Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids was an instant funny favorite. The movie itself is hilarious, then add in the actors that are all very good comedians and what do you get? Hella funny!

This post is not about whether me and you agree on the number of laughs we each had, or about the plot itself. This post will address gender and how this movie helped women take a giant step in terms of gender equality.

My thoughts on GENDER…

First of all, without even having to look it up, I know that Bridesmaids was written by female writers. It is extremely rare to see a movie with a complete female cast. All of the main characters were women except for her love interest (the cop) who isnt even in the movie that much. For once in a lifetime, a woman lead the show and the man was the supporting actor.

Kristen Wiig is Saturday Night Live actor and must have some type of anger built up against gender roles. Now, I do not think that Wiig doesn’t agree that men play a certain role in life and women play a certain role. But I do think that Wiig sees a need for a change in Hollywood. Not only by creating and producing movies that are female lead, but by changing the way that people view women.

Bridesmaids was Kristen Wiig’s idea of: Women are not always what you think they are.

For example, in the beginning of the film, Wiig is having sex with her part-time lover…booty call for lack of a better word. They sleep together occasionally when it is convenient for him, typical male. Although the sex scene is unlike most becasue it is in the perspective of the female who is clearly not enjoying it. She is trying to let him know what he needs to do in order to satisfy her but he is completely oblivious. Meanwhile he is having a great time and the sex is working for him. Typical male. What this awkward sex scene portrays is the fact that women have needs too. Most movies have these amazing scenes where the man is in control and he is trying to hard to keep her satisfied. Sorry to say it, but in reality, this is not the case. Most of the time, the male has no idea or does not care to take care of the woman sexually. Unless the woman is either extremely forward with what she wants or she takes the control into her own hands, it is rare that the man knows exactly what to do every time to satisfy her. And lets be honest, men have no clue if the woman is “faking it” or not.

So, the cast of this movie is basically the bride getting married, her childhood best friend (maid of honor), her “new” best friend and the other bridesmaids. The bride grew up with Kristen Wiig in a normal, middle class neighborhood. But the bride is now marrying someone who is clearly in the class above her. As I talked about in my Titanic post, moving up classes is not easy and not common….but once you have, you become one of them. Now, I am not saying that the bride is a total snob or is rude to anyone. She just finally has money to blow on whatever she wants and has friends with the same luxury.

Helen is the bride’s “new” best friend now that she has money. Helen has been the rich wife for sometime and flaunts her money like it is nothing. This bothers Kristen Wiig because  as far as materials go, she has nothing. In the movie she even has to move back into her mom’s house and sleep on her old twin bed.

Both of the best friends want the bride to feel special for her wedding day, but also want the credit. Throughout the entire movie, these two girls are fighting.

All of the bridesmaids in this film play very different roles. There are conversations that go on between these women which are meant to make people think about women in a different light. For example, when two of the girls are talking on their way to Vegas, they are talking about sex. Normally women talk about sex in terms of, “making love,” but instead they are talking about it in a very masculine way. One girl is telling the other that it is absurd to get married as a virgin and that you need to experiment and have sex with a lot of different guys to figure out what you want. This conversation is masculine because of the illicit way they are referring to sex, as well as, the way they make it sound like they (women) are hornier than men sometimes.

^^This is NEVER addressed in movies. Men are always having issues with their women not “wanting it”. Men, we want it.^^

Kristen Wiig plays a weak female character. She has gone through hard times and it has made her very sensitive and vulnerable (most women). In her eyes, she has nothing except her best friend. She also meets a guy in the movie that she begins to like. And, for the first time in a lifetime, the man starts to really like her first, and SHE runs away. She turns him down. So, although Wiig might have played a very typical weak and broken girl…she still has some control over the man.

Gender is an interesting thing, especially the female gender. Although male’s are physically stronger, females have a strength bone inside of them that can cause them to act very vicious, and sneaky….they are strong when it comes to revenge and manipulation.

The two main bridesmaids in this film do this. Instead of focusing on the bride herself, it is way more important to them to get back at each other and one-up the last gesture.

So, although I think that Bridesmaids was a step forward with gender equality…I do think it was a step back in terms of making us look good. Obviously the movie was funny because of the girl fights…but that plot also made females look crazy, irrational and extremely vulnerable.

