Film Analysis: Real Women Have Curves

Women have always faced gender discrimination. They have been always seen as the weakest gender who is not capable to do the same work as men do, and their only propose is to serve men and being at home. This stereotype is even more prominent on the Mexican culture where in most parts of Mexico it is still believe that man should do all the work while women should just maintain the house clean and take care of children. In the film “Real Women Have Curves” directed by Patricia Cardoso we see the struggles of a young woman named Ana who is trying to get more in life than anyone in her family did, but her mother resist to this change telling Ana that the best way to be a better woman is to get marry and do whatever her husband tells her to do like she did. People must fight for what they deserved, even if that meant to disappoint others. Nobody have to stick to a traditional method of living to get the best in life, that in fact going out of the normal could make you even more successful, a journey to discover ourselves to know what we really want in life while dodging any adversity presented by society along the way. The first place to start is by summarizing the film. The film begins in Ana house where we see her mother in bed pretending to be sick in order to get Ana to work with her, this does not work and then we see Ana’s journey to her high school, we see everything from her walking, then taking the bus, then walking again, until she finally arrives to her school. After class we see her professor Mr. Guzman that encourages Ana to go to college, she wants to but she does not have the movie to do so, but Mr. Guzman tells her about the scholarships that she can apply for in order to attend college. After that we see that her mother forces her to work for her sister in order for her to know what a real job is while she at the same time wants her to learn to be a good wife and to do that she must me thin because that is how beautiful women are. She notices the working conditions that she, her sister and the employees are subjected to by making $18 dresses that are sold for $600, but there is nothing she can do because her family needs that money. Ana starts dating a former classmate from her high school which make her realized that she is more than just brains, but she is beautiful for what it is, and that she does not have to pretend to be someone else. At the end of the film she decides to go to college leaving her family behind, all her family is okay with her decision except for her mother who believes that her daughter betrayed her. Some cultures will try to make traditions prevail over time, but that is not always a good thing because it could affect the decision that someone is trying to make for their own without a way of it. The first interesting thing while watching this movie was the first scene, where as I mentioned in the movie briefing Ana’s mother is …show more content…
The second scene of the movie shows us Ana’s journey to her high school it show us how long it takes her from her house to her school while also showing us the harsh reality of her own world and the people surrounding her, and how despite all of this she would not give up that easily in her search of happiness. One quote from the essay “Learning to be gendered” says, “Desire is a tremendous force in projecting oneself into the future” (Penelope Eckert. Pg. 743). Meaning that even though Ana knows that her journey is tiresome and that she can become like everyone else surrounding her she refuses to give up that easily, she refuses to let go her dream to become someone who can help her family without any complication whatsoever. Ana needs to find her cave full of gold, something she will treasure and love without any regrets later in life just like her grandfather mention to