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Miholany Ochoa
Professor Garcia
English 114B
5/6/15
Total Recall and Kill Bill Vol. 1
Total Recall, 1990, directed by Paul Verhoeven is a science fiction dystopian movie.
Dystopian movies typically perpetuate a story of the worst case scenarios, Total Recall does a
great job at presenting a haunting situation that ruins the protagonist's life. Kill Bill Vol. 1, 2003,
was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Kill Bill Vol.1 is a unique story that demonstrates
many forms of revenge due to emotional and physical pain. Although these films are different,
they share some similarities. These films perpetuate and subvert their own social constructions
and different forms of identity among characters. In Total Recall there are stereotypes about
women being seen as objects and property that are being subverted, on the other hand, in Kill
Bill Vol. 1 there are many stereotypes being subverted.
The theme of is visible in both of these films. The protagonist's identity in both films
shifts a lot throughout time. In Total Recall, the main character Douglas is identified as a factory
worker who struggles with having dangerous dreams. In his dreams, Douglas' often dreams about
being on Mars with a beautiful woman who is not his wife. On his way to work he sees an
advertisement on the subway TV for Recall, he takes the opportunity and turns out it wasn't a
great one. His dreams affect his day to day life, identity and relationship with others. In Kill Bill
Vol. 1, a female known as "The Bride" (her real name isn't revealed) is identified as a past

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member of the Deadly Viper assassination team who seeks revenge on her boss "Bill" who took
her dream of getting married and having a family of her own away from her. It is ironic that "The
bride" started off with the group of assassin's but she ends up killing a lot of assassins because
they hurt her in many ways. They hurt her emotionally and physically because on the day that
she was going to marry the love of her life but Bill and the rest of the Deadly Viper Assassination
Squad killed everyone that was there. The Bride survived but was in coma for 4 years; and when
she woke up, she realized her baby was gone. Once she truly realized what had happened, the
only thing she wanted was revenge. The incident that happened to her had affected her mentally,
emotionally and emotionally. It completely destroyed her for a few years. The brides identity
changed after her coma, she just wanted revenge for the injustice that was done to her and her
loved ones and that was her only goal.
Total Recall, can be seen as a misogynistic film that subverts stereotypes of men being
better than women. As a feminist, this film is really problematic because it uses women in many
ways. For example, Lori is a spy working for Vilos Cohaagen, her job is to look after Douglas
Quaid by pretending to be his wife. Lori can be seen as an antagonist, her job can be described as
being a part of prostitution. Lori, is seen as an object and she is not treated as a woman should
be. She is mistreated multiple times Lori is described as a beautiful woman and just like other
films, women just have the "looks" but aren't good at anything. Total Recall clearly demonstrates
women as being inferior to men. For example, there is a scene where they finish fighting and she
tries to talk to Douglas while he points a gun to her head. Douglas doesn't kill Lori but he
punches her in the face and tells her "nice knowing you." This scene is a perfect example of
domestic violence and Lori is seen as the weaker person because she cant defend herself, and

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Douglas is seen as the masculine man with so much power over her. Douglas ends up killing
Lori, He shot her in the head, with a famous one-liner: Consider that a divorce! Overall,
women are portrayed as weak individuals and this is evident between both female and male roles
in the film.
The Media, such as advertising new industries and entertainment, usually portray men
and women with stereotypes in which women are likely to be place in impediment situations, for
example passive and submissive roles. On the other hand, males are demonstrated as caring more
about becoming successful. Gender Advertisements: Replication of a Classic Work Examining
Women, Magazines, and Facebook Photographs the Senior Captsone Project for Erica Lawton
demonstrates how women are inferior. For example, Finally, in this advertisement from
Michael Kors, the man is physically guiding the woman off of an airplane and toward a waiting
car, demonstrating body-addressed service. (23) This shows that women are shown as being
property of men and they are also shown as needing a man to rely on. It is 2015, and women are
still not treated equally. Everyone knows that empowering female characters are difficult to find
in todays media. Kill Bill Vol.1 is one of the few films that portrays women in a different way.
"The Bride" is not seen as an object. The Bride in my opinion, the most empowering woman to
ever be seen on film. I remember I saw this film for the first time when I was young with my dad
and I remember telling my dad that I wanted to be just like her, she was a hero in my eyes. The
Bride is so incredibly strong, smart and has amazing fighting techniques. I admired her courage
and determination. She never gave up on what she wanted, her goal was to seek revenge and so
she did. This film is a great example of female power motherhood. In Kill Bill Vol. 1, The

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Bride is known for being very deadly. She discovers shes pregnant to her lover and boss, Bill,
The Bride decides to leave the Squad and start a fresh life. She wants to go as far away as she
can from the cruelty and violence of the world shes a part of, for the sake of her unborn child.
When Bill finds out, he arranges The Brides assassination at the hands of her former squad. Left
for dead at her wedding, she falls into a four-year coma; when she awakes, she finds her baby
gone and she is destroyed. After a long hurtful journey "The Bride", heads to Tokyo and the
person on top of her list is O'Ren Ishii, the woman in charge of the Japanese mafia. O' Ren Ishii,
has her own private army who terrorized The Bride's wedding. The bride gets the revenge she
wanted but it still doesn't bring back her hurtful memories. There is a difference between those
two films because, Total Recall portrays the woman as being superior, independent and strong.
"The Bride" is full of power and many techniques that help her kill people that ruined her
happiness. It is extremely rare to see that happening today.
In both of these films there are similarities and differences that may cause conflicts and
confusion. There are many stereotypes that affect one's identity. Total Recall insults women in
many ways because they clearly use one of the main characters, Lori, as a prostitute and she is
also seen as an object that ends up killed by her husband. As a woman, there are a variety of
reasons such as being portrayed as being the weaker sex and that is why we may get upset while
watching that film. As always, there is no reason for a man to get insulted. Men are never treated
as objects and they never have to worry about being seen as the inferior ones. In Kill Bill Vol 1,
the wife is seen as the powerful one that is seeking revenge for the damage done to her and it
caused her to be in coma and it also caused her daughter to die. However, both of these films

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demonstrate a perfect example of different stereotypes being subverted.

Work Cited
1. Kill Bil Vol 1. Director: Matthew Vaughn. Nicholas Cage and Chloe Moretz. Lionsgate, 2010.
Film.
2. Schwarzenegger, Arnold, Rachel Ticotin, Paul Verhoeven, Buzz Feitshans, Ronald Shusett,
Dan O'Bannon, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, and Philip K. Dick. Total Recall. Van Nuys, CA:
Carolco Home Video, 1990.
3. "Feminist Film Theory." Feminist Film Theory. Cynthia A. Freeland, 3 Oct. 1996. Web. 11
Apr. 2015.
4. Lawton, Erica, Gender Advertisements: Replication of a Classic Work Examining Women,
Magazines and Facebook Photographs (2009)