Fatal Attraction & Cape Fear

In both cases, the family is presented as ideal from the outside but as deeply flawed in reality, though the way this is seen is different in the two films. In both cases, though, gender is used as a manipulative element to draw the audience into the film and to challenge certain assumptions made by the audience. Consider first the gender shifts in Fatal Attraction. The central family unit is that of Dan Gallagher, his wife Beth, and their daughter Ellen, a six-year-old. This ideal family unit is offered as the example of "normal" gender roles, with the husband, the wife, and the child fulfilling their roles in the fam

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me and so is understandable. Dan is the male who has failed in his expected gender role. The male is expected to be the protector of his family, loyal to them first, and he fails and brings the wrath of Alex down on their heads. Another failed protector is found in the film Cape Fear, a film in which the male also cannot protect his family though he is clearly expected to do so. This is another film in which the male fails at his task of being faithful to his family. The Gallaghers are presented as an ideal couple until the day when Dan meets Alex and succumbs to his male desire for sexual experimentation; Sam Bowden in Cape Fear is a different sort, a womanizer who has not treated his wife the way he should for many years. This is a marriage that is in trouble long before the external threat to the family develops. The wife is bitter about her role in life, and the daughter is developing with a certain rebellion in response to the tensions between her mother and father. The family has recently moved to this small town in Florida for a new start, but the husband is already finding women outside the home while the wife suffers at home and makes the daughter suffer along with her. Both films echo certain gender roles that a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Dan Gallagher, Cape Fear, Max Cady, Beth Gallagher, Fatal Attraction, , Alex Gallaghers, Alex Max, Leigh Bowden, gender roles, cape fear, Fear Cady, fatal attraction, family unit, male energy, gender role, outside force, sexual predator, normal gender roles, male female, energy seen, gender roles deviant, male energy seen,
Approximate Word count = 1749
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)