Understanding Heroines Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Understanding Heroines - Movie Review Example Understanding Heroines Characters who cannot longer be understood the same way today because out reviling attitude toward the women have changed so thoroughly since the movie were made. For each of the heroines or leading characters, the following concerns would be addressed: to describe the attitudes that other characters in the Post 80 viewing assignment: choosing from Queen Latifah in " Bringing Down the House", Jennifer Lopez in " Selena" , Julia Roberts in " Erin Brockovich" or " Quinceanera" . What do these protesting women really want? Why did Woopi Goldberg become the first women of color to become a major movie star? And what in the climate of the 90s and early 2000 allowed the careers of Goldberg, Latifa, Halle Berry, J-Lo to flourish? Three Leading Characters Theda Bara was described by Rosen as â€Å"with her waist-length black hair, her darkly kohled eyes and crude exotic make-up, Theda Bara embodied still primitive notions of depravity and wanton lust. She postured triumphantly as the poor m ale on whom she drew a bead was driven to drink, ruin, slavery ...† Theda Bara catapulted to fame during the era of the silent films and her official website depicted the star as â€Å"the first studio-made sex-symbol superstar and the very first ‘vamp’†. Audrey Hepburn, on the other hand, was illumined by Rosen as â€Å"Hepburn simply out-dazzled by the sheer force of her piquant joie de vivre and the apposite way she was put together. Perhaps it was the unusual combination of a narrow, bony body which she carried like a queen and an elfin face whose doe eyes contradicted by the strength of intelligence in the look, the irregular nose and wide mouth whose smile was at once sensuous, mischievous and absolutely sincere† (285). Her career was more colorful and her achievements include becoming the â€Å"special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund helping children in Latin America and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. She was named to People's magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world†¦ She had made a total of 31 high quality movies. Her elegance and style will always be remembered in film history as evidenced by her being named in Empire magazine's ‘The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time’† (Jackson, par. 1). Finally, Mary Pickford was described by Rosen as â€Å"with her thick golden curls, her cherubic body and pretty face, she was, from the beginning, the incarnation of angelic sweetness and childlike innocence† (37). A Canadian, Pickford’s career begun in 1909 and ended in 1933. She acquired the name â€Å"America’s Sweetheart† due to the image, fame and fortune amassed during the peak of her career (Canadaka, par. 2). The three female lead characters who became famous through the 1940s were shown to manifest roles of from focusing on the physical traits of beauty and sexism as the main captivating elements to increasing emphasis on enhanced awareness of women to expand their roles from the traditional housewife to intelligent and participative members of society. Comparative Analysis with Post 80 Heroines 1. Protesting Women When compared with famous heroines during the post 80s, such as Queen Latifah in her portraya l as a an ex-convict who met Steve Martin, a tax lawyer, through the internet, Jennifer Lopez in "Selena", and Julia Roberts in "Erin Brockovich†