Issues relating to feminism in le Bonheur film

Issues relating to feminism in le Bonheur film

Introduction

The standard configurations have all been redefined to make them more inclusive and challenge the narrative strictures that contribute to extinction by the cinematic apparatus. The marginalization instances witnessed in cinemas lead to violent actions of a person’s socio-cultural identity and image. Therefore, it becomes a platform for consumerist imperialism that leads to the expulsion of the voices of the marginalized communities and the likes. The works of minoritarian artists therefore become vital since they assist the spectators in refining their notions of digital creativity and authorship. One of the significant film maker that have brought the marginalized socities to the front line is Varda Agnes. This author or fiulm maker is a Belgian who has been living and working in france for almost all her working life. Most of varda’s works are realism, feminist issues as well as conveyance of information concerning the social commentary and stories. Howver, varda mainstanins her ecxclusive and diferent experimentantl style of film mamkiing. As such, her style of making these films always questions the issues around cultural self identification and sociapo political images. Follwoiung the instriumental natre of her films, varda’s films have received lots of criticisms. However, while the films by this autyhor have received a lot of criticism in the way they are brought our, not even one has received such critisisms like the Le Bonheur. Therefore, this piece tries to discusss the issues that relate to feminism in this film Le Bonheur by varda.

Film background

This film is also called happiness. It is a film that is written and shot about a carpenter by the name francois who leads an idyllic life style with the wife, therese. The cpouple has two children. Other than being a happy family man, the husband in this film begins to have a love a fair with a france boyer called marie. This lady works at a post office and fran cois goes on to love both the ladies, the boyuer and the wife with whom he has two childfren. At the same time, this man does not feel any form of remose. He goes ahead to explain the love he has for other women other than therese to his wife therese. As such, the wife leans to accept the sititaion exhibited by the husbands, francois. Nevertyheless, the worst emerges upon the death of the,rese that occurs due to a self dawning in the pool. Following this death, francois legalihzes theaffair between hiom and marie making an assertion the cyclical natre that familial value holds. The social sature here is what contruibuted to the critiscism thatthis film has recived since its inception. This satire evolves to become an inconograph that gives rise to the male hegemonic naratiuons. Therefore, it is vital to understand the interntion of this author or film maker and the methodology that she implies in this film Le Bonheur, through the understanding other voices of feminism and feminists.

Feminism in Le Bonheur with justification of other feminists

According to visual pleasure and narrative cinema by laura mulvey, the film maker ascriobes the female caracters in male oriented cinemas to the act of forcing the female actors ton put on the transvestite clothes in order for them to apeace the male stare. This author also narrates about how the female spectators often leaves behind their identities while entering the darkest space of the theareter. The cxritricisms laura makes pinpioints to the exclusionary persepcetivers. In this regard, she reiterates that the white female body depiction can be totalixzing for almost all the females due to the films’ theater status. In situation tends to isolate the female body depiction as an absolute and totalizing object. Despite all this, laura believes that the male gaze can be subverted thrpoiugh making poses, zooming nad playing parts pofv the film by deconstructing the narrative to meet onese personal pleasures. Therefpre laura suhgests that the subjectivity of spectator is the recipe to the creation of the long love affairs or what many call the despair between sedlf image an d image which are notw being expressed extensively in films and ceriving lots of recognitrion innthe cinema audiences across the globe. In this manner, laura cpompiments and suplioments the mirror stage by lacan when she says that self recogniotiuon in front of a mirror worls extremely distinctly for women and men. The male ego ciomes out in mainstream gfilms as an impiortant mirror stage. Hwover, it is only an objecyfying male gaze that can define the figure of a female in a mirror.

Therfere, it is clear that laura is very much aware of the fact that realized women representation is very marginalized within the films. She also recognizes that the stereotyping and misinterpreteation of the female voices is not at all a subject of the male gaze. Laura also has a great access to the pleasure that is linked to the stare at a white female’s body when she says that a black female spectators have the mandate to choose actively not to identify with the fiolmic subjects as this will make them

disenable , through the mainstream cinemas, their self identification. According to the narations Bell Hooks, in her opposition gaze, laura’s ideas are erejected. According to Hooks, it is not always an active chiooce for a spectatr to shy awat frpom supporting the people they love and those theyw ant to support. In her view, Hooks believes that a black woman is underrepresented in the mainstream films and they are not also gioven the chance to look. That is to say, the cklasical films tend to leave out the racialized body from the legitimate desire of norms. As such, it contributes to power imploration hence contributing to the maginaliozed body erasure.

Accprding tyo Hooks, filmic identification in majoritarian films excludes other voices. She makes this narrative by saying that the marginalized spectators undergoes a masochistic hardship and pain in fromnt of the images that lack semblable. As such, there is a creation of filmic proclivity hece making it posible for the filmic naratives to merely ijcliude the white male naratives and not the females. She further imlicxates that the issues around self identification in the fulm naratives are merely violent and painful for the marginalized audience. in this manner, she reveals that the role of females in the films are reduced to bolster the homogeinity of the male while image hebce casuing denial of the needs of an individual. She further releaves that these films do not articulate the dioference between the dictating while male body and the maginalixzed hence making tge marginalized spectator to deny their individual distinbctions.

In other words, Hooks believes that any body who is a film maker and works to disoriuent the male white order is bound to establiush images that fail to sustain and perpetuate dominion as well as instances of exploitation. Nevefrtheless, some film makers such as varda chjose to produce films that are kniown for mutiliatikmng the other regardless of the arrogant and painful underrepresentatuions. That is to say, varda is seen to personify the role of women in films and life in her Le Bonheur works. Here, she disallows the female cgharacters any nature of posychologucal sense or even depth of personal image and identity. With this, she seeks to bolster the idea of happiness of the male character. Based on the tracing dione by bell Hopoks on varda’s Le Bonheur film, the former believes that varda portrays a sense of pain by witnessing the violent elimination of fe,male contents and subjects. At the same time, varda seeks the same voixes to give room for the spectator to raise lots of questions some of the attitudes in the film.

