The Screwball comedy is a film genre that found its way onto the screens in the early 1930s and lasted till the early 1940s. They were a consequence of the newly adapted censorship law in 1934 that restricted addressing adult content on screen. They therefore incorporated more comedic and creative ways of symbolizing topics such as sex and homosexuality. Screwball comedies were mainly based on plots that had conflict between social classes as their many premise and always had a happy ending which was almost always marriage. This consistent maintenance of the status quo of marriage is a major aspect of feminism depicted in screwball comedies (Heather 26). While advocating for marriage, screwball comedies highlighted the shift in the foundations of marriage and greatly highlighted the growth of feminism in light of a shift in roles and expectations surrounding this institution.
Feminism is motivated by the need to establish equality between the genders since most feminists attribute women’s problems to inequality between the two genders. Therefore, by way of a collection of political movements and social theories, feminists seek to curb this inequality between men and women. It is important to note that the equality sought after by feminists is not just economic and political, but also social equality. According to Heather Gilmour, The institution of marriage during the pre-modern era or the Victorian era was based on inequality as the roles to be fulfilled by both genders for the success of the marriage were essentially different (Heather 26). As the roles kept changing over time due to different circumstances, so did the expectations of marriage and along with that, the rise of feminist movement. Screwball comedies such as It...
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...r to be pragmatic and cautious when drawing lessons from screwball comedies.
Works Cited
Gilmour, Heather. “Journal of Film and Video.” Different, except in a Different way: Marriage, Divorce, and Gender in the Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998. 26 – 39. Print.
It Happened One Night. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable. Columbia Pictures. 1999. DVD.
Shumway, David, R. “Cinema Journal.” Screwball Comedies: Constructing Romance, Mystifying Marriage. Texas: University of Texas Press, 1999. 7 – 23. Print.
Willet, Cynthia. “Cultural Critique.” Baudrillard, “After Hours”, and the Postmodern Suppression of Socio-Sexual Conflict. Minnesota: University Of Minnesota Press, 1996. 143 – 161. Print.
Woman of the Year. Dir. George Stevens. Perf. Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn. MGM. 1997. DVD.
Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Videocassette. Warner Home Video, 1990.
Velvet Goldmine. Dir. Todd Hayes. Perf. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale, Toni Collette. Miramax, 1998.
A League of Their Own. Dir. Penny Marshall. Perf. Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna, Lori Petty. Columbia Pictures, 1992. DVD.
Taymor, Julie, dir. Titus. Prod. Jody Allen. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2000. Film. 25 Feb 2014.
Reichardt, Kelly (Director), Raymond, John and Reichardt, Kelly (Writers), Williams, Michelle and Robinson, John (Performances). 2008. Oscilloscope Pictures, 2009. DVD
Perf. Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz. The Weinstein Company, 2009. DVD. The.
Philadelphia. Dir. Jonathan Demme. By Ron Nyswanger. Perf. Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas, and Joanne Woodward. TriStar Pictures, 1993. Youtube Crackle.
The Crucible. Dir. Nicholas Hytner. Perf. Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and Paul Scofield. 20th Century Fox, 1996. DVD.
LA Confidential. Dir. Curtis Hanson. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Russel Crowe, Guy Pierce, Kim Bassinger, Danny DeVito. Regency, 1997.
A Raisin in the Sun. Dir. Daniel Petrie. Perf. Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee and John Fiedler. Columbia Pictures, 1961.
Comedy often allows for a subversion of the status quo that is not tolerated in more serious genres. Beginning in the 1930s, the subgenre of screwball comedy presented female characters who were active and desiring, without evoking negative characterizations as "unfeminine" or "trampish." Screwball comedies represent a specific form of romantic comedy that features a complicated situation--or more often a series of complications--centered around a strong-willed, unpredictable female. The comedy is generally physical as well as verbal. Screwball and other forms of romantic comedy do not just reverse the masculine/active, feminine/passive paradigm--which as E. Ann Kaplan notes accomplishes little in terms of change--but instead strengthens the female and weakens the male just enough to put them on more equal footing.
Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Samuel Goldwyn Company and Renaissance Films, 1993.
‘Lad flicks’ or ‘lad movies’ is a type of film genre that emerged in the late 1990s. They are defined as a “‘hybrid of “buddy movies”, romantic comedies and “chick flicks”, which centre on the trials and tribulations of a young man as he grows up to become a ‘real man’. ‘Lad flicks’ respond in part to the much-debated ‘crisis in masculinity’” (Benjamin A. Brabon 116). This genre of film explored what it meant to be a ‘real man’ in the twentieth century and in order to do so, they would have to grow up and leave their juvenile ways behind to enter the heterosexual world. Gender relations in ‘lad flicks’ portray masculinity as a troubled, anxious cultural category hiding behind a humorous façade and also rely greatly on a knowing gaze and irony. The two ‘lad flicks’ that will be analyzed are The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow 2005) and Role Models (David Wain 2008).
1980. Warner Bros. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Music by Wendy Carlos and Rcachel Elkind. Cinematography by John Alcott. Editing by Ray Lovejoy. With Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd.
Feminism is the belief in social, economic, and political equality between men and women. For many years women have strived for equality with men, and feminism is helping women to achieve that mark. The issue of feminism has been a part of the culture since the American Revolution, which will be discussed. Feminism is helping the world to expand its growth by providing equal opportunities to both men and women. There has been a drastic change due to feminist approaches to problems faced by women in the social, economic, and political world. So the progress of women from ‘homemakers’ to ‘breadwinners’ is an answer to gender inequality, which indeed existed in society but is now being slowly demolished by feminist approaches.