Summer 07: Feminist Film Studies

G.I. Jane is about Lt. O’Neil, a female in the Navy. The Senator has been given the opportunity to have a trial run in order to see if women could pass the same training as the men. O’Neil decided to take up the offer for the trial run. She was living at a time where women could only go so far in the military, just because they were women. She was not doing it for women’s rights or the glory, but because she wanted it for herself.
She was faced with opposition from her commanding officers, her battle buddies, and ever her boyfriend. It just made her work harder however. Her boyfriend eventually came around to supporting her. However, in the end of the movie, she did not go back to being the “housewife� like so many other movies in their “Happily Ever After.�
The director, Ridley Scott, has directed other great movies such as Matchstick Men, Black Hawk Down, Hannibal, and Gladiator. I think his work stands out because it makes his audience feel what his characters are feeling. He used strong classical music that intensified the moment and made me feel as if something big was building up. He used lighting in the way a lot of horror movies use it in that the bad guy, the more powerful one, was always in the shadows. You could not make out their facial or body emotions, thus giving the impression that they should be feared. At the same time, O’Neil would always be in the window light.
If you watch this movie, pay attention to the scene where they are writing an essay. You can almost feel the temperature, how sleepy they are due to their exhaustion, the music, and the lighting/thunder storm. Also notice that the director used an unclear, not sharp, lens. I think this is because he wanted to portray that the military is unclear even when you are in it. Because of this, I think Scott’s movie, G.I. Jane, is an amazingly done movie!