Gender Inequality in Oleanna - Movie Review Example

Oleanne Introduction We have seen many movies which have raised various kinds of messages containing issues of society and public and one among it isthe story of “ Oleanne”. This movie “Oleanne” is based on the play written by David Mamet and it introspect the relationship of a student and a professor from a wider angle. In this play “Oleanne”, Carol the student and John the professor alone are the two characters. Carol is a female student who has incompetency in studying and as a result she approaches her lecturer which brings much twist to the story. Carol in her frustration approaches John outside school premises which brings in an amicable understanding between both .John developing empathy for her agrees to give her an A grade in her studies but he showcase a want of physical closeness. This provokes Carol to raise complaint against John for sexual exploitation. So in this movie, we can see that Carol is exploited by her professor in some way and this truly is a case of materialism and gender inequality. In this story the character Carol had to approach John as his lectures were too much of a burden for this struggling student to absorb.His overly verbose lectures were not in alignment with the capability of Carol and this lead her to approach him in private. Here in the play we can see that many times John had placed hand over Carol’s shoulder which indicates a leniency for sexual advancement. Even though Carol had mentioned about sexual assault we can see that she also developed a compassion for her teacher which cannot be neglected. Glimpse of the Movie In the movie, we can see that Carol is a struggling student and the narration of subject by the teacher is not absorbable by her. Here we cannot blame Carol because lecturers need to understand that every student has a unique studying capability and hence lectures need to be simple and explanative. So due to the inadequacy of the teacher the students had to approach him to enquire more about the subject. Here we can see that the weakness of Carol is taken as an advantage by the professor. Why our society is materialistic? Basically the answer is that men have always seen women as a sexual object and how much ever developed a society is her position has not changed enough. We can understand through this movie that men does not think about the insecurity of Carol when she approached her professor for help. Even if Carol made a wrong move it is the duty of the teacher to protect her from evil thoughts. But in this movie, the professor on various occasions prompted her to indulge in sexual encounter and the girl somehow was confused as she wanted to pass the test. Basically, the professor has forgotten the fact that he is a married man and took advantage of the vulnerable position of a young student. As per ( Caryn) “In "Oleanna," his incendiary play about sexual harassment, a college student and her professor pace around his office hurling words at each other, actions that inspired knock-down-drag-out verbal fights in theater lobbies when the play was first produced”. We can be assured about the materialistic attitude of the professor here from the way he took advantage of the situation. He understood that his student his backward in studies and he found that this situation is best to persuade her into sexual mode. The girl called Carol is in her teenage and she has less control on her sexual preferences as they are more often controlled by fantasies and desires. This is where the professor took advantage of Carol’s situation and induced sexual motivation towards her. The professor is definitely materialistic and wanted to misuse his position as a teacher. According to (Pagille)“Materialism and worldly ambition have corrupted the faculty of the elite schools, an issue completely ignored in our over-politicized culture wars”. On the other side, audience has the right to question the materialistic tendency of the girl. This assumption cannot be disregarded because the girl wanted to pass in her studies and she was being free with her professor for a favor. Carol knew that she was going to get a favor from her professor and in such a condition she needs to be cautious but also she developed a likeness for John. She knew very well that her professor is married and even after that to get her need done she adjusted to the physical closeness to an extent. But considering her age, one can disregard her behavior to a level. Anyway, the professor repeatedly showcasing mental and physical closeness to this struggling student can be perfectly tagged as materialism. The materialistic attitude of John John is materialistic in this movie on many occasions as he tried to utilize Carol in a physical manner when she was in need of his favor. Well! Everyone who has watched the movie can understand that John offered Carol a favor for a price. Especially, when it comes to a professor and student relationship there is always a chance for the former to exploit the latter. For example, if a child needs a favor from his/her parents, he/she might behave well with them and once it is done they come back to their previous attitude. In the movie, Carol is a young woman and wanted favor from john and he without any regret tried to make use of the situation. Now we can see that the professor was comfortable with Carol when she approached him for tuition. But this in no way means that she is comfortable with her situation being a struggling student. So the uncomfortable situation of Carol is not recognized by the professor as he was opportunist and materialistic. We can relate this scene to the following statement. According to (Lee) “Just because it wouldn’t have made me personally uncomfortable, doesn’t mean that it won’t make someone else”. If John was a good teacher he would not have made a sexual advance to Carol at least considering her age and position as a student. So this is a clear case of sexual assault and a materialistic move from John the professor. Materialism is a part of campus and often male teachers take advantage of young male and female students at many occasions. In this play, the character which is getting exploited is a female while male students also come under sexual attack from