Social values of a particular time period are often reflected by the texts that are produced in that time. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw explores the superficiality of social constructs as well as the objectification of women through its central female protagonist Eliza Doolittle, who is initially a flower girl who desperately needs money but eventually takes control of her own future and upbringing despite the societal constraints. Pretty Woman directed by Garry Marshall explores the same values through Vivian, the main female protagonist who overcomes the barriers of the superficial society to form a meaningful relationship with Edward; however it explores the values from a consumerist and contemporary perspective of the 20th century. …show more content…
As a prostitute, Vivian had more freedom of choice in her speech and behaviour. This is highlighted through Vivian’s behaviour on the first night that Edward brought her into the hotel where she purposely acts in a very derogatory way to make fun of a high classed people. After her transformation into a high class citizen, her behaviour is more restricted. This is reflected in the dinner scene with Morris and his grandson. The establishing shot of the scene depicts a high class setting, with Vivian well integrated into it. The fact that she is only able to integrate well in the setting of restaurant because of her formal cocktail dress reflects the prevalent trait of materialism in society at that time. However, it is later evident that Vivian is unaccustomed to this setting through the close up shot of her struggling to eat the escargot. This is accompanied by the fast mid shot jump cuts to Vivian throughout the dinner scene, where she does not participate in the conversation but rather struggles to conform to the social etiquette of a high classed citizen during dinner. The awkwardness of her actions, due to her naivety towards the social etiquette further emphasises her disintegration within the situation, raising the idea that the higher classes are not at all dependent on character, but rather appearance and wealth, similar to the disintegration …show more content…
One of the social values that are explored through this way is the objectification of women. In Pygmalion, this is expressed through Higgin’s treatment of Eliza even from the beginning of the play where he as a ‘squashed cabbage leaf’, a ‘disgrace to the noble architecture of these columns’, an ‘incarnate to the English language’. The objectification of Eliza is further emphasised through Mrs Higgins criticism of Higgins and Pickering in Act Three, where she says “You certainly are a pretty pair of babies, playing with your live dolls”. By likening Eliza to a ‘live doll’, it disempowers her to a play object, rather than an actual person. Shaw uses irony to criticise this value through the independence and strong personality of Eliza at the end of the play where she decides to leave Higgins to open her own flower shop and marry Freddy. Through this, Shaw strongly raises the idea that women are indeed more than objects and can be independent and strong willed, hinting at the changing societal values of the 20th
from the start to at the end, and the changes of Eliza, the main theme
((INTRODUCTION)) Hawks' denotes the epitome of the femme fatal by challenging the archetypal pin-up girl figure held by men in WWII. Symbols of corruption are a motif that contrast to women's formerly submissive roles, as the opening credits reveal a female silhouette smoking seductively. Film noir converted American culture's endorsement of traditional "nuclear" family values by redefining the established roles of men and women in the intervening years. Hawks' film exploits sexy raw-edged women who represented the developing female power in the 30s and 40s, as Vivian Rutledge is "spoiled, exacting, smart and quite ruthless". Her body language and posture dominates the early frames, however, high and low angle shots between Vivian and Marlowe show their changing relationship and power structure. She is a strong character who equals Marlowe in wit as they verbally taunt each other through their sexually charged dialogue. When Vivian states, "I don't like your manners", Hawks discards manners and social niceties by emphasising their equality, with Marlowe sardonically responding, "They're pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings." Despite her strength, Vivian's femme fatal edge was softened by Hawks to create a loyal Hollywood
Eliza can be characterized in many different ways, one way is independent. Eliza can be characterized as independent because when her mom left her and her dad, Eliza had to become the person who took care of her father, who was ill with stage 3 cancer. In school, is was just her, she did not have a best friend to lean on or a boyfriend to cry on, and after the fiasco with Peter in the photo room, Eliza became an independent woman with a guise of someone who does not care. Eliza is like a birch tree in a redwood forest. She is like everyone else, but yet everyone else sees her differently because of a rumor that happened a year ago. The guise that Eliza carried around was that she slept around and partied, which was far from the truth, she had been just a girl who’s mom had left her when her father got sick trying to cover up the pain it caused. When Eliza heard those words, she became even more secluded and more independent, fighting for her place in the world. Another way Eliza can be characterized as, is selfless. Eliza can be characterized as selfless because she always put others first, before herself. Eliza did not tell her dad what was happening at school because she always wanted to tell him the good news. She never confronted the rotten girls that started the rumor about her because she cared about Peter. In the book, Eliza said to Andy: “ This may come to a shock to you, but some
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.
Phillip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart), P.I, is hired by the rich General Sternwood to out a blackmailer, but quickly finds himself tangled in the Sternwood family’s dirty laundry — it’s the classic film noir narrative. At the center of it all seems to be Vivian Rutledge (Lauren Bacall), a Sternwood daughter, and the woman attempting to cover up the murder at the bottom of Marlowe’s case. I used Vivian’s tidy adherence to the femme fatale archetype to dig deeper into its true message about women’s nature, beyond the mysterious façade.