Titanic: Best Movie Ever Made

I can almost guarantee that you rolled your eyes at the title of this post. Honestly, I wish I could say that I didn’t mean it….

But yes, I am one of those girls that can watch Titanic every single day and STILL cry at least 3 times. Who are you to judge me?!

ANYWAYS, I have been trying to think of a movie that demonstrates issues of CLASS.

So class, todays class is on…CLASS. 🙂

So, in the movie Titanic there are two main classes that are shown, upper and lower class. In fact, The Titanic itself (the ship) really was seperated by class. The lower class people were literally in the lower half of the ship and the upper, richer class were in the top of the ship. What I am saying is, we can’t judge the creators of the movie for things that really did happen and really were an issue in the past. I say, “in the past” loosely because class differences are still a very real thing.

Ok let me clarify: class itself is not a problem. People who make and have more money are allowed to spend more money. And people who are less fortunate obviously do not have the funds to spend a ton of money. Although we hate to admit it, the amount of money we have does determine the life that we live. Am I saying that if we do not have any money, will we be unhappy? NO! In fact you might even be happier becasue you have less things (literally) to worry about. BUT having little money DOES tend to cause stress. But what does this have to do with Titanic?

We will start with Rose. Rose is a young, upper class girl from England. Her father died, leaving Rose and her mother to fend for themselves. Rose is engaged to a man who is a self-made millionaire. Throughout the entire movie, we (the viewer) can see that Rose is not really in love with Cal. She merely tolerates him when she is forced to be in his presence. On the other hand, Cal is seemingly in love with Rose, to a jealous and possesive point. Even before Rose ever meets Jack, Cal treats Rose more like his little porcelin doll. She is pretty, proper and he will do the speaking for her.

Cal is a good example of an upper class member. First of all, being considered a part of the upper class means that you have “made it.” Ok, so you have money, congratulations! Now the challenge is moving up within the class itself. Cal was young, good looking and extremely wealthy. He “made it” by his colleagues standards. He used Rose in a way to move up the social ladder. He knew that Rose did not love him and he was not willing to get out of it himself because he needed a Mrs. Marrying a beautiful woman of the same class bumped both of you up to the next level. Cal knew that getting married was his next step, and Rose was the perfect fit. Except for the fact that Rose was quite independent and outspoken for a woman back in those days…

Jack on the other hand is a bottom of the barrel, lower class citizen. He even won his ticket on the Titanic in a poker game. Jack was very carefree and happy, he seemed to be at peace with who he is and where he comes from, which was nothing. His family was not wealthy growing up and he makes his living traveling around selling his artwork. He had a few good friends but was always willing to get up and go if he felt like it. Quite the free spirit.

Jack met Rose. Rose was actually in the process of killing herself because she was so unhappy in her “stuffy” upper class lifestyle with her controlling fiance and demanding mother. Jack just happened to be at the right place in the right time and saved her life. Long story short, they fall madly in love with each other very fast. The issue that lies between their love and actually being together is, CLASS.

Of course the issue of Rose being engaged to a man on the boat meant something, but the real reason Rose and Jack could not be together was because Jack was poor and rich girls do not marry or even fall in love with poor boys.

There is a theory about wealth in regards to “keeping it in the family.” This is not only done by inheritance alone. Daughters of rich families are taught at a very young age that they should marry someone of the same level. This idea of the rich marrying the rich is brainwashed into these girls so much that the thought of marrying someone in lower class never occurs. Titanic is an excellent example of just this. Rose’s mother is very demanding and even forceful about Rose marrying Cal. The mother knows that the money that her husband left her will soon be gone and they will be broke. Heaven forbid she have to work! So, the mother jumps on the first train back to wealth and it is through the marrying off her only daughter to Cal.

What is sad about the mother’s character is the fact that she truly doesn’t see (until Rose and Jack get caught together) why Rose is not in love with Cal. Although we were not shown this, I am sure that the mother went through the same type of treatment from her own husband when he was alive. Men have a sense of superiority, especially back in these times. Granted, the men were the ones who worked and made the money…but I still do not think it gives them the right to mistreat or disrespect women, especially their wives. So the mother treats Rose like she is an idiot because if Rose had half a brain, she would realize that money (Cal) is the key to happiness.

