Ma vie en rose (English translation: My Life in Pink) is a 1997 Belgian drama film directed by Alain Berliner. The film is about Ludovic, a young transgender girl who is seen by her family and community as a boy, but chooses to express herself as a girl and her family's struggle as they attempt to accept her gender. It comes as no surprise to me that a film like this would come out of Belgium. As it has frequently been referred to as one of the most LGBT friendly countries in the world, even as far back as the 1700s.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Belgium are some of the most progressive in the entire world. Same-sex sexual activity has been completely legal since 1795, and same-sex couples where granted domestic partnership benefits in 2000. Belgium then went on to become the second country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2003 along with anti discrimination policies preventing any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, and both public and Private housing, put into place that same year. Same-sex adoption followed soon after in 2006. Transsexuals have been allowed to change their legal gender since 2007. Recent polls indicate that a majority of Belgians support same-sex marriage. The Prime Minister of Belgium, Elio Di Rupo, is openly gay and is one of the only two Prime Ministers in the world to identify as LGBT.
So as I said before with such a progressive country it's now sunrise at all that a Film about a young Trans-Girl exploring her identity would come from them. Ma vie en rose is a film that has the courage to tackle a subject that is different from what one would in mainstream movies, especially films in America. It also has a lot of messages for the viewer,...
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...e, is that since Ludo isn't flamboyant, or a queen, their desire to be a girl is almost never drawn attention to by Ludo themselves. Which is a stark contrast to many of the stereotypes people seem to have regarding Cross-Dressing and Trans-Indviduals. The innocence of this obsession initially confuses their family members, then angers them them, and in the end brings them together. With its breaking of middle class mores, Ma Vie en Rose might have appeared more taboo in the '70s. It's hardly that now.
Ma Vie en Rose is a touching, beautiful film that explores many concepts from gender, to self expression and children's views on sexuality. And while very little about it initially apparently Belgian. It's obvious the film makes had a great respect for this subject matter which makes perfect sense coming from a country where the LGBT community is so greatly accepted.
In any culture women are often confined by expectations of womanhood. In both stories the female characters challenge those expectations. The main characters of In the Time of the Butterflies are all females who stand up for what they believe in and don’t give up. “’What if I can’t’ Dede’s voice shook. ‘Jaimito thinks
The musical has several instances of sexism, one of them being Frank’s song, “The Girl that I Marry”, with the lyrics “The girl that I marry will have to be/ As soft and as pink as a nursery/ The girl I call my own/ Will wear satin and laces and smell of cologne/ Her nails will be polished/ And in her hair she’ll wear a gardenia” where he describes the “perfect girl” that he wants to marry (Sidney, "Annie Get Your Gun"). This song would be considered sexist today because of the high standards he puts his perfect woman to, while nowadays, feminists push women to be themselves without trying to live up to somebody else’s standards especially for a man. Furthermore, Frank would always become upset whenever Annie would beat or perform better than him. For example, when Annie and Frank reunite after being apart for each of their own show, they are declaring their love for each other but the moment is lost when Frank tries to offer his three medals as a gift but he sees that Annie already has a chestful of medals. The rivalry comes back and his pride takes over and Frank tries to take his gift back by saying, “No, these are too plain for you. They just got writing on the back, ‘To Frank Butler, The Champion Sharpshooter of the World’,” (Sidney, "Annie Get Your Gun"). By saying
Rose is portrayed throughout the production as the promiscuous projectionist who isn’t quite sure what she wants out of life other than a good time. Outside of the world of the play it is obvious to tell if someone is flirting, there are many innate behaviors associated with the act itself. Given this fact, Rose’s flirting with Avery was extremely realistic, from the causal touches to his shoulder, to the way that she looked at him while they were watching the movie, every aspect of her acting was extremely life-like. This impressive use of skill allowed the audience to become more engrossed in who Rose is supposed to be as a
destructive, exotic and a self-determined independent who is cold hearted, immortal and less of a human. The females portrayed in the noir were primarily of two types - either projected as ethical, loyal loving woman or as ‘femme fatales’ who were duplicitous, deceptive, manipulative and desperate yet gorgeous women. In
American commercial cinema currently fuels many aspects of society. In the twenty-first century it has become available, active force in the perception of gender relations in the United States. In the earlier part of this century filmmakers, as well as the public, did not necessarily view the female“media image” as an infrastructure of sex inequality. Today, contemporary audiences and critics have become preoccupied with the role the cinema plays in shaping social values, institutions, and attitudes. American cinema has become narrowly focused on images of violent women, female sexuality, the portrayal of the “weaker sex” and subversively portraying women negatively in film. “Double Indemnity can be read in two ways. It is either a misogynist film about a terrifying, destroying woman, or it is a film that liberates the female character from the restrictive and oppressed melodramatic situation that render her helpless” (Kolker 124). There are arguably two extreme portrayals of the character of Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity; neither one is an accurate or fare portrayal.
