Introduction
The women’s movement for their rights is common in the modern world as many feminists want to achieve equal opportunities for all sexes. However, in the first decades of the last century, most women did not even have the right to vote, and the opportunity to work equally with men was only a dream for them. The suffrage movement, which began its active development at the end of the nineteenth century, was a start of the struggle for gender equality, and society has to know about it to understand the current situation. Sarah Gavron created the film Suffragette to show the origin of the movement and the reasons that forced women to fight for their rights by presenting her emotional understanding of the events of that time.
Main body
The movie focuses on several strong female characters and situations that happen to them in the struggle for their rights. The main character of Suffragette is Maud Watts, an ordinary working woman who is forced to work hard all her life and endure the indulgent attitude of men. After her suffragist friend, Violet Miller, was severely beaten by her husband and could not testify in court about sexual abuse against laundry workers, Maud replaces her (Suffragette). The women lose the case, which causes the main character want to fight and release her anger. Maud participates in suffragist rallies, is arrested, and spends a week in prison. After her release, her neighbors condemn her, husband forbids her to join demonstrations, and after the police again catch Maud, he throws her out of the house and keeps her son away from her (Suffragette). In the movie, the viewer also sees some historical characters, such as Emmeline Pankhurst and Emily Davison, who, in real life, were the inspiration of the suffrage movement.
In addition, the film shows many cruel and gloomy scenes, such as the imprisonment of women and the scene of force-feeding as a measure to stop a hunger strike. The story ends with the funeral of one of the activists, Emily, who dies under the horse’s hooves during the protest. In the finale, the viewer can read that these funerals were covered by press globally and also that in 1918, some women got the right to vote, and in 1925 equality of suffrage became nationwide in Britain and the USA (Suffragette). Such a finale makes it clear that the primary goal of the director was to show the very struggle of women and the routine reasons for their fighting.
Also worth mentioning the performance of actresses and the details of their characters. Maud Watts, at the beginning of the story, is a humble woman who respects and serves her husband and endures injustice happening around. Her eyes are fireless; she tries to be ordinary and quiet. However, after testifying in the court, rallies and meeting with active suffragists, her life starts to make sense, and her eyes sparkle. All these changes are displayed in the performance of Carey Mulligan, her facial expressions, and gestures. Her character is very carefully described, and the viewer can see her development throughout the film. Helena Bonham Carter also plays the role of an educated and intelligent woman, a chemist; although her character is not as bright, she adds a slightly different perspective to the suffragist image. Meryl Streep has a bit of screen time as Emmeline Pankhurst; her speech is inspirational for the women who listen to her in the film and for the viewer. Male characters are also an essential part of the story as they demonstrate those people against whom women had to fight.
Suffragette is a film about women’s power created by women. Male roles are also an essential part of understanding historical events, but the main emphasis is on female fate. It is understandable, since the story describes the origin of the movement that became very important for all females around the world. Moreover, all the leading roles behind the scenes also belong to women, since its director is Sarah Gavron, the screenwriter is Abi Morgan, and producers are Alison Owen and Faye Ward. Gender and perception of creators greatly influenced the character of the film and its general mood. A stereotype about movies made by women is that they would focus on the emotional side of the story and have many dramatic scenes. Separation of a mother from her son; different manifestations of common violence explain the reasons why women went to rallies without paying attention to public condemnation and consequences of their actions. Although the film contains some depiction of strong emotions, they are certainly not central to the story. Female screenwriter and director’s approach to the historical events was humanistic, and it aimed to cover many different aspects of a woman’s life at that time.
However, one may state that director, writer, and producer exaggerated some points to gain the sympathy and understanding of the viewer. For example, male characters seem hyperbolic, since they are either unintelligent, cruel men who only beat or rape women, or intellectual bullies who enjoy the inability of women to influence their lives. There is no doubt that both of these types have existed in history; however, in reality, men became a big part of support for suffragists. The voices of men helped greatly in the adoption of the right to vote for women, but the characters represented in the movie could not agree to make such a step.
Moreover, vandalism and glass breaking by protesters in the film are presented as something ordinary, and the director justifies women by exposing this method as an instrument of struggle. The main character says, “We break windows, we burn things because war is the only language the men listen to” (Suffragette). However, the primary tool of suffragists in real life was negotiation, newspaper publications, and persuasion of society to take their side by peaceful methods, which demonstrated their deliberateness and desire to be a part of the country’s political life. Demonstrations and strikes were also a big part of the struggle, but they were not its main method for a long time. For this reason, one can note that Gavron ideally conveyed the emotional side of suffragism, but did not show the facts accurately.
Conclusion
Therefore, Suffragette by Sarah Gavon’s is an excellent example of a film that strives to convey an emotional side of protest movements, namely women’s fight for their rights. A film that affects the viewers emotionally makes them learn more about the history of suffragism and understand the reasons for its origin. In addition, exquisite directing, editing, and acting convey the atmosphere and mood of the time, bringing aesthetic pleasure from watching.
References
Gavron, Sarah, director. Suffragette. Focus Features, 2015. Web.