Hollywood and Women
By
Staff Writer |
By
Staff Writer |
hen you buy a ticket to a film, you are telling Hollywood what type of movies you would like to see in the future (keep that in mind before you go see "Twister" for the eighth time). The types of movies that are produced (mainstream, well-funded films) reflect what Hollywood considers lucrative, films that represent the status-quo that will be enjoyed by mainstream America. Therefore, many Hollywood films represent traditional values in order to appeal to the greatest possible audience. Messages about appropriate gender roles can be seen in many Hollywood films.
Hollywood's portrayal of a woman's proper gender role can be seen clearly in the film "Pretty Woman." In the film, Vivian, a Hollywood whore, is hired to escort a powerful executive for a week and they end up falling in love. During the course of the film, she undergoes a transformation in which she becomes the kind of woman that Edward can love.
The greatest gender role transgression that Vivian makes in the film is her occupation as a prostitute. An interest or career in sexuality and the "basic" elements of life is not an accepted feminine interest. Sexuality (by feminine standards) should be reserved for monogamous long-term relationships and possibly only for procreative purposes. As a prostitute without a pimp, Vivian does not have enough money for rent and is living hand-to-mouth. While a prostitute, Vivian receives very little respect from any of the people in the film, male or female. Any attention she receives is for the wrong reason- her explicit sexuality.
Edward consistently reminds Vivian that she is a prostitute, but he reacts most strongly to her when her actions are those of a non prostitute. Remarks like, "but you are a prostitute" and "like you had any better options [than getting in the car with me]" constantly serve as reminders to her status. She is his employee and under his complete control- day and night, physically and sexually. However, whenever Vivian's actions reflect those of a "free" woman, Edward proves that he cares about her personally. When Vivian threatens to leave, Edward only follows her to convince her to stay, after he notices that she left the money for her services. As a traditional male, Edward can't respect Vivian until she represents her proper gender role.
Barney, the hotel manager, educates Vivian about her proper feminine role. In order to receive respect as an employee of Edward's, she has to adapt to the rules of the system, including relearning table manners and dressing in a different way. Only after the physical transformation is done, does Vivian receive a sign of approval from Edward: "You're stunning." Although Julia Roberts as Vivian has the same body and face regardless of her clothes, she is only considered attractive in her new attire. As Edward reiterates later at the polo game, "You look great. You look like a lady." Looking like a lady is a prerequisite for being accepted in his realm.
During this time, Vivian also changes many of her characteristic mannerisms. By the end of the film, Vivian no longer calls attention to herself in public by spitting her gum out, making sexual innuendoes to strangers, bounding up stairs, or sitting open legged. Her fidgeting and nervousness in public decrease as the film continues and she becomes quite poised. She becomes a business asset for Edward through her ability to mingle and serve the role of an attractive "trophy" girlfriend. She also becomes a personal asset for Edward in her ability to nurture, support, and comfort him in all of his big decisions. By the end of the transformation, Vivian's behavior reflects almost all of society's expectations of femininity.
Vivian also changes her public role in order to reflect the expectations of a feminine woman. Out on the streets, she was an entrepreneur. "I say who, I say when, I say how much, " was the motto of the Hollywood Star hookers. Vivian was her own boss and she made all of the negotiations. During the business dinner of Edward's, however, Vivian did not say a word about business. In fact, she hardly spoke at all. Her role was to be seen but not heard. Edward and Vivian do discuss business later, but always in the private realm. "Pillow talk" is allowed, but it must not enter the public realm or the man might seem weaker because of it. In Edward's world of money and power, women do not have power and only have money through marriage, not careers. During negotiations for Morse Industries, the only women to be found are secretaries. Femininity is not displayed by power, independence, or money, but instead through the caring, nurturing realms of life.
The movie ends in typical fairy tale form. Vivian explains that as a child she had a dream of being saved from a tower by a knight on a white horse. In the final scene of the film, Edward climbs the fire escape to save her from her upper-level prostitute apartment hoping of becoming her white knight. It is Edward who "saves" Vivian and transforms her from prostitute to socialite to princess as the movie progresses. One of the implications of femininity is that people with this quality do not possess the qualities of strength or aggression. As a prostitute, Vivian could protect herself, but after her feminine transformation, she needs a man to protect her from the world and its evils.
"Pretty Woman" is a fairy tale that displays the appropriate gender roles of Western society. If women want their fantasies to come true (specifically by being saved by a male millionaire), they must respect and follow societal expectations of what true women are: women should not be too powerful or too sexually driven, women should not be overly visible in the business realm, women should be waiting for their white knight to come to rescue them. Next time you watch a film, watch for its underlying message. Are there undertones that you don't agree with? Hollywood is a business like any other. Use your power to influence what types of movies are produced.
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© Trincoll Journal, 1996.