professors. Here, John should have understood the slow learning capacity of Carol and must have helped her in a formal manner. Instead, when Carol approached him for tuition he placed hand on her shoulder several times which provoked her to connect with him. This is truly a scenario of World War Two era where high school education was a democratic ideal and students were desperate to earn academic certificates. Carol as a victim In this movie, there are only two characters as one can see it is Carol the student and John her professor and the former is a victim here. Now John is a professor who delivers lecture which is difficult to be understood by Carol. So she approaches her professor only to understand the subject more deeply but John being an elder and a teacher has invaded on her privacy. Naturally, any student will be intimidated when a proposal is kept by her teacher to make her succeed in a subject which she has difficulty in. So, Carol is definitely a victim in this movie .In his journal ( Bourne 4) writes that “she grows only more agitated, and when he attempts to calm her by placing his hands on her shoulders, Carol storms out of the office angry and frustrated”. Also we need to think about Carol’s past that means whether she had to confront sexual assaults from any member of the society previously. In such cases, it is normal for any women to consider any bodily advances from men as a threat. Carol had no intention of physical closeness with John but after they started meeting she started developing affection for him. She knew that John wants to have a sexual favor from him otherwise he would not have placed hands on her shoulder couple of times. The actions from John like grabbing the wrist and placing hands on shoulder can frighten a girl at a tender age. She can only feel one thing that is sexual harassment. In his writing (Ferdy) mentions that “The tragedy of their Oleanna is that neither are true believers in the power of education; instead, their cynical pretensions barely conceal that they have each put their faith in power and hierarchy to get ahead”. Carol might be respecting her teacher but she was seduced by him and then in her naivety she told him not to confess the physical advancement to his wife. She is alone and her meeting with professor and favor from him was a secret. She has no one to support or confess to and hence she has no choice but to admit to her professor’s whims and fancies. So again and again we can be assured that Carol has been intimidated and exploited by her professor. For example a woman travelling in a bus can be exploited by a man if she accidently touches him while travelling. The man can assume that the women purposely touched him and he can make sexual advancement to her. Generally, women always have been a victim like Carol and her weakness was an advantage for professor at many moments. Gender Inequality in the movie In this movie, we can see that Carol is a student who approaches her Professor with an aim to learn a subject which she had difficulty in. And getting favor from a man in those times was not an easy task. Carol is young and the professor did advance sexually towards her by catching wrist and holding shoulders. This is a whistle blower as Carol understood that she is under sexual threat. It does showcase a sexual harassment scene. In early times like those of Carol and John, many positions like that of lecturers and principal were held by men and females were not seen much in academic position in a campus. So gender inequality was an issue in those days and men did under estimate women in many ways. According (Rich) “If we think otherwise, we can understand that being a young woman she was looking for support, comfort and security from her lecturer”. John was to her a mentor and teacher but his awkward behavior startled her and she had no one to confess regarding this matter. She was already insecure regarding her studies and moreover a physical closeness exhibited by John makes her more frightened. So just because she is a female he has an advantage over her. Hence this is a serious movie on gender inequality and exploitation.6 Conclusion “Oleanna” is a movie which talks about many issues like materialism and gender inequality that exists in a campus environment .Mamet has taken a fragile character like Carol and a subdued character called John to showcase the campus politics around world. Materialism and gender inequality is not limited to one community but it is a truth existing around the world. In this movie, Carol would not have approached her professor if she was following his lectures. Instead her inability to learn provoked her to see John and there started the sexual exploiting behavior of John which is evident throughout the movie. According to John is married and Carol is young maiden and her meeting with former was an excellent opportunity for him to court her.She needed favor and he could very well make use of the helpless state of Carol which he did for sure. So to make her pass the test she had to submit to his will and hence materialism is definitely an issue here. So John is materialistic and carol being a young student just wanted success in her academic career .Unfortunately, carol is subjected to gender inequality and sexual victimization also. Work Cited Bourne, M, 2003. Oleanne. DVD, 2/6, 3-10 Caryn,James. 1994. Oleanna (1994) FILM REVIEW; Mamets Lesson in Sexual Harassment. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B02EFD9143EF93 7A35752C1A962958260. [Accessed 05 December 14] Ferdy. 2010. oleanna. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2010/oleanna-1994/5529/. [Accessed 05 December 14]. Rich, Frank. Review/Theater: Oleanna; Mamets New Play Detonates The Fury of Sexual Harassment. The New york Times, 1992. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. . Pagille, Camile. The Real Lesson of Oleanna? : David Mamets play is now a film, and while deftly exposing the complexity of sexual harassment cases, it also takes on another subject long overdue for study: educatio. Los Angeles Times, 1994. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. . Thomas, Lee. The oleanne argument. Brunswickan, 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. e uncomfortable . Read More