The 1960s till 1980s was the period of the Hollywood New Wave, where American cinema reflected the politically and socially driven films of the time. The Hollywood New Wave overlapped with the Second Wave Feminism. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) reflects those movements of the time with its unique editing and shooting techniques. Geoff King describes the camera movements as (Smith, 2010). When Bonnie and Clyde premiered in 1967, America was in the height of a sexual revolution, which reflected these themes in the film. In the film, Bonnie is a sexually frustrate woman, because the man she loves is initially impotent in their sexual encounters. She gets sexually attracted by violence and crime, which is a concept that was rarely explored on screen.
Before the 1960s, gangster films, violence and crime were rarely associated with female sexuality, Bonnie and Clyde challenged those stereotypes.
Bang! Pow! Bullets are raining down on the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. It is a standoff with the local police department. Bonnie and Clyde are in trouble again; robbing a liquor store of their cigarettes and their liquor. It seems as if Bonnie and Clyde were the greatest pair of criminals in history.
Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker burst upon the American Southwest in the Great Depression year of 1932. At the time of Clyde’s first involvement with a murder, people paid little attention to the event. He was just another violent hoodlum in a nation with a growing list of brutal criminals, which included Al Capone, John Dillenger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Barker Gang. Not until Bonnie and Clyde joined forces did the public become intrigued. The phrase “Bonnie and Clyde'; took on an electrifying and exotic meaning that has abated little in the past sixty years.
Southern chick flicks on the heels of conservation reactions against gains made in women 's liberation during the 1960s and the 1970s
During the mid and late 1970’s, the mood of American films shifted sharply. People needed to get away from such negative memories as the Vietnam War, long gas lines, the resignation of President Nixon, and ...
"Bonnie and Clyde (Page 3)." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
Rebellion is a common topic in movies because it draws in audiences with its bad boys and bad attitudes. Two of the greatest rebellion movies of all time are Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, and Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The opening scene in Rebel Without a Cause shows a drunken teenage boy lying in the street, giggling, while he plays with a toy. The directors of these two films show rebellion using the same elements: themes, characters, and memorable scenes.
As we look around at our women in today’s era, we might ask how did she become so independent, successful, and confidant? Even when I look at my own my mom, she was hired as the first woman to work as a manager at a fortune 500 business, and then created her own business. As well as my friends’ mom, who also has her own business in psychology; accomplishments like these must have originated from somewhere. The answer lies in the 1920’s. A couple years earlier, World War I was waging havoc, killing many men, while allowing women more freedom. The effects of World War I gave birth to the new women, also known as the Flappers, and inspiration for the 19th amendment. The flappers stirred up traditions and launched a new way of living. It soon became very apparent that the new women of the 1920’s helped redefine the social norms of society.
Like any important political movement, goals change based on situational urgency. In the 1920’s through the 1930’s, feminist women were suffragettes who fought for their right to vote. Alongside voting rights, feminists at this time were advocating for a shift in perspective, specifically a shift in the perspective of women’s roles in society. This ideological shift was as follows: “Women could be both a happy wife and mother and a successful contributor to the household economy”(Nicholson, 53). This ideological shift was necessary because America needed a female workforce while the males fought World War II. This period is known as first wave feminism, or as I will refer to it “first storm feminism”. Later on, feminist’s strived for more
Bonnie and Clyde are notorious bank robbers from the 1930’s, but there is more to their life of crime than just robbing banks. There is more to both of their lives than most people know. Bonnie and Clyde never had dreams of being outlaws; Bonnie dreamed of being an actress while Clyde dreamed of being a musician. During The Great Depression both of their lives changed for the worse. For better or worse, both of their lives were changed forever. Even though Bonnie and Clyde may be considered Outlaws that got what they deserved; for Bonnie and Clyde this rough life was a way to survive during The Great Depression.
As we all know the tale of Bonnie and Clyde is a twisted story composed of passion and devastation. This true story just did not ring true to some during that time because it was completely unheard of for women to be a part of such crimes that were committed by the dynamic duo. When the majority of people think of Bonnie and Clyde, they automatically think of cold hearted killers who robbed banks because that is what we have been taught. Although they did commit brutal crimes, most of their crimes focused around petty small business robberies. In the beginning, most people looked the other way when it came to the couple but little did they know that the young couple would become two of the most notorious outlaws of all time (Guinn).
