Whale Rider

In Whale Rider, by Niki Caro, a young girl named
Paikea proves her worthiness to her family and to herself. She has a driven
soul. She is determined. She enters life through a tragic situation yet shows
immense love to those around her. She is direct and energetic. She is wise and
powerful. She is Paikea.

Paikea, an adventurous spirit, stays true to
herself even though her grandfather, the main male role in her life, tells her
not to act the way she does. She stays true to herself by going against her grandfather
and learning the old ways of a chief which makes her a counter-stereotype. She
seeks out her uncle to teach her how to use the Taiaha, knowing it will make
her grandfather angry. Yet, she learns and she perseveres. Rubaiyat Hossain explains in
her article Female Directors, Female
Gaze:The Search for Female Subjectivity in Film “men and women don’t live the same reality. They
belong to different plains of power and are meant to see different versions of
the same images as they both stare at one single object, or truth, or reality”
(Hossain, 2011). Paikea knows in her heart that she can learn the
old ways of a chief but her grandfather refuses to think the same because of
Paikea’s gender. “The difference between a
young girl and boy is that the girl, as lack, is constituted as a site of negativity…”
(Hossain, 2011). This quote from Hossain emphasizes the different perspectives
of genders in the film and how Paikea’s grandfather does not see her as worthy
enough. Despite her grandfather not believing in her, Paikea perseveres and
proves how worthy she is.

 

Paikea empowers both women and men. She proves she
can do what a man does, if not better than a man. She not only makes her
grandmother and the local women proud of her accomplishments but she makes the
men in the village proud as well. She proves that females are strong. “When at
their best, movies give birth to new visions of female strength and freedom.” (Kord,
Krimmer. 2005) Whale Rider is a powerful film that paves the way for women to
empower those around them. It proves that sometimes you must go against those
you love the most in order to show your value. Even though going against one’s
loved ones is challenging and not the norm, it can make a huge difference and
change the negative opinions into positive ones.

In Whale Rider, Paikea takes her own path and does it for herself because she truly knows she can do it. In most films, the females do not take their own path; instead they follow that of others. They do not want to disobey. Whale Rider shows that you can succeed even with only one person on your side. Too many films show characters depending on others for success, but Whale Rider shows how success is what you make of it. Success depends on your ability to try. Whale Rider shows a different kind of cinema, one that is not normally portrayed but hidden. For instance, the premise of the film is that of tragedy, a family that was ripped apart. Most films have a complete family and tend not to show deep tragedy. It is often a breath of fresh air to see that a director is capturing real-life tragedy rather than picture perfect endings.

References:

Caro, N., Ihimaera, W. (2002). Whale Rider. New Zealand: South Pacific Pictures.

Kord, S., Krimmer, E. (2005). Hollywood. Canopy.

Hossain, R. (2011). Female directors, female gaze:
the search for female subjectivity in film. Retrieved from http://rubaiyat-hossain.com/2011/06/13/265/

Mildred Pierce

In her article, “The Genre”,
Jeanine Basinger says there are 3 main purposes of the Woman’s Film. Which
purpose do you think best describes the messages in Mildred
Pierce? 

Mildred Pierce: mother or wife; which is she?

When we first see Mildred in Mildred Pierce, she is struggling to make a decision: jump and end her life or not. Throughout the film she is riddled with choices and decisions that must be made. According to The Genre by Jeanine Basinger, there are three purposes for a Woman’s Film; the purpose of Mildred Pierce is “Liberation: What Other Choices Do I Have?” (Basinger, 1995, p. 13). Mildred tries to juggle the roles mentioned above but does not succeed; because, having two things is not permitted. She cannot be a wife and a mother; a wife and a business woman; she cannot have a business and a family; she cannot even have two daughters. She cannot escape her choices and there was not a moment where she was not faced with an emotional, social or psychological dilemma (Basinger, 1995, p. 20). So which is she; which role does Mildred ultimately choose? Mildred cannot escape her first dilemma as she is brought back to her first choice; separating from her first husband and choosing to focus on being a mother. Through the events in the film, the choice is made for her; she is seen leaving with her first husband, implying that she is, yet again, his wife.

Into which Women’s Film category
(Molly Haskell’s four categories) would you place Mildred Pierce?

