In
American film, it’s typical to see a heterosexual, white male portraying the
heroic protagonist. Hollywood’s
representation of women has evolved over time from the stereotypical view of
women being in the kitchen, caring for the children, and waiting on their
husbands. However, even after gaining
their independence and the right to vote in the 1920’s, female actors still
aren’t necessarily receiving the roles that properly characterize women in whom
they are. Most Hollywood films
misrepresent women whether they are white or a minority.
Furthermore, this film proves that the eskimos aren’t as
privileged as the Caucasian men. For
example, when Nanook and his band went to trade, the “white man” has crucial
resources the eskimos need in order to survive the harsh conditions in Canada’s
Hudson Bay. Also, the white men are much
more technologically advanced compared to Nanook and his people because the white
men brought a record player to trade while the eskimos brought animal skins and
husky puppies. This proves that even in
this silent film, white patriarchal capitalism is evident.
In addition to Nanook
of the North, The Help embodies
patriarchy as well. The story line focuses
on both African-American women and white women; however, the white women take
the back seat compared to their white husbands.
For example, Celia Foote, a naïve housewife, hires an African-American
maid, Minny, solely to be taught how to prepare meals in the kitchen for her
white husband, Johnny. This film took
place in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement where our United States’
history was going through a transition period into accepting minorities as
equal to whites. Even though all female
characters weren’t considered independent, white women technically had their
right to vote in the 1920s. In American
Hollywood films, women still weren’t represented in terms of their capabilities
and independence from men. This movie
embodies the dominant ideology of white patriarchal capitalism because it’s
evident in this film that men are more influential, successful, and superior in
society compared to all women.
Another
film dealing with white patriarchy entitled, The Princess Bride, is centralized around a female character,
Buttercup, who is longing for her long lost romance with Wesley. This 1987 film involves this dominant ideology
of white patriarchy because the prince, Prince Humperdinck, is a white man who
is a dominant antagonist and convinces the subservient white female, Buttercup,
to marry him. It’s obvious that the
women doesn’t have as much power as the white men because most of her decisions
are made for her. For example, Buttercup
agrees to become engaged to a white king to be.
In the end, she does manage to end the engagement and be with her lover
to Wesley, but Buttercup’s focus as a female is to be with her white
lover. This film definitely involved
white patriarchy.
In
conclusion, women’s film doesn’t fully represent women to their full potential
in terms of their newfound independence in American history. Although white women may have protagonist
roles, the stories they are involved in still emphasize the female’s desire for
a man which reinforces patriarchy.
Hollywood movies have evolved and adapted to American history, but we
still have a long way to go to create equality among men and women.
Sources:
- Benshoff, Harry M., and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Malden, MA, USA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.
- Emberley, Julia. "Nanook of the North." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanook_of_the_North.
