Sunday, 16 September 2012

Eden Lake Analysis, Feminism and Marxism.


At the beginning of this trailer, the main female character (Jenny) conforms to the stereotype of women as she appears elegant, fragile and naive. She instantly appears to be the sensible character who has open opinions however she also appears inferior or lacking control over the main protagonist (Steve) her partner. This concept would immediately be viewed negatively from the point of a feminist as although she has mildly positive, strong attributes there is instantly a lack of equality and sense of superiority between her and the man. However as the trailer progresses, Jenny is put into a situation in which she has to entail stereotypical traits of a male, such as courage, violence and protectiveness as we witness her trying to escape their brutal situation along side protecting and hoping to save her partner. The trailer shows this character preparing a weapon, running alone and nursing her boyfriend, this would therefore overall be viewed positively from a feminist view as the character is contradicting stereotypical judgements of women and is creating a female hero who is independent and protective just like any stereotypical male.

The other key character in this trailer is Steve. He also conforms to the stereotypical attributes of his sex as he is instantly shown as a mature, courageous male who does not easily give in or back down from a situation as he will 'not be bullied'.  Again, his character would firstly be viewed negatively from a feminist view as he is slightly controlling over the female character as well as being betrayed instantly as the superior character who has control over both her character, and the situation they are faced with. However further into the trailer, just as we see with Jenny's character, his character begins to change and his role is taken over by the female character. Feminists would view this as positive due to both the male and female character having the chance to be portrayed as both strong and independent along with being weak and vulnerable. 

Another point relative to feminism is that within the gang there is a large number of males, however they have also included a female member. This is positive as it shows although gang violence is often something which is associated with males, females are also involved and have the capability of being both violent and disrespectful as much as males can.

In terms of Marxism, this trailer both conforms to and contradicts the theory significantly. When Steve approaches the gang of teenagers, he does not appear to have power over them, or see himself as superior he is simply asking them to be respectful  rather than being condescending or patronising due to their age or class. There is not much prominent power which the upper class hold over the working shown within this trailer which conforms to the theory. On the other hand, the members and behaviours of the gang which are interrogating the couple, seem to conform to the Marxism theory. The fact that their behaviour is disruptive and prison-like fits into the stereotype of the working class people in the theory; as this class is often associated with crime and misbehaviour due to lack of power, their weapons, attitude and violence conforms. 

It is prominent in this trailer that the gang are seeking power and superiority over the couple which fits into the theory however it is unlikely that this is down to class, rather than simply the circumstances within the film. Despite many sections of this trailer relating to the theory, the fact that the gang have control and power over the upper class couple would not satisfy Marxists due to the lack of equality being achieved.

No comments:

Post a Comment