Well first off the characters throughout this film seem larger than life in the sense that they do not seem to live by any social standard but instead following their own code in what seems to be a whole other universe from our own. Especially the females and especially Cleo whom seems almost heroic. She wears over the top clothing, drives a flashy car and lives an extravagant lifestyle by her own set of rules that seem to over throw even the authorities at times, meanwhile never forgetting the life she came from. "Mommy," played by Shelly Winters is also a strong female that seems to live the same type of way as Cleopatra. She is a strong female dominating in a male dominated world. Really, how many times will we ever see in real life or fiction a female character the pin head of a major drug trafficking operation? Never, is the answer; because it is usually wealthy men.
The power of feminism reins free throughout the entire film. If the protagonist in this film had been male unlike Cleo he would have been torn and tattered by the films ending. Cleopatra however never had a hair out of place or a wrinkle in site, which is entirely to strange considering Cleo seems far too exotic and feminine to be carrying a gun and man handling gangster after gangster. When first seeing Cleo one would think she was an outstanding women who had a husband and three little children running around, which how women are largely viewed, you would never think of her packing a gun. Nor, would we believe that a short, plump women with bad wigs would run an entire thug empire, again man handling her own goons and killing people because historically that was always a "mans part."
However, I do feel that every time a woman plays a strong female lead the character is almost always made out to be super hero-like, in the sense that she almost seems unreal and could never possibly be a real life woman ever. Because we all know that if anyone was to get into a fight they would never come out of it looking and smelling like a rose. Unless were you know - SuperMAN, BatMAN or ... Cleopatra Jones. Think about it, if the character was not made out to be superhuman she would seem to be a weak little girl whom got beat down repeatedly to only catch a lucky break in the end - i.e every horror movie known to man kind.
This film without a doubt uses feminism to a tee in the sense that for any real life women to be able to kick the massive but that Cleopatra did she would not only have to look great doing it but she would have to posses some sort of unnatural ability to do so.
Ok so I would like to start off by stating my position on this whole feminism thing. I know in class no one could get on an agreeance of whether or not this was a step in the right direction for women's suffrage and rights and whether or not feminism took a big slap in the face. Well, here is the thing. Not only do you have a powerful female character who kicks ass the entire movie but you have a black kick ass woman. Unheard of! This is definately a huge step for women because she held the leading role and the main villain was a female as well. And this time the women are not damsels in distress or wading behind a powerful male lead they are strong powerful women who know what they want and know how to get. Yes, she does look perfect all the time even after the fight scene. But no one in that time would have wanted to see her all beat up and gross. Women are held to such a high standard at this time in regards to image and it really has not changed today but she was a strong woman who wants to look and feel beautiful. In my opinion this movie has no effect on the progress of feminism nor does it depict women in a bad light. I believe Cleopatra in roles like this and movies like this set the pace for females in film today. Would we have the Charlie's Angels films, Wonder Woman, or Catwomen. Aside from that we have to remember that this is a film and yes people dress outlandish and are not really realistic. When it comes to making films the director and producer have to know what sells. And what in our society now and then sells? Sex. It is seen in movies with men and women. The film is meant to reach you on a physical level as well as a mental. Ultimately, what makes money is what will be used. Cleopatra is a clear occurance of this. You have sex, drugs, fighting, guns, and buttkicking. What could be better. You draw in your male audience with a sexy female lead and the blood and guts and you secure a female audience by selling the fact the lead is a female who plays a strong willed and beautiful officer of the law who knows how to get what she wants. Instant classic.
ReplyDeleteI think that women as heroes in the history of film seem to be portrayed as untouchable and invincible with the function of manifesting what is assumed to be fantasies of the female and male population. In Cleopatra Jones' case and deviating from the traditional blaxploitation formula, her character had the function of appealing to the specific audience of the urban black female, which was evident through not only the impeccably maintained style, but also through not getting hit by any of the males nor letting the relationships she had with males dominate her lives. I think the latter could have sent a dual message of independence and reliance- "I rely on others for help in my mission but by myself I am strong". If you noticed, the other black female who was with the drug dealer was portrayed as weak and in danger, sending the message that if you let yourself be manipulated by a man especially one who harms the community through drugs, you risk endangering yourself. On that note, I think there was one aspect of Cleopatra Jones that was ignored in the discussion of feminism; her dedication to her community and bettering it. This could just as easily lend itself to black nationalism or community activism then to urban feminism, but seeing as how blaxploitation is described as promoting drugs, violence, and prostitution, this deviates and places the character in a position where she is trying to strengthen rather than manage the community. I think that this actually portrays Cleo as closer to the values of the urban feminism than other portrayals would, yet at the same time makes her appealing to other members of that audience because her power is for the good of the community and not solely women.
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussion! Though Lindsay, it's not entirely clear whether what you are describing is feminism or femininity--two very different things. Also, you don't quite deal with the concepts discussed in class or the reading--this is more a review. Tiffany, you're articulating a position on a very old debate quite nicely and Alexandra, thanks for putting this back in the political context of the time.
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