosexual relationship. The
female dominant gets domesticated through the tropes of romantic love and hetero-monogamy
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(Khan 166). Khan points out that no matter how independent the female character appears to be,
her only goal in life is to be protected and loved by a man in a heterosexual relationship. This
ideology that women desire a heterosexual relationship and male dominance, reinforces the
ideology presented by Devor stating that women require dependence on a man due their natural
inability to succeed on their own because they do not have the proper traits for success, they only
have their ability to please and use a man. Without a man they are powerless.
This belief that women require a man to obtain power is prevalent in both films,
not only in the form of the protagonists but also in the form of the antagonists. In the film The
World is Not Enough the main villain is Elektra King. Elektra plays an attractive emotionally
damaged young woman, who yearns to seek revenge for the several events in her life. The first
event she claims was her fathers treatment to her mother. According to Elektra her father stole
her mothers oil empire; wrongfully stripping her mother of her inheritance. The second
wrongdoing involved both her father and James Bonds boss, M. Throughout the film it is
revealed that earlier in her life Elektra was kidnapped and held for ransom. M advised Elektras
father during the situation and told him not to pay the captures. As a result Elektra decided to
take matters into her own hands. She carefully constructed herself into a sexual object, a tool to
use as a way to obtain power over her holders. During Elektras tell of the traumatizing
experience she insinuates a transition; she stripped her identity as an innocent girl and became a
hardened sexualized woman in order to survive.
She begins to use her body as a weapon. After seducing her capture Renard she is able to
convince him to let her go, but remains in a relationship with him. She uses her sexual powers
over Renard to convince him into aiding her in her quest for revenge on M and her father.
Renard willingly agrees and kills her father for her while also helping her in a plan to get M. In
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the end he ends up dying for her. While at first glance it might appear that Elektra has a lot of
power. Under examination it becomes apparent that her only power is her ability to seduce men
using her sexual power, she requires Renard to help her. She is still dependent on Renard for
protection and needs the aid of a man. She cannot do it on her own. She does a similar play with
Bond. In an attempt to manipulate him and think that she is a good person rather than a villain
she sleeps with him. Bond stays in an attempt to protect her. Again, Elektra requires her ability to
attract men and constructs herself into a sexual being in hopes of receiving protection. However,
her reign of sexual power soon ends because of her attraction to Bond. Bond is able to
domesticate her after having sex with her; he makes her feel something so that her ability to
sexualize herself is no longer a tool for power with emotional detachment. This is shown when
she is laying in bed Renard, Renard is suspicious and realizes that she yearns for Bond. As a
result of her real desires, her ability to completely manipulate and control men begins to falls
apart. The female dominant has been domesticated through the tropes of romantic love and
hetero-monogamy (Khan 166).
In the films Charlies Angels and The World is Not Enough the women are portrayed as
being powerful by their ability to attract men. In the films women are dependent on men in order
to achieve their goals, and must rely on their ability to attract men in order to obtain power.
However, their downfalls as female character appear as a result of their femininity. Female
characters become emotionally attached or reliant on men and without them are vulnerable. By
displaying the female characters as such in these films it reinforces the ideology that females
have a natural dependency on men, and are willing to strip away their independence in order to
obtain it. Their only power comes from their dependency on men to do things for them, power
that they must earn, they are not given, by sexualizing themselves.
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Works Cited

Charlies Angels. Dir. Joesph McGinty Nichol. Perf. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy
Liu. Columbia Pictures Corporation, 2000. Film.
Devor, Aaron H. Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender.
Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality. (1998) : 109-118. PDF.
Khan, Ummni. Putting a Dominatrix in Her Place: The Representation and Regulation of
Female Dom/ Male Sub Sexuality. Canadian Journal of Women & the Law 21.1 (2009)
: 143-175.
Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen 16.3 (1975) : 6-18. PDF.
The World is Not Enough. Dir. Michael Apted. Perf. Pierce Brosnan. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
1999. DVD.