Feminist Perspectives in the Film Mrs Doubtfire - Case Study Example

Feminist perspectives in the film Mrs. Doubtfire Introduction From time immemorial, gender specific roles have been forming and evolving. Due to certain biological, social, cultural and also historical reasons, men started to behave in a superior and dominant manner over women. As that dominant behavior by the men was visible for most part of human history, it kind of became a tradition. That is, as women were suppressed and restricted to play certain stereotypical roles, due to the above mentioned domination of men, the traditional roles of men and women emerged. On those lines, men’s traditional roles were that of a breadwinner and protector of the family, while woman’s traditional roles were that of a dutiful housewife and caretaker of the family. Although, these traditional gender roles were visible for most part of the history, in the recent centuries, these traditional roles evolved further or even broken, as woman breaking their traditional roles ventured into the society to develop their professional and social lives. Furthermore, men also started to share the household responsibilities. Thus, it is clear that those traditional roles were broken and also reversed. This reversal of traditional roles is visible in the 1993 comedy film Mrs. Doubtfire, where the man of the family takes care of the children in disguise, while the woman leads an independent professional career. Although, the reversal appears to be engineered because of scripting demands, it reflects how the traditional roles of men and women evolving in the contemporary times. This paper will use the feminist lens to show how the traditional gender roles were broken through the movie Mrs. Doubtfire, by first explaining about the film, then will progress into discussing ideas about feminist perspectives particularly hegemonic patriarchy, and will finally apply the theories to the film using detailed examples from the text. Artifact – Film Mrs. Doubtfire Mrs. Doubtfire was directed by Chris Columbus using the screenplay by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon. The writers came up with the script based on the novel by Anne Fine named Alias Madame Doubtfire. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it was a commercial success and also earned critical acclaim. Made on a budget of around 25 million dollars, its worldwide box office collection reached close to 500 million dollars. It earned wholesome praise from the critics, and was featured in number of All-time list of best comedy movies, including American Film Institute’s list. The film revolves around Daniel Hillard, played by Robin Williams, as a cartoon voice actor and a doting father of three children: Lydia, Chris and Natalie. As his wife Miranda, played by Sally Field, gets divorce from him citing his irresponsible and child-like behavior, and also restricts him from seeing their three children, Daniel had to don the disguise of an old nanny. Daniel as Mrs. Doubtfire takes care of the children using both disciplining and affection mode, without revealing his identity even to his children. However, in the course of the film, his true identity is revealed first to his children (who play along with him), and then to others including his estranged wife. Due to the universal theme of husband-wife relationship and father-children relationship, the film became a part of the pop culture. In addition, as it is the first well-known use of prosthetics make-up by a male actor to portray the character of a female, it garnered good attention and thus incorporated itself into the pop culture. Apart from these reasons, its commercial success also guaranteed its spot in the pop culture, thereby justifying its choice as the artifact. Theory Section – Feminist Lens Feminist Lens critically focuses on how women have been subjugated from earlier times by the men, and how they need to break and overcome those subjugations, and live a life of freedom and equality. This subjugation is not only visible in real lives but also in fictional lives, as fictional works from literature, movies, paintings, etc, etc. have also reflected that subjugation. In that way, feminist lens particularly examines “the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women.” (Tyson, 2006, pg. 83). The traditional gender roles view men as strong, clear-cut, protective, etc., while women are cast as weak, submissive and caretaker. By forming these traditional gender roles and by further strengthening it, men have always had an upper-hand over the women, disallowing them from leading a life on their own terms. As Tyson (2006, pg. 85) aptly states, “these gender roles have been used very successfully to justify inequities, which still occur today, such as excluding women from equal access to leadership and decision-making positions” in various aspects of human living. However, due to the work of the feminists and other rights bodies, these inequalities are getting corrected in number of countries and cultures. Although, certain cultures and particularly communities still hold on to these inequalities, many have changed or forced to change because of feminist activism. Apart from activism related activities, the traditional roles changed or evolved due to the cultural changes that were happening elsewhere in the society. Tyson (2006, pg. 86) opined that “the inferior position long occupied by women in patriarchal society has been culturally, not biologically, produced”, and on the same lines the changes were produced by culture. These changes were visible in the film Mrs. Doubtfire, particularly regarding how male protagonist Daniel fulfilling the roles of a housewife, with Miranda playing the role of a professional. Research Question In this part of the paper, the focus will be on the research questions that can aid in continuing with the research project. As the book by Tyson has number of relevant research questions, the following one has been used: “What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy? How are women as well as men portrayed? How do these portrayals relate to the gender issues of the period in which the novel was written or is set? In other words, does the work reinforce or undermine patriarchal ideology?” (Tyson, 2006, pg.119). Textual Analysis The breaking of traditional gender roles can be seen through the character of Miranda. Although, the feminist theory above