Women Portrayed in Modern Media

    내숭 – Nae-soong: A fake person, usually a woman who acts shy or naïve around men, and reverts back to her normal self when they're not around. An honors project at Illinois State set up for ENG 128 Gender in the Humanities.

[naesoonghonors]

Persepolis, remember where -we- women used to be

Persepolis

“Since then, this old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism. As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth. This is why writing Persepolis was so important to me. I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists. I also don’t want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various repressive regimes, or who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten. One can forgive but one should never forget. “ - Marjane Satrapi

This movie admittedly made me cry. What can I say besides I’m a sap for the concept of change and being unable to return to the way it was before. There is a lot that can be sad about this film. There is biting commentary on class and race throughout. Just due to time constraints I really will not be able to discuss it all. So please watch the movie and read the book. It will be worth it. Regardless, In this autobiographical flick we follow Marjane Satrapi through her childhood and early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution.

For now skipping straight to post Islamic revolution, Marjane is forced into a much more restrictive societal role. This is obvious visually with the forcing of the hijab on all women. Even those not Islamic or not believing in the tradition is not spared. This is done for the sake of the good men of the country. So they are not distracted by the women’s bodies. This completely ignoring the fact that the men’s fashion of the time was pants so tight you could see their underwear. While fighting with a professor about this same topic Marjane has a bit of a shocking wake up moments where she finally confronts how much bullshit she has been put through. She is proud to be Iranian. It is the country her family has fought and died for. But the country has turned to a bit of a dictatorship. In her class they take the time to have all of the students sit around and cut the Shahs face and name out of their history books. Hoping to erase the past, perhaps have their country forget about it and more easily submit to their wills. As a woman Marjane is now expected to dress ‘virtuous’. This boils down to nothing being visible in public sans hands and face. And Marjane complies. So one would think that she would be a good woman and would be safe from evil sinful eyes. Wrong, of course. For the audacity she has to be seen in public men seen to throw terrible threats at her with no regard. So even playing by the rule’s women cannot win this game. That is because it is not actually about the attire. It is a symbol of an ideology being forced on the women of a country. Women are depicted as taking them off as soon as they get into their apartments. This is also where they are able to speak freely, mostly of revolution.

Marjane does however learn some rules of the society she has been thrusted into and how to play to win. When women threaten her for dressing like a slut, she breaks down in tears in order to avoid their wrath. This is very out of character for Marjane from my perspective. Never before has she been scared to say what she thinks or wants. So she must fall back on these more womanly tactics. Even so. most of the enforcement of this comes from other women in her community. It begins in schools, the female teacher stating something like ‘To cover is virtuous. Veil is freedom. Those who reveal indulge in sin. Veil honors soldiers.’Perhaps using the older women’s internalized sexism or maybe just looking like more trouble than its worth the women move along. As clever as it was problems of gender, race, or sexuality are society and systematic problems not the product of individual interaction. When she appears in a public place to meet with her boyfriend she is generally hassled/ harassed by man also in the park. Cops appear in the vicinity and Marjane knows if she does not act quickly, she will be in trouble for her, well I guess her existence in general. So she quickly whips up some tears and cry sot the cops about how that man made inappropriate and lewd comments about her. So the man is quickly punished and beaten. This public shaming is simply a product of cops general feeling of superiority and need to protect a weak woman. Because otherwise they are weak sinful women. That is not to imply that women somehow have an easier life. It is more that they are just denied certain rights and gain more restrictions. As frantically explained by Grandma Marjane needs to be more careful with cops. If she gets in trouble, she could also wind up worse than just dead. That is because it is illegal to kill a virgin. In order to get around this it is normal for cops to rape women and then execute them. So women are not even protected. It is no wonder her parents wanted her to leave for Paris for a few years. One wrong move could get her locked up like her uncle.

The hypocrisy can also be highlighted later in the film when Marjane is pulled over by cops for running because it makes her butt jiggle. To which she tells then to stop looking at her ass. She is covered head to tow in black cloth. Truly what else is she supposed to do. Government issued orders to suppress female sexuality and freedom is not a trend that has halted even in the modern day. Even in America the land of the free there is a need to claw rights out of the hands of lawmakers holding then back for selfish gain. Humans have this very gross ability to allow things to happen when they view someone or something as lesser than them. Women being lower class citizens makes it okay to talk to them like children or publicly punish them for not wearing their scarf correctly. Because dehumanizing is exactly what that is. They would rather her butt no shake as opposed to her arrive at school in time for her education. Some cops, professors, and men of power refuse to look her in the eye specifically because she is a woman. How can women get anything done if they cannot even enter and equal conversation with a cop. A cop is meant to be a protector but Marjane is in much more danger being anywhere by them.

What is really important abut this movie is Grandma. She is genuinely the coolest. She is quick on her feet, and ready to play the game, or game the system while also being aware of the larger nature of the situation. Grandma can work to help keep her family safe and instill hope in those around her. And the most touching thing is as Marjane grows she gets her grandmothers beauty mark. Grandma passing down her resilience and spirit is possibly what kept Marjane alive in Paris when she was homeless. People are simply a web of interconnected identities and ideologies wearing a skin suit. If all the young men and women can come together in secret speak easies then clearly the government is not representing the true will of its people. Like grandma all one can do to survive is to keep moving forward and keeping hope. She is a demonstration of how a divorcing of concepts like age and religiosity/ fanaticism can help mentor a better next generation. Women need to be free to divorce their husbands, make their own way in the world, and feel able to contribute to the government and community around them. For a girl to grow up is scary, but we do not have to face the revolution in our times alone.

I feel as though i have not done this movie justice. If you have the time please watch through it yourself. All of these issues are beautifully intertwined and are much better enjoyed in their complete context. So please find a copy of this and check it out.

[naesoonghonors]

Sita Sings the Blues, and not much else

Sita sings the Blues

 In history and mythology women have a tendency to be written a certain way. By that I mean they are written about in a certain way, in large part due to the fact that historically many women did not write. Yes, women have the common storyteller role but are not often the ones writing it down for any sort of historical record. That is true even with Sita, she tells her story to a monk and he is the one to write it down and preserve it for historians. And due to sexist views, that persevere through a majority of cultures women of mythology come off in these certain ways. Namely passive, but bitchy and nagging or either strong but unwilling to use their powers actively or completely weak damsels. And this movie has a very interesting take where it explores Rama and Sita’s story through her lens, giving her a bit more of an active character.

