Gender roles

[sour_idealist]

Now, this is... a bit of a tricky topic, so let me preface it by saying that I absolutely love the movie, okay?  But it does rely on some pretty strict gender roles in a lot of ways.

For a start: Well. Let's look at a theoretical woman. You realize that in her dreams, she's being stalked by someone who appears to be her husband. Her mental

Comments

[fae_boleyn]

A lot of what I've seen in the comments talks about Ariadne's characterization/role in the plot. I'm not a Nolan expert, I've seen... Actually, Inception might be the only film of his I've seen. But she reminded me, from day one, of the companions in Doctor Who. Like them, she's the audience avatar. So I guess I just took it at face value, because it's a trope I'm rather familiar with. I'm used to the limitations of the role, and also in Doctor Who, especially with the Tenth Doctor if you're familiar with the canon, companions also sort of were a Jiminy Cricket at times. Ariadne's poking into Cobb's past and wanting to help him get rid of Mal is similar to that, in my mind. I'm not saying Nolan stole the idea, but it's also not unique to him. (The majority of companions are also female...)

Another thing is that we actually don't know if the bit about her possibly being messed with for being the only girl. We see very little of their interactions while planning the job, and once they get into Fischer's head there's not much time for comments like that.

I'm actually usually not that aware of being the only girl - if I were Ariadne what would bug me more is being so damn short compared to the rest of them, and I know this because Ellen Page and I are the same height. But this can happen to me around other women who are significantly taller. It's just unsettling to look up all the time. Maybe Ariadne grew up with... I don't know, four older brothers and is used to being around all the guys. We can't know because the characters are so undefined.

[lobelia321]

I like the Dr Who analogy a lot. That certainly resonates!

[gen_is_gone]

Re:Maybe Ariadne grew up with... I don't know, four older brothers and is used to being around all the guys. We can't know because the characters are so undefined.

I don't know if this is just my OCD head!canon going into overdrive, but I assumed she grew up around men (two older brothers and four uncles, in my head). She doesn't seem to have much of a relationship with Saito or Eames or Yusuf, but she (from what little we see of the prep scenes) seems relatively comfortable. I don't know how I'd feel being the youngest and only female in a group/team of adult men, but I was the youngest and only girl on my fencing team for years until the older kids started graduating and new crop came in. Obviously it isn't the best comparison to make, if just because pre-adolescence through late teens makes for a completely different dynamic, but I never awkward or weird.

And on an unrelated note, I know what you mean. Most of my friends tower over me. ;)