Feministic justice and revenge upon patriarchal misogynists - Essay Example

Feministic justice and revenge upon patriarchal misogynists Abuse, rape, mutilation, murder and general violence against women is often portrayed in film. Crime against, and subjugation of the female gender is a subject that transcends cultural and geographical boundaries. Less common though, is the portrayal of acts of revenge by the female victims. The three films “Girl With A Dragon Tattoo” (Arden Oplev, 2009), “Bandit Queen” (Shekhar, 1994) and “The Edge of Heaven” (Akin, 2007) each portray heroines that are subjected to violence by patriarchal figures. The responses of the characters and/or legal systems in the search for justice for these attacks, and the level of gender equality depicted varies according to the countries and cultural background of the films’ characters. In “Girl With A Dragon Tattoo” and “Bandit Queen” the heroines conduct acts of feministic revenge against misogynistic, patriarchal characters. In the Edge of Reason however, justice is found through the legal system, if at all. Each film is set in different social and cultural contexts, and from a different film genre. The first film is based in Sweden – Europe [genre: psychological thriller], the second in Utter Pradesh - North India [drama, true-life crime, biopic], and the third in Germany and Turkey – Europe/Middle East [drama]. All of these countries have ministries dedicated to gender equality (Beckman ; Bundesregierung ; Çubukç and Civele; Kishor and Gupta). Their levels of success vary greatly, as highlighted in a 2007 World Economic Forum Report (Hausmann, Tyson and Zahidi) that rates Sweden as number 1, India 114th, Germany 7th, and Turkey 121st. This demonstrates the stark differences in contemporary attitudes to the female gender in these societies and relates to the portrayal of women in the modern films discussed. 1. Cultural attitudes to gender equality 1960’s - present The achievement of gender equality is an ongoing progress. Two of the films demonstrate changes to cultural attitudes of gender equality through the passage of time in their specific countries. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo [GDT] is based in modern day Sweden but references to past events from the 1960’s and 1980’s. Whilst Harriet’s murder of her father Gottfreid in the 1960’s was an act of fear, and arguably self defense, Lisbeth’s murder of her abusive stepfather as a young teenager in the 1980’s was a calculated act of vengeance. This act did however, land her in psychiatric care. By the present time, Lisbeth’s vengeful attacks upon Bjerger and Martin are calculated, planned [in the case of the former] and in the context of the film, portrayed as justified. She walks away a free woman at the end of the film with only minor debate between herself and investigative journalist Mikael required to justify her actions. Women’s role in western society has changed greatly from the 1960’s to present. The teenage Harriet was the product of a post war society where women had gained many rights but were still subjects of a patriarchal society. In this setting, murder of a patriarch as an act of self-defense is in context with 1960’s western culture. By the 1980’s women in Sweden were increasingly independent and equal. Lisbeth, a product of the 1980’s first took revenge in this era and suffered the consequences of a culture which had failed to protect her from her abuser. By the present time, with gender equality a cultural norm in Sweden, wherein women are seen to be physically and mentally strong, Lisbeth’s actions are in context with a modern, equal feminine social position. The Bandit Queen [BQ] documents events of Phoolan’s [the heroine’s] life from the 1960’s to 1990’s. In 1968 Phoolan was married at the age of 12 to an older man; a standard cultural practice in India at this time but arguably an act of abuse in its own right. She was abused by her husband and many men in positions of authority thereafter, throughout the 1970’s and up to 1980 with no means of justice available to her in a staunchly patriarchal society. In the late 1970’s she exacted revenge on her abusive husband and then in 1981 upon her village’s high caste members who had abused and banished her. Her ability to lead her own gang by 1981 shows that women’s position in society could be, in extreme cases, one of authority. But for all her acts of vengeance she was aided by men. This could equally be interpreted as woman’s ability to lead and control men in extreme cases or their need of them for support in the act of physical violence. In either context the woman is not seen as a cultural equal. This lack of equality is personified by beatings, rape and the humiliation of Phoolan by her old gang leader in 1980 for her audacity at acting as an “equal”. Phoolan’s release from prison in 1994 [she surrendered to police in 1983] with all charges dropped could be argued to demonstrate a change in Indian society’s attitudes to women by the 1990’s. She was seen as a victim of abuse, shamed and humiliated who exacted her revenge after years of torment. She was no longer blamed herself for the events as women in Indian patriarchal societies had traditionally been [as per her banishment from her village]; she was recognised as a victim but still not necessarily as an equal. 2. Socio-geographical attitudes to gender equality In The Edge of Heaven [EH] differences in attitudes to gender are portrayed culturally and socio-geographically rather than through the passage of time. Based in two countries with great differences in laws and attitudes to gender equality the film crosses cultural boundaries by placing its heroines in foreign cultures. In Germany, justice for the death of Turkish immigrant Yeter at the hands of Ali [also a Turkish immigrant] is found through the court of law. In Turkey, the film does not show that any justice was served at all for the shooting of German visitor Lotte. The film portrays an image that suggests Turkish attitudes to gender violence are more akin to 1960’s Europe than modern day Europe. In the film, Turkish men can and do attack women and the women do not retaliate. The women are not portrayed as a violent equal to men and it is only through modern German law that justice is found. 