'Gender Stereotypes In The 1939 Film The Women'

737 Words3 Pages
The 1939 film The Women is arguably the quintessential woman’s picture with its lack of male casting and manifestation of female stereotypes. Despite the intentional absence of any male roles in the film, men are not absent from conversation – ultimately every conversation. The sequence that falls between eleven and twenty-five minutes (Mary’s reminiscence of her honey moon until finding out her husband is seeing another woman) utilizes a variety of cinematic resources to communicate the storyline such as costume and narrative/stylistic elements that shape the film’s form. Costume plays a significant role within the film from beginning to its culmination. It contributes to the characters’ overall personalities and has symbolic meaning within this sequence of interest. Mary immediately stands out as a loving and lively individual, yet her attire throughout the sequence is wholly simplistic in comparison to the other women invited to her home. Her modesty throughout the movie’s entirety serves to make her character distinct from the others. The only flashy item she adorns during their luncheon is a thick beaded necklace that is physically put on during the film. It almost…show more content…
In the context of this film, cause and effect is exclusively character driven. Because Sylvia self-indulgently enjoys gossip (as well as getting her nails done), she learns of her friend’s husband’s infidelity and subsequently interferes with the plot’s course by sending Mary to the same manicurist. The film’s development would not have transpired had Sylvia not gotten her nails done by that particular manicurist or if she had better character. The concept of cause and effect rests alongside the recurring “jungle red” motif which signifies moments containing an almost primal instinct to gravitate toward the truth, however ugly it may
Show More
Related

  • Disney Movies: The Four Stages Of Cinderella

    2465 Words  | 10 Pages

    under the influence of popular culture. Disney fantasies can be broken down into four distinctive stages: conservative, transitional, reflective, and revisional. Disney’s original production from the 1930’s to 50’s were very conservative in terms of gender expectations. Early fairy tales all share a common theme of misfortune falling upon a beautiful young princess or maiden whose needs to be recused by a handsome,

    Read More

More about 'Gender Stereotypes In The 1939 Film The Women'

Open Document