Back to Jack, who falls in love with this woman who is by default upper class, but is more real than that. Jack has no problem introducing Rose to the lower level of the ship and showing her his life and what it is like. The lower class have tons of fun, are happy-go-lucky, and every night is a dance party! (Just a movie of course…) Whereas when Rose brings Jack to dinner with her people, they judge him and make him feel inadequate as a person because he does not come from money.

As a viewer of this movie, which class sounds more appealing to you?

Obviously the lower class. Until the end….

The ship hits an iceberg and Titanic begins to sink. Since there are a limited number of life boats, only a few hundred people will get out alive. What does the ship crew do? They lock the lower class in the bottom of the ship so they cannot come up while they serve the upper class champagne and  hor dervs.

In the end…Jack dies and Rose lives on as Rose Dawson who leads a normal (middle-class) life.

And the moral of the story is: money is not the key to happiness, true love is.

A person’s life is worth much more than any tuxedo, fancy car, or cuban cigar. This movie proves the point of class discrimination. Which still happens to this day. Years later we are still experiencing celebrities, politicians and millionaires getting out of trouble with a slap on the hand. Meanwhile, middle to lower class citizens have to suffer all of the consequences because they cannot buy their way out.

….Just for fun…

She’s Gotta Have It: But Can’t Have it All

“She’s Gotta Have It” is a not-so-popular film directed by Spike Lee. This movie was one of the first movies that addressed women and their personal sexuality. So, unlike my Lion King post…I am only going to talk about sexuality and gender.

A quick synopsis: Nola is the main character who is sexually independent and is juggling 3 men who want her. She likes all of the men for completely different reasons and struggles to choose and settle down with just one of them. The men are, the well-meaning Jamie, the self-obsessed model Greer and and the immature, motor-mouthed Mars.

What sets this movie apart from other movies about a girl falling in love is her sexual desires. Nola is not your average female character. She does not fall in love with just anyone who gives her attention and she loves sex. Nola loves sex, in general. She makes it known not only to all of her male suitors, but also to her friends. She is a very sexual being and does not understand why she would ever be judged or looked down upon for that.

Can’t a woman just enjoy sex with being called a slut?

Nola represents the struggle that black women were going through at the time. Which was, black men having multiple sex partners and getting away with it while women were expected to only have one at time. I am not saying that I think it is okay to go out and have tons of sex with multiple, random parters…but I do think this movie was bold to, in a sense, call out the black male population. What is even more interesting is, Spike Lee is a black male.

Another interesting part of this movie are in fact, the actual sex scenes. When she is having sex with Jamie, he becomes very aggressive and the sex eventually becomes more of a rape. He is forcing her to do things that she clearly does not want to do.

Now, you would think that after that scene, Nola would walk away from a guy like that. She doesn’t.  In fact she stays with him and begins to choose him over the other 2 guys. So, right when you think the theme of this movie is black women taking back their rights to their body and power…it shifts. Why on earth would Spike Lee put such a controversial and even uncomfortable sex scene in the middle of a movie that represents the oppostie?

Greer, is the self-obsessed model who wants to take the Brooklyn out of Nola and bring her to the city. He is constantly trying to change her to become what he likes and what he thinks is best for her. Although Nola likes Greer, she ends up breaking up with him becasue she doesnt love him like he deserves to be loved. And is not willing to change the way she is for a man.

Mars, is the immature boyfriend. He is the guy that Nola seems to have the most fun with, but she is not completely satisfied with somene who just makes her laugh. She wants status and power from the man she chooses. Nola breaks it off with him as well.

Jamie, the one who raped Nola earlier IS THE GUY THAT SHE CHOOSES! She finds him after she has already ended things with the other two and she confesses that she loves him. After a dramatic pause, JAMIE DENIES HER!

What are we supposed to take from this? That no matter how independent, self-sufficent, or in-power a woman is…she will always submit and lose to the man? “She’s Gotta Have It” refers to her desire to want casual sex and not be judged for it. Throughout the whole movie, her character is bold, strong and in complete control of her feelings and body.

Then, that last scene. Jamie wins. The man, wins. I am still trying to figure out what Spike Lee’s motives were in writing and directing this film.

The Lion King: Not Your Average Disney Movie

The Lion King. If you have not seen this, you need to get out from underneath your rock and WATCH IT! It is one of my favorite Disney movies and has been since it was in theaters in 1994.

