300

I just saw the movie 300 for the first time this past week. This movie is about 300 spartan warriors who leave their lands to go and defeat the great emperor. Within this movie gender is depicted in traditional ways as it was in medieval times. The men are depicted as macho, touch and all powerful warriors. The women are shown to be more timid, compassionate and obedient. All women are meant to obey and answer to their husbands. The main woman in the movie appears to be strong but still does what her elders and husband tell her. The spartan men prove to represent masculinity and toughness as they defeat many armies and they do not answer to threats. They also refuse to surrender even though they are greatly outnumbered. This movie proves to represent how gender roles were depicted in ancient societies and how they have not changed much in today's society.

Taken

I recently went to see the movie "Taken" starring Liam Neeson. It is a movie about a man's daughter who gets kidnapped while on a trip to Paris for the summer. She is kidnapped by men who have a business where they kidnap women, drug them and make them become prostitutes. It is portrayed that these men make money off of these women and these women are their slaves. The man does everything he can to find his daughter and bring her back to the United States. He finds his daughter as she is being sold to the highest bidder at an auction. This movie portrays women as objects that men can sell or do what ever they want with them. The movie portrays this in a negative light and shows that certain parts of the world treat women horribly. Society in these parts of the world allow women to be treated this way. The movie shows how this is not right and that women should be treated as equals. Women should be treated with respect.

The Women

I recently watched the movie "The Women" starring Meg Ryan. It is about a group of four friends that all go through various problems with men and work. There are no men shown in this movie. The star, Meg Ryan finds out that her husband is having an affair and doesnt know what to do about it. At the beginning the movie portrays women as being weak, timid and always putting their man's life above their own. The star constantly puts her husband's needs first and neglected her own career. However, through the help of her friends and by going to a camp she comes to gain her own confidence and take back her life. She starts her own fashion line, kicks her husband out and develops a stronger relationship with her daughter. This displays how women have come to grow and become more independent in society. They begin to take on their own careers and learn that having a marriage means being equal partners. This movie is a good representation of the current values and ideals in society.