Unit 2 Blog
For Unit two I have decided to explore Orlando. For some reason Orlando was really hard for me to follow but once we broke it down and discussed it in class, it was easier to get grasp on. A part of the film I would like to bring back up was when Orlando was sitting in that beautiful dress and then the conversation that was with all the men discussing women’s roles. I could be wrong, but from what I remember Orlando didn’t rebuttal anything the men were saying about women (while she sat in that beautiful dress). I was curious if this was representative of how women experience “discrimination” or demeaning comments by men. The way in which Orlando just sits there and looks “pretty” makes me wonder if the writer is sending a message to the viewers. ( It was mentioned in class that she almost represented a show dog, this image has stuck with me. Is it possible that the writer of Orlando used reverse psychology to show how women can be perceived. What I mean by this is was the writer intending to show us this image to represent what we don't want to be perceived as?) Does society tell us that women “just” need to sit there and look pretty? All of this leads me to wonder if the “old fashioned” stereotypes that use to exist are still carried out by much of the male population. Do men still struggle with accepting women with power? ( Ex: This also makes me think about having a female President: was it the fact that Hillary was a women or that she would not be a strong leader?) This one scene from Orlando has made me wonder about all these things. If this was the “intent” how do we change it? The fact that Orlando sits back and listens could represent the fact that if we just listen to this “things” will never change.
On another note: This may be slightly off topic but throughout our class discussions I can’t help but wonder if the writers of the film and books we read intended to have their works studied in an analytical sense. When an author goes to write, do they mean for the reader to analyze their literature from all these different (analytical) perspectives?
When thinking about your question "do men still struggle with accepting women with power?", I did not hesitate to answer yes. Though womens role in this world has definitey changed over time, I still think that men still have the upperhand over women. Men still feel the need to be the "breadwinners" in the family and I think struggle to think about their significant other making more money than them; they think that they need to be the ones taking care of things. However, I think to an extent that women also still have these views. Think about being in a relationship and all of the things that a girl would expect the man to do that make him a "gentleman", and the notion that he needs to sweep you off your feet. Girls like to be taken care of (some more than others) and men like to think that they are needed for that reason.
ReplyDeleteAlyse, that particular scene stuck with me as well. I think that the scene was probably there to make a dramatic point (which is why they used that time period). It would have been less of a point if it were modern times, since I believe our dress is more androgynous now (women can wear pants). Regardless, the film meant to show the super extreme "gender roles" and how silly they can seem. I think it showed these dramatics to show why having no gender would be better. One of these "gender roles" would be it's okay for men to be demeaning to men and women to sit like pretty little "show dogs". I think the film wanted to show how these were wrong by dramatizing them to influence the audience to think about their own actions. Which connects to your other question about the intent of the filmmakers. I believe all writers and filmmakers are trying to get some point across (even if it's a humorous one) and the material we have discussed in class thus far has really taken it even further. All of the material we've discussed in class explores many tricky issues in society and by taking a different perspective (speculative fiction), the writers want us to analyze their work in many ways. I doubt they know exactly what topics their audiences will analyze, but by giving such tough concepts they probably do hope the audience takes a second look at themselves and society (maybe even work towards a change).
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the writers we have studied were ever certain that their work would be studied, but I think they definitely hoped that it would have been studied. Thus far, they have all presented very intense concepts and have made suggestions that may have made some people uncomfortable and that others would have preferred to ignored. But because these suggestions are so strong and some people would prefer not to think about them, it means that they need to be discussed and considered. Sometimes the things that make us most uncomfortable also have the most profound meanings.
ReplyDeleteI also think that men struggle to accept women with power. I think that this hasn't changed because some women do just sit back and let men have issues. While men need to grow up and accept that women are equal to them, this will not be accomplished without the help of women. Like the scene in Orlando suggests, most men will not think there is anything wrong with their behavior unless women tell them that it is inappropriate. And it cannot just be one women, it has to be all women. In addition to this, if women want men to assume their typical, stereotypical roles, things will not change. If women expect men to "wear the pants" in their relationship, it will only encourage men to assume the role of power and have issues with women in power. The relationships between men and women, whether romantic or friendly, is two-sided and requires effort on both parts.
I definitely think some men struggle to accept women with power. I think probably throughout our lives, if not already, we will experience this first hand. However I think it goes both ways, I think woman at times feel uncomfortable when men do not have control or a position of power. Take our most recent elections for example, Hilary Clinton didn't receive the Democrat nomination and Sarah Palin may have single-handedly sunk the Republican chance at winning the election. I think, perhaps, this is also an aspect of Orlando that the author/director was trying to portray, that we have stereotypes and scripts that find their way into our lives whether we are conscious of them or not. Perhaps more awareness will eliminate this?
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