Does cinema promote hate against educated women? - Page 8

Women who use sexuality to get their way or marry into status are often looked down on by society. Often most harshly by women themselves. Yes, there is something unethical about it. But when society, in general, has placed so many shackles on women, is it wrong to find ways to thrive in captivity?

That is why I love Amy March's dialogue in Little Women.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D8nRpJsQlk&t=8s

As a young teen, I used to hate Little Women. A story about the domestic life of women just seemed so dull and reductive. Only Jo March seemed compelling because she dared to buckle tradition. Greta Gerwig's Little Women made me realize how unfair I had been to Meg, Amy, Beth, and Marmee. They were all born into a patriarchal world and tried to find their way in it. Just because a woman is more domestic than rebellious or focuses on finding a good husband does not mean her story is less valuable. We cannot gauge all women by a one size fits all single standard.

Nobody is saying a domestic oriented woman is less valuable. Rather Indian serials and cinema have always shown them as better or Godly and more respectable or desirable.

The issue was the sheer stereotyping and hate South Asian cinema and TV promote against educated or career oriented or tough as nails woman or woman who has a mind of her own and other purpose in life than just marriage or winning over a man and pleasing all elders and kids she comes across.

Indian cinema often shows women who need to be people pleasers and kiss even pets and street kids to pass off as good. Remember Sushmita in Biwi no.1 is shown as bad to Salman's dog and bad because she complains about dog shitting around the house? She is also shown as bitch for being ambitious or wanting to be a model and ready to sleep with a married man who is dad of 2 kids and Karishma is a good woman because she even gave her property share in father's inheritance to her husband and became a housewife and takes care of everyone from elders to kids to dogs and is willing to bring back husband than separate or divorce him. Karishma refuses to go back to parents' home when they ask her to come and live with them and interrupts her dad when he says he had warned her before marriage that this guy was not good for her. The way film drew contrasts between both women was telling of agenda and bias Indian cinema promotes.

Sushmita is ready to leave Saif for her ambition first. Then leaves Salman as she has differences with him and cannot stand his mom, kids or dog. Anil also calls her mannerless when she says she will do something whether Salman gives her permission or not. Tabu is also this trusting housewife and bholi bhali lady. Only Sushmita is a biatch who needs to be taught a lesson. And Saif is this great man who has big heart to accept a woman like her back into his life despite what she did.

Though one can call Saif's character progressive in a way. But the way filmmaker drew contrast between housewife Karishma and career oriented Sushmita was the recurring theme in Indian cinema that I was hinting at.

Serials like Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi, Kahani ghar ghar ki, Balika Vadhu, Saans etc also showed less educated or housewife type woman or rural woman as better and educated or working women as vamps, vindictive and homewrecker, obsessive and ready to sleep with older or married men or even kill anyone if they wanted their way.

I think there were movies of all kinds being made at all times in Bollywood.

Just recently there was Jugg Jugg Jeeyo, where Kiara's character is a driven and ambitious woman. She's not vilified. She does what she wants and does not give up her job for her marriage. She does resign or not take up a promotion later I think but that was for emotional reasons and Varun was the one to patch up, not her.

Then there was Ki and Ka, I'm surprised nobody is bringing that up. No one called her a bi*ch. Arjun was the "housewife".

Then in Good News, Kareena again had a good career that she didn't give up even to have a kid or anything.

In Thank God, Rakulpreet is a cop and even though her husband is insecure, he is the one criticised for it. Not her.

I could think of many such movies actually. I think if you want, you can also find such characters these days, it is pretty common. Yes, some movies, some very popular movies have been misogynistic and probably more in ratio but progressive movies or those with progressive women charcaters have always been made.