Good work on your posts guys! I've picked out two posts that I'd like to commend and comment on.
Post 1 (
Min Yao)
Title: She's a Man He's a Woman
Mrs Doubtfire is a story about a man's desperate attempts to remain in contact with the children he so loves by cross-dressing as their nanny.
Robin Williams acts as Daniel, an unemployed actor who loses his children in a custody battle, and attempts to remain in touch with them by cross-dressing as an matronly English nanny.
I felt that the film was very humourous, with a good dash of physical comedy (when Mrs Doubtfire's chest caught fire!) and witticisms from Mrs Doubtfire. You're likely to rock with laughter as the film progresses - since, little by little, his identity as Mrs Doubtfire slips up - like when he takes a leak standing up and is caught by his son!
However, what I found most interesting was the subversion of gender roles that was going on in the film. On the one hand, you have Daniel, the out-of-work emasculated man who can't even take care of his children. On the other, you have his wife, perfect and successful in all her ways, but seemingly unable to take care of her own kids! The gender roles doesn't conform to society's expectations - a househusband (dressed as a woman) and a careerwoman (failed mother).
Post 2 (
Ge Min)
Title: Who wears the pants?
“Mrs Doubtfire” explores the issue of the rigidity of gender roles in a humourous manner. It questions the unbending social structures that society places on males in the family. It causes us to think, “ Why should a male father be judged solely by his role as a ‘breadwinner’?”
I felt sorry for the character played by Robin Williams—he is Daniel Hillard, an out-of-work voice actor, who goes through a divorce, because his wife, Sally Field, was tired of his irresponsible ways. His visitation rights to his children became limited to Saturday evenings. When he finds out that Sally was looking for a housekeeper, he dresses up as Mrs. Doubtfire in order to be closer to his children. He learns how to cook, in order to be the perfect housekeeper. He goes through a series of mishaps though, such as setting his ‘breasts’ on fire. However, he gains the trust of Sally, and gets to spend a lot of time with his children.
Things take a turn for the worse when Sally starts dating another man, Stuart—played by Pierce Brosnan. Daniel gets jealous and tries to find various to sabotage his relationship. In the meantime, his two older children find out who he is, when Chris walks in on him standing up while using the toilet. However, they do keep it a secret. His cover finally gets blown when he put cayenne pepper in Stuart’s food, which he is allergic to. When Stuart starts to choke, Daniel guiltily tries to help him, and his mask comes off in the process. His wife gets furious to see it is him, and fires him. His visitation rights are restricted too. He then ends up working by playing his character of “Mrs Doubtfire” on a TV show. When Sally sees how much the children miss him, she relents and they have a new arrangement allowing the children to be looked after by him in the daytime.
The best part of the film is surely Robin Williams’ characterization of Mrs. Doubtfire. His acting is so believable, that he almost seems to become Mrs Doubtfire. The entire film’s entertainment is hinged on Robin Williams’ quirky behaviour and antics, which light up the screen every time he comes on.
It is his character, and his wife’s character, that question gender stereotypes. The impersonation of Mrs Doubtfire spurs the audience to wonder why males should only be valued for the money they bring to the family, by showing that they could do equally well in the domestic sphere, and cook scrumptious meals just as Mrs Doubtfire does. The character of Sally brings out the idea that women are empowered in the workforce, and no longer relegated to their role as in the household, but able to hire people to help them. However, the idea that males have a role to play in the household does not seem to be a very strong message in the movie, particularly because Mrs Doubtfire is such a ’unreal’ character, and the fact that he is a man dressed as a woman would certainly not inspire males to help put more in the household. So while the film makes us feel sympathy for men who are jobless and only valued for their role as breadwinner, it does not deal with how the issue can be solved, because of the comedy involved in the role of Mrs Doubtfire.
While the theme of gender is explored, it is not done so in very great depth, because it is so comical. But, if anybody wants a good laugh, I would certainly recommend it for that!
In-class nowArgument 1:
"However, what I found most interesting was the subversion of gender roles that was going on in the film. On the one hand, you have Daniel, the out-of-work emasculated man who can't even take care of his children. On the other, you have his wife, perfect and successful in all her ways, but seemingly unable to take care of her own kids!" - Min Yao
Do you agree or disagree with him?Argument 2:
"The idea that males have a role to play in the household does not seem to be a very strong message in the movie...while the film makes us feel sympathy for men who are jobless and only valued for their role as breadwinner, it does not deal with how the issue can be solved, because of the comedy involved in the role of Mrs Doubtfire." - Ge Min
Do you agree or disagree with him?1) Choose one of these two arguments that i've selected from Ge Min's and Min Yao's post.
Please refer to
this for guidelines on your mini-essay.
It Takes Two Hands to put out a fire!
