Feminist Film Theory and Silver Linings Playbook Silver Linings Playbook, is a film directed by David O. Russell, that follows a former teacher named Pat (Bradley Cooper) who is released from a psychiatric hospital for bipolar disorder after an eight month stay. His main goal after his release is to win back his ex-wife, Nikki (Brea Bee), whom he caught cheating for another man. Having been emotionally distressed for what had happened, he violently attacked the other man, almost killing him, which left him locked up at the hospital. Although he has recovered and was released, he is still troubled, damaged, and unsteady who often throws tantrums for very little things. Later in the film, he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), the sister of his ex-wife’s bestfriend, Veronica (Julia Stiles). Tiffany who is also emotionally unstable after her husband died in a tragic accident whom she blames herself for, is also as screwed up as Pat. Little by little they had a special connection which at first started very rough. The male and female characters in the film are interesting enough to be dissected and examined for the film’s attempt to illustrate feminism and break the hero-heroine stereotype. Although it falls short sometimes with its image of visual pleasure, Silver Linings Playbook created a character in Tiffany that is not only highly entertaining, but also empowering. The film received much acclaim for its nuanced acting and portrayal of mental illness. It also garnered a lot of awards particularly for Jennifer Lawrence who did an excellent job in acting. Other than that, it is also often praised for being a gender sensitive film, critically examining the definitions of masculinity and femininity. Silver Linings Playbook finds itse... ... middle of paper ... ...gles will win the football game. That very simple scene redeems her character in the family’s eyes, making her an important part of the family, instead of just being just an image. In general, Silver Linings Playbook, is a highly entertaining film that offers characters that break the common film stereotypes. The character of Tiffany as woman of strong personality, and Pat as the weaker one break the usual norm in film. Although the film falls short in some areas particularly with regards to visual imagery, it is still a film that promotes feminism in its subtlety. Making films that are perfectly feminist could be very hard to achieve, but Silver Linings Playbook made it more than halfway which is a lot better than what the common mainstream cinema offers. David O. Russell did a great job in the film’s direction making it enjoyable and empowering at the same time.
“Silver Linings Playbook” centers around two people with mental disorders finding one another. It shows a story about a man named Patrizio “Pat” Solitano, Jr. He was placed in a mental health facility. After months of treatment, Pat is reunited back with his family. He meets Tiffany Maxwell at a friend’s dinner. Tiffany says she can help Pat deliver a letter to Nikki, Pat’s ex-wife, but with one condition: Pat would need to be her partner at the dance competition she is entering. He reluctantly agrees because he plans to win Nikki back. One evening, Pat’s father, Pat, Sr. lost his fortune to a man named Randy, a family friend. Pat’s father believes that Pat, Jr. messed up the “Eagle’s juju” because Pat, Jr. was spending so much time
One of the goals in the play is to raise awareness about domestic violence. This is done effectively through the events that are played out in the
Although the nursing profession has emerged tremendously since the 19th centuries and many great accomplishments and changes has taken placed over the years, however there were presented issues from the film “Sentimental Women Need Not Apply” that were striking to me as they are still very relevant in both the nursing field and in our society.
Most people are likely to relate Hollywood with money. If a person lives in the Hollywood area, people assume she or he is probably rich. If she or he is a Hollywood movie star, the person probably makes a lot of money. Therefore, to follow that line of thought, when Hollywood producers make a movie, they make it just for money. And some filmmakers do seem to make films only for the money the movies will earn. The action movie "Die Hard", the fantasy movie "Star Wars", and the adventure movie "Jurassic Park" are examples of exciting movies that were made just for the money by satisfying the audiences' appetite for escapism.
Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” This doesn’t mean that women are just a bit tired of earning 75% that a man does for the same job. This means that women are standing up for themselves and are trying to achieve rights that they should already have. We were all brought into this world by a woman, but they are still not a man’s equal. Why is that? Is it too much to ask for to not be raped or killed or cast aside simply because of gender? Why is it that there are men out there that believe feminism is a scourge upon this earth that must be wiped out? They feel that their power over women is being threatened.