3. Patriarchal misogynistic abuse of power All three films evidence the abuse and/or murder of women by patriarchal figures; men in positions of authority who abuse their power. In EH Yeter is killed by a drunken, jealous and paranoid Ali who considers her his property. She is also threatened by two Turkish men in Germany who believe that they have a right to dictate her actions because she is a Turkish woman. They believe that they have a right to control Turkish women; that they are not equal even in Germany where German law states otherwise. In GDT Harriet’s abusers included her father Gottfreid and brother Martin. Gottfreid also abused, killed and mutilated Jewish women he had control over as a high powered businessman. His history as a Nazi soldier suggests that he had previously abused his power and developed his misogynistic fantastical behavior during his Nazi past. Martin and Bjerger, were also high powered businessmen. The former raped, mutilated and murdered women as taught by this father, whilst the later used his position of power as Lisbeth’s guardian to control, rape and psychologically abuse her. In BQ patriarchal abuse of power is a common theme throughout Phoolan’s life. The beatings and rape by her husband, the police and gang leaders were all acts of violence conducted by men with power over her. The abuse and banishment of Phoolan from her village by high caste village men also demonstrates a latent abuse of patriarchal power. Common to the three films is a history of patriarchal societies and culture. The modern day male abusers of GDT are all of older generations. The cultural norms of their youths are very different to those of today yet they appear to believe that they can conduct misogynistic behaviors, abusing their positions of power as though the gender equality movement had not happened. In EH and BQ the male characters are all of patriarchal societal origins and cultures. Regardless of the geographical location, even the younger characters have patriarchal societal attitudes and act accordingly. In GDT and BQ these misguided notions are turned upside down by modern women who perceive themselves as equally able to act violently, seeking justice through revenge. In EH however, the women are not portrayed as violent. They appear to be strong and determined; able to seek justice through law and equal through legal systems but not culturally equal. 4. Symbolism of equality in revenge attacks Lisbeth’s bondage, rape and physical and mental abuse at the hands of Bjerger in GDT is equally matched, like-for-like in her retaliatory attack. The equality of the attack symbolizes her like-for like equality in general. The rape of Bjerger, symbolizing that women can wield the same objects of power or torture as men, namely the phallus. Phoolan on the other hand beats her attackers in much the same manner that she herself was beaten but she uses other men to help her. Whilst Phoolan is portrayed as a violent person, she is not as strong or violent as the men. In this sense she is not portrayed as being entirely equal. Nor does she go as far as Lisbeth; she does not match the rape and abuse of her attackers. This again shows that she is not their equal in violence. 5. Conclusionary remarks In GDT and BQ acts of feministic revenge are conducted as a means of claiming justice and reclamation of power from patriarchal characters who have abused their position of power. Conversely, in EH justice is only found through the legal system. Also, in GDT and BQ the heroines escape/are free at the end of the films, this implies, either rightly or wrongly that their actions were justified in the eyes of their respective societies and cultures. In EH however two of the main characters are killed by males, one by a boy and justice was only served for Yeter’s death in Germany. The films all demonstrate recognitions of patriarchal ills conducted against women in each of the societies, and the women’s rights to seek justice. They do this in different manners however, according to the cultural norms of the films’ characters. In GDT the woman is equal in all ways and can seek a violent revenge for herself. In BQ she can be strong and violent but still requires the support of men; she is not entirely equal. In EH women only have equality in the eyes of the law. The feministic themes of revenge in GDT and BQ do not however, serve to progress any culture. There is no message that violence is not an acceptable cultural practice in any of the respective countries and the means of justice portrayed in these two films is not a common one in the real world. The actions of the real life “Bandit Queen” are an exception rather than the norm. Justice through legal action in EH is a more accurate portrayal. In spite of this, it is apparent that the cold murder and lack of justice for Lotte and the abilities of men to threaten and control Yeter show that Turkish cultural attitudes to gender equality remain far behind those of European societies. In a world of increasing gender equality however, the portrayal of gender violence against men as opposed to women is merely a dramatized portrayal of gender equality. Works Cited Akin, Fatih. The Edge of Heaven.Anka Film, 2007 Arden Oplev, Niels. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Yellow Bird, 2009. Beckman, Svante. Country Profile Sweden. Council of Europe/EHICarts, "Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, 11th edition”, 2010. April 2009. Web. 2 December 2010. . Bundesregierung, Die. Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Die Bundesregierung, 2010. Web, 11 December 2010. . Çubukç, Nimet. and Civele, Esengül. National Action Plan Gender Equality 2008 – 2013. The Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, General Directorate of the Status of Women, 2008. Web, 11 December 2010. . Hausmann, Ricardo. Tyson, Laura. D. and Zahidi, Saadia. Global Gender Gap report 2007. The World Economic Forum. Web. . Kapur, Shekhar. Bandit Queen. Lippert Productions Incorporated, 1994 Kishor, Sunita. and Gupta, Kamla. Gender equality and women’s empowerment in India 2009. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, 2009. Web. 2 December 2010. . Read More