Gender Stereotypes In The Film Prey

Prey, a science-fiction fantasy action film, was released in 2022. The film is part of the Predator series. The film is set in 1719 in the northern Great Plains. The plot centers around Naru, a skilled Comanche warrior (Webster, 2022). She finds herself faced with protecting her people from a predatory alien as well as other hardships. "With respect to representation, women are underrepresented across a range of media, from television and movies to video games" (Kramer & Beutel, p. 37). Because the film is about a woman attempting to prove herself to others about her abilities, it brings about a positive view in an industry where women wouldn’t get the leading role. However, there are many stereotypes about women depicted throughout the film

Her response is simple: she wants to show them that she can because they do not believe she can. Her brother does not believe she can at one point, which deceives her and affects her self-esteem but only adds to her desire to keep going because he is someone she looks up to. It is notable how determined women are to defy stereotypes and overcome barriers. There is a scene where she watches the path that all the women in her community take to gather the flowers for the medicine, but she chooses to turn around and go the opposite way. She is showcasing a powerful move that goes against the normative influence her community has had on

The men undoubtedly dislike Naru and do not want her in the hunting group, evidently outgroup her by not allowing her "to experience a sense of identity, belonging, or membership" (Kassin et al., p. 177) with them. Even though there is evidence of something bad happening in the movie, the men choose to ignore her, which I presume is because she is a woman. This adds to the sexism in the film, a type of bias and bigotry that is based on a person's gender (Kassin et al., p. 158), by the way the men in the hunting group are discriminating against Narus gender to promote the dominance of their gender over hers. She brainstorms ideas on how to approach the situation, which get turned down a lot by the men. In patriarchal ideologies, men and men's characteristics are considered "normal". "Any ways in which women are not like men claimed to show that women are inferior to men" (Kramer & Beutel, p. 25). Her brother is more receptive to it and expects as much from her as he does from the men, especially given that they do not want her to hunt with them. However, given that she is a woman, she appears to have a lot more to show. Clearly, men believe they are superior and have more power, which is true for this time period. There were even instances where the men’s aggressive behavior, intended to harm another individual, was always targeted