Here is a VERY brief synopsis of the film: Lion King is about a young lion named Simba who is the son of Mufasa, who is the king of the Prideland. The opposition in the story is Mufasa’s brother Scar. Scar is upset because as long as Simba is in line for the crown, Scar will never be king. Scar takes drastic measures to satisfy his own desires and eventually becomes king. Simba lives his life seperate from his family and the Prideland and discovers a different side of himself. In the end of the movie, all peace is restored and the movie has a classic happy Disney ending. 🙂 (Sorry i did not go into much detail about the story….don’t want to ruin it for anyone)

I am now going to address certain themes that I noticed while watching this Disney movie and discuss why I feel the way that I do.

Gender:

There are many gender differences between men and women. Humans in a general sense believe in being progressive and constantly moving forward, especially with certain issues. Gender is one of these issues. Since Adam and Eve, it is apparent that men and women play different roles in life.

In the Lion King, the men make the decisions and ultimately decide what happens in the Prideland. The women have little to no say in their lives or others for that matter. The women are completely submissive to what the men choose and do. When Mufasa was king, all of the animals we happy and satisfied, including all of the women. When Scar took over as king, the women and the rest of the animals suffered and could do nothing about it.

What is interesting about this is, near the end of the movie, it shows the land after Scar has taken over. It is grey and desolate. Since Lions are basically polygamists, Scar has become the husband of all of the lionesses. You would think that 8 lionesses could put up a pretty good fight with one, tiny male lion right? No. I know, these are lions we are talking about, and lions really do live this way….but it is humans that wrote the story. The women eventually do in fact, end up standing up for themselves but it is not until Simba (the male lion) comes back to “save them”.

Why do women always need to be saved in movies? Heaven forbid they stand up for themselves and take action without having to follow right behind a man.

Race:

As I am sure we are all aware, there are stereotypes with every single race in the world. I am not saying that all stereotypes are wrong, but I am saying that they exist because we as humans keep them alive. Especially in things like the media.

Lion King does not seem like it, but it is a prime example of racial stereotypes. Take for example, Rafiki. With his name alone, there is probably a race that comes to mind. I have no idea if the man playing that crazy monkey’s voice is white, black, asian, or hispanic. But I do think that it is safe to assume that his character is a black by listening to the way he talks. Rafiki is not meant to come off like an african-american…but more so a Rastafarian, a Bob Marley type. He is the one who blesses baby Simba and welcomes him into the world with his “special fruit.” He even uses different seeds, and earth matter to pray and later help Simba to hallucinate and see his father in the clouds. I don’t know about you, but it seems to me like Rafiki is using some type of drug…

You know who else used a drug to get “closer to God” (in Lion King’s case-Mufasa in heaven)??? Bob Marley. I think that they made Rafiki’s character speak with more of an african dialect and play the part that he does because of Bob Marley. Which leads the unknowing viewer to stereotype Rafiki as some type of african hippie…which leads us to think that people who live in Africa are all some type of hippie…

I am not even going to go into the fact that Rafiki was a MONKEY! That in an of itself is a stereotype that I am not willing to discuss.

Class:

The animal kingdom is very similar to humans by way of class. People and animals are categorized by power, whether it is literal power and size like in the animal kingdom, or power with money and status like humans.

From the very beginning of Lion King, Mufasa goes over their power with his son, Simba. He tells Simba, that “everything the light touches” is in their command. Simba asks about the shadowy place and is told that he is not allowed there because it is dangerous. As the movie goes on, Simba visits the ghetto…oops, I mean shadowy place. We see that it is completely run down, scummy and dark. The inhabitants of this…ghetto…are the hyenas and Scar. In the movie, the hyenas are clearly lower class by the way they talk, walk and act. Back to the issue of race, both of the hyenas that talk, happen to be black. Interesting…so, the black people live in the ghetto and never have anything to eat and are constantly begging Scar for food. Sounds like some form of welfare program…

Scar is the leader of this, shadowy place. It is the only area of the Prideland that he is in control of, which makes him the king of the hyenas. Scar makes the hyenas go out and hunt for food, as well as do his dirty work with Simba.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it kind of sounds like Scar and the hyenas are lower-class citizens in the Prideland and they are not accepted in the middle or upper class neighborhoods. It also sounds like Scar is the leader of this hyena drug cartel (because, duh, people in the ghetto use drugs).

