...Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (as cited in Green, 2013) to explain how they learn from observation and copy behaviors that are depicted by romantic comedies. She advocates that romantic comedies cause women to have high expectations of their romantic relationships and that these movies or series support conventional patriarchal ideals and post-feminist ideologies. She explains that romantic comedies make women believe that the behaviors of the male partners that are depicted in the shows are truly ideal and should be expected in a romantic relationship. With all these explanations, the article answers my research question directly as can be predicted from its title. The article’s being supported with Social Cognitive Theory and concrete examples makes it more reliable. Moreover, it is quite recent. Johnson, K. R., & Holmes, B. M. (2009, July-September). Contradictory messages: A content analysis of Hollywood-produced romantic comedy feature films. Communication Quarterly, 57(3), 352-373. Retrieved from http://academic.csuohio.edu/kneuendorf/c63310/ArticlesFromClassMembers/Joe.pdf The goal of this study is to point out (1) the adolescents’ potential understanding of what they see in romantic comedy films and (2) “the need for future research” (352). The authors explain that adolescents who reproduce behaviors which are depicted by romantic comedies usually experience disappointment. Since this study...
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...Whether depicted in Japanese Horror, Japanese Noodle Western, or Asian American Musicals, the importance of complex characterization with regard to the main female protagonist figure is vital to a successful plot development. In various genres relating to Asian film, particularly the ones mentioned above, the female figure is portrayed as somewhat of a troubled or helpless woman who is in need of rescue and assistance from a male counterpart. The larger theme of finding a strong sense of self-identity while battling internal conflicts, as well as the fears and anxieties that arise within Japanese culture, are universal elements of characterization and mise-en-scene directly portrayed in various types of Chinese and Japanese films. Further,...
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...Introduction The production of the film “Kisapmata” (Blink of an Eye) by Mike De Leon depicted a religion-based Third World patriarchy which reflected the dread, confinement, culture of violence and oppression during the Marcos regime. It showcased different symbolisms in terms of Marcos’ dictatorship during his reign in the Philippines. Each character of the film reflected what role to play in line with the Marcos regime. In addition, most of what the film depicted is how much patriarchy was alive back then in the Philippines. As observed, the characters portrayed different symbolisms. The most evident character in the film is the father who symbolizes “Marcos”. He played the role passably as an oppressive, harsh, and a “control freak” kind of father that the film highlights profusely. The actions he portrayed in the film symbolized the deeds of Marcos during his reign. Noel, his son-in-law, Mila, his daughter, and even his wife were the ones who lived under fear of his power. The father, as a patriarch, was seen in different levels of his manipulation on the lives of the newlyweds. In parallel with this situation is the Marcos’ reign along with his obsolete parliament. This clearly showed the oppression that Marcos possessed towards the Filipinos during his time such as the midnight-to-dawn curfew and the limitation of what the media can report out to the people. If anything, the patriarchy shown by the film made us realized that it was also the convention among families...
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...October 2015 Is Marriage The Same All Over India? Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was one of the most successful movies in Indian film history. The 1995 film tells us a story about Raj and Simran, who fall in love and try to win over each other’s disapproving families. Eventually the two have a love marriage and live happily ever after. One supposes this is how a love story would end. However, there are also many movies that have a completely different concept of marriage. Movies like Bandit Queen and Mother India make us realize that marriage does not always lead to an ending where the husband and wife live happily with each other. In the films, we see that the people don’t realize that the woman of the house has equal rights and deserves as much respect as the man of the house. When we think of marriage, we think that a man and woman have fallen in love, or they are brought together by their friends and family, and the couple has approved of each other. However, in rural villages, marriage is more like getting rid of a liability (daughter) and the acquisition of a ‘slave’. As seen in the movie Bandit Queen, Phoolan (Seema Biswas) is ‘given’ to Puttilal (Aditya Srivastava) against her will. We also saw how Phoolan, a little girl of eleven gets raped by her husband. She is thereafter scarred for life. We live in a society where romantic relationships and marriage are seen as primarily about an emotional union between two adults. However, I think that the concept of marriage in rural areas...
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...movie Kabhi Khushi Khabie Gham (KKKG), a Bollywood blockbuster marketed to the masses as “all about the family”. Released in 2001, following the path of director Karan Johar’s first movie, KKKG tells a multi-faceted story that is depicted over a long time period. The film centers around a family-driven drama where we track the storyline across 3 different generations. Amitabh Bachchan plays a wealthy businessman and the patriarch of the Raichand family with 2 sons – the elder Rahul, who is revealed early on to be adopted, and the younger Rohan. The crux of the film’s drama is drawn from the eldest son’s marriage to a woman from a lower socio-economic background, against the wishes of his father. Following the marriage, the father disowns Rahul and he leaves with his bride to London. The latter half of the movie is centered on Rohan’s storyline with his love interest, Pooja, and his attempts to bring Rahul and his family back into the family home in India. On the surface it seems we have entered yet another Bollywood film on family drama but KKKG goes beyond that. From the first few lines we can already witness the beginnings of a gender discourse – why is one gender like this and the other so different? In this review, I will elaborate on how the film establishes itself away from its predecessors and peers by creating diversified gendered identities for its female characters – specifically on the issue of gender roles in families and gender roles in the Diaspora. Gender Roles...
