The Piano Not A Feminist Film Essay Example

The Piano Not A Feminist Film Essay Feminist Film? Yes by Rebecca Surge (1994) She Is strongly against my pollen, she views The Plano as a very feminist film. She Is a very reliable graduate student at the university of Massachusetts, Boston studying the role of women in politics. EGGS 3307: Feminist Film Studies, Feminism and The Piano blob post by zestiest (September 2008) He or she holds a slightly ambiguous opinion. There are several points in favor of my thesis but their overall opinion is hard to pin down exactly. He or she is averagely reliable. As an anonymous blob poster I cannot be ere of their identity but due to the forum they are a part of I know they were studying EGGS 3307: Film studies, Fall 2008. CAWS 3307: Ferments Film Studies, Feminism and The Piano comment on blob post by Marriage Geologies (September 2008) She Is neither overtly for or against whether The Plano Is feminist whilst covering some Interesting points for and against both sides. As above, she Is averagely reliable. As an anonymous blob poster I cannot be sure of their Identity but due to the forum they are a part of I know they were studying EGGS 3307: Feminist Film Studies, Fall 2008. We will write a custom essay sample on The Piano Not A Feminist Film specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Piano Not A Feminist Film specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Piano Not A Feminist Film specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Sexism and Misogyny: Who Takes the Rap? Misogyny, gangs rap, and The Epiphany Bell Hooks (1994) She adamantly agrees with my thesis, backing up several of my key points. She is very much regarded as an academic and feminist article writer and so is a very reliable source for me to use. On The Issues Magazine, Is The Piano A Feminist Film? No by Carolyn Gage (1994) She backs up my thesis but in a very forceful and male-denigrating manner which takes my ideas too far. She is a lesbian playwright and screenwriter based in Sonoma County, California. Highly opinionated but not very academically reliable. Jane Champions The Piano is not a feminist film. film however, on deeper analysis, this is not the case. Jane Champion is a woman who has broken certain social-bound gender boundaries in the world of film directing, a profession commonly male dominated. Through this lens one would expect her film with an opinionated female protagonist to be strongly feminist. On the surface this film appears to be so as Bell Hooks identified Champion does employ some common feminist tropes; Dad overcomes her selective mutatis, she leaves the negative man in her life and she creates a new life for herself on her own terms. There are many small events and situations scattered throughout The Piano that serve to emphasize its anti-feminism, though its really these omnipresent feminist tropes that can be flipped on their heads when examined further. The first sign that this is not a feminist film is visible from the very opening. Dads piano is her dearest possession, her only source of emotion and artistic expression. Long Chew Chant states that the piano, over Dads mute years, has become synonymous to her heart and soul and I agree. However, the film leads us to believe that her piano is not Just a tool for motional expression but sexual also, that it is a symbol of suppressed eroticism. This in itself is neither feminist nor anti-feminist. In her analysis of misogyny in The Piano, bell Hooks follows the piano throughout the film and observed t=the change in Dads relations to it. Ultimately, Dad discovers her own personal sexuality in her relationship with Beanies and at this point she suddenly ceases to need her piano at all. It goes from being her dearest possession to a mere musical tool in the face of her discovery of true love. The highly personal and individualism artistic outlet that taters most to this woman pales beside the sex a man can offer her. Bell Hooks sums this up in that The Piano advances the sexist assumption that heterosexual women will give up artistic practice to find true love. A major hallmark f modern feminism is its stand against and criticism of domestic violence of all kinds. Throughout The Piano Dad suffers multiple instances of extreme domestic violence, from having her finger chopped off with a wood axe to the equally scarring verbal threatening and intimidation. Flogger zestiest has considered that the intense mommies abuse may be trying to make a statement but I dont believe this at all mitigated the films passive acceptance of it. Such scenes are very effective to an anti- feminist end. The fact that violence towards women is viewed throughout the film as natural, as inevitable when a woman voices her own opinion, is a strong submission to the patriarchy. Thirdly, feminism dictates women standing by women. It dictates the necessity of a sense of solidarity against the patriarchy. The Piano does not do this, instead it exposes hoe=w cruel women can be to each in an effort to please men ND Katherine Dietician brings this up in her pre-Piano release interview with Jane Champion. In Joan Smiths regarded book, Misogynist, she emphasizes that woman- hating is not solely the province of men: We are all exposed to the prevailing ideology of our culture, and some women learn early on that they can prosper by aping the misogyny of men; these are the women who win provisional favor by denigrating other women, by playing on male prejudices, and by acting the mans woman. I find this Woman-hating by and to women to be nearly as strongly anti- to disagree or hold a contrary opinion to a man or to social norms, she is cut down to Just by Stewart and Beanies but also by the only two other key female characters, Enemies and Moral. These females undercutting a female mirror the misogyny undercutting any trace of feminism in this film. One scene in the film that many critics and reviewers maintain is feminist is that where Dad accepts Beanies offer to earn back her piano (by selling herself to hi as a sex toy). He originally offers to return her piano one white key at a time per her visits to see him. Dad negotiates this offer until it will returned one sharp key at a time, a smart bargain as there are inconsiderably less black than white keys on a piano. Rebecca Surge says that she believes this is an assertive move on the part of Dad, that she is manipulating this man to get what she wants. This is not the case. If this was truly a feminist film she could have, and should have, said NO. But she didnt. No wasnt an option for her due to the pre-imposed oppression of women present throughout the film. This manipulation of the agreements terms is merely one of the dynamics of her victimized. Jane Champion attempted to finish this film with a click ©d happy-ever- after. As this is not a documentary film that needs to maintain the integrity of its historical setting, if it was feminist an ending involved her breaking away from men would be expected, where she becomes her own person. Instead, Dads happy-ever- after, like her previous unhappiness, comes only through a man. Patriarchal society is restored and a nuclear family is formed. Rather than being traumatized by how Stewart has treated her, Dad is happier than ever under the protection of a male figure. This is example that she is providing for her child and that the film is providing for female viewers. As much as you and as much as she tries to break away the patriarchy will win. True happiness for a man comes in control and true happiness for a woman comes in submission. Zestiest sums this up in that only a man an provide her happiness. There is yet again another anti-feminist layer to this films ending and it is one off subtle able-ism identified by Carolyn Gage. Dad is selectively mute and one assumes this is because of some previous trauma, possibly sexual. In spite of this Dad is not disabled, she communicates effectively with those who matter to her (her daughter) through a combination of sign language and music. This mode of communication is not fully interpretable to Beanies and so he seeks to change her she concedes. He considers her disabled simply because she does not automatically fit his stereotypical mold of a woman and under his pressure she begins to learn to speak again. To quote Bell Hooks, she becomes a modest wife, wearing a veil over her mouth so that no one will see her lips struggling to speak words. Although directed by a mold-breaking female The Piano is a decidedly UN- feminist film. One could say that this is wrong as the only two men of any significance re not characters in their own right but merely plot devices for Dad. This is true but they are slightly more than that. Yes she is the only piece upon the chessboard but she cannot move without a push from one of the men. Dad is never proactive, only reactive. She has no voice, has no purpose and has no directions without these two men. This is a coming of age film in a way, as The Piano progresses Dad finds herself, who she is. Again, this seems feminist on the surface. It is not. Although Dad does find herself she only ever does so through men. She herself cannot break the spell of come along.