Final Assignment- Million Dollar Baby

Pick a film of your choice. Would you consider the female lead to be a brave dame or a wimpette? Give your reasons. Please make specific references to the article by Susan Isaacs and use 6 scenes to support your feminist analysis.

Million Dollar Baby

The Million Dollar Baby is about a woman named Maggie Fitzgerald played by Hillary Swank whose dream is to become a professional boxer. From the beginning of the film, you can already conclude that she is a brave dame with reference to Susan Isaac’s “Brave Dame Philosophy”. I believe Maggie Fitzgerald fit in most characteristics of a brave dame. She fits in article one, two, three and five.

According to Susan Isaacs’s “Brave Dame Philosophy”, article one says that “A brave dame is passionate about something besides passion”.  Maggie Fitzgerald was passionate about boxing. This was expressed somewhere in the beginning of the movie where she waited for Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) after a boxing match, and asked him if he could train her. Frankie Dunn declined her offer stating that he “doesn’t train girls” and that “girly tough ain’t enough”. This never stopped Maggie from pursuing her dream of becoming a professional boxer. She decided to join a boxing gym of which Frankie owns, to show him that she has the potential to be a good boxer. Her determination and passion for boxing was explicitly shown in the scene where she told Frankie “If I was thinking straight, I’d go back home, find a used trailer, and buy a deep fryer and some Oreos. Problem is, this is the only thing I feel good doing. If I am too old for this then I got nothing”.

In article two of the “Brave Dame Philosophy”, it says that “Even in the worst of times, a brave dame does not give up; she is resilient”. According to Isaacs’s article “I am Woman, Hear me roar”, she states that “Yes, their lives are sometimes tough- in the face of illness, death, economic worries, family traumas- they show amazing resilience” (p.6).  Despite the fact that she is facing troubles in life- scrapping dishes and waitressing to help feed her and keep a roof under her head and not earning enough, she was always determined in pushing herself to do better. In Isaacs’s article “I am Woman, Hear me roar”, she said that “The wimpette’s pain may be real, but she does little or nothing to avert it. She can act, but chooses not to” (p.7). No matter how many times Frankie tried to discourage Maggie to train in his gym, Maggie never gave up trying.  In one scene, she woke up as early as 4:30 AM just to go for a jog. Later on the movie, she was seen training late several times all alone in the gym. Frankie finally then sees her potential and decides to take her in and train her.

 In article three of the “Brave Dame Philosophy”, it says that “A brave dame is competent”. Maggie was definitely competent as she was a quick learner and a good listener. Under Frankie’s training, you can tell that she was getting better every day. Her competence was later on proven when she was winning every boxing match, knocking out every opponent in the first round. She climbed the ranks and made it to the welterweight division in a short period of time.

 In article five of the “Brave Dame Philosophy”, it says that “A brave dame has high ethical standards”.  Maggie was shown to have some ethical standards. This was shown more specifically in a scene where Maggie and Frankie were having dinner, celebrating her victory over which she knocked down her opponent and left her with some injuries that were quite fatal. She was concerned about the condition of her opponent and said “Maybe I should send her something?”. Her character was showing some sort of sympathy towards her opponent which proves that Maggie has ethical standards.

In conclusion, Maggie in every way was portrayed as a brave dame from the beginning to the end. It may seem that a brave dame is someone who is perfect or flawless but they are not. Isaacs states that brave dames are “pound for pound, they are heartier, more high-spirited, more valorous, and infinitely less frivolous than so many wimpettes we see today in literature, film and television” (p.6). 

Choice Assignment- Whale Rider

1. How is Paikea a female counter-stereotype? Use the "female gaze" theory to describe how the film and the character fit this model of the female perspective and female “voice”. Use the web links provided in Week 6 module on the Female Gaze (the Rubaiyat Hossain article, “Female Directors, Female Gaze”). Clue: the director of Whale Rider is a woman!