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...all else, family is the most important social institution in Saudi Arabia (1992). Family construct and descent are patrilineal meaning that they are traced only through the male lineage of the family. Families are nuclear in structure, much like we see here in the United States. The main difference being that women are encultured to learn only how to manage the home, and not much outside of the family circle unless they are required to take a job. Women do not take the last name of their husband, in fact, they keep their father’s last name in order to keep the patrilineality of their family tree. The patrilineal structure is displayed in several scenes throughout the film, and is also the focus of the film’s subplot. Figure 3: Wadjda...
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...2014 Movie Paper The movie “Inherit the Wind” was a film that was originally released in 1960, however it has been remade several times since that time. It was directed by Stanley Kramer and written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. It is based on the true story of John “Monkey” Scope’s trial of being convicted of teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in a high school, even though it was illegal in the state of Tennessee. The story is told in Tennessee around the time of 1925. The film shows issues between cultures about how some believe in evolution and some believe in the Church, however, the major issue is the one on how Americans can think for themselves. I feel the movie depicted the issues in neither a negative nor a positive manner. I think it was more of a historical film than a film that takes a side on either side of the issue. It is negative in the fact that the way it was handled and the laws at the time thoroughly showed that it was illegal. At the time, teaching the theory of evolution was illegal in high school. The thought of children learning of how humans came to be outside of what the bible described was blasphemy. The people showing hatred towards Bertram Cates, the name of the character in the film that portrayed Scope, was a prime example of the way people viewed those who thought this type of way. I feel that it depicted society in a negative manner more than the situation itself. In the film, you heard citizens singing for the defendant and...
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...woman from central India who underwent a series of travails that are depicted in the Bandit Queen. Phoolan Devi became a gang leader and a popular figure in India who later surrendered herself to the government and went to jail for several crimes she had committed. The film depicting Phoolan’s life brought about many controversies in India; critics have argued whether or not Kapur’s film brings forth the degradation faced by Phoolan or is it yet another exploitative measure? Some have accused the film of being another money making depiction, which further victimizes Phoolan, while others including the director of the film saw it as necessary to shed light on issues surrounding women that are usually ignored (Gopal 73-102). To add to these notions, this essay will discuss the very crucial issues that the film brings up through its characters and imagery by examining the role of authority, and the structural societal power that goes beyond the story of just one woman’s rape to looking at patriarchy system of oppression as whole and its consequences. Leela Fernandes in her article “A Trans/national Feminist Perspective on the Discrepancies of Representation” points out that “the film’s emphasis on rape shifts Phoolan from a legendary figure_ a woman dacoit, both heroic and notorious to the status of a rape victim (Fernandes 141). This claim comes from a valid point considering even Phoolan herself accused the film of making rape her entire story. Both Gopal’s and Leela’s article talk...
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...woman from central India who underwent a series of travails that are depicted in the Bandit Queen. Phoolan Devi became a gang leader and a popular figure in India who later surrendered herself to the government and went to jail for several crimes she had committed. The film depicting Phoolan’s life brought about many controversies in India; critics have argued whether or not Kapur’s film brings forth the degradation faced by Phoolan or is it yet another exploitative measure? Some have accused the film of being another money making depiction, which further victimizes Phoolan, while others including the director of the film saw it as necessary to shed light on issues surrounding women that are usually ignored (Gopal 73-102). To add to these notions, this essay will discuss the very crucial issues that the film brings up through its characters and imagery by examining the role of authority, and the structural societal power that goes beyond the story of just one woman’s rape to looking at patriarchy system of oppression as whole and its consequences. Leela Fernandes in her article “A Trans/national Feminist Perspective on the Discrepancies of Representation” points out that “the film’s emphasis on rape shifts Phoolan from a legendary figure_ a woman dacoit, both heroic and notorious to the status of a rape victim (Fernandes 141). This claim comes from a valid point considering even Phoolan herself accused the film of making rape her entire story. Both Gopal’s and Leela’s article talk...
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...The title of the film itself hints towards the emotional ambiguity as it was in Mona Lisa’s smile which has been a topic of debate for years now. This film portraying life of 1950’s high society is based on similar instances where characters face such ambiguity in emotions due to circumstances, their choices and societal norms. The film circles around an elite prestigious private women’s college called Wellesley which is conservative institution and has its core in traditional values and societal norms, the lead protagonist with a liberal mindset challenging those values and system and the girls of the college who are in ambiguity to decide who of the above two is right. This film not only sheds light on the ambiguity of emotions or confusion...
