Friday, February 18, 2011

Invasion of the Body Snatchers(1956)

In class we discussed Invasion of the Body Snatchers(1956) poor depiction of women in the film. However when thinking back on the feminine qualities these characters possessed, I also remembered that these same characteristics may have allowed the women to notice the changes that were occurring in the town. The women would have been more sensitive to their emotions and the emotions of those around them. I believe the reason women did not take a more prominent role like in the Alien (1979) is because it would have been too radical an idea for the time period. If the women had played a role outside of the stereotype for the era (or the reality of the time period) the film would have been addressing issues other than communism and addressing an issue that has not even fully been addressed today (such as unequal pay). And yes looking back on this film we say it is a stereotype but when we ask ourselves to think back honestly this was the reality of the era. Remember that UNC-CH did not allow female students to be admitted as freshman until 1966 and even by 1977 when my mother graduated Dental school at UNC there were only 2 other females in her class.

1 comment:

  1. You make some good points about the female characters in body snatchers. I also felt like the women in “Body Snatchers” were more in tune to what was going on among in town more than the male characters. They were definitely more emotional and fragile but they suspected what was going on and then came to the doctor for help. He then happened to take their observations as his own later on in the film. I was also struck by the fact that he finishes Becky’s sentences a lot making him seem more intelligent- like when they are looking at the bustling crowd at 7 AM. However, I do understand that the film is just a product of it’s time and environment, which didn’t perpetuate a very liberated image of women in general beyond that of the housewife. But I think the film does have a semi liberated undertone with the two main characters being divorcees which was considered scandalous for the times.

    -Jordan

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