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Candidate no. A D 2 5 9 0 (This can be found on Student Records)

Module Title: Cultural Transformations

Module Code: 4AML0001

(e.g. 5AABC123 )

Assignment: 1200 essay

(may be abbreviated)

Assignment tutor/group: Catarina Fouto

Deadline: 25/04/23

Date Submitted: 25/04/23

Word Count:

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In both Todo Sobre Mi Madre and A Hora Da Estrela, the exploration of gender and
its limitations are a key theme. In this essay, I will explore how societal influence
shapes and affects gendered behaviour. To do so I will look at how each of the
authors present gender, then their depiction of gender relations and female
friendships and finally how their representation of prostitution draws light to wider
societal problems related to the female gender.

In TDSMM Almodóvar challenges the notion of gender through his presentation of

unconventional women and men. In his film, there are several examples of women
who don’t conform to the typical traditional norms but most notably in TDSMM it is La
Agrado who, as a trans woman, takes centre stage.

Although superficially she is presented as a cliche trans woman, with her

extravagant and flamboyant outfits, Almodóvar soon proves that she is so much
more than that and individualises her character by making her struggles as a trans
woman known by giving her a voice.

The most memorable instance in which this is achieved is during her speech
(1:13:00) in which she talks about authenticity.

“Bueno, lo que les estaba diciendo: que cuesta mucho ser auténtica, señora, y en
estas cosas no hay que ser rácana. Porque una es más auténtica cuánto más se
parece a lo que ha soñado de sí misma” -La Agrado, All About My Mother, dir. Pedro
Almodóvar (1999)

Here we can see her referencing her multiple plastic surgeries and how they were a
way for her to feel more authentic. Through this, we can see Almodóvar criticising
how people must change themselves extensively to be accepted as what society
considers to be a woman.

When it comes to the camera work, Almodóvar makes use of the medium shot
during Agrado’s monologue to make the viewer focus on Agrado and what she has
to say and give importance to her voice, to the voice of a trans woman. This is very
important as Almodóvar is giving representation to trans women who for years during
the dictatorship lacked any. Ultimately, by doing so he is challenging people's views
on the female gender and inciting them to be more accepting.

In terms of the mise-en-scene, the red curtain draws attention to Agrado’s sexuality,
and Almodóvar associates this colour throughout the entirety of the film to women
which is significant as the colour red is usually associated with men, something
which we see Linspector do with Olímpico in A Hora Da Estrela.
When it comes to men, it is important to note that one of the only males present
throughout the film is Rosa’s father, who suffers from Alzheimer's and is taken care
of by his wife. This is a stark contrast to the typical males who would have been
portrayed in cinema up until then usually depicted as the providers. Instead, here
Almodóvar reverses the roles by giving the woman in the relationship the more
dominant role. This is significant as it highlights Almodóvar's disdain for traditional
gender roles.

Much unlike Almodóvar, Linspector in A Hora Da Estrela presents characters who

conform to the gender norms or at least aspire to do so.
Olímpico aligns with traditional depictions of masculinity, described by Linspector as
being ‘tough as a prizefighter’. His role as an ‘alpha male’ is sometimes taken to the
extreme and we see Linspector describing him as enjoying the sight of blood ‘what
he liked was seeing blood’. (A Hora Da Estrela, Clarice Linspector, p 39) Such is his
affinity for violence that ‘sticking a knife into meat turned him on’( Linspector, p 44).
Here we see Linspector exaggerating traditional depictions of masculinity to highlight
her disagreement with them. Additionally, Olímpico’s name reinforces his higher
status in society as a man with its relation to the Olympus ‘the abode of the gods’ [1]
(Britannica) in Greek mythology.
Contrastingly, Macabéa is described as ‘a dispensable cog’ (Linspector, p 27.)
illustrating that as a woman she is of little importance in this society and can be
easily replaced. Additionally, we see that she is heavily simplistic when describing
herself: ' I am a typist and a virgin, and I like coca cola’ (Linspector, p 32.) This
description of herself is very superficial and it aligns with the idea that women aren’t
of substance and the restrictive gender roles they must abide by.

Throughout the book, Lispector constantly juxtaposes Macabéa and Olímpico to

highlight Olímpico’s superiority or perceived superiority to Macabéa as a man.

He recognises his intelligence and is ambitious. `I'm very intelligent, I’ll end up a
congressman’ (Linspector, p39.). By contrast, Macabéa undermines herself and is
very insecure. ‘she knew that there were a lot of things she didn’t know how to
understand’ (Linspector, p43.).

And when it comes to her situation, we see that she is content with what she has
‘She was also proud of being a typist, even though she earned less than minimum
wage’ (Linspector, p 38.) and lacks goals and aspirations ‘but Macabéa in general
didn’t worry about her future, having a future was a luxury’ (Linspector, p48).
Macabéa’s lack of ambition in comparison to Olímpico reflects women's situation in
Brazilian society as they couldn’t aspire to much as

‘the most valued positions in the labour market were always male, and the space of
social and political projection was exclusively for men.’ [2]. All of this shows that even
if she were to aspire to more, she would not have been able to achieve it.