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...Differences of Traditional Conservative Culture and Western Culture Victor Pinto Hudson Community College Abstract In the film (Arranged, 2007), it tells a story of two women who are going through an arranged marriage. Arranged marriage is something that is seen in traditional cultures, not really seen in modern western culture. Modern western culture and traditional cultures are very different. Patriarchy is followed in the home of these families, where the father sets the rules. Dating is also done differently. In traditional cultures, women have arranged dates with men, whereas in modern western culture people can decide who to go on a date with. Touching is also different, women from traditional cultures are not used to being touched by other men. They have little contact with other humans, unlike in modern western culture people are used to being touched by their friends or just shake hands when you meet someone new. Differences of Traditional Conservative Culture and Modern Western Culture: In the United States of America there are many type of traditional cultures people follow. There is a traditional culture that was shown in the film “Arranged”. Then there is the modern western culture that the majority of people follow in the United States. The traditional cultures seen in the film are from the character Rachel, who followed an Orthodox Jewish culture and Nasira who followed a Muslim culture. These two cultures may seem completely different...
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...father died and they told her that she should not, and just to let it go. But she wanted them to trust her, and they ended up having a huge farm with a big house. Although Cather does a great job making all the characters fit, Marie draws my attention because she is passionate, friendly, and vivacious. Marie is characterized to be a passionate young girl. She was forced into marriage with Frank Shabata, and an unhappy marriage is all she has to show for it. She is constantly craving a passionate, physical love that she knows is unattainable in her current situation. This want, or need rather, is what lead her into the arms of Emil. Although, she may feel guilty for wanting another man, she realizes that her own happiness is more important than what others may believe. She longs for Emil’s passion but persists in the self-torture of being with her husband. So why does Marie continue to torture herself? Marie believes that it is her own fault for taking the vows to live an entirety in an unfulfilling, passionless marriage. Not only is Marie a passion seeking individual, she is also depicted in the film as being a friendly human-being. An example of her friendly effervescence is the insistent cheer that made her an easy friend for her neighbor, Alexandra. Marie was constantly there to help Alexandra with the many troubles she had to undergo after inheriting John Bergson’s farm. It was also this cheerfulness that provoked the resentment of her husband, Frank, who seemed to have...
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...Change is inevitable, but in society, how much is really changed, and how much remains the same? Although Emma by Jane Austen and Clueless directed by Amy Heckerling were created almost two centuries apart, the underlying themes and values are still similar, if not, the same. In both texts, the importance of social class has a great influence on the characters and the actions of these characters would often depend on another’s social class. Marriage and relationships also play a big role in both texts, as the main characters of both texts are searching for a relationship for either themselves or their friends. The gender roles of males and females also contribute greatly in these texts, as the two genders are portrayed extremely differently. In Emma, one of the most important things Emma looked for when searching for a partner for her friend Harriet. In the novel, Harriet was offered marriage by Mr Martin, but she was forced to turn him down by Emma and instead she tried to get Harriet and Mr Elton together. This, however, did not work out, as Mr Elton was of a much higher social status and did not want to be associated with Harriet in that way. In the end, Harriet still married Mr Martin, and this turned out to be better than Emma had thought, as Harriet and Mr Martin were of a similar social status and were fairly compatible for each other. Similarly, in Clueless, social hierarchy in high school mattered a lot to Cher when picking a boyfriend for her friend Tai. She disapproved...
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...not acknowledged as Ryder’s son and wife, which implies that an important part of Ryder’s past life unraveled in this anonymous town. Sophie addresses formally as Mr. Ryder at first meeting and later Sophie pursue an emotional re-approachment with him as if once Ryder and Sophie had been in a unsettled marriage. She wants to have together “a great feast”, “we have got to put the past behind us. We have got to start doing things together again” (Unconsoled, 225). But, the narrative finally deals nothing of his real background. Still Ryder’s unconscious recognition of the starrings in the film Space Odyssey as American icons indicates a particular memory take up on American films. The ambiguity of the novel rotates around Ryder and it indicates that if Ryder is American or not is not actually important but any sort of Americanness itself is symbolic of greater political forces which shape and determine the uniformity of the world culture and such homogenization is achievable not just because of economic potency of a few nations but by the powerless societies that permit themselves to be engulf by homogenization. The talk between Ryder and Pederson during the film accentuates the yearning of an unknown town to be ratified by a cosmopolitan model...
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...China during the Cultural Revolution was a place where you were told what to do, and what to say. Today I will be speaking to you about Mao’s Last Dancer, the film adaption of the autobiography of Li Cunxin. To begin with, I will speak about the Cultural Revolution in China, where the story is set. Li’s story took place during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of China, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution. This revolution took place from 1966 to 1976, lead by Mao Zedong, who was the leader of the Communist Party of China at the time. The Cultural Revolution led to millions of people being persecuted and thousands more being killed. Because of the Cultural Revolution, people no longer had freedom of speech and actions. If anyone was found criticising the Government or taking part in anti-communist operations, they would be arrested immediately. Generally, the people of China took to the idea of communism because they had been convinced and continually told that communism would bring great wealth to China. This was great news to the people of China because they had suffered a famine, which lead to the death of millions of people. The Cultural Revolution officially ended in 1976, after Chairman Mao died. Those found to be part of The Gang of Four, a group of Chinese Communist Officials, were arrested for treasonous crimes. In Mao’s Last Dancer, it is shown how Li was taught at school in Shandong that Chairman Mao would end poverty in China. After he arrived at...
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