The Quest for Meaning and Survival - Essay Example

The Quest for Meaning and Survival The Impact of Film in American Culture Television and films echo Americans’ chronicle in progress. Their vast influence in modern society shape history. They mold the people; reflect who they are to know where they are headed to. Films discuss issues, they define their culture and their generation. Quoting Katzman “TV encompasses public and private spheres, individual identity and public policy, the arts and politics, and the constellation of race, ethnic, gender, sexual, class, regional, family, community, and religious issues through which we often view the United States” (Katzman 2). Sometimes films bring us into other world but always it has a power to convey reality and in the process, changes the way we perceive our journey. Film builds illusion, allowing the viewers to explore even their very selves (Katzman). Context of the Film “The Hours” The drama movie “The Hours” defines the ordinary lives of American women and discusses the issues that they willingly strive to brave and survive. The scenes flipped fast depicting the interwoven journeys of three different women who existed in there different generations. To bridge the gaps of time, the movie uses the book Mr. Dollaway as the common denominator of their stories. The story is about the seeking for the lost part of their lives, and their limited response to the opposing forces which they could not control. The film narrative is a representation of the role of women determine by the society, and extends to gender equality, heteronormativity, response to illness like Aids, marriage, motherhood, labor, broken relationships, family binds, satisfaction, and each women’s right to pursue the happiness they deserve. Women can easily identify with the movie for it speaks to them and for them. It is also intended for wide reach of audience as to define how American culture perceives women changes through times. It is written by a man who understands deeply the struggles of women and look at them as universal human concerns, needed to be addressed before they’re forgotten. Women’s Recognition in the Modern Society Women should be freed from discriminating mentality of oppression and injustice set by the society in all aspects. In modern times, women have taken off their aprons, to step up and join men’s business, taking place different roles which were then solely for gentlemen. These men used to be captain of “economic cultural political and intellectual life” making women less. But even this claim holds true, still there exist a disparity highlighting imbalance and sexual discrimination (Gaido 58). The maxim that men’s cultural superiority roots from the beginning and therefore never changes, exist in the society. Their dominion in its very sense is not a price of history; it is not earned, nor developed. It is instead a truth set at the beginning, a law, a command of their being (Gaido 58). It is manifested in the system of ownership, government, religious formations, and even in the household (Gaido 58). But the thought should be destroyed and society should recognize women with full capacity to maintain fair standing in the society. Analysis of the Film In the film three females characters were portrayed. First of these three is Virginia Wolf. The film introduces Virginia Wolf as creative writer who authors the novel Mr. Dollaway. She writes to fight feelings, pain, and sadness. She writes to defeat emotion, and to hide her vulnerability. She convinces his husband to go back to London, but because she has mental illness she was held and protected for so long. She was trapped in a place she never wanted to live. In the end of her book she ends the life of the character she writes about, and loses her own life. Her mental illness caused her to commit suicide. Death has become the price of her insanity, she end her unhappy journey. Virginia felt she was not respected by the people who are precious to her. In a society that considers appearance as truth without questioning its validity, women like her are effortlessly deceived (Fisher and Silber 18). The second female character is Clarissa Vaugn. She is skeptical and disbelieving. Females in the movies are most of the time featured on their destined limited space, doing house chores. It’s as if fate dictates that they have no way to escape their domestic duties (Fisher and Silber 20). Clarissa happens to be one of this female kind, satisfied with normal domestic routines and flower arrangement. She has a deep homesickness for his male love affair Richard who once abandoned her and deprived her of the love and protection she deserves. Because of this, pregnancy becomes difficult for her as she struggles to accept her very self. Still, Clarissa shows tenderness and care for his friend Richard who suffers AIDS. Painful setbacks of life should drive men to guard the heart of each woman (Fisher and Silber 3). But Clarissa has missed this privilege. Lost and broken hearted she violated the concept of heteronormativity, falling in love to a woman who comforts her during the time she needed it most. Heteronomativity is the requirement to stick to sexual essentialism. It is therefore the push to conform to the two sexual differences (Habarth 1). It is a norm that set limits and boundaries to females like Clarisse. The third female character is Laura Brown. There are diverse methods to crack a ‘female spirit (Fisher and Silber 3) and Laura know one of them. She married early and was tied with the bonds of her marriage. She is not sure if this is really the life she ever dreamed for. She was a woman who became tired of her destiny. Unhappy, she breaks free and leaves her family in the end. Addressing Issues of Gender Inequalities The film is about the three women’s internal battle, which they could all have conquered by chance. The film speaks about American culture itself. It manifest deteriorating family cultures that destroys lives especially of women. It presents the society’s acceptance and adoption to certain relationship structures. It discuss dreams about ‘work ‘identity and ‘relationships. It even discusses AIDS and how these condition breaks confidence and relationship. It talks about feelings- of rejection, of disappointments. It also represents battles for opportunities, love, mortality, illness, and chances. But most especially it addresses female issues that were usually ignored. How we treat women in the film is not different to how we look at them in the real word. Without any doubt, it can be concluded that there is a gender inequality in the present time. This is depicted by the judgment given to them when they take place male duties, as if such work were stolen and women who rob it were not capable to accomplish it. Here lies the dilemma then society creates when a woman pursues apathetic role and yet earnestly chase desired sexual object (Fisher and Silber 20) The society’s construction of women reputation influence the way they look and accept themselves and these is the root of the conflicts inside them. Conclusion It is a misfortune that some women, enter the world with unfair judgment, making them feel less about themselves. It is a misfortune that there is no way to hear their voices no matter how significant they are. It is a misfortune that some women like the characters in the film resort to ending their lives in the hope that they may gain it. It is a misfortune that some women were “trapped” by the standards of the society, by their female obligation or by their very selves. Searching for meaning of life should not be that hard if they were only given enough opportunities to maximize their full potential. If they were not deprived of their rights, if they were only protected, or if they have the due respect they deserve. Women should not be oppressed; they should be freed to the chains that limit them. Their lives too are meant to be lived. They should have the power to chase for their destiny before their time on earth is over. Bibliography Fisher, and Silber, Ellen. Women in Literature: Reading Through the Lens of Gender. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2003 Gaido, Daniel. The Myth of Woman’s Inferiority. 15.2 (1954): 58-66. Print. Harbarth Janice Mary. Thinking "straight": Heteronormativity and Associated Outcomes Across Sexual Orientation.2008. Print. Katzman, David. TV and American Culture. 39:2 (Summer 1998). Print. Healey, Jospeh. Diversity and Society: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender. Pine Forge Press. 2011. Read More