Hi there

Basically I was wondering if anyone could help me! My question is:
"How are central female characters in period films"
looking at Shakespeare in Love (Viola), Pride and Prejudice (Elizabeth) and Titanic (Rose).

I want to see if they follow their stereotypical roles or whether they are different to how we'd expect them to behave?!?! (ie they're a lot more intellgient, they usually are forced to marry someone who they don't love or fall in love with the poor guy.)

Any help would be great :-)
Thanks
Cole

One has to be careful how questions are phrased and your question:
"How are central female characters in period films"

along with your supplemental notes

"I want to see if they follow their stereotypical roles or whether they are different to how we'd expect them to behave?!?! (ie they're a lot more intellgient, they usually are forced to marry someone who they don't love or fall in love with the poor guy.)"

raise in themselves further questions, namely:

Are you talking about stereotypes as they were perceived at that period of time in history or about stereotypes as they are perceive now?

And how do you or we expect these females to behave? Are you interested in the expectations of female behavior during their own time and culture? Can you distinguish between female stereotypes and female expectations when it comes to past historical periods?

Concepts of female intelligence and marriage expectations are fraught with difficult historical issues when one tries to place normative values onto past history.

If you can supply some answers to these questions, I would be interested to discussing PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with you, particularly the Arts and Entertainment (A&E) version.

Hi there

sorry you've really got me thinking now!
my main idea was to see if the leading lady behaved stereotypically in the historical period the film is set in. So for example whether Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice is a stereotypical women based on ideas of how we'd expect women to be back in the 1700s- so not very clever (men always had the 'better' jobs (women weren't allowed the vote until after world war one), marrying for money, close to her family, etc.

Does that make more sense? Sorry if it doesn't:-s

Also what P+P do you mean- I'm looking at the 2005 version with Keira Knightley in.

quote:

coley
Slacker
Posted 25 September 2007 08:02 AM Hide Post
Hi there

sorry you've really got me thinking now!
my main idea was to see if the leading lady behaved stereotypically in the historical period the film is set in. So for example whether Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice is a stereotypical women based on ideas of how we'd expect women to be back in the 1700s- so not very clever (men always had the 'better' jobs (women weren't allowed the vote until after world war one), marrying for money, close to her family, etc.

Does that make more sense? Sorry if it doesn't:-s

I have recently purchased the 10th Anniversary Edition of A & E's Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth. Elizabeth, actually, appears to be more of an anti-stereotypical female of the period. This version of Pride of Prejudice is rather more open to diversity of the female character than of stereotypical images of female. The five Bennett sister each portray rather different characters (other than Lydia and Kitty) that represent rather universal female roles even today, except with a modicum of period discretion. Elizabeth appears to more open to demonstrating her opinions, more physically active, more interested in love than money (though money is nice). The adherence to marriage as the only way women could actually make an impact and form an identity is strongly maintained in the movie which doesn't necessarily require one to conclude that is was stereotypical - more than it was just an actual period of time cultural fact.