The first we see of our main duo has Sita lovingly massaging Rama’s leg. And I do believe Sita would be happy to do this for the rest of time if she were allowed. Her life is very much focused around Rama. She multiple times throughout the story contemplates suicide only to be turn away from it due to her beloved Rama. She is disgraced and banned from her home and only stays alive in order to give birth to Ramas boys. This paragon of womanhood for Hindu women is both suicidal and overemotional while living only to serve her husband. This is no way for any human being to live. This one-sided dedication is nearly admired by the story at large. Sita sings the blue almost exclusively about Rama being mean or ignoring her and her needs. This is paralleled by the other story presented, one that ends in an emotional divorce. So I do believe this relationship dynamic between Sita and Rama is ultimately unachievable, and completely unwanted, in this modern era. This because a real woman cannot have her emotional needs filled by a man willing to pack up and leave her for 14 years. Not to blame Hindu culture in particular, this is just the standard most goddess and mythological women are held to. It is more a reflection of the author and their fantasies as opposed to any realistic reality. While one may want a doting wife the idea of her being unwilling to leave you alone would soon drive most insane. That is to say there is no cultural figure not molded by the passage of time. As opinions of women grow and women’s right progress some aspects of the story are left behind or become outdated. As the narrators explain these events in a tongue in cheek way it is an affirmation that women are really no longer expected to behave like this.

As the story picks up Rama was to be crowned king, but he was banished from the kingdom for 14 years. Rama is looked back upon as an exemplary ruler, so he behaves as a big honorable man and does not question his father on this. So it would seem culturally the need to respect ones (male) elders is bigger than a mans need take his rightful place. So decides to dedicate his time to protecting holy men from the demons who would destroy their fires. And he wants to do this alone. Seemingly with no consideration of his wife and willing to just leave her to her bidding for fourteen years. So before he can run off for the foreseeable future Sita proclaims that a wife’s place is next to her husband. “but Rama a woman’s place is next to her husband. I cannot live without you”. As a goddess Sita is touted as a paragon of spousal and feminine virtues for all Hindu women. Most beloved for her devotion to her husband and her purity. Not to say these are not very coveted and lovely traits but then why is she such a passive role in this story? As Rama and Sita continue their lives in the woods, Rama killing demons and Sita mostly singing about her darling husband and not helping. This strikes me as an outsider as odd as later in the story Sita claims she does have marvelous power but is not using them because she is not commanded to by Rama. Just why. She only uses her great power at the end to prove a point about her purity and return to her earth mother from which she came. While extremely hilarious I find it hard to expound upon what this is supposed to mean or say to the audience. At this point she seems to have fulfilled her role as the perfect wife, and mothers Rama twin boys, only to top it off by once again proving her purity. I guess as she has borne sons her role here as the faithful companion to Rama is complete. And that is a bit sad.

Despite how manically devoted Sita is portrayed throughout the story she is ultimately rejected by her husband. As the demon king taunts her, she continues to reaffirm how she is Rama’s forever; she belongs to Rama as the rays belong to the sun. So Sita shares her genius ideas with the audience, she will either wait patiently for her husband comes to get her or kill herself if he takes too long. She is not going to try and sneak out to rejoin her beloved she misses so much. NO as her man it is Rama’s job to come get her. Even as Rama sends a monkey soldier to come help her, she refuses to go unless Rama gets her. Like do you want to see your man or not? So she winds up spending a bit of time stuck at the demon king’s palace. She is so excited her man came to save her and restore her honor. Rama however is not having it. Because she has lived at another man’s house, he thinks she is no longer fit to be his wife. He has done his job in avenging the insult of the demon king stealing his wife, so he is done with her. He does not believe her claims of character and conduct. So Sita ever the active protagonist as his one last request of having HIM build her a funeral pyre to throw herself on. I cannot believe I’m saying this, but girl make your own funeral pyre. Ultimately Rama does not make her that fire but in order to prove herself still pure and virtuous she has to stand a trial by fire. So Rama believes she is impure and 100% ready to watch her burn to death in order to prove her purity. But she survives the trial and proves herself. Flowers literally rain from the sky.

As an outsider to this culture I thought this story was wild. Rama falls to peer pressure and literally exiles his pregnant wife because a guy said something that made him feel bad. But I imagine this is the same as anyone not raised Catholic feels about any bible story. So no matter how intense these stories may get we know, whether or not their content it true, they are deeply ingrained with culture and biases of their respective times. So I just wanted to acknowledge that some of my interpretations of the story are either dead wrong or comedy bits from the movie itself. There is nothing wrong with Sita or the virtues she is intended to reflect. This reflection is all in good fun. The world is now simply a different place with different values; but that does not mean collectively humanity cannot look back on the past. Overall I hope you enjoyed this, and I did not manage to offend anyone. If I got something wrong or someone wants to discuss I am completely open to listen and learn. Thank you.

[naesoonghonors]

Belladonna of Sadness, a woman's power

Belladonna of sadness

Belladonna of sadness was not my best idea for movies to watch with my mother. At some point in the seemingly eternal satanic orgy scene she asked me to skip because it was ‘killing her’. Even despite that Belladonna is a movie me and my mother will never forget, even if we wanted to. It is the animated Japanese telling of a French story of our beloved main character Jeanne. She is simply stated as a -beautiful- women having just gotten married to a -kind- man, Jean. As 1800’s peasants are ought to do, they ask the local lord permission to officially marry. Unfortunately, their offer is simply not enough to satiate the lord. Instead the lord decides his tribute will instead be the "Droit du Seigneur" or the "Right of the First Night". First the lord asks if Jeanne is still pure. Skipping over any reply she could make her husband quickly jumps in to assure the lord she is pure. Jeanne’s body will come replace the several fattened animals usually requested by the lord in exchange for a lawful marriage. Jean is removed from the castle while Jeanne faces the worst. For the sake context this is happening in prerevolutionary France. Women held no power in the home or politics. Jeanne is what would be considered a passive citizen. Like a child she is expected to rely on a man to make choices on her behalf. But the system fails Jeanne, it fails spectacularly. As a farming class citizen even her husband is powerless. The feudal lord and church both fail her on her wedding night.

              Jeanne is freed from the confines of the castle and she runs home to her beloved. She is violated, powerless and needs someone to support her. She is cast out naked back to the village. So she goes to her new husband. He however seems completely uninterested in her needs. He is crying. From my interpretation and his actions it seems to be that his pride is wounded. He is ashamed of what happened to his wife and remains emotionally unavailable to her. Because he sees his troubles as more important than hers. A complete product of the time. He tells her to move on and forget it. That she should move on from this trauma that she had to face alone. He is so overcome by this shame that he attempts to choke Jeanne, only to soon give up and sob in the field. Jeanne spends her daylight hours being a supportive wife and trying to emotionally comfort her husband. Despite getting nothing in return from Jean. Jeanne wants power, she needs it in fact, in order to ‘save’ her husband.

