Final Paper

My favorite film we viewed in this class was 20th century women by far. The cultural

message in this film and just the general vibe really spoke to me and I thoroughly enjoyed every

minute of it. The overarching concept in this film is one of self-acceptance, as well as feminism

and the filming, acting, and directing make this piece come together beautifully. The female

characters in the film really each spoke to a different kind of feminism I’ve seen in many

different important women in my own life.

The mother in the film, Dorothea, reminds me so much of my mother it’s uncanny and

speaks to an older era of feminism that predates me by a lot. The storyline of this film in general

reminds me of my childhood. My mother had me when she was forty and the generational gap

seemed to cause a rift with her in my teenage years just like Dorothea and Jamie experience.

Dorothea represents a somewhat “Rosie The Riveter” like era of feminism that is of the

generation of my mother and grandmother. She has this attitude about her where she doesn’t

need a man to help her and is very strong and stoic, a trait I saw very evidently in my mother and

grandmother. This era of feminism is very self-empowered but still very traditional and old-

school in the sense of how they view the world. This is shown well in the arguments between

Jamie and his mother as well as in the scenes where Dorothea goes out to the punk clubs with

Abbie. She doesn’t seem to understand the angst and extremity of emotions these younger people

are feeling and doesn’t get why things can’t “just be pretty” as she says while listening to Jamie

and Abbie’s punk music. This generation of feminism is strong and empowered but still

somewhat subdued as far as standing up to traditional systems, governments, oppression, etc.

Abbie on the other hand, I felt like represents a much more common in my life and

modern form of feminism. One which stands up to the oppression of women and traditional
systems of America. She very much seems to understand the rebellion and anger of the newer

generation and takes part in it. Abbie is very much of the “control your own destiny,” punk rock,

accept your sexuality and use it to your own power era of feminism that a lot of girls still take

part in today. She reminds me of many of my female friends throughout my life. Her attitude

towards both men and women who try to conform to traditional societal roles seems to be

holding them in contempt. The way she tries to show Jamie the female’s side of the world, teach

him about the oppression of women, teach him about the female orgasm, all is evident of the

more modern feminist views of society that still show in many women today. I also think the

way that Abbie talks about using her sexuality to get what she wants from men is very evident of

the more progressive, sex-positive feminism there is today.

Jamie’s best friend, Julie, is the girl who reminds me most of a lot of the girls I grew up

with. She’s sort of Jamie’s original support system as he starts to grow away from his mother,

even though she’s just as if not more of a disaster than him. Her mother is very much the prissy,

privileged, suburban archetype that I saw in the parents of almost every girl I hung out with

growing up going to Wasatch and Skyline. Julie fits almost all of the common traits of most of

their daughters, depressed, angry, rebelling against the amount of control their parents have over

their lives using drugs, alcohol, their sexuality, etc. I view this as a form of feminism as well, the

way Julie kind of realizes what she wants and goes after it, not caring so much for consequences.

The way she platonically befriends and spends nights with Jamie to avoid her life at home even

though outsiders may view it as happier than most is an excellent view into the mind of the

suburban teenager. The drug abuse and promiscuity to feel in control of her own life shows her

need for happiness and affection in any form, it shows very well how society holds down

women, especially teenage girls, these days.

 20th Century Women was a beautiful piece. The way it showed how necessary feminism

is in our world through Dorothea, Abbie, and Julie’s influence on Jamie is incredibly well

played. The women in Jamie’s life shaped him into a very well-formed young man throughout

the short span of time shown in the movie and it does an excellent job of showing how important

women really are in our world. The filming in the movie was incredibly done. This movies

portrayal of the importance of feminism and a strong female role model in a young man’s life

was the most moving cultural statement made in any of the films we viewed this semester.