Gender in Film: “Penelope” by Mark Palansky Essay (Movie Review)

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Introduction

The role of appearance in the human life is discussed in a lot of movies. The ideas of these movies are usually similar, and the movie message is based on the statement of significance of the inner beauty instead of focusing on the appearance. Penelope (2006) is the fantasy comedy directed by Mark Palansky, and this movie is also focused on the conflict between the appearance and inner beauty of the person. Basing on the plot which reflects many elements of fairy tales, Palansky develops the idea that the inner beauty should be the main reason to evaluate the person and its qualities. The director also emphasizes the role of the person’s self-acceptance as the way to overcome any difficulties.

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Starring Christina Ricci as Penelope, James McAvoy as Max, and Reese Witherspoon as Annie, the film produced by the Stone Village Pictures with the budget in $15 million gained more than $ 21 million during the period of distribution. The theme and message of Penelope which is to accept oneself without references to the appearance is important to be discussed within the Gender and Film Course as it illuminates the ways how appearance can influence the gender interactions. Thus, the purpose of this mid-term paper is to apply the concepts learning within the course to the message of the movie Penelope basing on the analysis and discussion of the scene from the movie.

Description

The movie begins with telling the story of Penelope. The first scene during which the audience can observe Penelope and her disorder begins at the fourth minute of the movie. It is important to concentrate on this scene from the fourth minute of the movie which lasts approximately 3 minutes. Penelope is sitting in the dark room of her family mansion, and she is making the origami figure of a red bird. The girl is listening to the young man’s speech, but she cannot see him as well as the man cannot see Penelope. The young man is standing in front of the mirror which divides the hall and Penelope’s room. The desire to see Penelope in spite of her appearance because only the inner beauty matters is declared. However, when Penelope comes to the man he tries to escape because of the disgust he feels while observing the girl with the face disorder. Penelope is not upset, but her mother cries in despair because of the situation (Penelope, 2006).

Analysis of the Scene

This scene is important to understand the feelings of Penelope and her mother in relation to Penelope’s disorder. Thus, Penelope is sitting in the dark room because she is hidden from the world to avoid the situation when people could see her ‘pig’ face. However, Penelope is not ready to agree with the situation, and she is making the origami figure of the bird as a symbol of freedom. The young man speaking to Penelope knows about her disorder, but he thinks he can admit it because only inner beauty can be really significant, and they have a lot of similarities because they have to live as in prison under the influence of their status and appearance. Nevertheless, when Penelope comes to the young man he escapes, supporting the idea that appearance matters for him (Penelope, 2006). However, Penelope is not upset because she understands that her ‘pig’ face cannot reflect her inner world, and her ‘pig’ nose is only a part of her appearance. Penelope’s mother cannot agree with the daughter that is why she tries to convince Penelope to hide her disorder.

The actions of Penelope’s mother are caused by the good intentions to protect the daughter and save her from the consequences of the curse, but she concentrates on the role of Penelope’s disorder in her life extremely. However, the actions of Penelope can support the idea that she can accept her disorder, but the problem is in impossibility to go out, to see the world, and to demonstrate her appearance to the other people because of their feeling uncomfortable. The scene is significant to reveal the differences in Penelope, her mother, and other people’s opinion in relation to Penelope’s ‘pig’ face. It is possible to note that the scene helps to accentuate the conflict between Penelope’s perception of the beauty of the world and her appearance and the other people’s perceptions based on stereotypes (Penelope, 2006). Furthermore, Penelope’s mother also relies on stereotypical vision of the problem in spite of her love for Penelope.

It is also important to refer to the gender stereotypes according to which the woman’s appearance can be discussed as the more significant factor to marry her than her real inner beauty. That is why, while emphasizing similarities with the heiress of the rich family, the young man is not ready to accept her ‘pig’ appearance. Furthermore, his disgust is the typical men’s reaction to Penelope’s appearance that is why Penelope’s mother insists that the daughter should be more cunning and hide her drawbacks before the marriage (Penelope, 2006).

Discussion

It is possible to agree with Penelope’s behaviour and her unwillingness to be hidden in the room because of her nose which differs from some standards. Moreover, it is also possible to agree with the position of Penelope’s mother who has only good intentions to protect her daughter, and she wishes only good fortune to her daughter. The scene makes the audience think about the role of stereotypes in the society. Furthermore, it gives some points on the specifics of the relations between men and women when men are inclined to pay more attention to the appearance than to the inner beauty, and women who are aware of this aspect are inclined to hide their possible drawbacks and create the necessary positive image. Such conclusions can be made with references to Penelope’s mother’s discussion of her marriage and the necessity to wait for getting married before discussing all the secrets.

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Conclusion

The main idea of the scene is the presentation of differences in perceiving the person’s appearance in relation to the stereotypes developed within the society, including gender stereotypes. Thus, the role of appearance in the society can be exaggerated, and the importance of the inner beauty can be unappreciated. The characters of the young man and Penelope’s mother are dependent on the stereotypes, and they are presented in opposition to Penelope who only wants to be loved and does not want to be hidden in the room because of appearance which cannot reflect her real personality. Demonstrating her appearance to the young man, Penelope accentuates her desire to be happy and live a normal life without references to the ‘pig’ appearance which is only the physical disorder.

Reference

(2006). Web.

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IvyPanda. (2020, May 20). Gender in Film: "Penelope" by Mark Palansky. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-in-film-penelope-by-mark-palansky/

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"Gender in Film: "Penelope" by Mark Palansky." IvyPanda, 20 May 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/gender-in-film-penelope-by-mark-palansky/.

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IvyPanda. (2020) 'Gender in Film: "Penelope" by Mark Palansky'. 20 May.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "Gender in Film: "Penelope" by Mark Palansky." May 20, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-in-film-penelope-by-mark-palansky/.

1. IvyPanda. "Gender in Film: "Penelope" by Mark Palansky." May 20, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-in-film-penelope-by-mark-palansky/.


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IvyPanda. "Gender in Film: "Penelope" by Mark Palansky." May 20, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-in-film-penelope-by-mark-palansky/.

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