If there is one overlapping theme that connects Gloria Steinem’s 1978 essay, “If Men Could Menstruate”, and Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film, Goodfellas, it is that society is a patriarchy where men and women are not looked at equally, as men are seen as the superior gender. Men were made to be the superior gender not by God or through Evolution, but by the cultural construction of society. Although there is no physical evidence pointing to men being better than women, males have somehow convinced females to play second-fiddle in the orchestra that is society. The film exposes the patriarchal structure of organized crime—“the family” as mafia members call it. Goodfellas indulges in and critiques this world by showing both the actions and the natures …show more content…
For example, in Goodfellas, Henry Hill’s wife, Karen, caught him cheating on her with another woman. At first, she tries to take a dominant, and somewhat masculine, stance against her two-timing spouse. She decides to get aggressive and confront the mistress first before her husband. Karen goes to the girlfriend’s apartment and repeatedly buzzes over the intercom, saying “This is Karen Hill, I want to talk to you. Hello? Don't hang up on me. I want to talk to you. You keep away from my husband, you understand me? Hello? He's my husband. Get your own goddamn man.” Karen accosted the mistress first instead of her husband because it was the easier thing for her to do. She knew that it wasn’t the mistress’s fault that her husband was running around on her, but she was much less intimidated by another woman than by her mobster …show more content…
She goes as far as to tell him that she’s gone crazy, as well as threatening to kill him. Karen responds, “Yea, I’m crazy enough to kill you.”(Goodfellas) when Henry asks her if she’s gone crazy. On the outside, she appears confident and strong, which isn’t too much of a challenge when possessing a weapon capable of ending someone’s life. But on the inside, she begins to break. Here, Karen’s inner voice takes over as the narrator. “...But still, I couldn’t hurt him. How could I hurt him, I couldn’t even bring myself to leave him. The truth was, no matter how bad I felt, I was still very attracted to him. Why should I give him to someone else? Why should she win?”(Goodfellas) The film suggests she made her decision to stay with Henry because she felt too dependent on him to live alone. This trend in women’s behavior is a result of years and years of men making them feel inferior. After Karen begins to choke up and lowering the barrel of the pistol, Henry quickly jumps at the opportunity to disarm his wife. He swiftly hits her in the head, knocking her down and taking her gun away, reducing her to a sobbing pile of rubble on the floor, much like a little girl who had just been scolded for the first time. Henry leapt at the first sign of weakness that she showed before taking control of the situation, which is a
I did my paper on the movie Pleasantville. This is about a brother and sister who get trapped inside the 50’s television show, Pleasantville. The movie starts off in color until they get to Pleasantville where their world suddenly turns to black and white. Pleasantville is a perfect society where husbands come home to a beautiful wife and children and a home cooked meal ready on the table, and everything and everyone works together to make the community a perfectly functioning society. When the siblings, David and Jennifer, become part of Pleasantville’s perfect society they immediately have a strong influence that changes it substantially. As the people of Pleasantville start breaking their community’s norms, color starts to appear
We come to scene which is most important when talking about dependency on male counterparts. Evey is caught in the act of prostitution by fingermens who then decide to do whatever they want with her and even kill her but that’s when V a character from V for Vendetta comes to rescue Evey as a damsel in distress (Moore and Lloyd 6). This shows how Evey’s character is defenseless and couldn’t take on a masculine role and is instead waiting for someone in a masculine role to come and save her. By showing that scene Moore and Lloyd have separated male from a female according to their bodies and their representation of masculine and feminine. In an article about gender stereotyping and under-representation of female character in children’s picture
AIn the movie, The Grudge (2004), a woman is used to play the four big roles, which are the main character, supporting character, victim who dies early, and the evil creature, which is the dead mother who is now a ghost. The main character, Karen Davis, is an exchange student who works at the same place as one of the supporting characters as a care-worker. Throughout the movie, she learns about the events that brought the ghost into existence, while simultaneously being followed by the ghost. In the end, she attempts to kill the ghost, but it survives and continues to follow her. One of the gender stereotypical characteristics of the main character was her job as a care-worker. Care-workers are people who care for others such as children,
Lois Tyson’s text, Critical Theory Today (2006), explains the various theories that are utilized to critique literature and explain plots, themes, and characters. With feminist literary theory, Tyson writes, “Broadly defined, feminist criticism examines the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women” (83). With Edna Pontellier, her place in the story relies on her husband’s social status; her husband, Leonce Pontellier, is a successful businessman in New Orleans and wants to maintain appearances of success and marital stability. With Leonce, a product of society, he sees and treats Edna as an object: “‘You are burnt beyond recognition,’ he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 44).
