Chelsey Tate
Mullens
4/11/16
FLM 352
Who Presents This Woman? Gender Roles in Father of the Bride “Who giveth/presents this woman?” is asked by the priest in Vincente Minelli’s 1950 film Father of the Bride and in Charles Shyer’s 1991 remake of the same name, respectively. Both films are extremely similar in content, as the remake borrows heavily on dialogue, temperament of characters, scene progression, and the overall essence of the theme of adoration between a father and his daughter, even though they are set 41 years apart. It would be foolish to say that post-war 1950s gender roles of the original film are the same of those of 90s remake, but regardless of the vast societal progressions and gradual increase of women’s rights from the 50s to the 90s (and now) there is still a subconscious stereotype of a “traditional” family that conforms to the ideas of gender roles that live within films of today. Both versions of Father of the Bride tell the same story of a loving, but overprotective father (Stanley Banks, played by Spencer Tracey in the original film and George Banks, played by Steve Martin in the remake) reluctant to cope with the fact that his daughter (Elizabeth Taylor as Kay and Kimberly Williams as Annie) is getting married and thus, growing up, or, leaving one man to go live with another. In addition to this life crisis, each father becomes increasingly and comically preoccupied with the diminishing contents of his wallet rather than the actual planning
Through intertextual relationships, detecting the significant differences and transformations between William Shakespeare's play Taming of The Shrew, and Ten Things I Hate About You, a contemporary hollywood film directed by Gil Junger enriches our understandings towards cultural issues through feminist attitudes, social hierarchy and the transformation in sentiments towards love and marriage. Both texts exert compelling issues through different techniques to proclaim to the audience that women during the 16th century were seen as obsequious, however Ten Things I Hate About You, an allusion of Taming of the Shrew, enriches our understanding of these gender role issues by proclaiming that we must reject blatant consumerism. Among this, issues of class and love are explored, and through a historical reading I was able to depict the changes in values and cultures between the production of both texts.
Through the depiction of Chiron and his struggle in the film Moonlight Jenkins shows that the system one lives in and the internal self results in domination against oneself. Chiron the protagonist of the film is considered weak and fragile in comparison to his classmates and the people in his community and thus Chiron is targeted by his peers and even within his own household. In Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks it is argued that the black man plays a part in their own domination by constantly viewing themselves as less than the white men.
“Why Did I Get Married?” directed and produced by Tyler Perry is a movie based on four couples who take a reunion vacation to the Colorado Mountains in order to reunite with friends from college. On this vacation things didn’t go according to plan. Throughout the movie there was heartbreak, infidelity, suppressed feelings, conflict, and secrets raging throughout each of the couples’ relationship in some aspect. With these unfortunate events occurred at various times throughout the film it cause their trip to evolve from a place to relax, enjoy friends, and time off from work into an emotional and tense atmosphere with the involved couple seeking validation from the other couples on the reason why their marriages are the way they are. Even though the movie ended on a good note in their celebration of Janet Jackson’s character (Pat) receiving an award one of the marriages did not survive. This couple’s relationship will be my focus for this paper.
The movie Parenthood cover’s many of the topics we have discussed this semester in class. But it obviously focused very strongly on parenting and marriage. During the course of the movie we see the four Buckman children’s very different style of parenting. Although all four were raised by the same parents the culture of their individual families are all look very different. Gil Buckman felt abandoned and ignored by his father and therefore responded, with his wife Karen, by being a very active and attentive parent. Gil and Karen are on the authoritative end of the parenting spectrum, and their families’ culture revolves around activities such as baseball games, Kevin’s baseball game, Birthday parties, school plays and basically having fun together (Lecture, 4/22). On the opposite end of the parenting spectrum are Nathan and Susan. They are very authoritarian and reminded me of the “tiger Mom’s” of China. The culture of their family means that they don’t have their daughter in preschool, they are waiting a prescribed amount of time to have a second child and Nathan is continuously drilling facts into their daughter. Susan feels like she should be playing with children her own age but Nathan’s feelings have taken over their family’s culture.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show is not so much a movie as more of a long-running social phenomenon” (Ebert). The interpretation of the film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was produced in 1975, opens the curtains to the cross on top of a church after being introduced to the characters by the huge, bright red lips. Promptly after the introduction the camera moves in a sensational gesture towards a just married couple that is walking to the front of the church with their wedding guests, carrying the traditional wedding ceremony of throwing the newly brides bouquet. The visual that is taken in this scene seems to be vital to the aspect behind the film, as it is showing how dull a wedding that carries the same tradition can be, especially since it is being related to the following scene at the castle of Dr. Frank-n-Furter. With the proximity of the heterosexual traditions and the events at the mansion, it is obvious this film is meant to draw into question the common gender stereotypes along with sexuality. The Rocky Horror Picture Show validates that gender roles and stereotypes are socially constructed and that there should not be any social stigma attached to personalities that cannot easily be identified as a male or female by using irony, the use of social practice, and more specifically through Dr. Fran-n-Furter’s character.