With the analysis of Yvette Biro, varda purposelty neglects any form of punishments that is self triggered that one may expect from the violence and the pain that mainstream videos and cinemas inflict in them. the opinion about varda by Biro in a contextual basis justifies very well varda’s intentions of the film Le Bonheur since the film denies the vieqwers their rghts to grieve with tghefamily especially where therese diue. Here, the husband only allows for a temporary attonment witgh the immediate resumption of the cyclical in a manner that there was no instasnce of death I the family. This shwocases the intention of varda in not giving women tgheir social rights as she doers give the men in the film. In this spirit, Biro and many other pewole have wondered why varda has refused to address her own hurtings nad pains following her exclusions fromm the mainsteam naratives. Accotding to fliterman lewis however, varda is only minding her critical analysis from the spectators rather than addressing the proclivity she has to the male attitude. Therefore, vardas film, Le Bonheur has an unclewar end where what seems to be the normal and moral stand of the authior and film producer tebnds to be inconclusive. Therefore, the spectatirs are left in an inevitable place to be subjective in order to make personal conclusijonjs concern the very gfilm. That comes out when Le Bonheur film fails completely to judge the character of francois hence leading to an uproar amongst the audience. as such, the audiebce cgharacterise francois swith their personal subjective consince.

The issue of feminism can also be analyzed by close view of what annet Kuhn says concerning it. according to Kuhn, an individual needs to understhand first how imaghes and identity from the mainstream cinemas are made and perxeived for them to get deconstruvction. Nevetheless, a psycho analytical approach of this maginalization issue by flitterman sandy reveals that mainsteam cinema has made a significant explointation of the psycho sutures for all the mainstream audience. she believes that the way things are being presented and brought out in its entireity overshadfows and overpowers the massage itself. that is tyo say, some of the criotics of this film Le Bonheur have critised the male representation in the narrative as one of the facrors undermining the voice of satirical feminism. Therefore, Sandy suggests strongly that people or the audience parctiuce a complete abandonment of all the masochistic pleasurers of all the violent elimination of the female characters to help the industry subvert the dominion of hegemonic.

Nevertheless, this film, Le Bonheur prives a pointb by doing exactly what Sandy says by portraying that feminist voices does not need an opresive techniqiues denial of the naratives. It buys the ideas of michelle citron that emphasizes that it is vital studying the manipulation og identities and images in mainstream films rather than completely rejecting them to secure and reach an audience that the film

makers targeting the marginalized audiencres are trying to reach with their films. The idsea of varda that outlines inclusive spectatorship includes almost all people and does nt alienate the mainsteam video audience. the film maker treies as much as posible to speak about inclusivity for the film maker who is in this context is herself. She urgese herself to give room for audience inclusivity and abandion maginalizatio of the female audienmce nad theirv characterizatuion. According to Le Bonheur film, there is a highlight of the elided gendered females by tryinbg to narratively reformulate romantic paradigms. She also speaks and brings out the reasctions of the female character to the situations that are available and presented to them by the white males. Howvere, there is a satirical expose in this film Le Bonheur concerning the hypocrisy within the conventional narrative. This is done in this film tyhrohygh a subtle suturing lack ogf popinion ezpresed by the female characters such as therese to the protagonist male psyche such as francois. Therefore, therese is to sub,mit and has no voice to subvert the decsions made by the husband, who has decided to have a love affair with another woman. Therefore, the refusal of varda inn Le Bonheur to judge the male audience for what he does casues an uproar among the fi;lm audience. this justifies the claims by fliterman that states that varda in this film is concerned aboiut questions and not the answers given.

According to varda in this film, the film maker is often implicated in her persobal film production works by making the work more subjective incklusive and achieves the required inclusion than nothing else. That is to say, she belives that fiulms shoid always treat the male and female charaters and audiences similarky and ensure that they are always recognized. Tyherfeore in this situation, an individual may make a conclusion or an argument that the idejtity of the mosiochistuic male is a way of identifying an individiul through introspospecting the attitude of others to them. therfere, what results in the work is the docufictionist style. In this style, the distired series of the elements of impersonists to expose the marginalized comunitiues such as the females in the socuty counts in the mirror stage.

It is therefore vital to state that the film Le Bonheur by varda recievees lots of critisms of being anti feminist since it tries to advocvate for a sense of pastoral beaiuty, a context that had already been frawed in the 1960s. hwver, this film differe from other films does notb portray a de-gaulle style of familycodes and values. Therfere, it is a social satire pointing directly at the incompleteness of the domestic peace abd harmony. In this film, the women do nkt reach and are voiceless. They are objectsb lacking completely the psychological de[pth and their self esteem is lowerd to the ground. On the other hand, the male protagonists and counterparts have a voice ad execute their activities without questioning. Therfere, the happiness of the female characters here seems to be the contributor of the development of the main film character. As a result, an a sumption can be made that in the Le Bonheur film, felmale characters do not speak, peraps because of the franco-global patriarchy.

To conclude, it is important to ascertain that the methodology used by Varda tends to challenge the used and existing theoretical perspectves through its ability to allow the minoritarian voices to comec out in the film as they do. the females come out here as saddened reformation and repression. In other words, the point at which francois decides to move on and accepts the continuation of the cyclical values of the partriarchal family ideaas becomes ironic ogf the pessimism natire of Varda. While it is clear that varda outrightly trnms her back to the bvugois hypocricy and romantic ideas of happiness, the film Le Bonheur’s female cahracters fails to reject their individual compklicity.

References