Representation of Women in The Battle of Algiers and Memories of Underdevelopment - Research Paper Example

The Representation of Women in The Battle of Algiers and Memories of Underdevelopment Candi Number of the Date of Submission Total Number of Words: 2,000 Introduction ‘The Battle of Algiers’ (1965) is a film about war which took place in Algeria between the years 1954 – 1962 against the French colonial rule in the North Africa. This film has some scenes that enable the viewers take note of the racial and gender representation of a direct relationship with war1. On the other hand, ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ (1968) is a seminal 1968 Latin American film from Cuba. Unlike ‘The Battle of Algiers’, ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ is more focused on showing how it is like living in an underdeveloped country in relation to social changes. Within a given period of time, the role of women within a society changes depending on the socio-economic and political influences within a nation. In line with this, the different role that women played in the films ‘The Battle of Algiers’ and ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ will be thoroughly discussed. As part of going through the main discussion, significant ways in which women were represented in both films will be compared and contrast. Role of Women in ‘The Battle of Algiers’ Aiming to uplift the socio-cultural morality in the film ‘The Battle of Algiers’, the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) or the National Liberation Front was an Algerian party that was focused on their mission of cleaning up the immoral elements which includes alcoholism, prostitution, and other unsavoury citizens in Casbah1. Casbah being an Islamic community is very conservative by nature. For this reason, the mission of FLN aimed at stopping the act of victimising one’s own people. Since Algeria functions in a patriarchal regime, the Algerian women were often seen as sex objects. In line with this, one of the most unforgettable scene in ‘The Battle of Algiers’ is when the Algerian women joined the ranks of resistance against imperialism wherein these women transform themselves into their French counterparts. To protect the Algerian women from being seen as a sex object, the veil or burqua was used to make women inaccessible to men’s eyes2. On the other hand, the Algerian women have the option to decide to dodge the panopticon vigilance of men as their colonisers by giving up their veils. Women play a crucial role within a nation due to the fact that women are the ones who conceive, take care, and nurture the future generations. Likewise, it is women who take care of the needs of the Algerian men. Therefore, Algerian men protect their women from immorality and unaccepted social behaviours which could cause humiliation and crush the pride of the head of the family. Women just like men wanted democracy rather than being under the influence of a war. In the film ‘The Battle of Algiers’, Algerian women participated in supporting men win the war by hiding guns and bombs on behalf of men. There were also some incidence wherein some of the Algerian women were called to hide Jaffar and Ali la Pointe from the attackers4. In the film ‘The Battle of Algiers’, Gillo Pontecorvo – the director of the film elevated the role of women in terms of their willingness and ability to fight for their own independence4. In line with this, the scene wherein the four bombs were planted by Fatiha, Hassida, and two more other young women in cafés, the Air France office, and in some parts of the European city show the world how serious and powerful FLN was in terms of making women regain their human rights against prostitution and war6. Women are often seen as a weak individual who is not capable of committing physical harm to other people. Likewise, Algerian women are conservative by nature because of their religious beliefs. In order to make the French soldiers attracted to Algerian women, some of the young Algerian women had to put on some less conservative clothes and put down their long hair. Because of the beauty women possess, Algerian women were able to sneak out some bombs at the checkpoint area since the French soldiers were flirting with some young women in the area6. This made the Algerian women successful in terms of planting the bomb in places where they were assigned to do so. Role of Women in ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ The film ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ revealed a story wherein the colonialism took place differently as compared to ‘The Battle of Algiers’. In the film ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’, the film focused on the survival of Cuba against a dictatorial regime. The protagonist in this film named Sergio – a wealthy bourgeois aspiring writer who favoured the idea of revolution which made him refused to leave the country. Unlike the other men in the film, Sergio’s personal point-of-view with regards to Cuba’s survival against the dictatorial regime is totally different from what other men would normally do. This is the main reason why it was noted that “Sergio is always heading in the other direction from everyone else3. Women are often being exploited by men. In line with this, the role of women in the film ‘The Battle of Algiers’ can be noted around Sergio’s wife Laura and his girlfriends Elena and Hanna. Considering the challenges that Sergio and his