Introduction
Literature has offered man opportunity to present real life scenarios in a dramatized manner to entertain, educate, caution, or just inform society members the realities of life. Novels, poems, short stories, proverbs, drama and other genres of literature have been popularly used by people as a way of presenting life situation to people in an entertaining way (Galvan 23).
Drama became very popular in fifteenth century, when William Shakespeare was very active on stage. Their performance had to be watched live on stage for there was no means through which it could be recorded for future use. This changed with invention of tape recorders. Through this, actors could have movies recorded for future use.
The inception of Hollywood completely changed the world of drama. It enabled recording of plays as movies in tape recorders (Dawidowicz 45). Many actors and movies gained fame as one could watch them from different locations, provided that the tape player and the recorded tape are available. “Girlfriends” was one such movie. Launched in 1970s, this thriller brings to focus, the realities of the world.
Realism from “Girlfriends”
This is a creative movie developed in 1978, directed by Claudia Weill. The movie is not only interesting but also very educative as it is a representation of a real life situation. This documentary is done in such a way that it presents the realities of the world in a simple but clearly structured manner.
The story gives us a representation of life in America in the seventies. Based in a society that was development conscious, this documentary provides a picture of American society and the place of women in this society. This piece of art is designed in a manner that presents how the society members viewed women and how women viewed their position amongst themselves.
We are introduced to two friends, Ann Munroe and Susan Weinblatt. They both stay together in a house they have let. They have a strong emotional attachment towards each other. They share their secrets and as we see them initially in the movie, their world seems to be tied together.
They have the feeling that their friendship has a strong bond and that their destination is bound by this love they have towards each other. Although very decently presented without any scene that appears to be immoral, the documentary presents several themes that are intended to show that this United States of America is loosing out on morals. This movie presents us with the following themes as the story unfolds.
The two main characters are self supportive, though Susan is more successful. They therefore have the feeling that they should be free from anyone’s instructions. They want their own space where no one has control over them. This seemed to be working well with them till one of them, Ann, meets a man who according to her is caring and very loving.
This man is an engineer. She realizes what she had been missing. It comes to her realization that she may not be in a position to live without a man in her life. She tells her friend of her decision to marry. Her friend Susan is against this as she feels that they should just concentrate on their career other than marriage.
This illustrates the increasing habit of staying without marrying that many women in this society have developed. They have the feeling they can live normally without having to marry. However, the author appreciates that at times this decision may not be easy as some of these ladies may find it difficult to cope without marriage. Without suspecting it, they find themselves married when they least expect.
The two ladies are very fond of each other. They have very strong attachment, and though we are not openly told about it, this relationship leans towards being romantic. The director presents this theme with a lot of decorum, but from the way the two are relating to each other, we are left with little doubt of making such a conclusion.
On this society, there was a steady rise of homosexuality. Although both are presented as being heterosexual in all respect, we are left guessing that there is a possibility that they could be engaged in such acts. It is during such time that this habit gained popularity among many individuals in this society. Because of fear of intimidation and public ridicule, such individuals would engage in such acts in secrets so that other society members do not realize this.
This documentary paints the relationship that existed between men and women of this society. As we can see from the discussion between Susan and her girlfriend Ann, women were never expected to be in places of authority in this society. They were expected to be at home to take care of children.
However, this book presents a crop of women who decided not to bow to this intimidation. Though the environment is not supportive towards them, they strongly believe that they can make it through in life, if only they have the determination to do so. Susan finds herself in a situation where she has to choose between her profession and a marriage life.
Her friend Ann had made the decision to get married and she felt very lonely in the process. However, she now has to choose between the professions she had dedicated much of her time to and a married life which comes with reduced freedom. Unlike her friend who resigned to her fate, Susan is very strong willed and believes in going after her dreams at whichever cost.
She sticks to her profession and her determination to succeed grows with every passing minute. Although we see her fall to the force of love as the story progresses, it is evident that she is a success in her profession. The American society had started witnessing such women who would do all that it takes to achieve their goals in the corporate world.
The director of this movie also presents us with another theme, the modern corporate women. This theme is presented through Susan. Currently, women strongly believe in gainful employment irrespective of their husbands’ earnings. They have developed the attitude that they have the capacity to provide for themselves.
At first, Susan fell in love with Ceil. This affair, though short-lived, presents this lady as a focused person who is not easily swayed from her set ambitions. When she later meets rabbi, her focus is still not lost. She tells him all she had wanted to become, but because she was a lady, the societal discrimination could not allow her. Rabbi has very little option but to congratulate her for her achievements. This shows that the society is changing. Women can now be seen as people who can achieve a lot in life, just like their male counterparts.
The shooting of this movie was done with relatively lesser sophisticated photographs compared to what is normally used in the Hollywood movies (Tibbett 274). This has made the color of the movie less glamorous.
At some points in the movie, it is evident that the angle at which the photographer took was poor, resulting in poor image quality. However, most of the scenes in the movie are standard, especially the part where Susan sees off rabbi at night when he came to visit her at her work station. The background is so serene and very romantic. The sound quality is also of good standard.
This documentary full of originality, but is overly dramatized. Though it is easy for the audience to relate to it, the some of the scenes are overdramatized. The reaction of Susan towards the message about Ann’s marriage is not realistic. Though it presents the feelings of Susan pretty well, it lacks a sense of reality.
It appears to be more of a drama within a drama. An audience may not directly see such a scene happening in real life. However, the movie is generally presented in a very thrilling manner, with a message that clearly paints the society of America in 1970s.
It is a very captivating movie, with characters that understand their roles and plays them well. The message is brought in a clear and interesting manner. The director has succeeded in not only captivating the audience with this interesting movie, but also pressing the importance of a society that is liberal to all genders.
Works Cited
Dawidowicz, Paula. Literature Review Made Easy: a guide to success. Iowa: IA Publishers, 2010. Print.
Galvan, Jose. Writing Literature Reviews: a guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences. Michigan: Pyrczak press, 2006. Print.
Tibbett, John. “A Matter of Definition.” Out of Bounds in the Girl Friends Sep. 26, 1978: 270-276. Print.