A Discourse Analysis of the Representations of Gender Issues in John Cassavetes

Abstract

The cinema and media are one of the means by which scholars study society because they embody the struggles, aspirations, and beliefs of the people. This research will involve the use of discourse analysis as a tool for the review of gender preoccupations of the 1970s American Society. The study is divided into two parts: the first part focuses on the historical context of the films, the1970s America and the cinematic styles of John Cassavetes. In the second part, a close look will be taken at how the word choices in the films by John Cassavetes mirrored the gender issues of the 1970s. The selected films for the analyses are Faces 1968, Husbands 1970, A Woman Under the Influence 1974, and Gloria 1980. These films were chosen because of the timeframe of their production and the issues they addressed in their plots and dialogues. The research is carried out with the aim of using discourse analyses as a linguistic tool for the observation of the 1970s American society. It also seeks to explore how much of an impact the language use of the cinema has on the way matters are viewed and addressed in the community.