3 Films With A Strong Feminist Message
On March 8, we made history. We women, in a surge of courage that we had rarely seen in such a transversal and massive way, invaded the streets for the first time. People could hear us roar. Nothing will ever be the same. Discover the feminist message delivered in this article.
We have all succeeded in raising our spirits, unleashing our rage, collectivizing our sorrows and screaming our demands. Each of us, with her emotional backpack on her back and a heavy stone to carry.
With a jacket or with rastafarian hair. With a job as a bank manager or a high school student. We were all there because we are experiencing the same thing: inequality, violence and the crystal roof, among others. We all live under this oppression but the stories that reflect it are very distinct.
The following films reflect the struggle of three women who want to get out in a man’s world. A world where they are stigmatized, attacked, despised. All of these films are full of courage, like the stories that happen around us in real life. And they all send a powerful feminist message.
A woman under the influence, a feminist message against the stigma of mental illness in women
Directed by John Cassavetes, one of North America’s most acclaimed independent film directors, the film chronicles a difficult family situation because of the mother, Mabel, played majestically by Gena Rowlands. This role earned her the Golden Globe for Best Actress and an Oscar nomination.
In this movie, we see that Mabel has very peculiar expressions and sassy tics. Despite everything, she does not display violent or threatening behavior. Her husband, Nick, is an open portrayed by Peter Falk (the famous Columbo actor). He watches her continuously as if something is wrong with her.
In a tense atmosphere loaded with testosterone, Mabel cooks. She makes sure Nick’s guests and coworkers feel comfortable. Mabel wants everything to be perfect, the atmosphere to be festive. It is true that her behavior is peculiar: she may not control the limits of cordiality or friendliness but makes efforts to make everyone feel good.
Nick, however, keeps labeling her behavior, arguing with her, and doesn’t value what she does. He humiliates him in front of everyone and does not respect his space, his way of expressing himself in front of others.
Without disclosing the slightest spoiler, we can say that in the film the people around him may not be used to such a special personality, full of sensitivity and tenderness towards his family. Her reactions are more and more extreme because her husband’s behavior is suffocating and inappropriate.
Nick doesn’t know how to treat his wife properly, he contradicts himself in the way he talks to her, looks at her and, ultimately, treats her. Mabel is stuck. The person who tells her that she loves him is also the one who stigmatizes her. Nick and the others may think that an excessively expressive woman can only be seriously disturbed.
This is where the powerful feminist message emerges: children, who have not yet internalized the prejudices of adults, love their mother’s way of being, her peculiarities and her very intense expressions of affection. Perhaps Mabel’s influence was that of ignorance and machismo, not that of a psychiatric disorder.
Alanis, a feminist message of self-sufficiency
Alanis ( Sofía Gala) is an Argentinian prostitute, mother of a child, who works in an apartment next to that of a friend, Gisela. One day, the police go to Gisela’s apartment to arrest her and Alanis is evicted. She finds herself forced to find a place to sleep with her son.
She seeks to earn as much money as she can and sometimes takes her child with her to clients. Alanis’s situation is desperate, but she doesn’t give up. She has no time to complain and shows incredible stoicism. Once again, she must survive.
She doesn’t pay attention to messages that victimize her, to those that insult her or suggest that she is a bad mother. No one ever gave him anything. Alanis wants to feel that she is in control of her life and that she can offer her son a home.
She only thinks of the present and wants it to be as bearable as possible. She doesn’t want to be accountable to anyone. Here is her feminist message. Controversial and direct because it does not allow anyone to victimize or stigmatize her. She makes her life and it doesn’t matter if others see her as a parasite. She is sure of what she is and does not want to play.
Paulina, a feminist message on personal judgment
Paulina (Dolores Fonzi) is a woman who has everything. She was born into a wealthy family in Buenos Aires. She has a clear professional future. Paulina received a good training. She has a fiancé and a father who love and respect her.
Her concerns are not those of a renowned lawyer daughter living in a bourgeois environment. In her profession, she dreams of doing something that is really reflected in practice, something that helps improve people’s lives. And she wants to do it by being on the front lines of the fight.
This is why she decides to teach in a high school in a region of Argentina plagued by poverty, violence and unemployment. She feels that these children need to be listened to and taught. Let them be taught what their rights are as people. Everyone thinks this decision will be temporary but Paulina is ready for anything and has no deadline in her head.
Once arrived in this unknown and foreign place that she respects, she feels moved. One night, after having had a few drinks with a new friend in the area, Paulina takes her motorbike home. On the way, several men attack and rape her.
From there, everyone will surely feel uncomfortable and may not empathize with the protagonist’s decisions. She is convinced that when it comes to the poor, there is no justice, only the guilty.
She will therefore take it upon herself to find out why this rape took place. She will not hesitate to return to her post to find the culprits. When she finds out that she is pregnant, Paulina will make another unexpected decision. This will eventually put an end to the patience of those around him.
Because Paulina is like that. This is a woman who makes her own decisions. Without trying to be a heroine. She follows her own personal judgment, despite everything that happens to her. Here is her feminist message. Although we may believe that every woman would act the same in the face of a traumatic event, in the end, many do as their judgment tells them, without seeking to be accepted by others.
Our thoughts that emerged in other parts of the world, sometimes even before the West. We find an example among feminist women in the ara world …
