This book addresses the relationship between women, gossip, and film. Tilik (2018), Pitch Perfect 3 (2017), and Emma (2020) focused on women’s behavioral engagement in gossiping. The authors demonstrate that the images of women within society are the effect of social and cultural construction. Gossiping practice is considered negative as the issues discussed include cursing other’s people, spreading negative information, spreading destructive rumors, humiliating people, and ruining other’s people reputations.
Gender as the social and cultural category has constructed roles, behavior, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. These two sexes, then, should behave based on their gender. Gossiping practice within society seems to be natural. As human beings and social creatures, people commonly communicate with each other, including gossiping. However, the Author found that within society, gossiping is associated with women; it is womanist. Why are women considered gossipers?
This book has investigated the representation of women as gossipers in the three films within different cultural contexts. Tilik was produced in 2018 and represented the gossiping practice among women in a rural area in Indonesia; Pitch perfect 3, released in 2017, portrayed women’s practices of gossiping in the United States. Then, Emma, produced in 2020, set in England, pictured women’s behavioral engagement in gossiping in the 19th century. The Authors provided the theoretical framework for gossiping practice as it is socially and culturally constructed. This book explores how social and cultural construct affects gender and cultural identity.