MAKING HERSTORY : A critical analysis of dramatized women’s history in visual media

The media is not only a source of entertainment, it is also a way to better understand ourselves and a means to shape our identities. The purpose of different types of communication are never neutral, there is always a discourse and an underlying meaning at work. By continually portraying women as stereotypical characters, the patriarchal discourse is reproduced and perpetuates an unequal view of women in society. It is possible to reconstruct the hegemonic male domination and representation is key if there is a change to be had in this area. Thus, it is of utter importance to create productions that showcase a vast variety of social and gender roles. The purpose of this essay is to analyse female representation in visual media with a primary focus on women’s history, exemplified by how gender is created by female characters in the miniseries Fröken Frimans krig. The analysis has a basis in multimodal critical discourse analysis as well as critical narrative analysis, and also takes into consideration Mulvey’s theories on the male gaze. The theoretical framework is based on poststructural feminist theory with an aim to deconstruct notions of what constitutes a woman and a man