A thirst for equality, a decade of transformation, and an emerging civil rights movement, these were the people searching for a change. People were determined to achieve their aspirations despite the stigma that would come with their beliefs. African Americans wanted equality, women wanted equality, but who was to tackle the discrimination? African Americans were treated inadequately; women were to fit stereotypes. The persistence that the citizens had is made the change. The 1960s was a decade that is full of remarkable history; countless courageous people helped spark a fire to make the change. Betty Friedan was a woman whose name would go down in history. Her writing and speaking on women’s issues in the 1960s built the foundation for the second wave of feminism that became the National Organization for Women, and was a starting point for the equal rights amendment.
The multiple messages in "FIGHT Song" reinstates that women in the American culture have to believe in themselves. In lines 19-20 Racheal sings, " and I don’t really care if nobody believes, 'cause I still have a lot of fight left in me." Most likely every individual have other individuals who do not believe in them, or doubt them. Other individuals may support or even pretend like they are supporting, but those individuals may be there supporting with other intentions. Women in the American culture have to believe and support themselves before anyone else does because some individuals are in the picture just to see one's downfall. Women in the American culture have to prove to many other individual that even though they may fall, they have
Feminism is a movement that supports women equality within society. In relation to film, feminism is what pushes the equal representation of females in mainstream films. Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist that is famous for touching on this particular issue of how men and women are represented in movies. Through her studies, she discovered that many films were portraying men and women very differently from reality. She came up with a theory that best described why there is such as huge misrepresentation of the social status quos of male and female characters. She believed that mainstream film is used to maintain the status quo and prevent the realization of gender equality. This is why films are continuously following the old tradition that males are dominant and females are submissive. This is the ideology that is always present when we watch a movie. This is evident in the films from the past but also currently. It is as if the film industry is still catering to the male viewers of each generation in the same way. Laura Mulvey points out that women are constantly being seen as sexual objects, whether it is the outfits they wear or do not wear or the way they behave, or secondary characters with no symbolic cause. She states that, “in traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote it-be-looked-at-ness.”(Mulvey pg. 715). Thus, women are nevertheless displayed as nothing more than passive objects for the viewing pleasure of the audience. Mulvey also points out through her research that in every mainstream movie, there is ...
Feminist theory was derived from the social movement of feminism where political women fight for the right of females in general and argue in depth about the unequality we face today. In the aspect of cinema, feminists notice the fictitious representations of females and also, machismo. In 1974, a book written by Molly Haskell "From Reverence to Rape: The treatment of Women in Movies" argues about how women almost always play only passive roles while men are always awarded with active, heroic roles. Moreover, how women are portrayed in movies are very important as it plays a big role to the audience on how to look at a woman and how to treat her in real life due to the illusionism that cinema offers. These images of women created in the cinema shapes what an ideal woman is. This can be further explained through an article 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' written by a feminist named Laura Mulvey in 1975. She uses psychoanalysis theories by Sigmund Freud to analyze 'Scopophilia' which is the desire to see. This explains how the audience is hooked to the screen when a sexy woman is present. In a bigger picture, where Scopophilia derives from, 'Voyeurism' is also known as feeling visual pleasure when looking at another. Narcissism on the other hand means identifying one's self with the role played. It is not hard to notice that in classical cinema, men often play the active role while the women are always the object of desire for the male leads, displayed as a sexual object and frequently the damsels in distress. Therefore, the obvious imbalance of power in classical cinema shows how men are accountable to moving the narratives along. Subconsciously, narcissism occurs in the audience as they ...
Women have made progress in the film industry in terms of the type of role they play in action films, although they are still portrayed as sex objects. The beginning of “a new type of female character” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47) in the world of action films began in 1976 with Sigourney Weaver, who played the leading role in the blockbuster film ‘Aliens’ as Lt. Ellen Ripley. She was the captain of her own spaceship, plus she was the one who gave out all the orders. Until then, men had always been the ones giving the orders; to see a woman in that type of role was outlandish. This was an astonishing change for the American industry of film. Sometime later, in 1984, Linda Hamilton starred in ‘The Terminator’, a film where she was not the leading character, but a strong female character as Sarah Connor. She had a combination of masculine and feminine qualities as “an androgynous superwoman, resourceful, competent and courageous, while at the same time caring, sensitive and intuitive” (Hirschman, 1993, pg. 41-47). These changes made in action films for female’s roles stirred up a lot of excitement in the “Western society” (Starlet, 2007). The demand for strong female characters in action films grew to a new high when Angelina Jolie starred in ‘Tomb Raider’ in 2001 and then in the sequel, ‘Tomb Raider II: The Cradle of Life’ in 2003 as Lara Croft. Her strong female character was not only masculine, but was also portrayed as a sex object. Most often, strong women in these types of films tend to fight without even gaining a mark. At the end of each fight, her hair and makeup would always be perfect. The female characters in these action films, whether their role was as the lead character or a supporting character, had similar aspects. I...