Research Investigation: Ideologies

"a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy; the set of beliefs characteristic of a social group or individual"

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ideology

Both gender ideology and gender role ideology refer to attitudes regarding the appropriate roles, rights, and responsibilities of women and men in society. The concept can reflect these attitudes generally or in a specific domain, such as an economic, familial, legal, political, and/or social domain. Most gender ideology constructs are unidimensional and range from traditional, conservative, or anti-feminist to egalitarian, liberal, or feminist. Traditional gender ideologies emphasize the value of distinctive roles for women and men. According to a traditional gender ideology about the family, for example, men fulfill their family roles through instrumental, breadwinning activities and women fulfill their roles through nurturant, homemaker, and parenting activities. Egalitarian ideologies regarding the family, by contrast, endorse and value men's and women's equal and shared breadwinning and nurturant family roles. Gender ideology also sometimes refers to widespread societal beliefs that legitimate gender inequality. For example, Lorber (1994 : 30) defines gender ideology as “the justification of gender statuses, particularly, their differential evaluation. The dominant ideology tends to suppress criticism by making these evaluations seem natural.”

http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405124331_yr2012_chunk_g978140512433113_ss1-19

...application to Iron Man 3

• conforms to ideology and traditional belief of women being wives and spouses first
• needed a man to provide protection
• Pepper is CEO, shattering male breadwinner belief
• however, Stark is main breadwinner and brings the most income, most desirable due to his skill

...application to The Hunger Games

• repels ideology of women homemakers
• Katniss is responsible for her family, and is the main breadwinner
• takes the head-of-the-house role and protects and provides for her family
• doesn't need a man to provide protection, skilled in archery