"Girl" on a motorcycle
Well, after going through the readings and viewing the movie a few new concepts were brought up, one being voyeurism and the other phallocentrism. The female character is degraded in many ways which we will discuss here.
The first way I noticed that she was degraded was by the way she was filmed. It was obvious from the time she puts on her leather pantsuit without clothes on underneath (oh how tantalizing for men!) and the way her breasts are shown as she zips it up, that she is an object. In the scenes with her lover, she is portrayed as emotional and a stereotypical female, except for the fact that she is mostly with him for sex. She later syas though "you would never have me, would you?" Which hints at the stereotypical female "need" for commitment. So although in some ways this film could be sen as putting a woman in control of her life, she is still portrayed as weak, and inferior. She is inferior because she does not posses the phallus. Although seen as sexy, and a little bit out of control, and because of this maybe a bit threatening, she is sentenced to death by flames in the end.
Now for voyeurism, this was interesting because I had never heard the word before. I just have heard "peeping-tom" and in this film there was much opportunity for peeping. The scenes by the window, kissing by the cabin/shed in the snow where they could be caught. There are multitudes of examples, but the way everyone is filmed you feel like you are peeking in on something a bit naughty.
If this film was supposed to be liberating for women, I disagree on that. The only part that was liberating at all was the fact that she was taking control of her happiness when she could by traveling on her motorcycle. The lesson in the end though is pretty obvious so her freedom is later negated and show as a big no-no.