Cusp
The film, Cusp, clearly demonstrated the difficulties young girls face when in the adolescent-to-adult process. We saw numerous examples of gender issues within the film. For instance, the girls in the bathroom were putting lip-gloss/makeup on because that is what they thought they needed to do. Later on, Eliza informed Alice that their best-friendship was over because Alice’s looks didn’t measure up to Eliza’s standards. That must have sent a negative message to Alice regarding the importance of appearances. Also, Leila tells Alice that she needs to look good for men at all times, which sends the message that women need men in their lives and/or that finding a man/looking good for a man is the most important goal in a female’s life. It really places men above women.
There were many examples of power in Cusp. One specific example that I can think of is the sleeping bag situation. Not having a sleeping bag was like the end of the world to these girls. Alice’s financial situation affected her social life, and her young-little- adolescent life is really a reflection of what life would be like for her as an adult (if she remained in a sticky financial situation). Money is power. Interestingly, men make more cents per dollar than women, so to say that money is power is indirectly saying that men is power.
I think Alice’s frustration emerged because she came to the realization that beauty isn’t everything after all; beauty has importance, but it’s not necessarily the best way to focus life off of. Eliza broke off their friendship due to Alice’s appearance, and the guy on the street made a comment to Alice while she was “looking good,� resulting in Alice covering herself up. Alice faced many mixed signals throughout the film, but in the end, I think she was really able to see the relationships between gender and power in everyday life.