Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender stereotypes in Thelma and Louise film
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Gender stereotypes in Thelma and Louise film
Like many stories in Hollywood, Thelma and Louise follow the stages of the Hero's Journey. The stages of the monomyth aren't shown in the exact predictable pattern as Star Wars, but the majority of stages are explored in the script. The meeting the mentor stage gets a bit murky. Thelma's mentor is Louise while, Louise's mentor could be viewed as reality. The final stages of the Hero's journey seem to be thrown out the window, however, Return with the Elixir could represent the audience itself and view of how unfairly women are treated within society. The scripts feminine focus affects the classic storytelling structure, due to honest treatment and reality of the situations Thelma and Louise face throughout the story. A more classic storyteller
Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the hero will fulfill the prophecy and find his/herself, realizing his/her full potential. This rubric may be easy to spot in epic action films, but if upon close inspection is found in a wide array of genres, some of which are fully surprising.
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 Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and
The most important events of this film all revolve around the female characters. While there are some male charac...
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).
Due to traditional stereotypes of women, literature around the world is heavily male-dominant, with few female characters outside of cliché tropes. Whenever a female character is introduced, however, the assumption is that she will be a strong lead that challenges the patriarchal values. The authors of The Thousand and One Nights and Medea use their female centered stories to prove their contrasting beliefs on the role of women not only in literature, but also in society. A story with a female main character can be seen as empowering, but this is not always the case, as seen when comparing and contrasting Medea and The Thousand and One Nights.
“The journey of the hero is about the courage to seek the depths; the image of creative rebirth; the eternal cycle of change within us; the uncanny discovery that the seeker is the mystery which the seeker seeks to know. The hero journey is a symbol that binds, in the original sense of the word, two distant ideas, and the spiritual quest of the ancients with the modern search for identity always the one, shape-shifting yet marvelously constant story that we find.” (Phil Cousineau) The Hero's Journey has been engaged in stories for an immemorial amount of time. These stories target typical connections that help us relate to ourselves as well as the “real world”.
...ed to violence at many steps on their journey. Yet, the violence was a symbol of rebellion and was a conscious effort by the two to gain authority over their lives. It was a way to gain attention from men, who resulted to violence instinctually. Thelma and Louise do not grow to be mad or insane; they grow to be strong, independent, vibrant, confident women. I am convinced by their actions, words and behaviors as they transform from little girls into women. The two drove off that cliff in the best shape of their lives. While the ending may be tragic, Thelma and Louise’s impact will be everlasting, felt and be a symbol for oppressed women all over the world.
The film portrays the life of two young best friends who set off on a
'My Fair Lady' (1964) and 'Pretty Woman' (1990), both based on the 1938 film adaptation of the original 1913 stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, are both widely immensed blockbuster movies who have made it to the 'classics' list of movies that never get old, gaining infinite fame and success. The female audience swoon over the movies, wishing for a Prince Charming, a Henry Higgins, or a Edward Lewis to magically appear before them, for who wouldn't want to live the life of a woman who goes from rags to riches in a few days and falls madly in love with her savior? What woman wouldn't want to be swept away, rescued, and redeemed into heterosexual heaven? To be completely transformed into societies perfect image of what a woman
This catalyst is set up to promote tension, which shows Louise’s behavior, while awakening Thelma is from her ordinary reality as a housewife. At that moment that Louise shoots Harlan, in self-defense, in self-protection and revenge, she automatically changes their destiny. The crime committed is the key that holds them together in search of freedom from their past, their identity, and their actions. This dramatic event also serves the story, first to address the issue of rape, abusive relationships, and its aftermaths. Secondly, it serves to point out the characters’ acceptance of their fate. Furthermore, the narrative can be viewed as a catalyst for more female roles in road movies.
scenes which gives you the need to be one of the characters from the flick.
Louisa May Alcott’s powerfully written story Little Women has been famous for generations. Alcott wrote was about four young women in the March family who struggled against societal norms during the time of the Civil War. Multiple film adaptations have attempted to retain the emotional impact of her material while retelling her story on the big screen. The most recent adaptation, directed by Gillian Armstrong in 1994, was able to capture many hearts with its feminist twist on the classic novel. Armstrong’s film brings the family’s story to life by successfully displaying the personalities in the March family and by portraying the life styles during the time period accurately. However, specific reactions and descriptions had to be expressed in different ways considering the literary devices used by Alcott which could not be shown through elements of film without alteration.
The film, "Thelma and Louise," challenged gender stereotyping by not portraying Thelma or Louise to be weak. In the film, Thelma and Louise committed a murder by shooting a man and leaving him dead in the parking of a night club. At first, Thelma and Louise were pretty devastated that they had committed a murder. After a few days of rest, and thinking, Thelma and Louise were able to pull themselves back together. Thelma and Louise were strong enough to come up with a plan to move to Mexico, change their name, and start a new life. Thelma and Louise were so strong that they both were able to keep their composure around new individuals that they
When authors or writers rewrite classic texts, they are able to reveal important lessons to readers or make the underlying message from an original text more obvious to readers. Rewriting classic texts can also allow the writer make an original text more moderate, by doing so it makes the text more relatable to the readers and help them understand the story more clearly. This is exactly what Angela Carter did in her text, “The Company of Wolves,” Carter creates and reveals to readers a feminist point in her rewrite. Carter is criticizing the original text of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s story, “Little Red Cap.” Carter develops a female protagonist who is independent and also explores her sexuality, unlike the Grimm Brothers who creates a poorly developed damsel in distress. Carter, also does not include a typical fairytale story ending, unlike the Grimm brothers and most fairy tales which end on a happy note. By creating these kind of character developments and disregarding a typical “happily ever after” ending, Carter expresses feminist ideals and rids the stereotypical attributes a female character is usually given in fairytales. Carter is trying to show readers the importance of developing the female characters, unlike the Grimm Brothers who have much more developed male characters than female characters.