Comparative Analysis: Feminism in Amelie and Thelma & Louise Films

This report offers a comparative analysis of the feminist perspectives presented in the films 'Amelie' and 'Thelma & Louise'. The review explores the different approaches to feminism within the context of French and Anglo-American cinema. 'Amelie' is examined for its portrayal of gender equality and post-modern feminist notions, contrasting it with the more radical, women-centric approach found in 'Thelma & Louise', which addresses issues of patriarchal dominance and gender bias. The report delves into the films' narratives, characters, and the social messages they convey, providing a critical evaluation of how each film reflects and interprets feminist theories and concepts. The analysis includes discussions of gender stereotypes, female friendships, and the impact of these films on the broader understanding of feminism in cinema. The conclusion highlights the contrasting approaches of the films and their respective strengths in portraying feminist ideals.

Running Head: MOVIE REVIEW
MOVIE REVIEW
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1MOVIE REVIEW
Using films and movies as a platform to ventilate social messages is identified as a
common measure that the directors and producers are used extensively. In case of reviewing
‘Thelma and Louise’ and ‘Amelie’ as a clear feminist film it is important to understand the
background of the movies and the perception that those two movies are possessed in order to
analyse the feminist approach in a popular glance. It is obvious that both the films follow
different perspectives in the feminist context and trying to deliver a unique though relevant social
perception about feminism. Therefore, this discussion is going to review both the films and
critically analyse so that paradigm of feminism portrayed in those movies can be evaluated
properly.
As far as Amelie is concerned, this French film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet in 2001
was a milestone in the international film history due to its cinematography and the acting of
protagonist Audrey Tautou. From an apparent perspective it can be argued that Amelie is
basically a romantic comedy in a sepia tone screen. The story of the film was quite romantic
based on the life of the Amelie played by Audrey Tautou (filminquiry.com., 2018). However,
there are definitely some correlation between the story of Amelie and the feminist approach in
present times. There are some layers in the life of young Amelie that were portrayed clearly in
the film. First of all, the childhood of Amelie was a messed up because of the illness of her
parents. The story went in a way that due to unstable childhood, Amelie became a restricted and
secluded woman in her adulthood. However, she had a pleasant life with a happiness and
simplicity in face. In this point, it can be argued that the director tried to make a stereotype of
women in society where despite of having enormous problems in life, a woman should look
pretty and happy (Gordon, 2016). The director splendidly utilised the gender stereotypes that
society possesses in order to portray an image of so called women in society.

2MOVIE REVIEW
Based on the research of Marecek (2016) gender is considered to be a binary system and
a biological identification that became a stereotype in society. The typecast notion of women is
to have a pretty face and a humble nature. However, in course of the movie Amelie, there was a
rapid transformation in the notion of women in society where the movie tried to project the
power and control of a women as Amelie decided to make others happy around. In this regard,
the post-modernist theory of women in society had been reflected clearly in the second phase of
the movie where Amelie tried to make appease the people around her. In this perspective, there is
sharp distinction between the feminist theory in France and the Anglo-American perspective.
The American perspective is more of a women centric approach but the French notion strictly
corroborates with the fact of gender equality (Turner & Maschi, 2015). This equality was clearly
reflected in the film Amelie where she was acted like a human being rather than identified with
her gender specific features. From that point of view Amelie was a clear example of the Post-
modern feminist approach and the director was able to portray the image of Amelie as a well-
controlled and humane enough.
On the other hand, in the movie Thelma and Louise, an Anglo-American perception of
feminism can be found in terms of using a women centric film from its casting to the
scriptwriter. The notion of Sexual Politics propounded by Kate Millett was clearly reflected in
the film where the heroic nature and patriarchal chivalry was popped up several times (Shanthini,
2016). The vivid scene where Thelma played by Geena Davis was raped by Timothy Carhart in
the parking lot. The murder of Timothy Carhart by Susan Sarandon as Louise was clearly
projected the gruesome picture of male dominated society where it is very common for the
women to get assaulted. Moreover, the rigid feminist approach can also be seen in case of
Thelma and Louise where the authorship of the film was made by a woman (Denney, 2016).

3MOVIE REVIEW
Screenwriter Callie Khouri wrote the script of Thelma and Louise and maintained a strict
guidelines of strong feminist approach from the start of the film. Smith (2016) also identified
another core identification of feminism in film in terms of using female friendship and
heteronormative romance. In case of Thelma and Louise, the friendship between Thelma and
Louise was clearly addressed and succeeded to emphasis on the heteronormative romances by
giving up their lives at the end.
The last scene of the film was quite interesting where the death of Thelma and Louise
projected as an emancipation of women from the bondage of patriarchal social dominance. The
film followed the hard line of feminist approach where the imposition of male dominated
practices made Thelma and Louise to agitate and act as a protest against the gender biasness
(exploringyourmind.com, 2018). Therefore, a semi-lesbian interpretation was also related to the
discussion where same sex friendship outplayed the heterosexual relationship. From that point of
view, it can be stated that there are some unique and radical feminist approach that Thelma and
Louise was portrayed that went against the patriarchal chauvinism and tried to establish
themselves distinctively.
Based on the above discussion, it can be concluded that the Amelie was very different
from Thelma and Louise in terms of portrayal of feminism in a wider aspect and the use of
different theories and concepts of feminism within the paradigm of French Feminism. Gender
equality is of paramount importance in French feminism as a part of post-modernist notion. In
compare to this, the Anglo-American feminism is more radical in sense which is more women
centric. In Thelma and Louise, the strong message of an Anglo-American feminism made it more
core of the radical feminist approach. Therefore, it can be argued that Amelie portrays a better

4MOVIE REVIEW
picture of feminism whereas Thelma and Louise was limited itself into the stereotypes of
feminism from the very first.

5MOVIE REVIEW
Reference
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from https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/31284/1/dissecting-the-
feminist-legacy-of-thelma-louise
exploringyourmind.com. (2018). Thelma and Louise, A Feminist Shout in a Man's World —
Exploring your mind. Retrieved 26 July 2019, from
https://exploringyourmind.com/thelma-and-louise-a-feminist-shout-in-a-mans-world/
filminquiry.com. (2019). AMÉLIE: Manic Pixie Dream Girl Or Feminist? | Film Inquiry.
Retrieved 26 July 2019, from https://www.filminquiry.com/amelie-manic-pixie/
Gordon, L. (2016). ‘Intersectionality’, Socialist Feminism and Contemporary Activism: Musings
by a Second‐Wave Socialist Feminist. Gender & History, 28(2), 340-357.
Marecek, J. (2016). Invited reflection: Intersectionality theory and feminist
psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40(2), 177-181.
Shanthini, R. (2016). A critical review of popular technological solutions for climate change as
evident in the movie industry. Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences, 39(1).
Smith, K. (2016). As a feminist film, ‘Thelma & Louise’ fails miserably. Retrieved 26 July 2019,
from https://nypost.com/2016/04/07/as-a-feminist-film-thelma-louise-fails-miserably/
Turner, S. G., & Maschi, T. M. (2015). Feminist and empowerment theory and social work
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