              Once it is night and her husband sleeps, she finally feels she is allowed to express herself. She attempts to remain quiet of course, she would not want to wake her ‘ailing’ husband. Jeanne passively cries into the night about how she wants power, if only someone would save her. This became a big theme for me throughout the movie. Did Jeanne wish to have power for herself or to get help. This next scene imagery is smattered with phallic imagery as a small demon appears from Jeanne. She asks if this small imp is the devil, he responds that he is her. This is an odd dynamic with witches. They are viewed a heathens and scary independent women but also are implied to get their powers from the devil. Which is it? Are they crones who toil with their own power to ruin the lives of mortal men or are they ultimately controlled by a devil? I believe people make their own demons. Jeanne’s want for power manifested inside of her so strongly she either created a demon or she uses it as a device to explain her newfound abilities. The demon does comment that “It’s your fault I’m small”. Perhaps Jeanne had just found it within herself to begin questioning and fighting in a small way, so he manifested from that feeling.

But even so their interactions continue to blur any sureness within me. The demon asks for her soul. She refuses instead of her soul she offers the demon her body. It seems the only power women have in this time is to sleep with men. She is only able to get married under the authority of the lord and only able to make money to support her husband under the authority of this demon. . Jeanne oddly gets power from sex forced upon her, or with coerced consent. Jeanne as of yet in the movie seems a very passive player in her own story. This comes in contrast to the later liberated witch Jeanne but falls apart at the end. Jeanne begins making beautiful clothes And the narrator states through HER work HE is able to pay taxes. As war approaches Jeanne once more uses her body in order to become a money lender and financially support her Lord.

              As her Lord is off to war the Queen takes over temporarily as the authority. The Queen is extremely mad that Jeanne gets more respect than her. Jeanne is shown to be willing to work with the peasants and to sort out taxes. But the Queen just continues to hate her from up high in the castle. Jeanne is respected and loved amongst the towns people, even when Jean as smoothly transitioned to be a drunken slob. Jeanne seems to be thriving until one day the king returns and sees Jeanne being admired and has an assassin go and rip her clothes with a dagger. Instantly everyone turns on her. Women call her names and the men immediately charge at her to have their way with her. Despite her unending charity and other virtues they would turn on a woman in a second. Just the men and women having a glimpse of her body reverts them back to a mob. Her punishment is to be ‘Shame until god enters heart’, that task is left t the women of the village. Women cannot be competent leaders, The queen did not even how-to ability, or perhaps felt she had the power to get Jeanne killed until her husband returned. She was the acting Lord, but even so acted inferior to her counterpart.

              And Jeanne runs, once more betrayed by her husband selling out her location to the local authorities. But Satan takes her and hides her among the sharp brush, of course making sure it also rips her clothes of completely. Jeanne finally begins to see the scope of the injustice done upon her as a woman. All women must pay for the sins of Eve. Jeanne no longer care for the society that has wronged her and failed her so many times. She simply wants to do bad. She offers the devil both her womb and her soul. She wants to become a horrifying woman. He beautiful body has only caused her trouble. But Satan only makes her more attractive. Jeanne was attempting to leave behind her trauma by leaving behind the beautiful maiden she was. She sees this feminine trait as only a negative for herself. The devil doesn’t, however. As the counterpoint to the masculine God, Satan has a tendency to embraced feminine features in classic literature and folk lore. Jeanne is still being viewed as a piece of meat by her latest male companion. But instead of it making her subservient it is being propped up as her person power. Satan even sees her as an equal of sorts. He refers to her as his wife. Jeanne is consumed by her hatred and rage and comes out a beautiful powerful witch.

              There are some things even the Church cannot hope to control. That is right, it is plague time. The church collapses nearly completely under the ‘satanic’ power of nature/ the plague. With the power of a so called ‘poisonous’ plant Jeanne is able to cure the plague. And soon the village folks gather witch festivals/ giant orgies. Everyone is having a great time thanks to the innovation of women and their freedom from the oppression of their feudal lord. Jeanne is the best ruler these people have ever had. But that cannot be. The king simply must have her under his thumb. So the worst happens, Jean, the terrible bastard loser husband comes back on the scene to cry and beg for her to come back and submit to the Lord. AND SHE DOES! She forgives him. And the Lord invites her to live back on the lord’s land in exchange for all of her knowledge. Jeanne says she does not want a simple plot of land or a title. She wants the world just as the Lord did. But because she is a witch and a woman the Lord wants to have her killed. Their feudal lord who does not cure the plague, has high taxes, and has yet to hold a state sponsored orgy convinces everyone to once again turn on her. The king has not been portrayed as doing a simple thing right this entire movie. But nepotism runs rampant and religion is utilized as a tool to control the masses. So ultimately, she is burned at the stake. Another hasty decision by men in power with no idea. The Lord had never actually been able to shame the Lord into her heart. So as the crowd watches her burn her spirit splits off into the entire watching crowd. Freeing them from their mental chains and sparking a seed of rebellion in all of their spirits. They no longer feel the need to live under a man happy to watch them starve and die. Jeanne is ultimately a Christ figure freeing the villagers mind and giving back their free will. That is to say the real evil is corrupt authority and not the moral folly of women.

[naesoonghonors]

Inferno, Another Witch Burned

INFERNO (1980)

Inferno was another interesting movie. A spiritual sequel featuring another one of the three named mothers set up by Suspiria. This film departing to explore Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness, who lives in New York. This time following a male lead, but kickstarted by his soon to pass sister. The before mentioned sister is Rose, and we begin the movie with her investigating The Three Mothers. She discusses the contents with a man, I assume to be a scholar or librarian. She asks if this fanciful depiction of witches could be real and a true account. With the social grace summon able only by an older gentleman condescending to a young woman he explains that women are the worst readers. They are the type to be susceptible to believe in witches and they want to believe in this frivolous stuff. He says this with the utmost confidence, as real witches exist and plot to rule the world in the background. Even thought he himself mentions the murder of the first Mother he still feels the need to be doubtful and belittling. Even as a scholar in a similar line of expertise and study as him she is treated as a being of inferior intellect and reprimanded for daring to ask if it’s true. Even in the recent past of 1980, women had only begun entering the workforce in large numbers in the 1960s. It’s difficult to harbor respect from people who you cannot be coworkers or comrades in arms alongside. Not that that is really an excuse for how this man acts to an interested student. Even though he acts it is below him they go on to discuss the contents of the book Rose brought to examine.