wife Laura has gone through over many years, the fact that his marriage has gone stale made Sergio enter into another relationship with two young women in Cuba. This is a good example wherein women in general are in less advantageous position when it comes to male and female relationships and that most men often show their machismo image within the society. Elena being a young woman is always looking for adventure but trapped inside an oppressive family situation4. In line with this, we have seen in the film how Sergio’s girlfriend Elena acted and influenced Sergio in the unfolding of revolution in Cuba. Sergio always wanted to live like a European but his girlfriend was forcing him to live the life in underdeveloped society. Similar to the case of Elena, Hanna – a young German high school student was also courted by Sergio. This scenario shows the vulnerable side of women in general and how easily women can become a victim of a promiscuous relationship. Even though Sergio has tried to mould the way of living of these two young women, the mentality, preferred way of living, and the personal outlook of these Elena and Hanna remained strong. This made Sergio challenged to influence how these two women live their lives in a more developed way. Young women within an underdeveloped society are often being influenced between parents or family members and the promiscuous nature of men from developed and underdeveloped countries. In the film ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’, it was shown how young women from underdeveloped countries fight for their dignity when Elena’s family members blackmailed Sergio to marry Elena because he made her pregnant3. Discussion Both the director of ‘The Battle of Algiers’ and ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ were able to show the strength and weaknesses of women with regards to their special role within the society. Despite the fact that the women’s role is important in terms of conceiving, taking care, and nurturing the future generations of our society, it remains a fact that women are often a victim of sexual exploitation. There are also some instances wherein women within a society are treated lower by some men. Women’s body is often considered as the body of the nation. Therefore, women should be treated with respect and love. In the case of a war, raping a woman is considered an act of ravishing the motherland. In the film ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’, Elena’s inconsistent and infantile character and behaviour with regards to the issue on revolution can be considered as a sign of underdevelopment. On the other hand, the women within a society that is under a war are often abused sexually as a way of demoralizing or humiliating the people within a country. In line with this, the colonial administration in the film ‘The Battle of Algiers’ defined a political doctrine stating that “If we want to destroy the structure of Algerian society, its capacity for resistance, we must first of all conquer the women; we must go and find them behind the veil where they hide themselves and in the houses where the men keep them out of sight”5. This statement is a clear and direct way of showing how women in the past had been abused sexually. Despite women’s weaknesses within the society, women also possess some strength. In the last few scenes of the film ‘The Battle of Algiers’, the need for Algerian women to wave their flag in the face of the French army can be considered another significant role of women. Using women’s gentleness and femininity, Algerian women were able to carry explosive bombs in their bags which they push under tables and/or chairs without being suspected by the French soldiers. This scenario symbolizes the act of fearlessly and tirelessly resisting against defeat. Conclusion The story behind ‘The Battle of Algiers’ and ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ have different ways of representing the role of women within a society. For a long period of time, women have been fighting against colonial forces from men. Because of the conservative upbringing of women in an underdeveloped country, poverty and lack of education, men coming from developed countries could easily persuade and lure these women to enter into a relationship because of men’s sexual desire over young women’s body. Up to the present time, this kind of societal problem is often seen in underdeveloped countries like Cuba. In case of a war, women have their own strength and weaknesses which can significantly affect the ability of a country to win the war. By nature, men can easily be lured by a woman’s body. For this reason, women should develop and make use of their femininity and charm to their advantage. The film ‘The Battle of Algiers’ clearly gave us a good example of women’s role in case of a war. Since women can easily win the lure their men by flirting or showing some skin, women are able to make and implement a plan without causing the man to suspect of her plans. This made the Algerian women play a crucial role during the war between Algeria and France between the years 1954 – 1962. Since the body of women attracts men sexually, women are often a victim of sexual abuse especially in case of a war. This is the time wherein Soldiers would take advantage of women sexually by raping them. With regards to this matter, the attackers often times view this action as a way of dehumanizing and winning against their opponents. Endnotes Read More