After watching the video about the representation of women in the media today in class, I came home to find my roommates watching the movie Leap Year, in honor of Leap Day. Since I was in a "more power to women" type of mood (which documentaries like that often put me in) I watched the movie with them through a different lens than normal.
As I watched Amy Adams take initiative and go to Ireland to surprise her boyfriend and propose to him, I was excited to see a woman take initiative and do something that traditionally is done by men. The man she meets to take her to Dublin, who (spoilers) ends up being her love interest, mocks her about her plan. Then throughout the movie the typical "they fall in love thing" happens and it's great and nice and I quite like it (even with a lot of the stuff in it that puts Amy Adams' character down as a woman) I'm a sucker, I admit it. The part that struck me as different this time watching it, however, was the ending.
Amy Adams decides to go to Ireland and get the guy. Again. Only this time, it's a different guy. I never realized before, but I love that her character is consistent and still goes after what she wants. She realizes she is unhappy, and that she loves the Irish man and not her fiance, and she flies to Ireland to get the guy, just like she did at the beginning.
And I really like that.
That's a good movie! It definitely has an interesting twist with the girl going after the guys, but I like that she isn't doing it in the way most media portrays women like that. She isn't dressing all sexy, and she doesn't just go after the guys to get them in bed or have some sort of power over them or anything. I like that she's very proper in doing so. I also like that both she and the men have power in the movie and it's not completely putting one gender ahead of the other.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog! I never really would've thought much about the more intricate gender roles shown in the movie.
I watched this movie over the weekend to celebrate, as well! :) I also like that she took initiative for what she wanted. But after watching the documentary, I was thinking about how even chick-flicks still focus on the desires of men, and how most men don't like them. Ironically, I watched it while my husband did hw, because I knew he wouldn't be dying to watch it! haha.
ReplyDeleteI like that, too! Thanks for reminding me- I haven't watched this in forever. It makes me want to go watch it again.
ReplyDeleteI love that movie too! It's a classic. I need to watch it soon in honor of Leap Day! Thanks for the fun reminder :)
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