These three witches live separately around the world ruling it from the shadows. Hiding themselves from public eye both with witchcraft and henchmen. Oddly for these women who want to remain secret there is an ancient book titled The Three Mothers. This essentially spills all of their secrets and even tells how to kill them. And for the life of me I cannot figure out why they allow this book to continue to exist. It was written by an alchemist Varelli whom they black mailed into making their separate homes. Hopping off of how ridiculous it is that such a book still exists with the witch’s wealth of power it does say some very particular things about them. Just as in the Suspiria there is notable mention of the witches being unable to bring life only manipulate and destroy it. With a catholic undertone and philosophy displayed by the director this seems to be a larger statement than the movie lets on. In more traditional catholic followings is it not a choice of the woman if and when she will have children. Unless there is a vow of chastity or other such arrangements women are expected to marry and have as many children as the lord will. Despite frequent claims of god given free will there is an ironic undercurrent of people, particularly women being left to the whims of God. So I wonder if this point is that God denies them this ability or if they reject his will. Maybe the mothers free of this will of god act more like Lilith. Another woman who rejected Gods will, namely she rejected being subservient to Adam. So Lilith literally just flew away and decided to hang out by the dead sea. For some reason this HUMAN woman who just didn’t want to be subservient to Adam was decided by the angels to be willing and able to torture babies and make them sick. So in order to be left alone she said she wouldn’t do that if the angles watch over babies. I guess what I am trying to get at is my Catholic upbringing has taught me that no matter when age you live in women should be subservient and follow men’s lead, but are also weak and cannot do simple tasks, but are also powerful enough to perform witch craft but also if they don’t want to have kids that means they are evil. Common stereotypes of women even in the near past simply do not make sense. Abuse of power is not a new concept, so I guess the crime of The Mothers is being women. Because even the seemingly immortal alchemist Varelli isn’t framed as that bad of a guy. He was manipulated by eevvilll women and forced to make their elaborate homes. He is presented as blameless in their rise to power, and instead dies due to his own hubris and panic. A mark of these three mothers is to ruin the land around them. But who would have been influencing and working with that land? Varelli! The architect! He built the house and then the lands all suspiciously started to rot and have a bad odor. Its just interesting the difference of how male magic (read alchemy) is portrayed as opposed to the women. In fact despite all the lore known about The Mothers to all characters the alchemist still has to specify that he is not their master. Like this weak old man could even hope to possess the fury of 3 absolutely insane power-hungry witches. That simply would not have been an assumption by anyone had had the alchemist been another woman, nor if the witches had been warlocks.

Related, the way to tell you are in the presence of a witch’s house is the three keys. First, the strange odor as mentioned. Another clue guides her down to the cellar and gives the name of the witch sister. The final key is ‘under the soles of their feet’. But Rose never gets the chance to find the final key as she is stalked and murdered. But not before she gets a letter off to her brother Mark, in Rome already having caught an Italian witch’s attention. This lady witch is so alluring that Mark ditches the letter from his sister but thankfully someone in the room has a brain and his female friend Sara picks up the letter and reads it. Sara understand the danger detailed in the letter and goes to a library to look at another copy of The Three Mothers. Sara runs off with the book and is brutally murdered once she arrives home with a neighbor boy. Because of course inviting a random man in your house is better than being alone as a woman. Once more Mother Tenebrarum, if you don’t like the book existing… perhaps destroy it. It seems easier than murdering all the people who come looking for it. Also notice in the movie this book is in the biography section. Which one of the Mothers wrote it?? Why? It keeps getting you guys murdered. But admittedly these movies focus more on feeling and tone than plot, and the next relevant scene occurs at the end.

After the building being set aflame by an irrelevant subplot and an interesting run in with Varelli, Mark meets with the hospice nurse he’s seen caring for the now dead Varelli. She begins laughing evily and reveals SHE is Mater Tenebrarum. For getting to close to the secret Mater transforms into Death itself! So Mark does the most logical thing he can. He runs out of the extremely on fire building. The Mater is then killed by falling debris, either due to her spiritual connection to her coven land or her lack of wanting to run away from the fire. As funny as I try to frame it the witches really are done a disservice in both character and power. There is a lack of substance that really disappoints. Even so getting this look into the mindset of the Italians in the 1970’s. Though it could attributed to the genre women seem to really be looked down upon particularly by the intellectual community. Maybe we do need some powerful witches so show men what can be accomplished by women. But perhaps with a little less murder.

[naesoonghonors]

Suspiria, a young woman's bad dream

Suspiria (1977)

Well, this movie was not what I thought it was going to be, but perhaps that’s my fault for being so ignorant of 1970’s Italian (surrealist?) Horror. It is a completely different language film language from even the previously reviewed ‘Diabolique’. But the unique treat of this stylish women centered horror is worth being thrown for a loop.

This movie kicks off with some very obvious symbolism of our young heroine Suzy in a white dress following in the footsteps of a bright red dressed woman. Suzy unaware of the foreshadowed danger continues making her way through German airport where she has arrived to attend a prestigious dance academy, Freiburg Dance Academy. In the first oddity of the movie Suzy hails a cab. She asks the driver, male, to get out and help her with her two tiny bags in the pouring rain. And the most surprising thing to the room I was watching with was that he didn’t. She honest to god only had two tiny bags but was is odder for her to ask considering the circumstances or for the man to ignore her asking completely. So the main character is set up with a bit of a … hostile? Perhaps uncaring? Environment. But what this reads in retrospect is that Suzy will have to quickly learn to be independent and unafraid to do what she needs to. Regardless Suzy makes it to her destination but as she comes to the door a woman rushes out disturbed, muttering, and then running away into the night. Suzy is… unbothered by this for the most part. She remarks on its oddness but does not act on the woman in any way. So Suzy goes up to the door and asks to be let in via the intercom system but is denied. So she decides to leave and come back in the morning.

