Tootsie and Gender Roles

  In the film, Julie's father tells Michael, "Years ago there was none of this talk about what a woman was, what a man was, you just were what you were. Now they have all this talk about how much you should be like the other sex so we can be more the same." The idea of equality between men and women is not supported in the film, but rather completely contrasted to show how different they are.

 In the beginning of the film, the audience sees how bad Michael's temper is, how aggressive he can be and that he's very serious about acting. This characteristic can be implied as a common male trait. That men are supposed to be the more assertive ones, rather than women who are the more emotional ones. 

 When Michael changes to his new persona, Dorothy, we see some of that seriousness and aggressiveness still embedded in her personality, but she does it in a way where it passes off as an emotion. She could be seen as a powerful symbol to women like she is to Julie. By the end of the movie, Julie has not only become so attached to Dorothy but also grew stronger because of her and learned to stand up for herself and make her own choices.

 In the film, Thelma and Louise, the two main characters also witness the same type of change. Thelma is one who gets taken advantage of more easily. She had a bad experience in her marriage and was looked at by her husband as a piece of property, she was the one who almost got raped, and the one who trusted a guy they just picked up who ended up robbing them of all the money they had. After that, it's as if she's had enough. She takes it into her own hands to return the money by robbing a store. By the end of the movie, Thelma is the one telling Louise, who is the stronger one of the two, to get a grip and focus on what the next move was. In a way, Thelma could be seen as Julie.

 Louise, who is stronger and more assertive, can be seen as Michael and Dororthy. In the beginning, Louise is the one who shoots the man that tried to rape Thelma, takes the lead on their escape to Mexico, but also the one who starts to break down. Like Michael did when he realized that pretending to be a woman will only hide his true feelings and cause more problems.By the end of the movie, the two ladies chose their own fate of driving over the cliff rather than turning themselves in or having their death chosen for them which would be by the cops.  

 The idea of equality in these two movies is not supported, instead the audience sees how different they really are. In this case, how the actions that men take affect what women do and their choices.

Feminism in Film -- Thelma and Louise

Thelma and Louise, final scene

   

 In the film, Thelma and Louise, we see a powerful side as well as a delicate side of our two main characters.

 Louise, the more independent one of the two, takes on the role of a man. She is the one with the job, who lives on her own and is more assertive. On the other hand, Thelma is more emotional, she was married to someone who thought of her as a possession, and in some ways could be thought of as the weaker one of the pair. Throughout their story, they both change because of the obstacles they face.

 In the beginning, they were both two women who wanted a vacation and a piece of freedom. What they got instead was a cop chase and charged with murder. How did this happen? When Thelma was about to get raped, Louise stepped in, pointing the gun at Thelma's attacker and shot him when he refused to apologize. Knowing they would get caught, they immediately drive off, without looking back. Louise, the stronger one, became the leader of their escape and took charge. She told Thelma she would be going to Mexico and it was her choice if she wanted to come along or not.

 Louise, who had been raped when she was younger, never really trusted a man in her life. The audience can see that she has built sort of wall to protect her from the men in her time. Towards the end of the movie, Louise begins to break down and we see an emotional side of her. While on the other hand, Thelma becomes stronger. She begins to grow and break from all the possessiveness she has underwent while with her husband and also from every guy that has took advantage of her. We see these changes in the scenes where she robs a store to return the money that the guy they picked up robbed them and also when she shoots the rude truck drivers truck, making it explode.

 By the end of the movie, Louise doesn't know if she wants to come out of his alive. While being chased by the cops, they reach the edge of a cliff. Do they go for it or turn back and surrender? Go for it. In what can be seen as a powerful ending, our two main characters chose their own deaths instead of being killed by the cops. This last scene also symbolizes an act of power, as if they were saying that they'll choose their own fate rather than being given one.