Although it is a societal belief that the fairytale princess is an outdated representation of modern women, Marshall utilises elements of the fairytale in order to portray Vivienne as a strong-willed and independent woman, yet also emotional and indecisicve – traits that are often stamped on the women of today’s society. In the film, Vivienne tells Edward, “I want the fairytale”. Yet Edward interprets this as a plea to be rescued by his wealth and prestige. It is through this misunderstanding that Marshall positions the audience to accept Vivienne’s character as strong and independent. This is seen through her constant rejection of Edward’s attempts to 'rescue' her with money rather than love, thus highlighting her morality and strength in
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This is highlighted by her initial voice-over, which is emotionless in tone, and by a close-up of Sarah performing strenuous physical activity, which positions the audience to view her as a resilient woman, who is seemingly detached from sensitivity. This theme continues throughout the film and is a major factor in positioning the audience to perhaps discern the viewpoint put forth, yet not accept it, as it resists the dominant social perceptions regarding motherhood and women being emotional. A key example of this can be seen in the scene during which her Sarah’s son, John, converses with the Terminator about being afraid. The Terminator tells him that he must not feel emotion, as he must stay “functional” until his mission is completed. A close-up of John as he replies “Yeah. I have to stay functional too. I'm ‘too important’,” highlights his sarcasm and apparent disappointment as he repeats his mother’s words. The use of this dialogue again reinforces the viewpoint that Sarah Connor is somewhat detached from sensitivity due to her militaristic approach to life, and has passed this on, in her role as a mother, as an …show more content…
The contrast between the similarly strong-willed and independent characters allows for a thought-provoking examination of the representations of women that exist in modern society. Pretty Woman, although exploiting common cultural assumptions and the Cinderella fairytale, presents a culturally accepted viewpoint on women, whilst Terminator II conveys strongly resistant portrayals of motherhood, making its representation of women as strong and independent somewhat redundant. Therefore, it is evident that Pretty Woman, through its exploitation of commonly accepted cultural perceptions of modern women, and therefore stronger connection with the audience, is more effective in its representation of
This is highlighted by her initial voice-over, which is emotionless in tone, and by a close-up of Sarah performing strenuous physical activity, which positions the audience to view her as a resilient woman, who is seemingly detached from sensitivity. This theme continues throughout the film and is a major factor in positioning the audience to perhaps discern the viewpoint put forth, yet not accept it, as it resists the dominant social perceptions regarding motherhood and women being emotional. A key example of this can be seen in the scene during which her Sarah’s son, John, converses with the Terminator about being afraid. The Terminator tells him that he must not feel emotion, as he must stay “functional” until his mission is completed. A close-up of John as he replies “Yeah. I have to stay functional too. I'm ‘too important’,” highlights his sarcasm and apparent disappointment as he repeats his mother’s words. The use of this dialogue again reinforces the viewpoint that Sarah Connor is somewhat detached from sensitivity due to her militaristic approach to life, and has passed this on, in her role as a mother, as an …show more content…
The contrast between the similarly strong-willed and independent characters allows for a thought-provoking examination of the representations of women that exist in modern society. Pretty Woman, although exploiting common cultural assumptions and the Cinderella fairytale, presents a culturally accepted viewpoint on women, whilst Terminator II conveys strongly resistant portrayals of motherhood, making its representation of women as strong and independent somewhat redundant. Therefore, it is evident that Pretty Woman, through its exploitation of commonly accepted cultural perceptions of modern women, and therefore stronger connection with the audience, is more effective in its representation of