Strictly Ballroom Essay

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• The ideas of Freud, Lacan, and Mulvey work in Strictly Ballroom. • The numerous types of cinema conditions facilitate for the spectator both the voyeuristic process of objectification of female characters, and also the narcissistic process of identification with an ‘ideal ego’ on the screen. • Traditional Films present men as active, controlling subjects and treat women as passive objects of desire for men in both the diegesis and in the audience. Such films objectify women in relation to the controlling male gaze, presenting women as image and man as the bearer of the look. Men do the looking, and women are there to be looked at. During the beginning of the film, Scott and Liz begin to dance Scott’s steps. The crowd is enjoying what they see, but the judges to include Barry Fife …show more content…

Liz denies her role in the change of moves by stating, “Where the man goes, the woman must follow”. Although Liz may be referring to the steps of her ballroom dance, the audience is left with a different impression. As the viewer I felt as though Liz was relinquishing her responsibility for what happened by suggesting that women merely follow men, and are not capable of making their own …show more content…

Scott shows up at Fran’s house while a family party is going on. Fran’s dad Rico spots Scott, and immediately begins to question his presence. Rico escalates things by shoving Scott to the ground. The audience is shown how Rico escalates a misunderstanding through the traditional masculinity means of violence. At the end of the film, Les questions Mr. Fife about cheating allegations, but Mr. Fife does not want to here any of it. He dismisses Les, and calls him a “pathetic little fag”. Mr. Fife’s character is not only misogynistic, but also homophobic. The viewer sees Mr. Fife as a tyrant, whose character is only relatable to the Adolf Hitler’s of the

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