Sacrifice, affliction, choice and competition, the four categories from Molly Haskell, are all apparent in the film Mildred Pierce. The most prominent category, however, is that of sacrifice.  Mildred sacrifices everything for her children. “I’ll do the best I can for them. If I can’t do it with you, I’ll do it alone.” (Mildred Pierce, 1945) She sacrifices her marriage, her friendships and even the business she built to provide for her children. She is a very determined woman whose sole existence is to give her children everything she never had. She works endlessly to succeed and rarely comes out the winner. She experiences many dark moments and despite her relentless nature, her sacrifices do not end well for either of her children.

Robin Morrison contends that
Mildred cannot be seen as a “good mother” because she’s working outside the home
– in what ways is she shown to be a “bad mother”?

Mildred Pierce takes place in the 1930’s, a time when the woman’s place was in the home; Mildred was to be a doting wife and mother. According to Robin Morrison, the author of Mildred Pierce and His Girl Friday: Portrait of Working Women in the Pre- and Post- World War Period, Mildred was a bad mother. Mildred stepped out of her role as a good mother and portrayed a bad mother. Her place was in the home, but she chose to work. A good mother does not work outside of the home; a good mother is employed by her family thus only works for them. As Mildred went into the working world and became self-employed, she put a lot of things in jeopardy. She jeopardized her children, and in turn lost them both. She jeopardized her business; even though she started her business for her children, she abused her business by giving her eldest money from the business, and in the end lost both business and child. These are all examples of how Mildred is a bad mother because she did not learn her lesson and stay at home. (Morrison, p. 4)

Kathryn D’Alessandro describes
how many of the visual images in Mildred Pierce are
reminiscent of film noir. Explain how.

Mildred Pierce has many attributes that make a Film Noir. The first scene where we see Mildred is shot at night, and continues into a dark, dimly lit bar. In this bar, only half of her face is lit during her conversations, continuing the tone of the beginning murder scene. Later, as she lures a man to the beach house to frame him for the murder, he is seen frantically trying to escape the scene. As he is looking for an exit, his shadow is cast on the walls, creating different shapes and adding suspense to his panicked fleeing. Because the film is based around a murder, the narration takes place in a police station. As Mildred nervously waits to be questioned by the detective, a set of sounds enhances her feelings. The ticking of the clock is incessant, then the sound of a newspaper; the turning of a knob; whistling from a man; another newspaper and finally the phone buzzer which indicates that Mildred’s time is up and the detective needs answers. Therefore, Mildred Pierce not only is a Woman’s Film but in many ways is also a Film Noir.

Mildred Pierce is representative of a mix between the “male gaze” and the “female gaze”. Who plays the femme fatale and how does she fit this stereotype?

Veda: vindictive, selfish, manipulative and yet beautiful. Mildred’s eldest daughter is a beautiful young lady, with a lot of potential. Veda is extremely materialistic, also thinking of herself as better than lower class people. She needs to be viewed by others and to be seen in quality clothes, she refuses to wear clothing that is not up to her standards. Veda follows the idea “she is only useful as long as men want to look at her”. (Johanson, M. 2010, June 14). Veda mentions to her sister Kay how she should take more care of her appearance, implying that it is for the interest of boys. Veda’s view is that she is to be visually appealing to men, this is her role. Veda perfectly fits the femme fatale stereotype; she is money driven. She manipulates men in order to get money because working is beneath her. She will bring harm to the people in her life; bringing danger and death to the men she uses.

Sources:

Wald, J., & Curtiz, M.(1945). Mildred Pierce. Hollywood, U.S.A.: Warner Bros.

Morrison, R. (1998). Mildred Pierce and His Girl Friday: Portrait of Working Women in the Pre- and Post- World War Period. Hollywood, U.S.A.: The Dream Factory.

Basinger, J. (1995). The Genre. New York :Knopf

D’Alessandro, K. (2002). Linking Styles: “Mildred Pierce”. Audience Magazine.

Johanson, M. (2010, June 14).Defining the female gaze. Retrieved from http://www.flickfilosopher.com/2010/06/defining-the-female-gaze.html.

Introduction

Welcome! I created this blog as part of my course at George Brown College. The topic is Women in Film and I will be posting lots of goodies in relation with this. Please feel free to read and comment!

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