The Piano - Not A Feminist Film Essay

Feminist film theorists have argued that in classical cinema, the spectator’s pleasure revolves around images of the female body. Within the diegesis, the woman often appears as an object to be looked at and acted upon, while the male protagonist is usually granted a more active role, both in terms of his agency in the narrative, and in terms of his enunciative authority. This hypothesis is backed up by elements of two films studied this semester: His Girl Friday by Howard Hawks (1940) and Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder (1944). This is seen through the supporting role that the main female characters take in the movies, the power that the male characters have over the females, and the way ‘that the woman’s image is used to draw attention to specific aspects of the plot.

When one hears the word “feminist”, many different things may come to mind. One may think of the “bra burning” feminists of the 1960s or the “riot grrrl” feminists of the 1990s. It can bring to mind issues such as abortion, birth control, and unfair wages. There are many different aspects of feminism, some of which are understood only by those involved in the movement. But like most things people are passionate about, feminism has held a strong place in music since its very beginning, and can be seen in its festivals, its politics, and in the average American’s everyday life.

"The world of classical music - particularly in its European home - was until very recently the persevere of white men" (Gladwel 248). The idea that a woman was not capable of performing the same job designated for men is simply discrimination. Instead, it was a fact in defending the reasons for which a woman could not perform this task, that men produced better music than a woman. In the society, that we live each person has something different; when we see a strange we develop an impression of the personality, abilities, and skills of this person relying solely on past experiences we have. Gladwel says, "music is music" and "the only true way to listen is with your ears and your heart" (251). The ability of a woman when playing a musical instrument is the same as a man, without making a difference in the physical appearance. Not understand how much of that prejudice is clouding our approach is a mistake, that we have to understand and take responsibility. In order to, not repeat the same injustices committed in the past.

Women’s music came from radical, grassroots origins in the 1970s thanks to contributions by brave women, mostly lesbians (Mosbacher, 2002). These women used non-violent, peaceful force to forge their own way into the music industry. It was a peaceful yet political revolution of togetherness and liberation. It brought together women of different backgrounds who produced easy-listening, mellow harmonies played with lyrics filled with tumultuous

feminist attributes, and even has elements of the femme fatale, the film takes a long step

A common theme that can be seen in feminist literature is that a woman’s identity is defined by the patriarchal culture of the era as well as the men in their lives. This theme can be seen through pieces such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “My Ringless Fingers on the Steering Wheel Tell the Story” by Laura Boss, and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin.

Chastain goes on to add, “I don’t know that Kathryn Bigelow would make a movie like that, because…she stands on her own . . . she’s capable and intelligent, and I think she represents this generation of woman, and that was really exciting for me to discover on the page in the script, and to discover about our history.” One could make the argument that Chastain refers to both American and feminist history. In lieu of feminism’s third wave, media is moving further and further away from the misogynistic overtones of females-as-plot-devices. But while media follows “trends”, reality is less keen to do the

Women have been active participants in the musical world since antiquity, but discussions of their efforts have traditionally been neglected in favor of those of male musicians. Beginning in the romantic era, encouraged by the flourishing feminist movement, scholars began to investigate the musical activities of female musicians in

The subject of feminism has evolved into various complex theories. In addition, feminism has also been a heavily debated issue that has been around for numerous years. The argument of feminism is that women are, and always have been throughout history, treated differently than men by society. Therefore, women are being stripped down of opportunities to their benefit economically, socially, politically, and culturally. Since there are multiple theories on feminism, Donald Hall’s definition of cultural feminism, from his “Feminist Analysis” of Literary and Cultural Theory, will be used to explore the cultural aspects of the texts from Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, Charlotte Gilman’s short story ”The Yellow Wallpaper,”

This paper will not be able to cover the complexity of feminism as a whole since it has become a very broad subject. In addition, feminism has also been a heavily debated issue that has been around for numerous years. The argument of feminism is that women are, and always have been throughout history, treated differently than men by society. Therefore, women are being stripped down of opportunities to their benefit economically, socially, politically, culturally, and several more ways. This essay will highlight and analyze the cultural aspects of feminism from the texts of Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, Donald Hall’s “Feminist Analysis” from Literary and Cultural Theory, Charlotte Gilman’s short story ”The Yellow Wallpaper”, Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour”, and Tillie Olsen’s short story “Tell Me A Riddle.” Cultural feminism, the ideology of the roles and stereotypical characteristics of women. Therefore, women are unable to express themselves due to being oppressed by patriarchal society. Thus, preserving and nurturing “female culture” will benefit society. As a final point, this paper will point out and identify women being isolated from their culture and personal values.

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is a major part of the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, which is a story that portrays women’s lack of freedom in the1800s. Women had no rights, and had to cater to all of their husband’s needs. The main character in “The Story of an Hour” is a woman who suffers from heart trouble, named Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard was told about her husband’s death, she was initially emotional, but because of her husband’s death she reaped freedom and became swept away with joy. The story is ironic because Mrs. Mallard learns her husband was not dead, and instead of exulting

There are many portraits of women have been put on the screen, but most of them are busy dealing with relationships with men, gossiping about people, and being a hero, or someone’s girlfriend. When men dominate mainstream movies release, these are most what women characters expected to be in the movies. Nominated for seven Academy awards in 2016, and won more than 40 awards worldwide, Carol is a film set in New York City during the early 1950s and tells a romantic love story between two women. Even though this is a lesbian scenario, I prefer to say that this is a movie with two women characters and their attitudes towards men’s oppression. Carol, the awakening of feminism.

Feminist authors do this in order to bring to light what men expect of women and how women feel about what is expected of them. Kate Chopin, like many feminist authors of their time period, write in order to shed light upon the oppressed, and the voiceless women, to help them advance towards their freedom or individuality. Feminist criticism is more than how men and society believe how women should act, it’s also how women desire to be

The daring and bold Kate Chopin, an American writer from the 1890’s, wrote many popular stories that focused on issues of her time that were extremely sensitive to address. Her well known stories, “The Storm”, “The Story of an Hour”, and “Desiree’s Baby”, all work together to allow her audience to grasp a deeper understanding of her time, and the place of women in society by telling captivating stories that use symbolism to convey a powerful message. Although the stories were written during different times of Chopin’s life, the dominant theme of gender roles and the repression of women remains the same through out each story. In “Making Sense of “Race” in the History Classroom: A Literary Approach”, authors Barbara Cruz and James Duplass states that Chopin, “…Addressed issues of importance and consequence for women, often questioning and challenging the norms of today” (Cruz 430). In all three stories, the stereotypical role of wife and mother is addressed and challenged while portraying the woman as the scapegoat.

Gender performativity is related to performance and shares elements with it, but it has no subject. She explains, “The action of gender requires a performance that is repeated. This repetition is at once a reenactment and reexperiencing of a set of meanings already socially established” (178). Performativity creates a fictional reality in which gender and its roles are determined according to a men/women binary distinction. According to her, the category of Women from which the feminist struggle arises is different from this political, hierarchical myth based on