The camera decides instead to follow the fleeing Patricia as she stays the night with a friend. She is followed and haunted by an unknown apparition. It reaches to grab her from outside the window with large masculine looking hands. Odd considering we know this is sent to kill her by a seemingly all female coven. But perhaps that’s purposeful. The witches are only known to be using witchcraft through subtle machinations. While never revealed the coven does keep around a couple men in laborer roles to maintain the estate. This may be an illustration of their backwards and ironic dominance of men. While most witch stories have witches in some sense serving under the devil, the ancient Mother Susipiriorum and her two sisters seem to be their own forces of nature. The school having a large portion of male staff is supposed to be odd to the viewer. Even how housework as depicted by these men would usually be a role assumed by women. Like a certain male student is worried about getting home in time for supper. He has to be loyal to the school as he is unable to pay their full tuition, so he became the schools errand boy. They even degrade the handyman saying that the girls can say whatever they please about him because he doesn’t speak English. Instead of ugly Romanian man instead make him a buxom Russian maid and this dialogue becomes much more normalized, particularly for the time.

Despite the girl power narrative of these strong murderous witches oppressing men, I say sarcastically, the coven is very much a self-serving organization. Any possibility of a student, no matter their gender, finding out about their coven is in instant danger for horrific murder. Their ultra-violence isn’t even used in a spell or ritual sense, they just seem willing to murder women and men alike for any reason they deem worthy. They have a blind man killed by his own service dog for his dog biting a little boy one of the head mistresses was fond of. Oh yeah, I hadn’t mentioned yet but on of the women in charge of the school keeps around a little Victorian child she calls her nephew almost like a pet. Overall this narrative has a very dream like feel makes intent difficult to follow.

Back to the plot at large Suzy comes in the next day to begin her time at the academy, and every character to greet her is sure to first mention how beautiful Suzy is. Of course in a performing art like Ballet not looking hideous could be seen as part of the job but the why not compliment her body? As a ballerina that is what would be more focused on. But in 1970’s Germany, and under the directorial lead of a 1970’s Italian man, it is a fit for the time. Beautiful comes to be synonymous with acceptable when relating to women. When Patricia is kicked out of the academy/ murdered She is spoken very ill of by staff and fellow dancer alike. Almost immediately these women are willing to turn against their own because they were perceived of as wrong. Even though Patricia did nothing wrong besides get caught spying of the murderous coven hiding in her dance school. Women throughout history have had very polarizing view thrust upon them. Very infrequently even outside of film is an ‘okay’ woman accepted. They must be poised, graceful, or the very best to be considered. Otherwise they can quickly become cast out as social pariahs just as Patricia instantly was. So Patricia is thrown under the bus by her fellow woman in order to keep their nefarious, world controlling ways secret.

The witch’s coven seems to thrive with the easily manipulated dance students living above them. They do however seem completely unwilling to add more to their coven. Suzy is descried as ‘strong willed’ but framed as that is thought of as a negative thing. These witches and their craft are framed as negative and not as a tool for women but as evil. Suzy later in the movie visits a professor of the occult. He claims witches can only cause harm and sickness, only working to accumulate personal wealth and power. He also contradicts himself and claims witchcraft is just mental illness. Okay, sure, lets ignore all the supernatural murders. Only working to accumulate wealth and power? So what that’s what men do every day. I would love to hear this professor explain how using magic to murder people you don’t like is any morally different from what the rich and wealthy do every day. But I guess when women do it it’s strange and unnatural as opposed to the very natural concept of a ruling elite class of families controlling the world already. But what is most telling of the times is the doctors most harshly delivered line that these women do not giving life only death. Because what else can women do besides give birth in order to not be compared to literal murder witches.

This movies plot is for the most part irrelevant. But Suzy finds the witch coven using her wit and strong will the witches attempted to suppress in her. But the ultimate outcome I took from this film was the need of young women to question and even break old norms. As Suzy sets the house ablaze and escapes, I see the metaphorical winds of change ushering her out of the building that dared to attempt to keep her down. The final famous shot of Suzy is that of her walking away from the burning academy smiling. Not in a crazed grimace but a knowing smile. Suzy knows she has destroyed this terrible institution and she will be able to move past this terrible dream. She does not need these outdated traditions that only manifest to hold her back or attempt to suppress her will and character.

[naesoonghonors]

Fuse Teppō Musume no Torimonochō, hunter -girl-

Fuse memoirs of the hunter girl

This is a movie with a lot of backstory. This is a Japanese animated film based on Kazuki Sakuraba's Fusé Gansaku: Satomi Hakkenden. Both of these being an adaption of the classic novel of Kyokutei Bakin, Nansō Satomi Hakkenden. An epic of novels including one story revolving around a female hunter. This is a unique oddity particularly from 1814 Japan. Even in the modern adaption there is still an emphasis and noveltly of our character being a hunter and female. In order to even travel around certain parts of Edo (Tokyo) our hunter must dress as a man. Her own brother compliments Hamaji with “You’ve grown to be a skilled hunter despite being a woman”. There is of course no given explanation as to why a woman would be worse or unskilled as a hunter. Not to imply women are shown in a negative light throughout the movie. There are beautiful strong women throughout. Hamaji’s sister in law becomes the bread winner with her restaurant. Hamajis turning point as a character is actually killing a fellow woman who she previously saw as an inhuman hunt. The Courtesans humanity and love of her son provides a breakthrough for our main character. So learns to be unafraid of being a woman, and finds true connection with her final hunt, Shino.

After the passing of her grandfather, hamaji is invited by her big brother, Dousetsu, to come live with him in Edo. After she has the priest her read her his letter, as she is illiterate, she decides to head down right away as the loneliness of the mountains is getting to her. After arriving she find the heads of several half human half wolf ‘fuse’ in the town square. Even one of a young pup. The men around her taunt her as she is disturbed by the killing of a young wolf as Hamaji’s grandfather taught her that a hunt is a connection between hunter and prey. No one believes she is a hunter and bothered by the savage implications of the killing; the men around her instead imply that she’s a scared little girl. These aggressive older men ignore her ‘womanly’ anguish and continue to insult her very valid concerns. Society has in a sense decided the justness of murdering the young and innocent, and her rejection of this is seen as weird. She is soon won over to their side by the influence of her well meaning but generally not big thinker of a brother. He thinks the Fuse are evil. Which really makes sense due to their appetite of human souls.

This made the main love story was very interesting to me. Hamaji never seems very bothered by Shino’s killing, nor his blinding of a man in one eye. But perhaps they could be cute together as a bit of a clueless couple, after all Shino is the genius watching a girl run around with a giant gun and never made the connection that she was a hunter. On their first meeting Shino teases her and makes her admit she is a girl. He says it makes sense she’s a girl because her cheeks are always blushed. But the truth of the matter is her cheeks are stuck like that due to frostbite. Flush cheeks and pale skin is in fashion in this era of Japan. I guess this is portrayed as a thing she is lucky to have as it makes her cuter, and physically more similar to the child character. Speaking of children after the revelation of Shino being the final Fuse Hamaji still liking his is a bit confusing. Despite the recent efforts of their group of 8 to stop eating souls that is their source of food. Its very odd. Is there a way for the Fuse to live on morally while also sustaining seemingly purely on human souls? Hamaji is set up by the narrative to just accept this. In a beauty and the beast type narrative the young usually more naïve women are expected to accept the beast like man. Overall it’s sad that this strong woman falls for the first man to pay her any attention, especially when that men eats SOULS! Overall the love story seemed to trump this question and brush over the couples completely conflicting outlooks.

