Women Power

Throughout cinema, the way women are portrayed in international and American films can be compared and contrasted because many films represent women differently, showing them as powerful beings or people who are constantly looked down on. Examples of some films in which women are free to live their lives and are looked upon are films such as the American chick flick, Sex and the City, and the Korean film, My Sassy Girl. Throughout the films, both main characters, involved in romance, in the films are women and they freely express their thoughts and emotions and are not limited to their actions.
The international film, My Sassy Girl, directed by Jae-Young Kwak, is a romantic comedy where a college student meets a drunken girl in the subway station who ends up his changing his life. The protagonist, Gyeon-Woo, saves the girl who almost gets hit by the train and takes her to a motel to care for her. From this point on, the girl, whose name is anonymous throughout the whole movie, becomes an active part of Gyeon-Woo’s life by telling him that she broke up with her old boyfriend, but the truth is that her boyfriend passed away. Her harsh history and upsetting loss causes the Girl to be demanding and strict toward Gyeon-Woo. In the beginning of Gyeon-Woo and the girl’s relationship, she is very demanding and stands up for her beliefs and thoughts. For example, a scene in the movie where the girl clearly shows her actions is when Gyeon-Woo and the girl go to restaurant after she demanded to talk to Gyeon-Woo. She approaches young prostitutes who were talking and drinking with older businessmen and scolds them and asks them how old they are which persuades the younger girls to leave the restaurant. Not only does she yell at the younger girls, she also talks back to one of the older men. These actions show that the women is superior compared to the men because the man in this scene did not take any action and the girl continued to yell at the man for paying for prostitution. Another scene where it shows strengths of women is when the girl demands Gyeon-Woo to order a certain meal and threatens to kill him if he does not listen to her. The girl is showing her freedom and shows her power in the relationship. In Korean culture and tradition, younger generation needs to show their elders respect and courtesy. From an article review this Korean film, the author states, “woman acting outrageous and going against the norm of how a “young woman” is supposed to behave is not…” (Nix). From the Korean film, the girl is twenty four years old while Gyeon-Woo is twenty five which means that the woman should show respect for the man not only because of gender but because of the age difference. Also, the girl’s strengths are clearly shown in the film when she has to endure the pain of the loss of her boyfriend, similar to Carrie’s situation in Sex and the City. Her actions show her strengths in society and want to make a statement to the protagonist that she does not want to be taken easily.
Similar to how women are portrayed in the international film, Sex and the City also has scenes where women are looked upon and their strengths are shown. Starting as a television series, Sex and the City “has long been a neo-feminist staple, giving us female empowerment with a snazzy sense of style, basically allowing women to be feminine, but never weak” (Griffin) which shows power in women by standing out in society with a high fashion line. This American film, directed by Michael Patrick King, began as a television series and is about the protagonist, Carrie moving in with “Big” and planning on getting married as they both fell in love with each other. However, as Carrie’s excitement about her marriage began to escalate, Big began to have doubts about their future. His concerns finally arose when Carrie’s friend, Miranda, who was having problems with her boyfriend, accidentally expresses her thoughts to Big saying that marriage ruins people’s lives which led to Big not wanting to get married. Breaking Carrie’s heart, her closest friends, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha go on Carrie’s planned honeymoon as a vacation to help cheer Carrie. Throughout the movie, Big sends Carrie letters apologizing but her assistant, Louise; give the letters to Carrie at the right time which helps bring the two couples back together. This film definitely shows a lot of feminism because this film is mainly about the lives of four women and all of them have professional jobs and are involved in relationships which show that they are all active in society and are free to do anything they want. From an article which reviewed this film, the author states, “all took the fruits of feminism for granted: independence, equality, the right to sleep around, etc. Yet what they found was a new kind of liberation… The glory of Sex and the City is that it turned the cosmopolitan high life of girls who just want to have fun into a new feminine mystique” (Gleiberman). All four of the social and active girls are all involved in relationships but at the same time are independent women and are able to do their own thing such as wearing expensive bags and shoes while drinking martinis. Another author from a different article explains how “each of the women, inevitably, faces their own obstacles, providing them with individual highlights around Parker’s Carrie, whose situation drives the story” (Lowry) which shows that women persevere and endure their struggles to overcome their conflicts; thus, showing their confidence and strength. The movie shows the strengths in women because not only is Carrie able to endure the pain after Big cancels the wedding but also her friends are always by Carrie’s side supporting her and caring for her.
Both films are very different because of the difference in plot and one of the movies is spoken in a foreign language but these movies have similarities such as the representation of women in both films. In many films, women are portrayed differently and might be inferior to others but in these two specific films, women are powerful and confident in themselves. The girl in My Sassy Girl shows her strengths by being the dominant person in her relationship and standing up for her beliefs while Carrie in Sex and the City shows her strengths by being active in her life and fighting through her struggles. Both films portray women as positive and significant not only to society and people but to men.