states, that women could be suppressed based on economic, political, social reasons, the character of Miranda allows no suppression and instead evolves into a career oriented professional woman, with economic aspects aiding in her growth. In the article, Looking through Gender Lenses: Female Stereotyping in Advertisements and Gender Roles expectations, authors Lafky et al. (1996, pg. 379) focus on how women were forced to engage in activities, which are considered less important or less valuable to society, and thereby subservient to men. However, breaking this stereotype of patriarchy, Miranda works as an interior designer and exhibits aggressive and superior characteristics in her personal and professional life. Totally breaking a woman’s traditional roles of housewife and caretaker, Miranda by coming out the walls of her home and shinning outside in her professional and social life, reflected the women of her times. Even when she is going through the divorce proceedings, she did not show any hint of being submissive and emotional, and instead was steadfast in her decision to move away from an irresponsibly behaving husband. In contrast to Sowards & Renegar’s (2004, pg. 349) words in the article The Rhetorical functions of Conciseness -raising in Third Wave Feminism, on how women will always live under the control of their fathers first, husbands or male employers, Miranda moves out of her husband without any hesitation and has the confidence and financial status to bring up her children on her own. Here again, by providing care to the children as a mother, even while working as a professional woman, Miranda has broken traditional roles that woman can only take care of their children. Burn & Ward (2005, pg. 254) in the article Mens conformity to traditional masculinity and relationship satisfaction opines that “past research supports the common stereotype that in comparison with women, men may be deficient in relationship skills.” However, when this traditional or stereotypical aspect is focused in the film, it provides different perspectives because man or father Daniel exhibits more close and understanding relationship with his children than their mother. When the divorce happens between him and Miranda, and with the custody of the children given to Miranda, the main thing that worries him is whether he will be able to see and be in touch with his children on a regular basis. He even breaks down in tears when discussing about his visitation schedule with Miranda. This clearly breaks the traditional roles of masculinity, and validates how men can also show their emotional side. This is total contrast to the traditional gender roles, as men are supposed to be strong emotionally and are not supposed to cry because crying is considered a sign of weakness and femininity. (Tyson, 2006, pg. 87). However, it is in line with the current roles played by fathers. Today’s fathers, even while carrying out their professional work, are making equal and voluntary effort like their spouses, and so Daniel acted accordingly by taking care of his children in the disguise of Mrs. Doubtfire. “Indeed, most of us have seen the growing trend in fathers’ increased involvement in the lives of their children.” (Tyson, 2006, pg. 110) Author Kim (2005, pg. 3) in his article, Popular Feminism and the Hegemonic practice of Mass Media, state how family system, which is based on “monogamy and the oppression of women by men has been the foundation of patriarchal capitalism.” In contrast to the above statement, the family in Mrs. Doubtfire does not show any hint of monogamy and oppression of women and so does not fall under the patriarchal hegemony of society. That is, with Daniel in the disguise of Mrs. Doubtfire taking care of the children and with Miranda providing for the children, there is apt equation, although it happens without the characters knowing it. In addition, in contrast to how women are oppressed in patriarchal society, men are only suppressed as they struggle with emotional responsibilities of being the parent. Although, the disguise of Daniel gets known towards the end of the film, there is no major confrontation between him and his estranged wife Miranda. Instead, opposing the patriarchal society, each character understood their roles in raising the family, without giving any hint of following the traditional roles. Miranda also accepts how the children where always happy when Daniel or even Daniel as Mrs. Doubtfire is around. Zawisza & Cinnirella (2010, pg. 1767) in the article, What Matters more Breaking Tradition or Stereotype Content? validates this point by stating how role reversal of traditional roles has led to happy families in many occasions. Conclusion From the above analysis of Mrs. Doubtfire using Feminist Lens, it is clear how the traditional roles of both the men and women were broken in the film through their main protagonists. With the mother character working as an independent woman, and the father character playing the role of the caretaker although in a disguised manner, reversal of roles has happened. This role reversal also reflects the contemporary society because in the current times, women are venturing out maximally and shinning in their professional and social life, while men are also contributing in caring for their children. Thus, it is clear that in this movie, the traditional roles are broken. References Zawisza, M., & Cinnerella, M. (2010). “What Matters more Breaking Tradition or Stereotype Content? Envious and Paternalistic Gender Stereotypes and Advertising Effectiveness.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 7(40), 1767- 1797. Burn, S. M., & Ward, A. Z. (2005). “Mens Conformity to Traditional Masculinity and Relationship Satisfaction.” Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 6(4), 254-263. Lafky, S., Duffy, M., Stienmaus, M., & Barkowitz, D. (1996). “Looking through Gendered Lenses: Female Stereotyping in Advertisements and Gender Role Expectations.” J & MC Quarterly, 73(2), 379-388. Kim, S. (2005). “Popular Feminism and the Hegemonic Practice of Mass Media: a Study of Two South Korean TV dramas.” Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-31. Sowards, S. K., & Renegar, V. R. (2004). “The Rhetorical Functions of Conciseness - Raising in Third Wave Feminism.” Communication Studies, 55(4), 535-552. Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today: a User Friendly Guide. New York, NY: Routledge. Read More