Silver Linings Playbooks tells the story of Pat Solitano Jr. (played by Bradley Cooper), a high school teacher diagnosed with bipolar disorder who is trying to get his life back together. The movie opens as Pat is released from a psychiatric hospital after eight months of treatment and moves back in with his parents. He is determined to get back together with his wife, Nikki, despite all the signs that say she does not want to be with him - such as the restraining order she filed against him. Pat meets recently widowed Tiffany Maxwell (played by Jennifer Lawrence), who is suffering from depression and overcoming a sex addiction that ensued from the death of her husband. Tiffany offers to help deliver Pat’s letters to Nikki if he enters a dance competition with her. As the movie goes on, Pat and Tiffany’s relationship progresses and they learn to cope with their issues.
The racial system is composed of three basic parts that divides people into different categories: the white on top, black on bottom, and brown in between. This system came to be as a result of three different population coming together with unequal terms resulting in one population having the most power. The film Do the Right Thing, directed by Spike Lee, does an excellent job at portraying how the racial system functions by showing the advantages of being at the top of the system and the disadvantages of being at the bottom of the system. Not only does Spike Lee show the way that the racial system works but it also shows the reality of it and how it puts the races at the bottom
The American black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese was released December 25, 2013 and stars the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie. While on face value The Wolf of Wall Street looks like a film about excessive cocaine binges, long evenings filled with men with cigarettes, large portions of alcoholic consumption, having many sexual escapades with various women and even dwarf tossing from time to time, the film is deeply rooted in perception gender within the genre of The Wolf of Wall Street. The word ‘genre’ is rooted into a similar category as
One major theme of the movie is thing aren’t always as they appear . The major character Briony in many instances misinterprets what she has witnessed and these misunderstanding ruin the life of the people she cares the most about. The first misunderstanding took place in her back yard where she finds her elder her sister played by Kiera Knightley undressing and jumping into a fountain .in front of her garden taker Robbie played by James McAvoy. Briony’s wild imagination allows her to believe Robbie and Cecilia were having a lover’s quarrel. When actually, Robby just broke the most expensive piece of china they owed and Cecilia jumped in to the fountain to retrieve the broken piece. This is exacerbated when Briony later intercepts an erotic letter written by Robbie, intended for Cecilia’s eyes only. This letter and the fact that she caught Robby and her sister having sexual relations in the library, makes Robbie appear to be “sex maniac”. So later on when her cousin Lola Quincy was raped she automatically assumes it to be the sex crazed gardener.
In the movie, Silver Linings Playbook, it all started with a man named Pat Solitano who had a mental disorder. He was recently released from a psychiatric hospital and now resides with his parents. He had lost his wife and his job and life just was not happening in his favor. His aim was to win back his wife, which happened to be quite difficult in his case. That is until he met this widowed woman named Tiffany Maxwell, who promised to help him reach out to his wife if he returned a favor and danced with her in a competition.
In today’s world, men and women are perceived equally by the society. In the past, authority and control define men while women are given the characteristic of helplessness. Men are able to get hold of high positions while women usually are subservient to them. In movies, we would usually see women portray roles that are degrading due to the stereotypical notions they associate with this gender group. Moulin Rouge, a movie set during the 1900s narrates the story of a courtesan woman, Satine, as she undergoes hardships to earn money, experiences love but unfortunately, due to her irrational choices, faces tragic consequences at the end. Satine is a symbol of how women are being treated by the society during the era before post-feminism, where men have superiority over women. As the plot develops, Satine transforms from a worthless prostitute to someone who is courageous and willing to face her fears in order to attain her aspirations. Psychoanalyst theory and feminist analysis are apparent throughout the film. The male gaze, fantasy and feminism are three topics that will be covered in depth in this essay through relating it to the movie.
