During the medieval periods, the social rank of an individual set limits to what they could accomplish in life. This system of social status obligated and forced people to stick to what "fate" and society had in store for them. For example, peasants could only be peasants and that was the only occupation they could be. Individuals in higher social ranks such as kings, some knights and people of the church looked down at people at lower ranks. In the movie this is seen when William is found to be a fraud and only because he isn’t nobility , he is arrested and shunned. Many aspects of the movie demonstrates that social statuses revolve around individuals having more pride by either earning it or pretending to have it.
The black smith lady in the movie is an example of social status limitation. Because she is a woman she is being limited to what she can do. However she disproves this by having a man's job. But it does also limit who she can help because she is a female which shows gender inequality. For example, in the movie , William is in disapproval of having his armor fixed by a women, but because her social status from her job is very important, William
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In the movie those who were higher up in society had qualities that many thought could not be reached. This was because society set the limitations of everyone even as law. But when someone such as William or the blacksmith lady showed that even lower class individuals can stand up to the level of knights, society can witness a change in opinions and societal behaviors. In the movie of the Knight’s tale, even people in lower social classes proved to be more worthy and capable because of pride and determination. The system of keeping the poor poor and the rich rich set out for individuals to set a goal of overcoming an obstacle that in the medieval times was almost impossible to reach
In the middle ages, knights were viewed as those who would represent the greatest level of chivalry, considering it was part of their code. King Arthur talked to a peasant in the beginning of the film who expressed her said unhappiness about the government and her views did not align with King Arthur so he disapproved. The peasant described medieval Europe as a horrid place to live. There was also a lack of education among the peasants because in the British empire at that time, there were many small kingdoms owned by lords, under one king. All the peasants really knew was their own kingdom and their king, they were not really educated on the number or where other kingdoms were. During this time period, the peasants were viewed as the bottom of the food chain, and in the feudal system they were actually at the bottom. This meant that they had no real say in the government or how it was ruled, so this interaction did not seem accurate for the time period nor did it cause any impact because those who were high in the feudal system liked the strong divide between classes. The way of life during the middle ages was strongly influenced by past traditions and morals that had been passed down from generation to generation. One of these old traditions included
The other knights “envied [Lanval’s] handsomness, [Lanval’s] courage, prowess, and largesse” (Mari 21-22). By all regards, Lanval illustrates the ideal knight as he possesses all the attributes a knight should. Mari de France even notes that Lanval “served King Arthur very well” (Mari 40). However, Lanval lacks the material wealth that his counterpart's possess, and therefore, Lanval requires the social position his counterparts possessed. Lanval possesses the necessary heritage as he was “a king’s son of great worth” (Mari 27), yet Lanval “spent all of his property” (Mari 30). Without property, Lanval regresses to a commoner despite his noble heritage. Lanval’s exclusion illustrates the nature and values of medieval society. Lanval’s systematic constraints illustrate the futility of perseverance and hard work because, despite all of his efforts, he remains in his current position. Nobility and wealth dictate social views and quality of life in general as opposed to perseverance and hard work, and wealth stems from nobility which illustrates the ultimate futility of the social hierarchy. Nobility can only be inherited, and therefore, anyone not born into wealth or nobility is doomed to mediocrity. Martin B Shichtman also refers to the political discord present within medieval Europe as it relates to Lanval. His book Culture and
In conclusion, the Knight basically go anything he could’ve ever wanted in life. He did crack the code of women, but not on his own although it does make him more wise then most men which still don’t quite get it to this day. The Knight should have been sentenced to death in the very beginning and no, in fact he did not get the punishment he deserved his crime was a very awful one.
The gender pay gap is not only a problem in the past. To my surprise, Hollywood has a gender pay gap. I would have never thought the industry that makes billions of dollars through movies and television shows would pay women less than men. This is a huge problem and in 2015 women in Hollywood should not have to worry about the gender pay gap. Furthermore, minority women should not get fewer opportunities for an acting jobs (Berg). It is absurd that women in Hollywood do not have equal pay. Instead of setting an example of equal pay to other occupations Hollywood is setting an example of a gender pay gap.
Violence has made a home in American society. Since TV shows and movies provide a large source of entertainment for Americans, networks and Hollywood find themselves constantly competing for viewers. As the competitions heat up, so does the content shown on the screen, but some of that content as struck a nerve with people. The large amount of violence, and more specifically violence against women, portrayed on TV and in movies has people taking action to clean up the screen.
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
This fairy-tale like story not only entertains the readers, it also educates them about the distinctions of the social class system in this era. The author of this poem successfully introduces his audience to a royal king and queen, a prestigious bishop, and a brave and honorable knight. Furthermore, the writer cleverly uses these characters to enlighten his readers to the inner workings of this “pyramid of power” and demonstrates how this social class system effects social interactions in the fourteenth century. While the author of this poem is unknown, there is no questioning the quality of this wonderful work of literature and the value it possess in regard to understanding the social class distinctions of the fourteenth century.
Disney films have always been a huge part of the pop culture. They featured instantly recognizable characters among every age group. These characters, especially the princesses, have been very influential, more precisely on young girls, from Belle to Frozen. However, the majority of these films revolve around the same plot with minor differences: it is always a tale about finding romantic love, a prince charming who saves the princess from a danger and they live happily ever after. However, in 2012, Disney and Pixar produced Brave, a movie that challenged the types of Disney movies we were used to. It favors feminism and gives girls a nontraditional princess model. Brave stars a strong female protagonist, Merida, and an influential plot that
In today’s society the differences in morals between the rich and the poorer classes are virtually non-existent, but during Medieval times “morals and, above all, the virtues at its center, played an important role not only for distinguishing between good and bad, but, more importantly, even for the structuring of society” (Virtus 1). The aristocracy class and the immoral poor class had morals but how they demonstrated them varied; the aristocratic class used chivalry as the basis of their morals, while the immoral poor class did not. Chivalry was not only a code of conduct for those who followed it; chivalry was a way of life. ‘Chivalry first arose in Europe during the Crusades. Chivalry dealt with loyalty honor, and service to women on and off the battle field’ (“The Medieval Period: 1066-1485” 76). The Knight in The Canterbury Tales is the perfect example of someone who follows the code of chivalry. Chaucer describes him with much admiration as “a most distinguishable man, who from the day on which he first began to ride abroad had followed chivalry, truth, honor generousness and courtesy” (Chaucer, "The Prologue." 117). While Chaucer praises the knight for ...
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.
The females and stereotypes in Disney animated films gradually changed over the years; From the early 1900s, beginning with their first feature film Snow White (1937) to their most recent box office film Frozen (2013). Since the Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923, the way the roles of women were portrayed depended on the time period.
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 ...
As claimed by the editors of our Anthology, “The forces of Urbanization and Industrialization that led to the decline of slavery also undermined traditional roles for women”. Men and women have been viewed as totally playing different roles in the society, women who are deemed to be the weakest of the two sexes and also more vulnerable should be relegated to the home where she’ll only play the roles of a wife,mother and reproductive item.