Throughout history women have been handed a subservient role to her male counterpoint. Females in the late 19th and early 20th century were treated like a second-class citizen, and were thought of as being the weaker sex. It was the women’s job to stay home to cook and raise the children. While these are still prevalent issues, it is also true that things has gotten better for some women in recent years. Works like “The Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen and “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell have helped advance the idea of what roles women should play in society. In each play there are strong, female protagonists who, despite being oppressed by the societal rules against women, learn to rebel and fight for what they believe is right. While there are
Have you ever seen immoral films? I have. According to the dictionary of American English (4th Ed. Longman), Immoral is defined as morally wrong, and not acceptable by society. Pretty Woman and Breakfast at Tiffany’s are two very immoral movie pictures. Although, they have a lot of differences; however, they are similar in three specific ways: their attraction, their poverty, and their transformation
Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) in Pretty Woman comes from a small town in Georgia, and works as a prostitute on the streets of Hollywood to support herself. Although Vivian's social position is very low, she has a strong sense of personal dignity and independence. Even though sometimes she have to stand by the street with empty stomach to wait for clients, Vivian and her friend Kit still
Higgins tries to take all of the credit for Eliza’s transformation into a lady. In his mind, Eliza did nothing and without him, she would not have been able to accomplish this task. Mr. Higgins continues to express his dominance by telling Eliza what to do even though she does not work for him. Eliza does not like the way that Mr. Higgins treats her and leaves his house, angrily. After searching for Eliza, Mr. Higgins finally finds her and tells her that he paid for her services and she needs to finish her job. In this way, he treats her as if she is
The opening scene is after an opera. The higher class people spill out into the streets. It is here that Eliza is selling her flowers. Eliza is a poor girl with a very thick accent. She is a respectable girl, which she insist throughout the movie, saying to Mr. Higgins, “I’m a good girl”. She’s had a hard life, her father being a drunk and therefore she and her mother had no money. It is
However, readers of the play may argue that Eliza and Higgins stop working together and conflict later on so that supports the theory of class struggle by Marxism. But when the two characters conflict with each other it’s not because of class struggle or anything related to hierarchy, it’s because of Eliza not accepting Higgins as a teacher as Higgins starts mistreating her so rather Eliza gives the credit for her transformation to Colonel Pickering and have constant arguments with Higgins now that she have learned the dialect of a higher class. “Mrs Higgins. I’m afraid you’ve spoiled that girl, Henry.” Eliza can also be seen as spoiled because of all those higher class ways and lifestyle she just adapted to. This type of conflict can be related to a house dispute and doesn’t show a behavior of lower class revolting against higher class to gain rights. “Liza. That’s not true. He treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess. Higgins. And I treat a duchess as if she was a flower girl.” “Higgins. The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether you ever heard me treat anyone else better.” As for Higgins’s personality, he always treats people with rudeness so
Throughout history, women have been seen in many different lights. From a woman’s perspective she is strong, smart, helpful and equal to men. In the eyes of men, she is seen as the weaker being, the housewife, and the caretaker. By looking at the following pieces of writing, one can see that through the centuries, women have struggled to break out of the mold that man had put her in and make themselves known in society as important.
> s apprehensive to be in a nice hotel with champagne and room service, etc. She is accustomed to being utilized as a cheap sex object. Edward is so nervous about their secret tryst that he becomes paranoid and believes that Vivian possesses illegal drugs. When Edward sees the substance in question is dental floss, he remarks “…very few people surprise me.” The implication is that he has been hurt before and expects to be hurt perpetually.
The play "Pygmalion" describes the process of the transformation of Eliza, who appears in three images in the story: Eliza begins as a flower girl, then she transforms into a lady with noble accent and in good manners, then an independent woman with self-respect and dignity.
In the Victorian England period, how a person is viewed by society determines everything. What kind of jobs are available, who it is ok to marry, and even who is acceptable to interact with. How a person is viewed can change their life for better or for worse, and sadly women during this period must work twice as hard as their male counterparts to get the crucial social respect needed to succeed in their societies. How a person appears and how they dress plays a big part on how someone is viewed, but flower-girl-turned-duchess Eliza Doolittle must learn the hard way that just because a person fits the outside criteria of a lady does not exactly mean she would be treated as so, by society and most of all her mentor Henry Higgins. Throughout the play, Pygmalion, By George Bernard Shaw, the author makes the theme of prejudice against women very apparent by the way they are treated in society and the unreasonable expectations they are held up to, making it very difficult for women like Eliza Doolittle to move up in society and be seen as equal in the eyes of those above them.