Compare and contrast the
representation of gender in P.S. I love you and One Day.
Within this essay, I will be
talking about the representation of gender within P.S. I Love You and One Day.
It is questioned whether representing gender in these ways is sexist or not,
some people feel that it is unfair to represent gender in these ways as it can
be very untrue and biased. Whereas other people argue that people enjoy seeing
things in this way and can relate to aspects. It is strongly argued that the
way gender is represented within films affects the real life, with males being
representing in this way,
this has changed a lot in real life and males are
very different now to how they used to be.
I will mostly be using the sound
within these two films to back up what I am going to say. The representation
within these two films is a contrast to one another, in P.S. I Love You Holly
is shown having a change in behaviour throughout the film and in One Day, Emma
is shown being a powerful and independent woman throughout. One Day challenges
the stereotypes of females as they are usually shown as the weak, useless sex
but as the film is not Hollywood it challenges this. Whereas P.S. I Love You
conforms to the stereotypes of a woman going on a journey to find herself.
At the beginning of P.S. I Love
You, we see the idea of women being represented as a predictable stereotype of
a woman with having an argument with her partner without explaining the reason
and also having a lot of shoes. Scene one introduces the characters, Holly and
Gerry, they are arguing but Gerry doesn’t know what he has done to make her
annoyed with him. She is shown as being argumentative through the sound, because
even though they are walking down the street there is little background noise.
This has been done to increase the tension of their argument and the only
sounds we hear is Gerry’s dialogue. This also directs the audience to listen to
what Gerry has to say and the audience realise that Gerry’s dialogue is
important. Holly is being shown as a powerful character during this scene, she
is shown having power of the situation and over Gerry, during their argument
Gerry leaves their apartment and then asks to return a few minutes later.
Because of the long take once Gerry has left, we see that Holly didn’t really
want him to leave and that she is feeling sad without him. This has been done
because the target audience for P.S. I Love You is females and they want to be
portrayed as quite powerful at the beginning of a film to draw them in.
A comparison with this is in One
Day in the second scene when again we have an introduction to the characters.
However, in this scene Emma and Dexter have just properly met after their
graduation, they then go back to her apartment. Differently from P.S. I love
you, Emma is portrayed as quite a timid character who doesn’t want to get
anything wrong. She wants to have a good time with Dexter and even when she
leaves the room is get ready, she puts some music on to create an atmosphere. The
music represents Emma as it is different and Dexter seems a little taken back
at first. This has been done because without Emma and Dexter together, there is
little other sound so this music sets the mood whilst she is gone. When Emma is
lying in bed with Dexter, we now have soft music playing which creates a mood
of intense and friendship, this lets the audience understand that Emma and
Dexter are going to have a good and strong friendship. During this scene, Emma
talks to herself mentioning that she has never been that good at this sort of
thing which shows us that she wants a relationship which is a very feminine
aspect and Dexter is seen as not caring for her much at the beginning but we
see that once he can’t have her, he wants her which is seen as very masculine.
Once Gerry has passed away in
P.S. I love you, we start to see how Holly is now being represented as a weak
female without the guidance of a male around, she is being seen as very
dependent on Gerry. This is scene five and we see that she is really missing
him here and is depressed without her soul mate Gerry, she is staying in on her
own and is rejecting any help from her friends and family. The sound is really
important in showing Holly’s downfall in this scene as there is a lot more
sound than in the previous scenes. There is music which is creating an
atmosphere to how Holly is feeling without Gerry, this represents women as weak
as it is showing Holly’s struggle without him around. We hear the telephone voicemails
as a voice over, which lets the audience know that people are trying to help
Holly through this difficult time but that she is rejecting this help. This
represents women as trying to be independent but actually appearing quite fragile.
We also hear the TV in the background, this is to create an atmosphere of a busy
environment and Holly not being able to focus on one thing. We also hear
memories of Holly and Gerry’s conversation, which gives the audience the
impression that Holly cannot let go of her memories of Gerry and is mourning
over him. She still sees him around and talks to him about her problems. Gerry
plays the guitar softly at one point, which relaxes and comforts Holly as she
feels like he is around with her. All of this sound portrays females as weak
and incompetent without males. It also represents the male character as
romantic, which is a characteristic that is not usually associated with males.
This scene can be linked to scene
eight in One Day, in this scene we again have a lot more sound and background
noise than before. Emma has gone out with another male in this scene and Dexter
keeps ringing her and is shown as really needing and relying on her although
she cannot help him. Females are being represented as independent and not
needing males around to survive. This is opposite to P.S. I love you, as now
Dexter needs Emma and is being shown as incompetent without her. This shows a role
reversal as Emma is the character in power here and males are being represented
as the weaker sex. This was done because it shows the audience that she is as
strong and powerful as a male which challenges the stereotypes of a female.
In scene twenty-seven in P.S. I
love you, the audience again see the change in Holly’s behaviour as she is now
being shown as an independent female again as she is doing things on her own.
She is shown moving on with her life and going back to Ireland to take her
Mother there for one final visit. The audience hear a voice-over of Holly’s
final message to Gerry throughout the clips. Females are being represented more
positively and having more power and independence at this stage.
This can be linked to scene 19 in
One Day, as this is too a closing scene to the film. At this stage in the film,
Emma has passed away. Dexter is talking to his daughter at the same place that
he and Emma visited a few years back, he misses Emma a lot but is trying to
stay strong and powerful although the audience can see that this is not easy
for him. His daughter is being shown as a young female who has strong views so
this too makes women still seem powerful at the end of the film. There is similarities
seen between Emma and his daughter which shows that Dexter feels stronger and
happier once his daughter is around him which shows his reliance on a female
being around.
Both of the two films are
targeted at women as they have the typical story lines that statistics show
that women enjoy, this could affect the way that gender is being represented.
It could make women seem powerful and men seen as powerless and crying as this
is what they may think that women want to see. It shows the journey of a woman
as this is what attracts women as they can relate to the journey that they have
experienced in their lives too.
The two films show things
slightly differently because of the fact that P.S. I Love You is a big-budget
Hollywood film and One Day is the opposite. Hollywood films have certain
messages that are always put across such as that women are weak, women need
men’s love and a family and men are pathetic. P.S. I Love You, does put these
messages across which affects the representation of gender within the film. As
One Day is not a Hollywood film, these messages are not portrayed and the women
are shown being the more powerful ones and the male character is shown as weak
and pathetic and the woman is shown being in charge. In this film, the male
character is shown as being incompetent when the female dies and he only seems
stronger once he has his daughter back who reminds him of the female.
These two films condone women in
a variety of ways, from powerful to weak. One Day represents women as powerful
throughout the whole film as Emma is always shown having power even when she is
timid. P.S. I love you shows a journey within a woman, she changes from weak
and depressed to powerful and moving on with her life, this emphasises the idea
of women travelling in their journey that they have to make.