Paikea from the ‘Whale Rider’ demonstrates her character as a female counter-stereotype in many ways. According to the Maori culture, the prophet of a community which is also referred to as the Chief is normally led by a male and never by a female. This is one of the main female counter-stereotypes that were demonstrated in the movie, as Paikea being a female, was destined to be the chief. Throughout the film, we were shown hints of Paikea’s obvious ability to become a leader. For example, there was a scene where Koro (Pai’s grandfather) was fixing the motor of a boat with a rope while Paikea was watching. He uses the rope as a metaphor for an ancient saying “weaves together the threads of Paikea, so that our line remains strong”. The rope then breaks and Koro went to find another one. Paikea then decided to take the initiative to fix the rope and start the motor, which she did. This then sybolises her as the one who can mend Paikea’s line and be the leader to save their culture. Hossain states (2011) in her article “Female Directors, Female Gaze: The search for female subjectivity in film”, “A woman’s right to her own body, control over her reproductive organs, choice over her pleasures and desires is the first step towards recognizing and realizing oneself as an individual female subject”. Despite the fact that Koro denies to accept that Paikea is their destined leader because she is a female, Paikea was persistent in showing him that he was wrong. Her “desire” to prove herself to her grandfather shows herself as an “individual female subject”. From my understanding of the “female gaze”, women normally see themselves as the one to blame for actions which weren’t even their fault. For instance, in a “female gaze”, a movie where there is an unfaithful husband, the other women is usually blamed for and not the husband. To counter this female stereotype in this particular example, a director would focus the sympathy on the other women, who is the victim of that unfaithful husband and where he would have to face the consequences. In the “Whale Rider”, the director demonstrates this example by showing at the end that, throughout the entire time of the movie where Koro blames Paikea for everything, Koro finally realized that he was the one to be blamed for.

2. How is Whale Rider a statement of empowerment for women and girls? How does

Paikea challenge gendered expectations?

The ‘Whale Rider’ demonstrated the female empowerment in unique ways. One in which shows the concept of a female ruler which is normally unlikely for the Maori’s culture as this goes against their tradition. The film shows Paikea’s determination in proving herself to her grandfather. Despite the fact that she was brought down by her grandfather way too many times, she never gave up and kept going. This shows a statement of empowerment for women and girls by showing that they, as individuals have the decision power of their own. In addition, the film also shows empowerment through the ability to change other’s perceptions- a female can be a leader and a female can assert positive thinking on the ability to make changes. An example, Paikea took the initiative to learn “Taiaha” (stick fighting) from his uncle since she wasn’t allowed to learn it. This didn’t stop her from learning as she asserted positive thinking and made changes- improved her skills in “Taiaha”.  An example of how Paikea challenged gendered expectation was from the scene where she went underwater to retrieve her grandfather’s whale tooth necklace. It was expected of a male to retrieve the necklace to show the destined leader and not by a female.

3. How is Whale Rider an example of counter‐cinema? Use the 1990’s Lecture notes in

Week 6 Module to help with this answer and the “Hollywood” article (by Kord and

Krimmer) in the course package.

According to the “1990’s and Beyond Lecture”, other definition of a counter- cinema are the ‘female gaze’ cinema, ‘real’ cinema and ‘independent’ cinema, in other words, “ Cinema that stands in opposition to the dominant forms of Hollywood”. Most Hollywood movies portray women through female stereotypes- women cannot lead others, women are weak and fragile, etc. The ‘Whale Rider’ is an example of a counter- cinema as it counters these stereotypes- it shows that women can be leaders, women can be determined and most importantly, it shows that it is possible for women to do what they want without their ‘gender’ stopping them from doing it. According to Kord and Krimmer (2005), “They aim to provide the answer to our identity crises, relieve us of our bad conscience, reconcile our differences with the world, and provide comfort for our inadequacies” (p. 9).  I believe the director of the ‘Whale Rider’ has successfully demonstrated these aims and therefore viewing this film an example of a counter- cinema.

References:

Hossain, R (2011, May 5). “Female Directors, Female Gaze: The Search for Female Subjectivity in Film”. Retrieved from http://www.thedailystar.net/forum/2011/May/female.htm

Kord, S and Krimmer, E (2005), “From: Hollywood Divas, Indie Queens, & TV Heroines”. (p 1-13)

Johanson, M (2010, June 14). “Defining the Female Gaze”. Retrieved from http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2010/06/061410defining_the_female_gaze.html#axzz1u99VICnu