In the films “Tiny Furniture”, “It”, and “Mildred Pierce” stands against the patriarchal views of society are taken in very abstract ways. By refusing to employ the “gaze technique”, – a technique filmmakers use to draw attention to the physical features of a female character, portrayed by using different perspectives; most commonly the male perspective – redefining the portrayal of female characters, and breaking gender stereotypes these three films defy the patriarchy and work to change the way women are represented in film and media. In the film “Tiny Furniture,” director, writer, and actress Lena Dunham defies the patriarchy by refusing to use the “male gaze” in her film. The male gaze is a perspective technique used in films that shows
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It is obvious that Aura is not a conventionally attractive character, she doesn’t show a lot of skin and she isn’t glamorous, but Dunham effectively portrays real life and ordinary women. Aura is shown throughout the movie doing normal things that females regularly do. For example, she is shown getting up in the morning in her underwear and going and getting ready for the day, she’s shown having awkward communication with friends, she’s shown working, and doing all these things that women regularly do. She’s not really attractive and men aren’t throwing themselves at her feet, but she’s a normal person who’s living her life. “A 2010 New York Times review of Tiny Furniture stated that “it is Ms. Dunham’s refusal to put on a pretty show, doll herself up, that is the movie’s boldest stroke”” (Sherwood). By refusing to conform to Hollywood’s ideas of how a female character should look, Dunham challenges the patriarchal idea that to be female means to be feminine. Femininity usually implies attractiveness and delicacy, so in cinema that is translated as a woman that is beautiful, slender, and desirable. These are obviously the patriarchal beliefs that Dunham worked to defy, as her protagonist possessed none of these qualities. Films like “Tiny Furniture” are working to change the meaning of being a woman in Hollywood. “The connotative meanings given to ‘woman’ are echoed throughout Hollywood cinema, specifically as ‘woman’ as the object of male desire.”
It is obvious that Aura is not a conventionally attractive character, she doesn’t show a lot of skin and she isn’t glamorous, but Dunham effectively portrays real life and ordinary women. Aura is shown throughout the movie doing normal things that females regularly do. For example, she is shown getting up in the morning in her underwear and going and getting ready for the day, she’s shown having awkward communication with friends, she’s shown working, and doing all these things that women regularly do. She’s not really attractive and men aren’t throwing themselves at her feet, but she’s a normal person who’s living her life. “A 2010 New York Times review of Tiny Furniture stated that “it is Ms. Dunham’s refusal to put on a pretty show, doll herself up, that is the movie’s boldest stroke”” (Sherwood). By refusing to conform to Hollywood’s ideas of how a female character should look, Dunham challenges the patriarchal idea that to be female means to be feminine. Femininity usually implies attractiveness and delicacy, so in cinema that is translated as a woman that is beautiful, slender, and desirable. These are obviously the patriarchal beliefs that Dunham worked to defy, as her protagonist possessed none of these qualities. Films like “Tiny Furniture” are working to change the meaning of being a woman in Hollywood. “The connotative meanings given to ‘woman’ are echoed throughout Hollywood cinema, specifically as ‘woman’ as the object of male desire.”