In the French film 8 Femmes, François Ozon, the director, guides a play from the 1950’s that focuses on a lively family that have deep secrets that all intertwine. In this musical mystery, comedy film, a murder has happened and each woman has their own motives for wanting to kill the man in the home. Yet, Ozon’s storyline is not the main focus of the film. The film follows each of the women which show the themes of betrayal, secrets, and most importantly sexuality. Sexuality is a main theme in many of François Ozon films that he directs. Sexuality in the cinema can be seen in many of his films because it affects Ozon personally.
The musical mystery film 8 Femmes was released in 2002 and sold 3,751,508 tickets. The film won awards at The Berlin International Film Festival, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, European Film Awards, and many more. Director François Ozon creates a plot that seems simple and ordinary at first. However, according to the research article “Une mine d'or inpuisable: the queer pleasures of Franois Ozon's 8 femmes/8 Women”, by Darren Waldron, “the plot is secondary”, meaning that the plot itself is not the main focus. The main plot of the film is for the audience to figure out who killed the man of the house Marcel. There are right possible suspects which are all female, hence the name of the title. The title is simple just like the plot of the film.
In the film Suzon, a college girl home from winter break, is reunited with her family. She is reunited with her mother Gaby, her little sister Catherine, and her wheel chaired bound grandmother Mamy. Everyone is talking, and singing until Augustine, the aunt of Suzon and her sister; comes down and complains about the family and the two female mai...
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...ople that have a bigger motivate for wanting Marcel to die.
Mamy is another main character that has secrets. Mamy, who is the morher like figure in the house, is not who she appears to be at first glance. In the film she appears to be sick and handicap, preventing her to walking, however the audience learns that not only can she walk, but that she has money that could have saved Marcel from becoming bankrupted (Ozon). Mamy obtain shares that allow her to have money. She did not want to part these shares with Marcel due to the greed of wanting to have the money to herself. Even though she lied to him about not having these shares, it is not a substantial motive for wanting to kill him. Those who are not family have secrets involving Marcel which could result in him being murdered. Madame Chanel, Pierrette, and Louise all have secrets that are exposed in the film.
When Marie tries to ask the protagonist to take a walk, this action shows that she is trying to achieve Pauline’s dream by getting her outside of the house. Therefore, she could finally feel the true meaning of freedom. Nevertheless, Pauline’s mother’s response demonstrates that she wants her daughter’s safety more than anything. The mother tries to keep Pauline away from the danger, so the protagonist can at last have a healthier life. However, Agathe’s reply shows that her mother is willing to sacrifice Pauline’s dream to keep her secure. Therefore, the author uses contrasting characters to mention that safety is more valuable. Furthermore, the protagonist starts to describe Tante Marie and reveals that she always has her hair “around her shoulder” (85). When Pauline describes Marie, Pauline shows how her Tante is open-minded. In fact, Marie helps Pauline to let go of her limitations and to get a taste of her dream. Therefore, Marie always wants Pauline to go outside and play hockey or even to take a walk. These actions that Pauline’s Tante takes show how she is determinate to make Pauline’s dream come true. Thus, the author
Pariah, meaning the outcast, is an hour and twenty-six-minute drama film full of sexuality that was directed by Rob McElhenney in 2011. Sexuality is often thought as who you refer to be. However, sexuality has many different sub branches that connect to sexuality. Outside forces (family, friends, peers and etc.) help play along with sexuality. During this movie, Alike (Adepero Oduye), the main protagonist, experiences negative feeling towards being accepted. Audrey (Kim Wayans), Alike's mother, despises the idea of lesbians. When Alike admitted that she was gay at the end of the movie, her mother pushed her against the wall before exclaiming, "Say it again. Say it again." After her mother yelled those words, her hand connected with her daughter's
According to Sherrie A. Inness, “The Captive was hauled by critics as the first play on the American stage to deal openly with what one reviewer called a “repulsive abnormality.” Ten years prior, God of Vengeance was scorned for offending rabbis, Jewish men and women’s religion and abusing the significance of the Torah. Critics and reviews failed to deliver their remarks on the intimate lesbian love, but in The Captive, the lesbian undertones are concealed and carried out in a strategic fashion, yet these moments were censored and triggered. Due to these moments where the acts of lesbianism were not apparent, it was deemed with obscurity, causing the play to fall short overall. Similar to God of Vengeance, The Captive was confronted with “obscenity charges in the United States, and after a run of less than five months, the play was raided and closed down by police” (Inness 304). With this framework in mind, my case study is not diminished by the greater public opinion, rather Edouard Bourdet’s strategic approach to lesbianism and the way in which is portrayed in society juxtaposed the emergence of lesbianism in the United States in the early part of the twentieth
It is my intention to compare the book, Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos, to its modern movie version, Cruel Intentions starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. I intend to examine how the original French text was modified in reference to plot, character, morals/values, and themes. I also plan to discuss how these transformations change the meaning of the story and reflect different cultural/historical contexts. There are some major differences between these two works, if only because of when they were written.
