Female roles and positions in American film and filmmaking have improved considerably over the last few decades. Instead of films where the “strong woman” role seems visibly forced, there have been quite a few openly accepted and thoroughly enjoyable movies with strikingly dominant female leads.
I think that the film “Jackie Brown” is a prime example of an exceptional picture, done by an amazing director (Quentin Tarentino), which features a lead character who is both African-American and a woman. Jackie Brown was based on a novel called “Rum Punch” by Elmore Leonard and Tarantino actually changed the main character’s race from white to black for the film adaptation (1). This movie plays a bit on the Blaxploitation films of the ‘70’s but without the racial stereotyping. Jackie (played by Pam Grier) is a well dressed, intelligent, and well spoken black woman who works as a flight attendant. Although Jackie does run into some trouble with the law and is helped out by a male accomplice, her character still manages to maintain a cool demeanor, classy sex appeal, and dominant composure throughout the film.
Another one of my favorite films is “Bound”, starring Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. This film incorporates situations where females are both better planners and critical thinkers than their male counterparts, and depicts a realistic portrayal of a lesbian relationship in a mainstream film. This movie has an intriguing storyline, was very popular nationwide, and was a huge forerunner for the social acceptance of gay and lesbian feature films. Corky (Gina Gershon), a lesbian ex con hired to work in an apartment as a plumber, meets neighbors Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), who launders money for the Mafia, and his girlfriend Violet (Jennifer Tilly). The two women have a love affair and decide to steal $2,000,000 that Caesar has in custody before he gives them back to Mafia boss Gino Marzone. Caesar is set up by the two scheming women as a scapegoat in their plan.(2) Although this film may not be the most intellectually stimulating of it’s genre, I think that it did a good job in portraying the equality of the two lead characters (Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt) as married, dueling assassins for competing agencies. It is a comedy, so while both characters still have their “blonde” moments, the female is never depicted in the classic Hollywood style as a damsel in distress, or any less capable than her husband.
Maybe my favorite movie of the year so far was a Swedish film called “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. It is the first film from a Swedish trilogy that was widely released in the U.S. The actual title in Sweden translates to “Men Who Hate Women”, but as usual, America has strange issues with some wordings, so the name was changed for the U.S. release. The movie is pretty graphic and depicts scenes of a male character sexually assaulting the lead female, who also happens to be a lesbian named Lisbeth Salander. This movie is filled with mystery and action. Due to the graphic rape scenes it shows what this poor girl went through and why her hatred was so strongly fueled. At the same time as being exciting and horrifying, this film shows the tender side of Lisbeth when she is not enacting revenge; she is involved in a relationship and labeled a lesbian, but is struggling with feelings of attraction to another human being who happens to be a man. I was excited to find out that they are going to be remaking this film as a U.S version. Maybe our country is evolving into a more accepting society… This last year, and for the first time ever, a woman filmmaker won the “Best Director” Oscar for “The Hurt Locker”. Yay for women! Katheryn Bigelow did a phenomenal job at recreating a totally realistic depiction of modern war that is so close to the hearts of many Americans right now. It was interesting to see her victory over her famous ex husband’s picture, Avatar, and I was glad that her movie was not a romantic comedy. I can’t say that I have not enjoyed my share of chic flicks, but come on! Jennifer Aniston and Katherine Heigl, break out of that stereotypical mold! Try a new style or genre!
Sources:
(1) Information on novel adaptation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Brown_(film)
(2) Synopsys of "Bound" - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115736/
Topics: Sexual Orientation, Female Filmakers, The Women's Film
Hey Rebecca, I found it really interesting that you chose the film "Jackie Brown" to discuss women in film. Although, it's not widely known with the public "Brown" is a fantastic example of a strong powerful woman who comes out on top, mostly by her own doing. Tarentino has become one of the most "femminst" directors of all time between "Brown" and the "Kill Bill" films. I would have also found it interesting if you had mentioned the "Bill" movies as they are a prime example of a women who has been beaten down, seeking revenge on those who have done her wrong; a strong symbolic topic, perhaps about women in film in general? ;-)
ReplyDeleteEquality for women in film is one of my favorite topics. You had some really good examples of the different variances equality can play out in a film. It seems like a really tricky role. While on one had I can see that Jackie Brown’s character is about overcoming inequality, I can also see the merits in the example of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (although Mr. does come first in the title). I think one of the things I enjoyed about Mr. and Mrs. Smith was that they are truly equals in their field, each with their own strengths and weaknesses and that equality is not gained on the basis of man hating or revenge. The male sex shouldn’t have to be demeaned or the female sex shown to be superior in order to be equal. Anyone can show superiority by becoming the predator, but is it really equality? Fortunately, as in the example of your blog, we live in era of cinematic exploration of these topics. I’m really interested to see how this is carried through my daughter’s generation and how the role of female equality in film transforms over time.
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