It is by these small subtleties in the media that keep the issue of racial stereotypes alive.

Sexuality:

Since this is a Disney movie, there is not much sex. Notice I said, “much sex” because there is DEFINITELY some sex.

When Nala finds Simba on her hunt for food, she tries to convince him to come back to the Prideland and save the lionesses and the other animals. At first, they fight and disagree about him having to go back.

Then….out of nowhere….they start flirting. Next thing you know, “can you feel the love tonight?” is playing in the background and Simba and Nala are rolling around nestling each other  You and I both know, it is animated, lion sex. The scene itself is beautiful, a reuniting of best friends turned lovers…but what is implied is not so pretty. When Nala tried standing up for herself and the other lionesses initially to Simba, he rejected her flat out. It was not until he “got some” that he changed his mind and went back.

Now, I am not sure who to blame here. Nala for using her body to get what she wants…or Simba for waiting until she put out to make the right decision.

I am leaving that one up to you…

Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality in Cinema

Have you ever finished watching a movie and continued thinking about the underlying meaning of it? Have you ever considered the idea that the movie’s purpose is not to strictly entertain? Of course we have….If you have never felt this way, then you need to go re-watch EVERY SINGLE movie! Hollywood is full of very smart, very educated and very opinionated people. I think it is safe to say that one does not put all of their efforts into the creation of a movie just to recieve a paycheck. These people are passionate about these movies and they have motives in making them.

**Quick side note: I LOVE MOVIES. I do not want you think that I am a media hater. Oh no, quite the opposite. Movies are amazing! They can make a bad day good, make a grown man cry, keep a child smiling, and entice average Joes to become heros!

BUT….

There is no such thing as “a perfectly clear and innocent” movie, book, advertisement or even TV commercial (not even Lion King). No matter what, these forms of mass media contain some sort of underlying message in them. They are not put there by accident either. These “subliminal” messages are put in place in order to persuade the audience of something. Now, this something could be a number of things. There is never a time that we can watch tv, listen to the radio, read the newspaper or browse the internet without someone (individual or business) trying to convince us of something. I dare you to try.

Now, I know what you are thinking…what does this have to do with race, class and sexuality in cinema? And why are you blogging about it?…..Let me tell you…..

I am a senior at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. One of my final classes to graduate happens to be titled, “Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality in Cinema.” When I initially signed up for this class, I thought we would watch old movies and write 10 page papers analyzing them. Not far from the truth actually. BUT it is WAY more fun and interesting than that!

My professor, Phil Gordon happens to be an incredibly opinionated liberal in the heart of conservative happy valley, Utah. He does not believe in a “conventional” teaching style. ((He is ANYTHING but conventional))

Phil thinks that communication (my major) is changing dramatically very quickly. He thinks that writing papers and making poster boards are becoming a thing of the past. Hence, the blog. In a sense, blogging is an online journal….that everyone can see. Since social media is taking over, we might as well get on the wagon and join in. It does not make any sense to put all of your hard work into a 10 page paper that just the teacher sees. Why not blog it and bounce back ideas with other people on the subject? It makes sense to me, although at first made me uncomfortable when he proposed this blogging idea.

ANYWAYS….enough about Phil, and more about MOVIES! In this blog, I am going to share my insights that I find, as well as my fellow students, after we watch movies. I know this sounds boring and uneducational since it is just a melting pot of ideas and opinions….BUT, I promise, doing this will help you think out of the box!<—which I think we could all afford to do a little.

Race, class, gender and sexuality are a group words that we hear every day and do not really think about. At least, I don’t. But individually these words come with infinite amounts of meaning! For example…have you ever thought about what race or sexual orientation Scar from Lion king is? I bet not, in your mind he is just a fictional, animated villain who wants to kill Mufasa…I bet nobody put any real thought into who is going to do his voice and what his lines really mean….Wrong.

I am going to use this blog as my own personal writing pad of ideas, thoughts, opinions, and feelings about different films. I am going to refer to movies that are both extremely popular and well-known and movies that are underground and independently produced.

If you have never heard of or seen the movie, I suggest taking the time to watch it and gather your own opinions. I would love to hear them and bounce them off of my class!

Also, if you have any movies that you think that I should watch and write about, let me know. Suggestions are welcome. Enjoy 🙂

-Chels