Brick Lane

Brick Lane was an interesting feminist film which gives insight into a woman named Nazneen’s life. Nazneen used to live in Bangladesh, but when she was a teenager she moved to London with her husband. The film shows Nazneen’s unhappiness in the life that she is leading. Even though she has two daughters that she loves very much, she misses her sister back home and is living with a husband who she does not love. Her husband’s character is important to understand when talking about this film. At the beginning, her husband appears to be cold-hearted, indifferent, and out of touch with his family’s feelings. However, his character evolves throughout the movie. It becomes apparent that he begins to make changes in order to try to make his family happier. For example, he plans for them to go on a vacation and he spends his time taking pictures and leading them to all of the sights that they should see. At first, the audience hates Nazneen’s husband. But, towards the end of the movie I almost felt sorry for him. He was trying to make his marriage work and be more attentive to his wife even though she was having an affair behind his back, he showed true pain and hurt when he got into an argument with his daughter, he made a very bold and intelligent speech at the Muslim meeting, and he was going back to Bangladesh while leaving his family behind. He evolves from a very simple character to one that is much more complex and this allows people to sympathize with him because he is depicted as a more realistic human being. Another important aspect of this movie to discuss would be Nazneen’s affair. At first this affair appears to be with a man that she could pursue a relationship with after her husband leaves. However, we soon come to understand that Nazneen was only physically attracted to this man. The affair is more of a representation of Nazneen’s newfound freedom rather than an actual love that she will pursue because she soon finds things about him that she does not like.

Gay and Lesbian Film

Gay and lesbians have been included in films for a while, however many times they were included as very flat characters that were looked down upon or simply included in the film to provide comic relief. Some critics say that any type of visibility of gay or lesbians in film is better than none at all whereas others disagree. Stereotyping of homosexuals was very common in films. Many times homosexuals were portrayed as “the sissy, the sad young man, the gay psychopath, the seductive androgyne, the unnatural woman, or the lesbian vampire.” Critics argue that the focus is not to eliminate stereotypes and replace them with positive images. Rather, the idea is that homosexuals should be represented as more complex and diverse rather than just simplistic and entertaining. During a certain time in Hollywood, it was deemed inappropriate to depict homosexual relationships. So, instead filmmakers used metaphors and symbolic scenes to subtly hint at homosexuality. Critics also argue that many films have homosexual undertones because obviously if a male body is shown and the audience is a mix of men and women then the males watching the film will view it as well and vice versa with a female body.

Feminism... A Confusing study

When looking at Feminism many people wonder what the real argument is. With all of the different "theories" or motivations, it is a real wonder that a solid definition can be concluded upon. There are many movies, that fall into many subcategories, which exemplify feminist ideals. When you look at things like reflection theory, it seems that many critics overshadow many of the main issues directors intend others to look at and instead focus on a very narrow minded view. This can be expressed as in ways such as having a female black slave doing demeaning work, but feminist critics who only analyze the face that there is a female doing demeaning work not that she shouldn't be doing. All of these things don't really add up to an effective argument, but it does create a starting point. However, do display positive things about women. These movies greatly bring out many of the strengths of women along with how that they can be strong and independent on an equal playing field with men. Movies such as A league of Their Own and Juno are modern examples of how women can be viewed on equal playing fields as their male counterparts.

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The French Know How Appreciate the Small Things

The French have always seemed to be good at boiling life down o its bare essentials. French thinkers, such as Sartre emphasized the fact that the world as it exists in itself has no inherent meaning, purpose, or higher goals; all of these things are products of the human imagination. Therefore, it seems logical that if we are able to construct meaningful value from high strung topics such as politics, ethics, race relations, etc, then we must also be capable of deriving meaning from simpler things, such as nature, small comedic anecdotes, or even changes in perspective. This is the sort of meaning aimed at by the French New Wave directors.
According to Jill Forbes' essay, "The French Nouvelle Vague," "...the moral message of Nouvelle Vague films was to be indistinguishable from their aesthetics..." Even though many of these New Wave films did include higher level themes such as love, social commentary, and politics, much of the focus in the films was on the minutia of everyday life. An excellent example of this would be the film "The 400 Blows," whos ending scene is shown above. The plot was driven by the story of a troubled child who was not understood or loved by his parents, causing a desire for independence and acceptance. The story included a troubled parental couple, living in a correctional facility, and juvenile delinquency. In a typical American film, these elements would have been the main focus, but at the end of this film, we don't see a neat fix for the poor boy's troubles. All we see is his satisfaction at walking in the ocean, a simple childhood fantasy.
While many viewers in this country would see that and feel frustrated at the apparent clip hanger, someone who understands the film's intention would be satisfied. Even though none of the child's problems have disappeared, (his parents have disowned him, he is alone, and is now a fugitive), this small moment in the water represents his freedom; he sees an open ocean that represents his ability to take himself anywhere he wants to go in his life, and all of that complex meaning was wrapped in a simple minute long experience. That is the power of the Nouvelle Vague; once one understands that meaning can be given to any thing on earth, one can watch the film and derive endless pleasure and satisfaction at life as it is, without the added thrills and twists that Hollywood depends on to keep its audience interested.


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