The marriage plot has been quite prominent in the film industry over the past few decades. The plot that is characterized by its lead woman “getting” the lead man and vice versa, has contributed to such movie blockbusters as Pretty Woman and the classic film, Pillow Talk. While both films can be classifies as containing marriage plots, the films share other similarities as well. However, in regards to the marriage plot, Pretty Woman follows the pattern much more fluently and precisely that does Pillow Talk.
Both Julia Robert’s and Doris Day’s characters, Vivian and Jan, respectively, are strong women in their films. They both contain quite a few characteristics such as boldness, confidence, and intelligence that make them very attractive and desirable to their male counterparts. While their professions are quite opposite, the women are similar in their personalities. Jan is an interior designer and her history with men is not troublesome or lacking, but like Vivian, the prostitute, she finds that men are sometimes after only one thing. I noticed that both women are extremely confident when it comes to dealing with men; they both know what they want and what the are looking for in a male companion.
The men in these two movies are quite similar as well. Both Rock Hudson and Richard Gere play two powerful men who are popular with the ladies. Although Hudson’s career, a musician, is not typically “powerful” it does contain benefits and certain contacts that could be considered powerful. These two men both start out with the women practically chasing them. Vivian is paid to be Edward’s (Gere) “beck and call” girl, and does so willingly not just for the money, but because she is also mesmerized by his coyness, charm and good looks. Jan is attracted to Rex (Hudson) because he is also shy and coy and very handsome as well. Both women are interested in their counterparts for the particular reason that they are not men they typically meet. These men are respectful and somewhat quiet and shy. Each plot takes a turn towards the end of the movie when the women leave them, each for different reasons. Ironically and typical of the marriage plot, it then become the man chasing the woman. He is to prove his worthiness to her and to dismiss her conclusion that he, in fact, is like all other men they have encountered.
Recently, I saw a movie about female tennis champion – Billie Jean King, and although I have never been into the feminism (neither can I say that I quite understand it), her character woke up some other kind of sensitivity in me. After this – to me significant change – I could not help myself not to notice different approaches of John Steinbeck and Kay Boyle to the similar thematic. They both deal with marital relationships and it was quite interesting to view lives of ordinary married couples through both “male” and “female eyes”. While Steinbeck opens his story describing the Salinas Valley in December metaphorically referring to the Elisa’s character, Boyle jumps directly to Mrs. Ames’s inner world. Although both writers give us pretty clear picture of their characters, Boyle does it with more emotions aiming our feelings immediately, unlike Steinbeck who leaves us more space to think about Elisa Allen.
Heroines in traditional romantic comedies generally show their female charm dominated by the heroes, and docile. However, in Romantic Comedy vs. Screwball Comedy Gehring depicts the screwball comedy as “dripping with eccentrics starting with the archetype zany heroines.” Also, Gerhing says, “heroines assisted by the fact that only she knows a courtship is occurring. ” In other words, he means that heroines in screwball comedies always show their unique nuttiness and try to pursue what they desire as long as they realized that was something they want, which is quite different from the customary docile female in other romantic comedies. These traits are detailed in The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife; heroines Lucy and Ellen pursue their happiness with apparently daffy behavior, encouragement and their love.
The film I chose to view for this Romantic Comedy paper was When Harry met Sally. I enjoyed this movie. The two main characters were Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally Allbright (Meg Ryan). When first introduced to these characters, Sally is driving to New York, and Harry, who is the boyfriend of Sally's friend, is catching a ride with her.
