Here are the trailers for both of the films:
Check out the article by Linda Holmes here.
One of the things Holmes points out in her article is that the film The Other Woman does not pass the Bechdel test. The Bechdel test was named by an American cartoonist who had a character state that she wouldn't watch a film unless it fulfilled three requirements. Since then, feminist critics have asked the same three simple questions to determine if a film/television show is biased towards women. The three questions/requirements are:
1. Does the film have two or more women in it?
2. Do they talk to each other?
3. Do they talk to each other about something other than men?
Another interesting thing to consider is the lack of diversity in the casts of both of these films. Notice that Nicki Minaj is relegated to Camron Diaz' assistant. In Walk of Shame the only people of colour are played as negative stereotypes (the gangster/drug dealer). Take a look at this video that makes fun of typecasting by Hollywood.
Consider these questions and add your thoughts to the comments:
1. The Other Woman is a box office success! Why do you think people were keen to see the film? Did you see it? If so, what did you think?
2. Arguably television is becoming more progressive in terms of representation on screen. Why does Hollywood have to maintain and carefully control the portrayal of gender roles, sexuality, and representations of race?
3. Watch a film and tell me if it passed the Bechdel test. Did your findings surprise you?
4. How does the dominant discourse of women's roles impact young women and men?
I believe the film The Other Woman was a hit because it was about a man who cheated on his wife with four other women. The dominant discourse here would be that the audience would see some sort of fight between these women however, in the movie they worked together to seek revenge on the man. I believe this was a hit because it was going against the dominant discourse and people were eager to see what the women would do. Also, keep in mind that these women are models with clear skin, perfect hair, smooth skin, toned skin, tanned etc. This would mainly attract men and the man was clean shaved, fixed hair, suit, nice car etc and this attracted the female audience.
ReplyDeleteWatch a film and tell me if it passed the Bechdel test. Did your findings surprise you?
1. Does the film have two or more women in it?
Yes, it does have two or more women involved; the wife and the 3 other girls
2. Do they talk to each other?
Yes, they do talk to each other in fact, they plan as a group to seek revenge against the man.
3. Do they talk to each other about something other than men?
No, this is mainly about seeking revenge on the man.
Since it is 2/3 this test fails. I find it surprising for media to portray women in a way that makes it seem like the only thing we care about in men. However, I suppose not only women fight over men but in the movie "This Means War" two agents fall in love with one girl and both fight each other for the girls love. However, they are U.S agents therefore, there revenge towards each other involved more dangerous actions such as flowing up the spy cam one the other opponent used on him to spy on him. Whereas in the movie, it does not involve dangerous.