Chick flicks have gotten more mature in the late 90’s and 2000’s with films developing a sense of strength in women’s roles. From “A League of Their Own in the early 90s to recent films like “Avatar”. Strong women are now in the driver’s seat. The stereotype of women fall into two categories: those categories I like to call , “girls” and “tomboys”.
There never was a middle ground; that was until Sandra Bullock played a head strong mother fighting for a child who wasn’t even her’s. For a women to be strong and assertive means that she is a “bitch”. When Sandra Bullock played a mom in The Blind Side, she joined another strong female role that I automatically think of: Rose in “Titanic”. She got the courage to stand up and break away from high society’s rules. It’s like the double standard in life; for women to be strong in life means she’s a bitch. But when men are tough, it’s considered macho and cool. Strong female characters have been pushing boundaries to prove that they can be stronger then men. But when a strong female role is played, it could send to the audience a negative message. One such film is Changeling, where Angelina Jolie played a desperate mother in search of her missing son. Everyone thought she was crazy when she didn’t accept the so called “son”. This is an example of double standard between men and women. I think if a man went looking for his son in the 1920s and knew that the child returned to him was an imposter, people would listen and trust his judgment, not think he was crazy. Women have a right to be strong and fearless!!
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This is a good discussion of the double standard for women in film. It might have been nice to compare films with strong female characters to those of men in similar roles. For example, there have been several films in recent years featuring men who have lost or become separated from their children. Typically the men avenge their children by committing a whole mess of violence, yet they are never labeled as bitchy or even crazy!
ReplyDeleteRemember to blog about the course concepts from the current weeks. This 3rd blog was supposed to focus on Week 4 or 5 concepts.