Overall, despite presenting characters which conform to the gender norms the
exaggerated contrast in the depiction of Macabéa and Olímpico allows Linspector to
highlight the unfair inequalities of the time of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship. While
Almodóvar 's presentation of unconventional men and women allows him to
challenge traditional gender norms and additionally to incite viewers to view gender
as something separate from sex.

Almodóvar and Linspector explore gender relations and female relationships within
the context of a male-dominated society. In both TDSMM and A Hora Da Estrela the
female-male relationships highlight the sexism still present in society and therefore
also in these relationships.

In Todo Sobre Mi Madre a clear example of this would be the relationship between
Lola (Esteban Sr) and Manuela. When reminiscing on their past relationship
Manuela mentions Lola’s sexism towards her ‘Como se puede ser machista con
semejante par de tetas’. Here Almodóvar explores the extent to which society’s
traditional values are indoctrinated in us to the point that even after transitioning and
looking physically like a woman she was still biased against them.
In A Hora Da Estrela Olímpico’s and Macabéa’s relationship is riddled with sexism
and Macabéa is constantly put down by Olímpico’s condescending comments ‘You
Macabéa, are like a hair in the soup. Nobody feels like eating it (Linspector, p 49.)
and insults ‘Listen here: are you just pretending to be an idiot or are you an idiot’.
(Linspector, p 46.)

Olímpico’s disrespect towards Macabéa reinforces the gender hierarchy of the time
in which men were perceived as being superior to women ‘The Civil Code of the time
placed women in a position of second-class citizens.’[3]

When it comes to female relationships, in TDSMM female relationships are portrayed

as being empowering and as a tool to fight against the restrictions caused by their
gender.

A clear example of this is how Manuela helped Agrado to get a job which would have
otherwise been unavailable to her due to the stigma surrounding trans women.

Another example of this is the scene (1:01:00) in which Rosa, Manuela, Huma and
Agrado are all hanging out in Manuela’s home’. In this scene, Almodóvar manages
to capture an uplifting female space and through the inclusion of Agrado, we see him
challenge once more the notion of gender by allowing an ‘unconventional woman’
into a female space. Once more we see him use the colour red once again in the
decor to highlight the sexuality of these women and draw attention to the
surroundings and more importantly to what these women have to say.

In A Hora Da Estrela this isn’t the case and Gloria and Macabéa’s relationship is
very superficial and limited to their situation as work colleagues and therefore
provides no comfort for either character.

In both TDSMM and A Hora Da Estrela the presence of prostitution reinforces

traditional gender norms and accentuates the inequality between men and women
causing the audience/ readers to reflect on the wider problems presented by the
patriarchy.

In Todo Sobre Mi Madre the most significant example of this is Agrado, a trans
woman who at the start of the film is also a prostitute. The fact that Agrado is a
prostitute is significant as it shows how limited the opportunities were for women and
especially trans women in society.

A scene that shows us that this is a wider societal problem is the one in which we
are introduced to Agrado’s character. In this scene (20:40) the extreme long shot in
which we are initially unable to make out the identity of the women reinforces that
this is something that happens everywhere. Furthermore, it dehumanises these
women and strips them of their identity, consequently reinforcing the idea that
women aren’t as important as men. Additionally, the fact that the men are in cars and
the women aren’t highlights this power imbalance between men and women.
Through all of this, Almodóvar is looking to show that despite the end of dictatorship
the patriarchy hasn’t really ended, and Spain is still a male-dominated society in
which prostitution still exists because of it.

In A Hora Da Estrela there is mention of prostitution throughout the entire film.

Prostitution is presented as a sad reality for vulnerable women who have no other
way to survive.
‘I know there are girls who sell their bodies, their only real possession, in exchange
for a good dinner’. Linspector, p.15 Here the use of anaphora with ‘their’ accentuates
how women are objectified by men and society and that their only ‘currency’ is their
body. All of this shows how vulnerable women are set up to be exploited by the
patriarchy which deems them as unimportant and by a society which is unwilling to
help them.

At the end of the book, we also see Macabéa come into contact with a prostitute for
the first time and through this, we are shown that within the relationships established
by prostitution, this inequality is also present.
When reminiscing on her time as a prostitute Madame Carlota talks about one of her
customers

‘He was my luxury and I even used to let him beat me up. When he gave me a
thrashing, I could tell he liked me, I liked a good beating. With him, it was love, with
the others it was just work.’ Linspector, p.60.

With this oxymoronic comparison of violence to love, we are reminded of the

consequences of this power imbalance between men and women and how
prostitution accentuates this.

In conclusion both Almodóvar and Linspector's portrayal of gender and its limitations
highlight how society’s perception of traditional gender roles negatively impacts
women and allows discrimination and inequality to proliferate.

Bibliography

[1] Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Available at:

https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Mount-Olympus/

[2] Deak, A. (2016) Mulheres, Memórias da ditadura. Available at:

https://memoriasdaditadura.org.br/mulheres/

Film: All About My Mother, dir. Pedro Almodóvar (1999)

Book: A Hora Da Estrela, Clarice Linspector, translated by Benjamin Moser

The hour of the star.pdf DocDroid. Available at: https://www.docdroid.net/7hcI2Hm/the-

hour-of-the-star-pdf