In my research essay for my English Composition 2 class, I will be analyzing the different gender roles in Notes from the Underground and Death of a Salesman. Often times, in American Literature work, gender roles are used very differently due to whomever wrote it. This story and play fall into the category of “traditional” gender roles that are given to males and females based off of society and what is expected of males and females. I will use the gender approach to explain that roles in families and society are based off of gender. I will also compare a feminist approach to the gender approach and see how they are different. In Author Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s
Pleasantville is a film set around two teenagers who happen to fall into the predictable 1950s’ black and white sitcom, Pleasantville. The show represents a very stereotypical image of what American culture was known for in the 50s’, in regards to gender roles, segregation of races, and basic societal standards. With a society, so bland, David and Jennifer bring along their personalities that influence new ideas and innovation, keenness for knowledge and most importantly a display of freedom. As the citizens of Pleasantville became exposed to new experiences and opportunities, an eruption of “intense” emotions took over the town, which led to the outburst of the symbol of colour. These abrupt changes to the society’s norms highlight the uneasiness
Until the last hundred years or so in the United States, married women had to rely on their husbands for money, shelter, and food because they were not allowed to work. Though there were probably many men who believed their wives could “stand up to the challenge”, some men would not let their wives be independent, believing them to be of the “inferior” sex, which made them too incompetent to work “un-feminine” jobs. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, feminist writers began to vent their frustration at men’s condescension and sexist beliefs. Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” and Zora Neale Hurson’s “Sweat” both use dialogue to express how women are capable of and used to working hard, thinking originally, being independent
Our culture has created a social system that allows the driving forces of patriarchy to flourish. Although many people may not be purposefully attempting to continue this system of patriarchy, we each play a role in its survival. For many the problem is not that they are promoting patriarchy but that they are not challenging the system. In Johnson’s article “Patriarchy”, he is not examining whether a patriarchal system exists in our culture but what factors are driving this system to continue. The articles analyzed demonstrate Johnson’s theory of patriarchy by exemplifying his three facets of the patriarchal system and by recognizing the notion of the path of least resistance.
The world is becoming more aware of the gender hierarchy occurring in our society. Men are consistently leaders and placed in positions of power while women are seen as inferior. Jean Kilbourne, author of “Two ways a Woman Can Get Hurt”, investigates this ideology as she looks throughout media and advertisements and highlights their sexually explicit commercials that degrade woman. In comparison, Allan G. Johnson, writer of Why Do We Make So Much of Gender?, discusses how the world’s view of gender has changed over time and how it has affected the world. Kilbourne and Johnson outline the presence of a gender hierarchy but do not accurately interpret why it happens. The underlying presence driving patriarchy is hidden deep in men’s resistance
Critics of feminist studies of men often argue that the politics to change values and behaviour need to come from men themselves, because feminist women’s long efforts against gender discrimination, misogyny, sexual harassment, rape, battering, and male violence have often created backlash and stubborn resistance from men (Lorber, 2012, 274). If men do not fight for what they want they will not see change, it will not be handed to them as many things have already been. Although, the question presumes, why would men want to change something that they feel is just fine? This is where controversy takes place. A change must occur in order for things to be equal. Men do not always have to be the breadwinners; On the other hand, areas that seemed to indicate potential gender equality – fatherhood and men doing “women’s work” – have ironically restored gender inequality. This refers to the racialized glass escalator. Where men who do women’s work have reliable preferences in the working environment, such that even in occupations where men are numerical in minorities they are likely to enjoy higher wages and faster promotions (Lorber, 2012, p.264) In addition, men get daddy bonuses when they become fathers while women workers suffer a motherhood penalty in reduced wages (Lorber, 2012, 274). Limitations such as these reinforce gender
Avery Wells Professor Wilkenfeld English 102 02/08/14 “All Men and Women Are Created Equal” On July 4, 1776 it was said that all men are created equal. What the Declaration of Independence failed to mention was women. This seemed to be a common theme throughout the history of America and is still a problem to this day. Men are constantly being held up on a pedestal, while women are forced to assume the position of looking up to them. Zombieland (2009) tends to take these “old school” ways and sheds a new light on the fact that women too can be equal, if not better than some men.
The sexualization of women in the 21st century has led many to wonder whether or not the feminist movement actually resulted in more harm than good. Although the progress and reform that came out of the feminist movement is indisputable, things such as equal rights under the law, equal status and equal pay, the reality is that the subjugation of female roles in society still exist, and the most surprising part about this is that now women are just as much as at fault for this as men are. Ariel Levy defines female chauvinist pigs as “women who make sex objects of other women and of ourselves” (Levy 11). This raunch culture is mistakenly assumed to be empowering and even liberating to women when it is in fact degrading and corrupting to the modern feminist movement and makes it more difficult for women to be taken seriously in society. The shift in the nature of the feminist movement is in Levy’s opinion attributed to by the massive industry now profiting off of the sexualization of women, the reverse mindset now adopted by post-feminists and women in power roles in our society, and ultimately the women who further their own objectification as sex objects and thus, so by association, deem themselves lesser than man.
The dynamic of gender roles within 1960s society is the most prominent issue within Mad Men. The show does not shy away from the conformity of the time. Behind the pristine hair and perfectly stylised clothes - the men are in control and the women are ultimately suppressed of any power.
Consequently, they must then take on parties, dates, auctions, beach days, and fashion shows, all while concealing their true male identities. While doing this, the movie portrays extreme stereotypes of gender roles and expectations. Although the portrayal of female expectations and characteristics is exaggerated for comedic effect, the underlying points and issues still remain. The way the brothers dress, speak, act, and understand their new social life as females, all contributes to the obvious contrast in gender specific qualities. The consistent sexualization of women and over pompous attitudes of men throughout the film provides exceptional evidence that society has established acceptable norms for both genders. These established roles of femininity and masculinity conflict within the undercover agents as they struggle to act poise, arrogant, non-confrontational, and sexy like their fellow female friends are, yet this is completely out of the norm for them as they are truly males. However, when they slip-up and allow their defensive masculine traits to show through it allows for not only a comedic break, but an exceptional
Renzetti, C. M., Curran, D. J., & Maier, S. L. (2012). Women, men, and society. Boston: Pearson.