Feminist ideas are used throughout this story in both explicit and implicit ways to help describe the gender roles placed upon females in the 1950s. “That figure was a garish blond showgirl, a Hollywood ‘sexpot’ of no interest to intellectuals”. (Page 79) The author explicitly includes the
The movie Parenthood (1989) revolves around the psychological stresses that are faced by families. From the name of the movie, the main theme is coined, involving the issues that are faced by parents while raising up their children. The movie is centered in the family of Gil and Karen, and their extended family. Set in a middle-class white society, the anxieties and pains of raising children are presented in the movie. Gil Buckman is a parent and businessman. His wife, Karen, comes out as a nearly perfect parent, and always stays at home. Gil and Karen have three children. The oldest child is Kevin, a nine-year old boy with emotional problems. The emotional problems that are experienced by Kevin form a very significant aspect of the movie,
These narratives are embedded in the films plot, which is set in a traditionally acceptable feminine theme of wedding planning, featuring a protagonist whose career ambition is also acceptably womanly, a baker, and pits two conniving women against each other in competition for another women’s friendship (Smalls). Along these imperfections, the women onscreen come to reject the possibility of a male gaze by deviating from the passive object of male desire, to the active subject of female agency. This transition is supported by the fact that the script was written by two females, Wiig and Annie Mumolo, which serves to empower women because it gives women a voice in a field that has historically denied them (Buckley 14). The film continues to reject notions of patriarchy through the use of language by featuring women who candidly complain about sex, children, and men, but above all celebrates the value of women’s friendship. These rhetorical elements are symbols of female desire that provide the reversal device to disrupt the male gaze that society standardly embraces (Buckley 11). Because Bridesmaids attention has stemmed from its portrayal of females in comedy, a genre generally reserved for men, this device also rejects that patriarchal discourse that typically dominates
To analyze the impact of women in the picture, one must examine Philip Marlowe, the hero and epitome of masculinity. Throughout the novel, Marlowe displays the admirable qualities of a man: intelligence, strength and justice. Additionally, Marlowe’s role as the hero of the film creates an example to which all men should strive. He represents the goals and desires of men, and as such his behavior helps define the position of women. Women constantly throw themselves at Marlowe, allowing him to pick from a fairly wide selection. His choice of Vivian holds considerable weight in determining the traits that make a woman popular. Marlowe’s interactions with all women help reveal the complexities of 1940s feminine attraction.
In modern times, feminism and the yearning to become more than a traditional “housewife” have been topics of fierce discussion; however, often neglected is the fact that men, too, are expected to fulfill a role in society. In Michel Marc Bouchard’s Lilies, the characters are heavily influenced by the Catholic, Quebecois society of Roberval, which promotes heteronormativity and a certain masculine mold, resulting in tense relationships with oneself and with others. This can be seen as Simon struggles internally with who he is while Bilodeau and Timothee express discontent in the increasing visibility of homosexuality and the breakdown of the masculine “norms.” Although this play takes place in the early 20th century, the advocacy of what a man should be according to Catholicism, which often leads to homophobia, still prevails heavily today, as seen in Katherine Dugan’s “Gendering Prayer: Millennial-generation Catholics and the Embodiment of Feminine Genius and Authentic Masculinity” and in Wayne Martino’s “Policing Masculinities: Investigating the Role of Homophobia and Heteronormativity in the Lives of Adolescent School Boys.” These articles show the extent to which the toxic outlook on masculinity is seen in Lilies while providing insight into how the public is expected to adhere to heteronormativity. These struggles perceived in Lilies can also further be analyzed through the works of Roy Brooks-Delphin, Lowell Gallagher et al., and Wolfgang Palaver.
“The princess bride” directed by Rob Reiner and written by William Goldman is a beautiful story about true love. The actors are quite convincing and the plot fits together nicely with the script. This comedy is a must watch film for the whole family.
The third trailer for Sherlock: “The Abominable Bride” is a mere forty-three seconds with only the first thirty-five seconds actually showing clips from the episode, yet the trailer is fraught with layers of rhetoric. The trailer can be found on the YouTube channel “Sherlock” and was published December 12th, 2015. Sherlock: “The Abominable Bride” was an episode released in between seasons three and four and directed by Douglas Mackinnon. The trailer itself is much too short to inform the viewer of what transpires in the episode, rather, it is a compilation of scenes that pose a question and give a promise.
When I woke up on the sunny morning of May 2, 2013 I had no clue that hip-hop, in my eyes, would change forever.
Compare and contrast the ways in which Duffy and Williams present relationships relationships between men and women in ‘The World’s Wife’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ The relationships that occur between men and women in ‘The World’s Wife’ and a ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ have both similarities and differences in such that some of the women presented are subjected to subservient positions and some overcome these demeaning roles whereas others continue to be shown as staying in the portrayal of the inferior women. The men, on the other hand, are mostly presented as using their sexuality to attract women, or use them. Many relationships are founded on sex and little romantic feelings are involved.
For centuries, women have had the role of being the perfect and typical house wife; needs to stay home and watch the children, cook for husbands, tend to the laundry and chores around the house. In her short story “Girl”, Jamaica Kincaid provides a long one sentence short story about a mother giving specific instructions to her daughter but with one question towards the end, with the daughter’s mother telling her daughter if she had done all the instructions to become a so called “perfect” woman, every man would want her. Kincaid’s structuring in “Girl,” captures a demanding and commanding tone. This short story relates to feminist perspectives. The mother expects a great deal from her daughter to have a certain potential and she does not hesitate to let her daughter understand that. As a matter of fact, the story is about two pages long, made into one long sentence - almost the whole time the mother is giving her daughter directions to follow - conveys a message to the reader that the mother demands and expects great potential in her daughter. The daughter is forced to listen and learn from what her mother is telling her to do to become the perfect housewife. Throughout the story, Kincaid uses the symbols of the house and clothing, benna and food to represent the meanings of becoming a young girl to a woman and being treated like one in society. Women are portrayed to appeal to a man to become the ideal woman in society, while men can do anything they please.