Clueless: A Gender Non-Defined!

Women are soft, quiet, gentle and non-aggressive.  If you watch a lot of modern films they are also clueless.  The stereotype of gender in films is as prevalent today as it was over 50 years ago in the film Some Like It Hot.  While I admit that Marilyn Monroe had draw, she could bat an eyelash and insinuate herself into a chair like no other, her roles were demeaning.  Her power lie in the ability to draw and to encourage the opposite sex in continuing determined stubbornness of its view of self and who she was, therefore reinforcing gender rules and making everyone feel safe.

Typically most women portrayed in cinema fall neatly into categories; black widow, virgin-whore, Femme Fatale, or just plain clueless:  yet men are granted something entirely different.  Male protagonists lead, rule with a never ending mercy, protect those who cannot protect themselves (usually women and children), or they are sensitive, briefly displaying emotion in a manner that somehow reinforces their masculinity, because they aren’t afraid to reveal their character can conveniently contribute to the hegemonic patriarchy often situated in cinematic film.

So why are the sexes divided into separate camps?  Why does one need to have force and conviction, while the other behaves passive and receptive? I believe it comes down to balance.  There must be an equal dynamic to a story for the movie to flow.  Film Noir, one example of the balance for power, does a very good job of incorporating the conflicting ideology of sexual behavior into a believable storyline, because as we know, no sex is clueless, just misinformed.

Clueless: A film about a girl who seems oblivious to anyone or anything except herself is a perfect example of how cinema portrays the virgin-clueless uninformed.  A recent portrayal of an old novel by Jane Austen, Clueless draws on the inherent predictability of the sexes to point out the folly of one girl and her redemption through love.  The character, Cher, a completely self absorbed and uninformed teen follows a path to discovery.  Finding her own fate in attempting to revamp and reconcile her friends’ existence and sets out on a journey that will eventually reveal she has a lot to learn. 

                Her mother dead from a freak liposuction accident, Cher is raised by her father, an attorney who has taught her there is nothing in life that is not negotiable.  Cher demonstrates this in one scene of the film where she negotiates her grade on a test back from the grave to an astounding A.  So while the Scarlett Letter starring Demi Moore as Hester Prynne revealed women have the resilience and structure to withstand a social bitter wind, Cher has proven, with enough determination and stubbornness the other team will eventually lose steam and back down.  Negotiation?  Perhaps; or possibly a display of aggressive attributes usually attributed to men. 

Driven by the need to insert herself into what she thinks will make her happy, she attempts to reinvent her identity as a social savior.  Prepping her friend on social do’s and don’ts she inserts a lost soul of high school into the cool crowd and begins to feel extremely proud of her accomplishments until it all goes wrong.

Typical of the cinematic storylines, Cher discovers that it is indeed she who is lost and needs to be saved.  So the once determined, single minded girl now has her mind set on a man; never mind that it is her step-brother Josh!  Josh, a somewhat passive, modern teen is tolerant of Cher and mildly fond of her despite what his intellectual brain tells him.  This is typical of the Hollywood narrative form portrayed in so many films.  The protagonist, usually a man, saves the day by entering the film and reducing the female’s dilemma, which is usually whether she will attain the man she wants and therefore happiness, by saying yes to her.  I thought that was the woman’s role?   Perhaps things are not as clear as they seem.

White patriarchal capitalism is heavily encoded within films, where the hero rises above circumstance and emerges a winner in an unjust world; he is aided and assisted by a willing female.  The female protagonist in this film is displayed as seeking a spiritual station above her current awareness; which isn’t very high.  Aided by her chosen companion Josh, Cher proceeds to mature and develop both intellectually and spiritually to the point of almost evolving.  So while she is the one on an adventure, he will be there to support and nurture her inherently needed growth.   

                The story ends in grand closure as the girl gets the guy, while not necessarily rising in society as much as her own opinion of herself. Acknowledged by the one she seeks, Cher finds the approval she has been seeking and therefore reinforcing that she is okay after all.  So where is the balance?    Perhaps the balance lies in the dynamics of mutually exchanged possibility within a storyline.  Perhaps gender roles are not defined by sex, but by passive and aggressive pairings, whether male or female.  But the question must be answered; did Cher find worth independently or because someone else sees it in her, even if temporarily?  And if so, what happens when they change their mind?  While making impressive strides in films such as Boys Don’t Cry and The Adventures of Priscilla; Queen of the Desert in representing the complexity of gender identity, cinema still has a long way to go as the general population will not see those films and remain clueless.

Sources Cited:

Benshoff, Harry, and Sean Griffin. America On Film; Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Second. Chichester, West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2009. 8, 24-25, 289. Print.