This gender swap gives way to an innocuous girl-power film that doesn’t in any way degrade or trivialize the male leads of the film. I love it when a film can be gender-centric yet still equal opportunity because it’s immensely difficult to find a sense of balance between those two. This film is friendly to both genders, and it actually has something to say about sexual orientation as well. It’s briefly mentioned in passing, but that one line easily sums up how the entire film feels about all types of
The film explains the difference between Chinese and American values of gender in marriage and family as well. It clearly shows how Chinese woman is expected to good wives for their chosen husband. Girls are promised at an early age to a man. In the film Aunty Lindo had an arranged marriage when she was only four years old. In an American marriage, it is supposed to be based on a love and connection between two people.
In Rose 's essay he gives personal examples of his own life, in this case it’s his mother who works in a diner. “I couldn 't put into words when I was growing up, but what I
Alice Walker’s “Roselily”, when first read considered why she decided to use third person. Especially when the story is in such a private line of thought, but then after my second time reading the story I decided that Roselily would not be a strong enough woman to speak about the social injustices that have happened to her. One key part of the story is her new life she will be facing after she is married in Chicago, while comparing it with her old life she is leaving in Mississippi. In Chicago she will no longer have a job, but instead be a homemaker where she will be responsible for the children and home. Also, in Chicago she will become a Muslim because it is what her new husband will want her to be, but back in Mississippi she was of the Christian faith. One of the more positive outcomes of her marriage is that she will go from extreme poverty, to not having to worry about money on a day to day basis.
Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain (The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain), or more affectionately known as Amélie, is a French film that spotlights a shy, Parisian waitress that finds delight in seemingly insignificant things such as dipping her hands in grain at the corner market, watching the reactions of people behind her during a film at the movie theater, and skipping stones on the Saint-Martin Canal. Amélie expresses this when she exclaims, “I like to look for things no one else catches.” In the first part of the film, Amélie has an epiphany that provides her with a sense of meaning. Despite her introvertedness, she is determined to help others achieve happiness in the most unpredictable, wonderful ways. Furthermore, she creates a
...amily she finds the true meaning of being brave and saves her family (“Brave”). I like this kind of movie instead of a man being the brave and independent one now the woman is. These are the kind of fairy tales that need to be told so that women do not feel the need to be weak and dependent on other people. If fairy tales slowly become more realistic then I think they are a good thing but teaching women to not be strong or if their not a size 0 and gorgeous, well that in my eyes is not okay.
The film presents the stereotypical behavior of gay men that is evident in our society. Many of the costumes are designed to highlight the characters and the way they live. For example, Bernadette wears long flowing clothes usually white or an off cream. ‘She’ is an older ‘women’ and dresses to look like one with flowing skirts and tops with her hair done up simply.