Nora and Mrs. Wright’s social standing when compared to the men in each play is inferior. Both works expose their respective male characters’ sexist view of women diminishing the women’s social standing. Each work features egotistical men who have a severely inflated view of their self-worth when compared to their female counterparts. The men’s actions and words indicate they believe women are not capable of thinking intelligently. This is demonstrated in “Trifles” when Mr. Hale makes the statement about women only worrying about mere trifles. It is also apparent in “A Dollhouse” when Torvalds thinks his wife is not capable of thinking with any complexity (Mazur 17). Another common attribute is of the women’s social standing is displayed as both women finally get tired of feeling like second class citizens and stand up to the repressive people in the women’s lives (Mulry 294). Although both women share much in common in their social standing there subtle differences. Torvald’s sexist view of Nora is more on a personal level in “A Dollhouse” while the male characters’ sexist views in “Trifles” seem to be more of a social view that women are not very smart and their opinions are of little value. This attitude is apparent in “Trifles” as Mr. Hale and Mr. Henderson’s comments about Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping (Mulry 293). As the women in both works reach their emotional
A female in film noir is typically portrayed in one of two ways; she’s either a dependable, trustworthy, devoted, and loving woman, or she’s a manipulative, predatory, double crossing, and unloving temptress. Noir labels the cold hearted and ruthless woman archetype as a Femme Fatale. A femme fatale is walking trouble, and she’s aware of it. This woman is gorgeous, refined, eloquent, and commands the attention of any room she’s in. When the femme fatale desires something, she pursues it. If there’s an obstacle in her way, she overcomes it. If she can’t handle it herself, all she needs to do it bat her eyelashes and the nearest man is all too willing to take care of it for her. In essence, the most dangerous thing about the femme fatale is her
...o not believe it anesthetizes the emotional life of the viewer: it romanticizes life. Women take away from the experiences that sex in a relationship is perfect, communication with the partner is perfect and if there is a disagreement or misunderstanding, it is grounds for a breakup. How damaging are these expectations to a new relationship? During a literature review, I found several researchers concluded that these expectations cultivated from romantic comedies contribute to increased divorces in society (Segrin & Nabi 2002).
Women show a submission to the power of men, even Blanche admits that maybe Stanley is what they need to ‘Mix with [their] blood’, whereas she treats Mitch with contempt, rolling her eyeballs when he can’t see and ridiculing him in ...
In society, there has always been a gap between men and women. Women are generally expected to be homebodies, and seen as inferior to their husbands. The man is always correct, as he is more educated, and a woman must respect the man as they provide for the woman’s life. During the Victorian Era, women were very accommodating to fit the “house wife” stereotype. Women were to be a representation of love, purity and family; abandoning this stereotype would be seen as churlish living and a depredation of family status. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Henry Isben’s play A Doll's House depict women in the Victorian Era who were very much menial to their husbands. Nora Helmer, the protagonist in A Doll’s House and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” both prove that living in complete inferiority to others is unhealthy as one must live for them self. However, attempts to obtain such desired freedom during the Victorian Era only end in complications.
Connie’s narcissistic behavior and her knowledge that she is very popular causes her to pretend a self-confident, mature woman who follows the aim to be in a relationship and who enjoys every single moment of attention (Oates 120). Connie almost plays with different personalities to perfect her attractiveness because "[E] everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk, which could be childlike and bobbing, [...] her laugh which was cynical [...] at home [...] but highpitched and nervous anywhere else [...]" (Oates 119-20). Through this charisma, she consciously attracts boys’ interest, but unconsciously, she also provokes men’s sexual desires (Oates 120-21). In other words, this false pretence naturally causes men to develop concre...
movies are about men’s lives, and the few movies about women’s lives, at their core, still
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
In a man, Marianne seeks a lover and a connoisseur, whose tastes coincide with her tastes. He must be open with feelings, read the same books, and be charmed by the same music (15). Marianne seeks a man with all of Edward’s virtues, and his person and manner must ornament his goodness with every possible charm (16). Marianne’s mother relates Marianne’s maturity beyond her years by reminding Marianne “Remember, my love, that you are not seventeen. It is yet too early in life to despair of such an happiness (16).”
Doris Lessing is profoundly noted for her portrayal of strong women characters who belong to the world of expectation and hopeful to fulfill their feminine wishes, but the social prescriptions have closed the doors to the outside world. The women personages in Lessing’s fictions adopt various approaches in dealing and challenging with the patriarchal issues in the community. Accordingly, Doris puts her precise concentration on women’s self-image, their sheer feeling towards men, nurturing children and domestic and familial life and desired career. Such noticeable concerns and dilemma are very common to all human beings in reality.
The film that is being used for the movie analysis is “Enough”, this movie was chosen due to the fact that it is based on domestic violence towards women. The movie begins with in Los Angeles diner were a waitress named slim works with her best friend Ginny (Kazan, 2002). While working her shift slim has a customer that starts harassing her over the name she has, but the companion of the annoying customer defends slim, which in turn starts a romance, later to become a marriage between the two (Kazan, 2002). The couple is later blessed with a daughter they name Gracie, and at the beginning the marriage seems to be a fairy tale out of a story book (Kazan, 2002). The fairy tale becomes a nightmare as time moves forwards for the couple,
“A Doll House” by Ibsen exposes one of the main trials facing Nora and women of today that a lot of men tend to underestimate women. They assume that