Since Sister was affected the most by certain actions of the family, Welty narrated this short story through Sister’s point of view to show how the function of the family declined through these actions. Sister was greatly affected when her sister broke the bonds of sisterhood by stealing her boyfriend and marrying him. Secondly, Sister was affected by the favoritism shown by her family towards her younger sister. Since her sister was favored more than her, this caused her to be jealous of her sister. For example, Sister shows a lot of jealousy by the tone she uses when describing what Stella-Rondo did with the bracelet that their grandfather gave her. Sister’s description was, “She’d always had anything in the world she wanted and then she’d throw it away. Papa-Daddy gave her this gorgeous Add-a-Pearl necklace when sh...
June-May receives a letter from her twin sisters shortly after her mother’s death. However, her sisters do not know their mother is dead and have been searching for her for years. June-May takes the letter to Auntie Lindo who writes back pretending to be their mother and says that they are coming to visit. June-May protests saying “They’ll think I’m responsible, that she died because I didn’t appreciate her,” (Tan 149). She believes that her sisters will hate her when she shows up without their mother and has to announce her death. As a result, Auntie Lindo writes back announcing the passing of the mother and announces that instead their sister, June-May, will be coming. It is during this trip that June-May fulfills her mother’s dream, “carrying with me her dreams of coming home. I am going to China,” (Tan 147). By doing this she gains another part of her mother. However, it is when June-May reunites with her sisters that she fully becomes one wi...
Within the novel, When Everything Feels Like the Movies written by Raziel Reid, there is strong graphic language and depictions of sexuality. Throughout the novel each character including Jude and Angela explores their sexuality and experience the repercussions that follow. The graphic language and depictions of sexuality help to develop the quality of the novel and the characters involved. The novel also brings awareness to bullying involving the LGBTQ community, which is a major social issue. "Adolescent Sexuality and the Media: A Review of Current Knowledge and Implications," written by Gruber, Enid, and Joel Grube states that “there is growing concern about young people 's
Meursault’s Maman, when introduced to the reader, has already passed away; however, her past relationships that disclose themselves when Meursault attends the funeral directly contrast her son’s emotional receptivity, or lack thereof. During Maman’s funeral, a woman “in the second row...emitted a little choking sob” (8). The keeper subsequently relieves Meursault of his frustration by explaining to him that “she was devoted to [his] mother” and that they were close friends (8). Along with friendship, Maman also embraces romance during her last few days with her relationship with Thomas Perez at the home, where “[he] and [maman] [are] almost inseparable” and “people [would] tease Perez about having a fiance” (10). Maman’s attempt to form de...
In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey states that, “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen.” (Mulvey 40). A woman’s role in the narrative is bound to her sexuality or the way she
These movies allowed female characters to embody all the contradictions that could make them a woman. They were portrayed as the “femme fatale” and also “mother,” the “seductress” and at the same time the “saint,” (Newsom, 2011). Female characters were multi-faceted during this time and had much more complexity and interesting qualities than in the movies we watch today. Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is one of sexualization and dependence rather than complexity (Newsom, 2011).
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.
The overall purpose of Carol Clover’s essay “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film” is to illustrate the repetitive, predictable aspect that Slasher
Also, the film revealed women empowerment and how superior they can be compared to men. While demonstrating sexual objectification, empowerment, there was also sexual exploitation of the women, shown through the film. Throughout this essay, gender based issues that were associated with the film character will be demonstrated while connecting to the real world and popular culture.
The first piece is set in 1961 and it opens at a theatre which is showing a screening of a movie that was extremely provocative and controversial at that time because of the suggestion of lesbianism as the theme. The scene shows two older women, watching the movie together holding hands and tears running down their faces. Listening to the group of young people behind them laughing and joking shows the viewers the discomfort this couple faces in the public’s eye. It wasn’t about just two friends seeing a movie together. It was the fact that two women were holding hands and crying. The viewer has to make the leap that if these women are at least in their sixties; they were born around the turn of the century, possibly coming out to themselves and maybe a few other women, in the twenties. These women have probably been ridicule and exposed to social scorn their entire lives. This segment sets up that the feeling of uneasiness between the couple and the society around them, but doesn’t fill in much of the history for the women. This scene shows that women can’t be women. Women were held to a certain standard and tha...
...f women & individuality, the sense of fashion, and the passion in a sexual act distinct it from being sexually objectifying. Similarly, this type of film also needs a higher cognitive skill that could reason and reflect upon the tricky features in the entire picture.