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In the film Cusp, Alice is a witness of the role of gender in everyday life. Stereotypically men have power over women in society. This is demonstrated when Alice has a question in the classroom, and politely raises her hand, but the rowdy boys get called on first. It is also demonstrated when her mom’s friends boyfriend leaves her. He has the power in that certain situation, because he leaves her alone and helpless. In the film, an idea that beautiful women are more powerful than less attractive women is displayed as well. Alice’s moms friend tells her that she has to “look gorgeous everyday� in order to be successful and get attention from men. Also the “pretty girls� in Alice’s school treat her as inferior to them because she was not a cute, or because she didn’t have enough money. Also this movie demonstrates how men use their gender to gain power over women. The store clerk, by being sweet to Alice, wins over the girls attention that he is trying to get because she thinks that if he is nice to young girls, he must be a good guy.

Alice is easily frustrated with the limits of power. When kung fu boy does his moves on her she finally fights back, although this is not really acceptable because she is a girl, and therefore should not be doing the same things normal boys do. She also tries to fight against the norms when her best friend ditches her for the “prettier� girl. Most girls would not question or confront their friend, but Alice does. All in all this movie does a great job of displaying examples of gender and power, and the character of Alice demonstrates the limits and frustrations that people in our society encounter everyday.