Pat Solitano is the main character of the movie the Silver Linings Playbook. Pat had been sent to a psychiatric residential facility as a plea bargain not to have to serve time for committing a violent crime. Pat walked in on his wife having sex with another teacher he worked with while their wedding song was playing on the radio. Pat reacted violently and beat the teacher with tenure as Pat refers to him. Pat’s world has been turned upside down and when his mother picks him up from the facility eight months later Pat is going home to live with his parents.
Women have made progress in the film industry in terms of the type of role they play in action films, although they are still portrayed as sex objects. The beginning of “a new type of female character” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47) in the world of action films began in 1976 with Sigourney Weaver, who played the leading role in the blockbuster film ‘Aliens’ as Lt. Ellen Ripley. She was the captain of her own spaceship, plus she was the one who gave out all the orders. Until then, men had always been the ones giving the orders; to see a woman in that type of role was outlandish. This was an astonishing change for the American industry of film. Sometime later, in 1984, Linda Hamilton starred in ‘The Terminator’, a film where she was not the leading character, but a strong female character as Sarah Connor. She had a combination of masculine and feminine qualities as “an androgynous superwoman, resourceful, competent and courageous, while at the same time caring, sensitive and intuitive” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47). These changes made in action films for female’s roles stirred up a lot of excitement in the “Western society” (Starlet, 2007). The demand for strong female characters in action films grew to a new high when Angelina Jolie starred in ‘Tomb Raider’ in 2001 and then in the sequel, ‘Tomb Raider II: The Cradle of Life’ in 2003 as Lara Croft. Her strong female character was not only masculine, but was also portrayed as a sex object. Most often, strong women in these types of films tend to fight without even gaining a mark. At the end of each fight, her hair and makeup would always be perfect. The female characters in these action films, whether their role was as the lead character or a supporting character, had similar aspects. I...
Feminism is a movement that supports women equality within society. In relation to film, feminism is what pushes the equal representation of females in mainstream films. Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist that is famous for touching on this particular issue of how men and women are represented in movies. Through her studies, she discovered that many films were portraying men and women very differently from reality. She came up with a theory that best described why there is such as huge misrepresentation of the social status quos of male and female characters. She believed that mainstream film is used to maintain the status quo and prevent the realization of gender equality. This is why films are continuously following the old tradition that males are dominant and females are submissive. This is the ideology that is always present when we watch a movie. This is evident in the films from the past but also currently. It is as if the film industry is still catering to the male viewers of each generation in the same way. Laura Mulvey points out that women are constantly being seen as sexual objects, whether it is the outfits they wear or do not wear or the way they behave, or secondary characters with no symbolic cause. She states that, “in traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote it-be-looked-at-ness.”(Mulvey pg. 715). Thus, women are nevertheless displayed as nothing more than passive objects for the viewing pleasure of the audience. Mulvey also points out through her research that in every mainstream movie, there is ...
Feminist theory was derived from the social movement of feminism where political women fight for the right of females in general and argue in depth about the unequality we face today. In the aspect of cinema, feminists notice the fictitious representations of females and also, machismo. In 1974, a book written by Molly Haskell "From Reverence to Rape: The treatment of Women in Movies" argues about how women almost always play only passive roles while men are always awarded with active, heroic roles. Moreover, how women are portrayed in movies are very important as it plays a big role to the audience on how to look at a woman and how to treat her in real life due to the illusionism that cinema offers. These images of women created in the cinema shapes what an ideal woman is. This can be further explained through an article 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' written by a feminist named Laura Mulvey in 1975. She uses psychoanalysis theories by Sigmund Freud to analyze 'Scopophilia' which is the desire to see. This explains how the audience is hooked to the screen when a sexy woman is present. In a bigger picture, where Scopophilia derives from, 'Voyeurism' is also known as feeling visual pleasure when looking at another. Narcissism on the other hand means identifying one's self with the role played. It is not hard to notice that in classical cinema, men often play the active role while the women are always the object of desire for the male leads, displayed as a sexual object and frequently the damsels in distress. Therefore, the obvious imbalance of power in classical cinema shows how men are accountable to moving the narratives along. Subconsciously, narcissism occurs in the audience as they ...