By the end of the film Hamaji has decided never to hunt or kill again, while Shino has disappeared and sends her letters. Hamaji does get the help of her wealthy friend Meido and begins to learn to read and write. This is portrayed as a good and freeing thing for Hamaji. But not very likely for a country bumpkin of the era. There is a beautiful idea of the continuation of works through the generation. Meido is a budding author who wants to continue the work of her elderly and going blind grandfather. There is an acknowledgement that Meido would not be able to create this legacy on her own, as a woman. But she will be able to express her writing thanks to her grandfather’s legacy. So in a subtle way there is an acknowledgement of artistic ability in women but the idea of having to respect or take a woman seriously is holding them back from starting their own legacies. Thankfully as time has moved on women have been more acknowledged in their role in the arts, Miss Hokusai is another great example of this.

Despite all of this I do not believe Shino is a bad guy. After all he is marked with that of a Peony birthmark on his neck. Peonies in Japanese culture stand for good fortune, bravery, and honor. It is often used in tattoos to as a signal of masculine bravery. Another part of this culture in Edo is courtesans. Think a high-class prostitute, but even that is a bit of an oversimplification. Another Fuse is the current top Courtesan, but having a child is a death sentence in that industry. So he takes on the raising of this child. Sadly this boy is the young pup seen at the beginning of the film. His peony mark represents his positive strong masculine traits. He is in great contrast to the Shogun, ruler, who want him dead. The shogun worship obsessively at the sword granted to his family. He is numb to the will of the people and wishes only to kill the Fuse to maintain his power. His soul is so wrapped up in masculine bullshit and toxic that even a starving Shino won’t eat his rotting soul.

This movie comes out with a strong antigovernment and capitalism message. The Samurai are shown as weak and class obsessed. The only thing to save the town is the collective work of the people men and women alike. The idea of being a samurai in power is praised but the money and politics associated poison the spirit of these men. Hamaji, a woman, is the only person smart enough to stop this and ask for her payment for killing the Fuse in installments. She is a humble soul able to bring those surrounding her together in order to form a more powerful people.

All I can say is watch this movie. Despite how negative some of the things I wrote may have seemed it is a beautiful movie. The film shows a beautiful balance of men and women working to help their community, and species, live a peaceful life.

[naesoonghonors]

Diabolique, Weak-Hearted Weak Willed?

"THE DEVIL / Diabolique" (1955)

Well then, Christina, I’m not sure you deserved all that. From everything I’ve read this movie was not meant to comment on the relationship between women, when a man is between them, but WOW does it reflect interestingly on the culture. *This contains spoilers if you haven’t seen this horror classic, I suggest watching it unspoiled for its full effect*

Let’s begin with an small exploration of Michel Delassalle, the cruel headmaster, husband of Christina, and lover to Nicole. His machinations are the focal point of this movie. He conspires with Nicole to kill his wife for money. Mostly because he sees her as useless due to her being female, despite the fact that he makes his money from her boarding school and family business. He admits this to her face and taunts her that a divorcee would never get students to board with her. In the canon of the movie and real life there is no explanation nor correlation between divorce and ability to run a boarding school. But in 1940s Paris this seems to ring true, after all women won the right to vote in 1945. Christina is frequently mentioned as weak, frail, fool by the men surrounding her. Not to imply that Nicole gets any better treatment. Was there ever a mention of her by the staff that didn’t include her being a slut? This general male camaraderie is surely what gives Michel the confidence to treat both of these women as subhuman. Surely in no other situations would an employee be allowed, even a bit encouraged to call their boss such demeaning things. With this Michel continues on physically and mentally abuse both of the women in his life.

So one would begin to think surely this is a movie about her revenge and the freedom achieved for both her and Nicole. Mostly because he is abusive to both women and the children they care for. However the 11th hour twist proves all of us completely wrong. Not to imply that it was completely unforeseeable. For me upon refection my only question is WHY. Why exactly did Nicole agree with Michel to kill Christina? The film portrays them as very different women driven into a decently strong friendship over a shitty guy that they are both involved with. This dynamic was interesting. It just seems like Nicole is too smart of a girl to ever bother entertaining Michel. Ultimately, they worked together to kill her for her money but why is Nicole hanging around this ass in the first place?  He never portrayed with any positive traits. He’s not even nice to the male children under his care. The only positive interaction Nicole and Michel are implied to have is sex, so it seems the audience is supposed to believe Michel is so gifted that risking a murder sentence is worthwhile. Michel uses sex only to exert his power over women. He is seen raping Christina is her sick weakened state and allowing his employees to ridicule and demean his mistress! He lets the woman he supposedly likes get bullied at their place of employment. As much as this is taunted as a cinematic masterpiece even a little more insight into what Nicole did this for could make the reveal so much more potent. Perhaps there was not enough time between the release of the original novel and the movie for their to be any substantial changes in the general view of women and why they behaved the way they did.

Now to be fair Michel and Nicole are caught in the end by the detective overhearing their immediate celebrating. But even then, that is a culmination of chance meetings and coincidences not any work on Christina’s part. In fact the only reason the detective continues to check in on her is because he thinks Christina’s a delusional woman. He as a private eye feels he for some reason has the authority to continually enter their property and poke around. Socially it seems the two women are unable to dismiss him from his goal. There is a clear social dynamic where this wise older man will help these poor women whether or not they want it. Its notably uncomfortable, even when taking into account that the women are attempting to hide evidence of a ‘murder’. But I soon felt this dynamic has the third instance of this, not the second. First Michel, third the Detective, second perhaps one could consider Nicole to Christina. When manipulating and scheming Nicole comes off as very masculine in comparison to the weakly submissive Christina.

