Male-Female Relations in American Beauty
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Feminist theorists often analyze society in terms of gender relations and specifically in terms of how issues of differential power affect gender relations. Society today asserts that men and women are equal, but this is not the case in practical terms. They may be treated equally under the law, but they are not treated equally in most respects. They simply do not have the same opportunities in the business world, for instance, and even gender relations are shaped more by what society decides is correct than by individual desires. The plight of women in society has been addressed by a number of feminist theorists as diverse as Mary Wollstonecraft in the eighteenth century and Catherine MacKinnon and Carole Gilligan more recently. These issues have also been addressed in a number of films as well, and a film like American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999) reflects many of the same concerns as these theorists have discussed. American Beauty is a film about the modern American family. It is also one of many films in recent years suggesting that the ideal of the suburban way of life is false. Male-female relations are also a central issue in the film, and the two main characters are a husband and wife in a disintegrating marriage. The Burnhams barely speak to one another most of the time, and when they do, they fight. This is a clearly dysfunctional family, and it is implied by the title that this condition is endemic in American society. The way the story of the Burnhams pl
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Wollstonecraft's essential themes in Vindication of the Rights of Woman are directed toward removing the stigma from women and recognizing that women and men are not as different as they have been made out to be. The roles women are given in society are artificial and ignore the real values embodied in women:
I have already inveighed against the custom of confining girls to their needle, and shutting them out from all political and civil employments; for by thus narrowing their minds they are rendered unfit to fulfil the peculiar duties which nature has assigned them (Wollstonecraft 169).
Carolyn shows the tension between the two roles for women, for though she seeks a place in the business world, she also plays the role of the perfect homemaker, fearful of having a bit of dust in the house, lint on the floor, or a mark on the sofa. Carolyn is only acting out the role society says she should. Carole Gilligan offers a view of psychological theory and women's development and says that psychology has systematically failed to understand women and has misrepresented their motives and their actions. Developmental theories have been structured on observation of men's lives and then applied to women's lives, not recognizing th
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1898
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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