“The conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove that their minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty; and the flaunting leaves, after having pleased a fastidious eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk, long before the season when they ought to have arrived at maturity” (Wollstonecraft 7). This is a view in which several feminists abide with and can relate to; the idea that women have the wrong intentions and goals for their lives, that they are treated like children and are predestined to act like children, instead of adults. Although the Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft was written in 1972, this perception of woman still exists all around the world and is a major topic of debate among feminists. Several aspects of life in modern western society degrade and belittle woman, and although equality is the law in countries such as Canada and the United States of America, TV shows, movies and music tell different. Lana Del Rey is a popular female artist in North America and Europe, she recently released a new album called Born to Die. This album is very controversial among Radical feminists because many aspects of it, such as the lyrics contribute to the belittlement of women.
French feminist criticism concerns itself with the objectification of women, and examples abound in Two Kinds. From the beginning, Jing-mei’s mother pushes her to be a prodigy partially for reasons of pride and competition. Jing-mei’s Auntie Lindo has a daughter who is a national chess champion, and Auntie Lindo never fails to remind anybody of the fact. When discussing their daughters, both Auntie Lindo and Jing-mei’s mother make no mention of their character, only bragging about their level of “genius”. Ironic as it sounds, they are objectifying their daughters and using them as status symbols, no different from flaunting a new car or gadget. On the other hand, American feminist criticism focuses on the victimization of women, a victimization that is apparent in Two Kinds. Though at first glance, Jing-mei’s mother may seem like the antagonist in the story, when one considers her backstory it is apparent that she just wants her daughter to have the life she never had. The mother lost everything when she moved from China to San Francisco in 1949. In China she lost her family, her spouse, and she had to abandon her twin baby girls. She had a very difficult life in a society that was even more hostile to women than post-World War II America. Finally, there is the Female Subtext form of criticism, which focuses on minor female characters. The minor female characters in this story are Aunt Lindo and her daughter Waverly, two toxic characters that represent the opposite of what feminism stands for. Aunt Lindo drones on about how great her daughter and remarks about how she is obsessed with chess with mock disgust. Waverley herself is no saint, as she brags about her level of genius while belittling Jing-mei after her piano recital fiasco. This is strikingly similar to how men looked down upon women as subhuman for most of history. All in all, Two Kinds is
Le féminisme est clairement un thème important dans "Les Belles Images". Laurence, le protagoniste féminin subit une crise d'identité, comme elle commence à devenir de plus en plus consciente de sa position dans le monde et dans sa famille comme une femme. "Les Belles Images" dépeint l'éveil de Laurence comme elle est apparemment arrachés de sa complaisance et devient conscience très vive de l'état stagnant de sa famille et de sa vie. Bien que depuis l'extérieur, Laurence semble être l'épitomé de l'idéal féministe de la femme nouvelle, avec sa carrière prospère, son amant et son mode de vie bourgeois, à l'intérieur, tout est train de s'effondrer. C'est la fille de Laurence Catherine qui agit comme un déclencheur pour cet éveil C'est la fille de Laurence Catherine qui agit comme un déclencheur pour ce réveil quand elle pose la question «pourquoi est-ce qu'on existe ?» (23). La question de Catherine Laurence fait examiner à elle-même et sa vie. Cette examen de conscience résultats dans Laurence devenir désabusés par les hommes de sa vie; son mari, son amant et son père. Dans son livre "Beauvoir et ses soeurs: La politique de l'corps des femmes en France", Sandra Reineke affirme que cette désillusion avec les hommes de sa vie, représente le rejet féministe de changement et de continuité dans la France moderne (27). Le père de Laurence symbolise l'ancien mode de vie de la bourgeoisie et Jean-Claude symbolise le nouveau mode de vie techno-bourgeoisie, qui ne sont dans l'intérêt de la femme. À la fin du roman, Laurence a résignée au fait qu'il ne soit trop tard pour elle de changer sa vie, mais elle est prête à prendre en charge la vie de ses filles et de les protéger de l'oppression des hommes: