G.I. Jane, a film by Ridley Scott, tells the story of Jordan O’Neill, a female Lieutenant, handpicked to be the test subject for a new full gender integrated service in the Navy Seals Cross Reconnaissance Team. O’Neill is given the assignment but not expected to succeed. Historically, more than 60% percent of men dropout in training due to its grueling inhuman regime. Previously, O’Neill had tried enlisting into the military service during a time of war, but had been denied due to the “lack of female restroom onboard the submarine”. The sexist experience she encountered fueled her to accept the Navy Seals recruitment and vowed to complete it no matter what rigorous training it entailed. O’Neill saw this as her chance to change the …show more content…
She makes the decision to move into the men’s dorms to further prove that she does not expect any special treatment. O’Neil goes as far as shaving off her hair to present a stronger appearance to her peers. Regardless of the numerous steps she takes to further prove herself, she is still not given the merit or recognition that she deserves.
After completing the most challenging part of her training, O’Neil is called in to speak to the Navy Seals’ Commanding Officer. She is told that she was caught engaging in unacceptable acts through photographs taken of her with other females. Although innocent, she is accused of wrongdoing and her actions are deemed “conduct unbecoming”. Without so much as a discussion, she is dismissed from the Nay Seals training program for supposedly engaging in lesbian acts. The Commanding Officer is quick to remove her from her current position and as a consolation, offers her a desk job with hopes of sticking her back in to a gender-confined role. O’Neil turns down his offer and decides to go back home. Upon arrival, her boyfriend confesses to her that initially he was rooting for her to fail, so he could protect her and she could be at home safe. Again, this supports the stereotype that males have regarding having a more protective role in heterosexual relationships.
Angered by her dismissal, O’Neill investigates who was responsible for
Throughout the text, O’Connor touches on issues that are controversial and still relevant in today's world. These issues are brought up in many different ways, like the racist Grandmother or the belittling husband at the BBQ restaurant. Many current issues like race and gender equality are brought up in A Good Man is Hard to Find. On page 2 of A Good Man is Hard to Find, the Grandmother said “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!" she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack. Wouldn't that make a picture, now?” (O’Connor 2). The Grandmother shows her racist side when she makes comments about a little black boy sitting on the porch in no pants, thinking that it was cute he did not have pants on but in reality, the little boy probably did not own a pair of pants. The Grandmother not only makes racist
Therefore, she “attempts to conceal [her breasts] in [a] sexless get-up” (64). In order for McMurphy and the men to regain power, they must regain their sexuality and reveal the nurse’s. McMurphy’s final stand against the nurse involves him “ripp[ing] her uniform all the way down the front” (275) and revealing breasts that she had concealed. With this metaphorical rape, Kesey is equating the men regaining power with sexual dominance over women. The rape of the nurse is seen as a heroic act by McMurphy, which conveys the misogynistic message that men have a right to sexual power over women. The way that McMurphy performs this rape is effectively silencing the nurse, as he had his “heavy red fingers [in] the white flesh of her throat” (275). Using silence in conjunction with a metaphorical rape gives a further misogynistic tone, as McMurphy is exerting sexual dominance as well as stopping her from being able to speak out against him, or any man. Because this is McMurphy’s final action, it is seen as his greatest one. Therefore, the man who can break a woman is seen as an ideal specimen.
her household she resorts to outside sources, making herself a victim to boys, which creates a
The federal government placed many restrictions and discriminatory actions on the black troops. At the beginning of the Civil War, African Americans were not allowed to serve in the U.S. military. By the summer of 1862 it was clear that additional troops were needed. To meet the need, Congress passed two bills that allowed the participation of black soldiers in the Union Army. The Government established segregated units called The Bureau of Colored Troops. The measure lacked popular support and the U.S. Army did not begin recruiting black soldiers until 1863.
In Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" it portrays the confusing nature of sexuality. A story set in the America of mid-1900s. A conflict of morals characterized this time, especially sexually related ones. There was a hot debate on the topic of sexuality among adolescents. The roles of women were being challenged and quickly changing. This story describes a psychosexual episode between a male predator and the protagonist, a female
The classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, presents a major theme of passing time. Losing Daisy meant losing Gatsby’s entire world, which he only kept alive through his hope of repeating the past. Daisy is a symbol of everything he values and therefore became the entity of his dream: his dream of spending the rest of his life with Daisy, the woman he loves undeniably. But Gatsby doesn’t realize his dream is unattainable because unfortunately, he cannot go back in time or recreate the past. Gatsby is stuck in the past, longing for the relationship between him and Daisy, and can’t accept the future, resulting in his own death. This is depicted in
The strategies employed in this ad and the emotions this advertisement speaks volumes about the company that produced it. The military has always been something of a “man’s world”, where men were on the front lines, and running the show, and if a female were present she would be seen in a nurses uniform. This ad is a public statement by the Marines into equalization of the sexes, and a huge leap into the present societal mindset that women are in fact, able to do anything men are. It is a modernization of an established military branch. This ad shows that the US Marine Corps recognizes their traditional enlistment strategies did not appeal to women. More importantly, demonstrating willingness to revise their
Being a women during the 50’s Mary Ann was expected to be proper, innocent and unable to understand or handle the extreme emotions and pressures of war, however, she quickly adapted to the war and went against everything expected of her and joined the green berets. O'Brien pushed the irony of Mary Ann’s story even further than just defying gender norms as he juxtaposes innocence and the savagery of war together through Mary Ann's actions and appearance at the end of the chapter. The men all talk about how Mary Ann is still out in the woods fighting, they say; “she was wearing her culottes, her pink sweater, and a necklace of human tongues” (110). Although it is extremely unlikely that this experience ever happened, O'Brien uses this story to show just how life changing war can be, he proves that even the most innocent person can walk into the war and come out a savage, hostile and war oriented person. Had he never juxtaposed the innocence of Mary Ann and her ‘girly’ clothing against the demented and horrifying necklace of severed tongues, his point may have never had the deep message he wanted to portray. There are many other examples of irony spread throughout the novel, however this example had one of the most powerful message and proof of how
The film, G.I. Jane, is about a woman's struggle in becoming a Navy Seal in a male dominated field. However, the film only had three major women's roles. Most of which weren’t usual feminine ideals of what women should behave like. Senator Lillian DeHaven, an aggressive and powerful women who is not intimidated by any man set out a proposal to have one female, Jordan O’Neill, put through the most rigorous physical training possible. Throughout the film Senator DeHaven’s real intentions are seen. Despite the fact that she seems to be fighting for women’s rights within the Military, she does not fully see men and women the same. In a conversation she had with the lead character, Jordan O’Neill, she states how she and her fellow senators are not ready to have body bags full of women come home from war. This clearly shows
O'Connor's typical use of violence and humor in her literary work broadens the characterization of the grandmother and the misfit throughout her story. She uses these elements in an effort to establish the characterization of her two main characters through the many
O’Connor also focuses on contrasting characters in her story to bring the plot along, for example the conflict in the story is between Mrs. May and Mr. Greenleaf, two almost completely opposite characters. Mrs. May is shown as a bitter character who blames others for her problems, although most are self-inflicted. Such as how she hired Mr. Greenleaf for fifteen years although she obviously hates him, or how she ends up raising bitter and cruel sons who treat her with no respect. On the other hand the Greenleaf’s is simple, although uneducated, but manages to raise two successful sons, unlike Mrs. May’s. However, Mrs. May looks down on Mr. Greenleaf because she feels he is inferior to her in social standing and intelligence. . For example when she went to O.T. and E.T.’s farm and saw their milking parlor, she decided automatically that they were paid for the Government and the boys didn’t work for it. Mrs. May says how “I would have to do it myself. I am not assisted hand and foot by the Government.” This illustrates how Mrs. May still thinks less of the Greenleafs, even if they have a better farm then her because she thinks they did not gain it themselves, that it was instead paid for by the Government. The Greenleaf boys have a better working farm then her, and therefore are a little higher than her in
Father Comes Home from the Wars and the Royale are two productions that had a common theme which was freedom. Throughout both of the productions, they were numerous of racism moments that led the characters to find a ticket to freedom. Freedom was the main theme in the production because the main characters had a difficult time stepping out of their comfort zones due to the lack of confidence they had and both of the theaters had the proper lights and props to represent the characters.
The film G.I. Jane takes place in the 1990’s and shows discrimination of a women in the United States Navy. Lieutenant Jordan O’ Neal played by Demi Moore, is a naval intelligence officer who has ambitions of moving beyond her military desk job, to become a member of the Navy Seal. Thanks to the political maneuvering of a female senator, O’ Neal becomes the first female candidate for the Navy Seals. The Seal’s are the military’s elite Special Forces team. O’ Neal becomes the guinea pig of senator Lillian DeHaven in this film. DeHaven bullies the Navy into taking O’Neal as a Seal recruit in order to become the first female member of the Navy Seal. O’Neal is put through a series of tests and her main obstacle is Master Chief John Urayle, a
When it comes to combat assignments and the needs of the military, men take precedence over all other considerations, including career prospects of female service members. Female military members have been encouraged to pursue opportunities and career enhancement within the armed forces, which limit them only to the needs and good of the service due to women being not as “similarly situated” as their male counterparts when it comes to strength or aggressiveness, and are not able to handle combat situations.
In Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), the connections between people and memories become the focal point of a very unique romance. Through the use of new technology, the possibility of erasing memories makes painful relationships disappear like they never happened. The tale of Joel and Clementine allows the audience to rethink and question the process they undergo as beneficial or destructive. Though the process might be helpful in eliminating the pain caused from another person, four key scenes show how the lessons learned through relationship experiences are important.