She is often seen commanding Christina. Often pictured as large when they share scenes together, this is not a coincidence in shot composition. Nicole is the one who formulates the plan to kill Michel and carries out the more physical parts of the murder. She even remarks that Christina can carry his corpses feet as they are a bit lighter. Denial and gas-lighting are how Michel is shown to rule over Christina’s mind. So Nicole consciously or not mimics this and her lover’s aggression in order to control Christina. The movie however does not seem to have a particular statement about the use of this masculine energy, more it indirectly seems to look down upon the female spirit. Christina dies of her heart condition, very much ironically echoing women dying of a broken heart. The more feminine personal justice of murdering her abuser is undermined by a fellow woman working under the plan of a man. Only to have that undermined by the masculine ideals of law and a man detective.

This movie does not seem to have much love for the women of its narrative, nor really understand females as a whole. The only allowed autonomy under the scheming of a man, or justice only after the worst has happened. Overall, my hope is that the boy at the end truly did see Christina around the house and that her story gets a happy ending before her eventual death.

[naesoonghonors]

Pans Labyrinth, Regression/maturity/death

“My mother told me never to trust fauns.” Growing up is not easy, particularly for girls. There is a shame and impurity associated with menstruation in popular culture. This makes a Jungian rejection of growing older unsurprising.

In Pans Labyrinth the Princess of the Underworld is reincarnated unto the earth as our protagonist Ofelia. After following a fairy into the woods she learns of her destiny by the titular Pan. She must complete 3 tasks as told to her by a book in order to be brought back to the underworld. Three tasks to be done before the full moon. A symbol of womanhood and association with menstruation. This fantastical framing is contrasted by the post Spanish civil war drama running concurrent to her struggles. Ofelia’s counterpoint is Mercedes, the servant of Ofelia’s new stepdad the Captain. He is a Fascist working to suppress a Guerilla force of Republicans working in the surrounding woods and mountain. Mercedes is a spy working for the Guerilla fighters in the woods, using her close position to the Captain to undermine him. Both Ofelia and Mercedes must both utilize their femaleness to fight battles for their respective missions. They both must work to take down a masculine force that overtakes the more free, natural, and feminine existence being abused and exploited.

Task 1: There is a beautiful lack of subtlety in the symbolism of the first task. Ofelia must feed a frog three stones in order to kill it, revive a fig tree and recover a key. She strips out of a dress chosen for her to impress and support her stepfather. She dirties the shoes she was expected to keep clean. A direct disobeying and rebelling of her position. She takes things used to oppress her and used them for her own good and gain. But I believe there is also symbolism in her mother giving her shoes to protect and bring her to her destiny. Her mother only married the Captain to keep her family safe. Her mother’s sacrifices and love give Ofelia these chances to escape and stay safe. This is very much in line with Ofelia’s current state of mind. She is told she is too old for fairy tales but insists on continued reading and following literal fairies’ tails. Ofelia is currently experiencing repression, A going back to a previous state. After Ofelia in undressed she enters the dying fig tree evoking the image of a womb and fallopian tube. Using the bugs around she tricks the gluttonous frog into eating the stones. After retrieving the key she leaves the Yonic tree, covered in the clay, mud and ‘afterbirth’ of the tree. This functions as a rebirth for Ofelia. She has taken control of her destiny and leaves her mother womb forced to face what is outside. Ofelia’s mother is getting sicker from her pregnancy, and there may come a time she no longer has any protection from the Captain. This feeding and opposing of a gluttonous frog is also reflecting in Mercedes journey. After the Captain kills what he thinks are lowly rebels, read: pests/insects/bugs, he their food taken off their corpses and fed to the base. Ofelia works to serve up the stew and takes care of the new rations being put away in a storage shed. The Captain takes what he thinks is the only copy but Mercedes who he thinks is a dumb woman keeps a spare with her. Mercedes has a plan to take the gluttons stores to help her own men. Both Mercedes and Ofelia have their key and are entering a more dangerous step in their journey. Fascism is eating up those less powerful, but this metaphor continues in Ofelias second task.

Task 2: Using the key and the feast. This task has the clearest connections between Ofelia and Mercedes. Ofelia must go into The Pale Man’s domain and use the key to retrieve a dagger. Ofelia must steal from a literal ‘white man’, a man who eats the young and hoards food. This is very representative of the Fascist Spain in this period. Just as the Captain keeps food from the real-life villager and takes from them the Pale man hoard food and eats children. The Captain limits down the towns people rations to one per family. He does this while also eating a large lavish feast with ‘important’ men. The machismo of these men is in stark contrast to the feminine and selfless portrayed by both heroines. These like all feminine traits in the move are portrayed positively while males in power are harsh. This interesting from a male director, but not unexpected from Guillermo Del Toro. There are brave and good men in this movie like the Republic fighters and the doctor but toxic masculinity walks hand in hand with power. Ofelia’s journey has progressed from the womb to the cusp of maturity. She is tempted like Eve in the Garden of Eden. She is tempted by the grapes and thus awakens the Pale Man. He hunts her down to eat her, but she escapes with the sacrifice of two fairy companions. Pan tells her this was a great mistake, that this has made her impure and mortal. This echoing a man slut shaming a young woman. Ofelia is on her own and in danger. Mercedes, her mother, and Pan are no longer there to save her.  This is reflective of Mercedes and the Guerilla group. Mercedes give them the keys to the storage house and the guerilla fighters attack to steal and sabotage their supplies. Both sides engage in more warfare in the coming days and there are loses to both sides, but the guerilla suffers more. The Captain metaphorically eating these men like the Pale Man eats those children who enter his lair. Even when confronting Mercedes for being a traitor the Captain refuses to take a woman seriously and lets her remain being his maid. And this hubris will be his downfall. Just like Ofelia, Mercedes is exposed and in danger. She must work independently to save others.

Task 3: As the Captain closes in on the traitor Mercedes she attempts to escape with Ofelia. They are captured, unlike the men Mercedes is not killed right away, and Ofelia is just sent back to her room. The Captain does not see either of them as a threat, in deep contrast to his treatment of the male Republic members. This is his downfall. Ofelia in despair is visited by Pan and told to grab her brother and meet him in the Labyrinth. She runs to meet Pan being pursued by The Captain. Pan asks for her brother, saying he will only take a drop. He needs a drop of innocent blood, Ofelia is not innocent anymore, she was tempted and fell to the grapes in The Pale Mans feast. But Ofelia is strong of character. She refuses to shed the blood of her innocent brother. She knows he is innocent; her problems are not his fault and it is not right of her to risk ‘just one drop’. At this point The Captain catches up to Ofelia, takes his son and promptly shoots our protagonist to death. While the wound isn’t show blood is. This task culminates in blood and menstruation along with Ofelia’s death. Ofelia awakens in The Under World and approaches her family and Pan. Her third task was the ultimate show of feminine strength, she had to have been willing to spill her own blood in place of the innocent. In sad contrast to the real-world Ofelia is just another innocent tragedy of fighting. Thanks to The Captain’s sexism Mercedes is able to gather the rebel forces and take down the Fascist compound. In the theme of rebirth Mercedes takes the baby and has The Captain killed.

