According to the Berchel theory of films each film is put through a tests and must go through 3 stages to pass. These stages are;
- Have at least two named females
- Have the two females speak to each other
- Talk about anything besides men
It's surprising how many film actually fail the test and all the films we assumed would pass actually failed. For example films like Shrek, Toy Story, Harry Potter avatar and book of Eli failed the test. This is because people are totally unaware that this is happening because they are either so used it is and has grew up with it or that they have been taught like this.
Female stars are stereotypically dresses very provacatly with little clothing so that there legs, chest, face and arms are all on show. For example in the opening scenes of the book of Eli there is a scene with one woman in it and 7 men which is shown to the left. All the men are dressed head to toe in clothing that are all in pretty good condition. The woman on the other hand is dressed in a skimpy top and skirt that show of loads of Bare skin. She is also not wearing any shoes and all her clothing is ripped. This is to show how vulnerable the girl is compared to all the men in the scene and is showing the girls as weak and tired.
The fact that she is wearing less clothing is due to the 'male gaze'. The term the 'male gaze' was developed by film critic Laura mulvey in 1975 in her essay called ' visual pleasure and narrative cinema'. She states that the male gaze is the way ' visual arts and literature depicts the world of women from a males point view, presenting and representing them as objects for the males pleasure' this means that the director purposely dresses the females in less clothing and only picks actresses that are skinny, thin and have perfect proportions and figures to attract the males to watch the film and make it more exciting for them. There are 3 perspectives of this male gaze theory; the producer, the audience and the actors. As men dominate the film industry the producers know that sex sells and that the female serves as the mans visual pleasure.
Many post apocalyptic films do this but in some films you can see it before you even watch the films but by looking at the film posters. For example films and shows like defiance, the walking dead, falling skies and under the dome all have the males stood at the front of the poster with the women while them showing they are more powerful and that the 'weak' women are stood behind them. 
One female that breaks these stereotypes is Jennifer Lawrence in the hunger games. In the film the hunger games she plays a character called Katniss evergreen and in the opening scene she is seen in a forest hunting by herself which is already showing us in the first scene that's she is strong and capable of looking after herself . She is not shown at the weak female stereotype. She is also shown later on in the film are the hero when she volunteers to fight in the place of her younger sister, she is being the hero because of her family and not because of a man or as the male hero. The typical hero is a man with maybe a women sidekick or a lover but Katniss is shown as the girl who will save her district . In the next hunger games film call catching fire :part two the war is still going on and Katniss is made the idol or the mokingjay that will save the world and her city. People are looking up to Katniss as a strong feminine figure not just as a pretty girl. She does not attracts the ment by dressing in skimpy clothing but instead she is wearing a full body suit with boots and a weapon and has barely any skin showing. This is not what a male audience want to see as it makes them feel overpowered and belittled as a women has saved the world. But even thought she is not attracting with the male gaze the film managed to make over $692,799,235 worldwide. The hunger games as a film also passes the Berchel test as she has multiple conversations About her and her skills as a warrior and not about the men she is working alongside or against her. 
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