International Cinema. The title of the class rang a sweet sound of adventure and discovery into the world unknown. Unknown that is, to my own knowledge of culture and cinema pertaining to today’s modern era.
With mounds of frivolous hope,
I entered the class that left me with an image I couldn’t cope.
Being at an all-women’s college began the irony,
of watching so many films with no positive female roles to be seen.
From the beginning, with Older Than America, women were portrayed as victims,
worthy of the insane asylums where men put them.
The film with the movie cam
was entitled with Man instead of WOman
A vengeful, mean-spirited, and sex-driven woman was the running theme of so many of our past films:
From Pepe le Moko to the Marriage of Maria Braun to Jules and Jim.
In the Bicycle Thief the case was different,
because a leading female role was not even present.
Battle of Algiers used women as bomb carriers, with bombs in bags a plenty,
only made to feel better about getting blown up since they were “doing it for their country.”
In some films, women were simply seen as mysterious objects, never to be understood since they will always leave town in the end anyways; as in Life on Earth and in Happy Times.
(hey I think this whole poem rhymes!)
Maybe next time this class is taught,
more females in positive roles should be brought
But I guess since this is a class speaking on an international term,
woman are not accepted worldwide as positive beings: the only lesson I did learn.
Nikki I like it... It was very poetic. And I see where your coming from.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I did feel the Algerian women in Battle of Algiers used their femaleness (is that even a word?) to their advantage, and were powerful if not the most significant figures in the fight against independence. They were praised as heroes.
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