Both Mercedes and Ofelia work to break a cycle of toxic masculinity, despite how different their tasks seem at the start. Their feminine strength is a necessity in life just as the menstruation of a woman is necessary. Pans Labyrinths is a celebration of females and their strengths. If this is the type of movies you like I would suggest a look at the rest of Guillermo Del Toro’s filmography.

[naesoonghonors]

Introduction

Hello! This is Erin a Junior at Illinois State. This blog is being set up as an honors project for my english 128 class Gender in the Humanities. Ill be looking at gender, womanhood and how it is portrayed in foreign media. Ill be doing a movie a week for the semester (10 movies), so if you have a suggestion I’d love to hear it. Likely most of the movies will come from Asia but i wont limit myself to that. Thank you and please feel free to respond and lets discuss!

[naesoonghonors]

First review, Perfect Blue

Double bind: a situation where one cannot manage a dilemma, they are unable to resolve or even escape such events.

Perfect Blue is not a simple movie to understand. Its not meant to be because it is a psychological thriller. Perfect Blue is a story of a pop idol facing a big career change from singing to acting. Mima feels smothered and unable to grow artistically in her role as a pop idol. Her persona that she displays to fans is not who she really is. It is a fake personality that she uses to pander to her fans. This persona is one of a squeaky clean and innocent idol. She sings feminine pop love songs and tells men to ‘be more aggressive because you will have the chance’. Like many real-life idols, she must maintain this perfect image if she wishes to remain relevant as her male fans will reject her if she seems unpleasant or undedicated to them. Her managerial team pretends they know what is best for her. Rumi, outwardly rejecting the will of the young woman in favor of projecting her own ideas. Mima is pushed into a submissive role even while trying to escape the suffocation of the idol world. Even worse she is pushed into these things by other women. This movie explores the ownership of young women and the control of perception/idolship. There is the interesting real-life case of Sulli and Choiza. When it came to be known they were dating they both received criticism. However Sulli was accused of ‘not caring what her fans thought’. Choiza was able to move on from this with much more ease then his female counter part. This feeling of owning a woman is not a new concept but simply evolved in new ways to suit this new medium. In the opening of the movie the stalker Me-Mania views himself as literally holding the performing Mima in his hand. He does not know the real human Mima, in fact only talking to a fake Mima through emails. This parasocial relationship is toxic to both sides. She is an icon, an idol, a commodity. So deviation from that perfect persona upsets those who believe they know the real Mima or believe they are Mima.

Rumi, who comes to believe she herself is the true Mima rejects the new actress direction Mima is pursuing. Women are not often allowed to evolve or change without backlash from executives and fans alike. Mima was known as a pop idol so she ‘must’ remain it. This is the problem Rumi herself faces. Rumi used to be a pop idol back in the day but it now old, fat, and with distinctly ugly/ unusual features. So as Mima chooses to announce her retirement from her pop group CHAM Rumi tries to protect what she believes the true Mima would want. She discourages Mima but none the less continues to be her manager and devoted stalker.

One of the most chilling parts of the movie are scenes related to “Mimas Room” a mysterious website posting about Mimas day and her thoughts going through it. Oddly this blog is not run by Mima. There is a disgusting element to the entitlement of people, more specifically devoted men, and how they feel about the lives of these pop stars. They are often not allowed boyfriends, nor to drink. This hysterical fan makes the mistake of blending the Persona and the Person. As the pop idol persona is pushed on to her she rejects it and tries to get away. This is when the Mima in the mirror manifests. These men and Rumi have pushed their ideas on her so hard its causing stress related delusions. This is not a farfetched fantasy, women in the public eye are often pushed to such extremes by media. Usually manifesting as afflictions like eating disorders, but possibly in these delusions and hallucinations. Some would say this is what happened to Brittany Spears.

Mima feels the need to cater to and make others happy. This is perhaps why she burned out on the idol business. But as a woman in the industry she is in an inherently not safe place. She is a vulnerable newbie actress; and predatory men take advantage of that. She is sent to a photographer known for talking women out of their clothes, her first real acting role is a rape scene. Even with a female manager she is sent to these situations and must live with the trauma as a steppingstone to her acting career. This is something very unique to women. Rape is often trivialized by media, made a plot point, and worst of all made a reason for a male character’s growth to be seen as her savior. This is almost parodied in the murders of all these men done by Me-Mania. He is there to protect the purity of someone who does not want his help and is in fact in more danger with him around. At the point in the movies of the rape scene it is too early in Mimas arch for her to have come into her true new fully realized Mima. She instead does these scenes for the sake of others.

This movie also sees Mima run the gambit with the Virgin Whore dichotomy. As soon as Mima does a single risqué scene her fan base seems to turn completely. They think she’s gross, or that she likes pretending to be raped. This would not happen to a male actor. People do not make assumptions about actors when they play certain roles; people do not think Leonardo Decaprio is at all like the role he plays in Wolf of Wallstreet. This strange double standard is an excuse to put down those who displease the masses and justify their hatred.

Mimas only source of support is from the drama she is acting in. The character is in a very similar situation. She is told by another actress, scratch that, a well respected actress that she admires, that it is foolish to believe each person is made up of one persona. The actress’s character claims people change from second to second. In the language of film it shows pretty immediately after that this is what pushes Mima to get herself back together. She begins to gain strength against the her of the past that keeps harassing her from her mirror. Acting is hard but it is what Mima wants to do. She is a hard working woman, who thrives when she does think for the sake of herself and her ambitions.

The movie ends with Mima fighting ‘her past self’/ Rumi. Rumi chases her through the street with a screwdriver and attempts to kill Mima. Mima manages to evade her and take Rumis wig. This reminds Rumi who she really is. Rumi runs in front of a truck attempting to commit suicide but Mima sees her past self and not Rumi in that moment. She runs and pushes her past self out of the way. Managing to defeat and overcome her past she is now able to reconcile with it. Mima learned a lot from her time as an idol, and while she is ready to move on to bigger and better things this past self is still a part of her, so she saves it. There is a time skip where you see Mima visiting Rumi at a psychiatric home. And Mima thanks Rumi for helping her become the Mima she is today. She reflects on being able to be her real self as she drives off under the ‘Perfect Blue’ Sky.