Julie And Julia

Julie & Julia should not be considered a feminist text. Katha Pollit’s review of Julie & Julia as a feminist text is inaccurate, as the film is laced with patriarchal views and underlying sexism. Julie & Julia also fails to be inclusive of a range of women and the problems they face, and so Julie & Julia should not be called a feminist film.

The textbook definition of intersectional feminism states that “Women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity.” It works on the premise that no women are the same and thereby experience different struggles. The current wave of feminism, 4th wave feminism, focuses on intersectionality and many intersectional feminists have noted that feminism that isn’t all inclusive is not truly feminism. Julie

In the first scenes of the film we see Julia in the process of moving into a new apartment – one which she hates. She and Eric have moved to be closer to Eric’s job, even though Julie is visibly upset by the decision, she accepts it because it is to Eric’s benefit. Similarly, we see Julia moving from city to city with Paul because his job demands it, and Julia is expected to uproot her life and passively follow Paul. This perpetuates the stereotype of the man being the head of the house and being the breadwinners. It shows how Julie and Julia are still doing things because it is to their husbands benefit and they do not have a major say in decisions directly affecting their lives, showing they are not truly equal to their husbands.

Another example of the sexism in Julie & Julia are present in the scene where Julie is complaining to Eric about not liking her friends, and Eric notes that he cannot help because “Men like their friends.” This scene shows how women are pitted against each other and seen by each other solely as competition, which in itself is