Representation Of Women

[obviousxenigma]

Hi everyone,

I’m new to this community, so I don’t know if this is allowed, but I need your help.

As part of my A2 Media course I have to put together a research project about Almodovar’s Representation Of Women

Any opinions or insights any of you have would be great.

For example:Are there any common factors that link the women in his films

Comments

[jonchiz67]

Hey, obviousxenigma. Welcome to the group. Good question, but I'm a little afraid to answer it because I'm no expert and haven't seen all of Almodovar's films. But since no one else has yet responded, I figure I should at least start something and maybe someone else will come and add something more profound.

So I'll state what's pretty obvious: his female characters are extremely complex and, at least the ones I can think of at the moment (in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," "All About My Mother," and "Volver") are pretty strong and manage to pick themselves up after some some rather serious blows and solve their problems without the help of men.

In thinking about what the women are, maybe it might help to think about what they are not--in contrast with the men. Look at "All About My Mother." There are very few men in that, but those we do meet, except for Celia Roth's son who's writing gives the movie its title, are very week. They either want to become women (such as Lola), or want to have kinky sexual play (such as the actor who plays Stanley), or are just completely out of it (such as Penelope Cruz' father). So unlike the majority of men in the majority of films, who are strong macho heros who are usually able to solve their problems alone.

When I think about it now, I think most of the women in Almodovar's films rely on other women. Sometimes (such as in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown") they may be a bit hesitant and selfish at first, but eventually get ahold of themselves and help out their fellow sisters.

I don't know if this helps at all and maybe I'm just overstating the obvious, but maybe it will give you a start. I wish you luck.