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

[orpheus78]

First of all welcome to the community! :O)

One way that some of the women in Almodovar’s films are connected is that they are seeking refuge, and usually find it at the hands of other women. We see it in All About My Mother when Penelope Cruz’s character-a disgraced nun of sorts-seeks refuge in the house of woman who’s pretty much a stranger. We also see it in Dark Habits when a night club singer hides from the police in a nunnery, and we see it in Volver with the mother. In these three films, troubled women leave their surroundings and seek out refuge in other women, which yields mixed results. However, all three films seem to make the argument that women, who are often very different from one another, can come together and help each other.

I also like the fact that Almodovar has had some interesting things to say about nuns, which tend to embody the concept of ‘sisterhood,’ particularly in Catholic countries. In the film Dark Habits we get a group of nuns than engage in drug use and other behavior that’s less than socially acceptable. One reason for having nuns portrayed like this stems from Almodovar’s cynicism towards Catholic institutions. However, the nuns in this particular film do represent a form of sisterhood-a perverse sisterhood, but a sisterhood nonetheless. The nuns are able to engage in socially unacceptable behavior within the walls of the nunnery because they usually just have to answer to each other. The nuns often "turn a blind eye" with each other when it’s convenient. Therefore, creating a sisterhood where its members have the type of freedom that they might be unable to have in the outside world. On the other hand, the film All About My Mother has a nun who’s gotten pregnant and feels that she must flee, which in many ways is the opposite of what happens in Dark Habits. In one film, a woman seeks refuge in a nunnery, while in the other a nun seeks refuge outside of a nunnery.

Hopefully that helps.