Damsels in Distress?
Some may argue that the movie The General conforms to traditional patriarchal gender roles. Annabelle Lee, the heroine, is kidnapped (albeit inadvertently) by hostile soldiers and needs the heroic exploits of her lover to rescue her. She is portrayed as submissive to her father and brother, ineffectual in plotting her own escape (such as throwing a stick of wood into the train furnace or failing to stop the engine so her lover can board it), and often exhibiting domestic inclinations ( as when she sweeps the engine with a broom).
Do you agree with this picture of Annabelle Lee -- or is it more complicated? Is Annabelle a stereotypical damsel in distress or is she a more progressive figure? Is there something about her a feminist could admire? What is this film saying about gender roles?
Do you agree with this picture of Annabelle Lee -- or is it more complicated? Is Annabelle a stereotypical damsel in distress or is she a more progressive figure? Is there something about her a feminist could admire? What is this film saying about gender roles?
In the flesh, the movie The General does in fact portray a traditional patriarchy through Annabelle’s role. However, any person could watch it and conclude that the writers of this film created a sexist script that furthers the already unbalanced gender equity in America. While this is true, it is not a complete argument, with all the facts dating all the way back to 1926, when this movie was being filmed. During this time in the 20s, gender equality was then only beginning to be recognized and promoted by the American people. Before this time, society expected women to live a domestic life, submissive to all of the men around them, without freedom of thought or any sort of expression. Women called “flappers” arose and broke these countless barriers that restricted women from being strong and independent people. From a feminist’s point of view, it is probable that they could see this film as a starting point in long fight for complete gender equality. From where we used to be, to where we can be kind of attitude. Then of course, there is the argument that The General reminds the viewer that America’s patriarchy is still at its peak, with the Pink Tax at large and unequal pay based on gender bias. In conclusion, both of these arguments emit two different and very relevant ideas that are often encountered every day, but the movie provides a gateway back in time to observe how America has evolved (not necessarily a good evolution in some aspects) into a different country today.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the movie The General does portray Annabelle Lee in a very traditional and sexist way. Her portrayal in the film is that of a person that is powerless and useless in any and all capacity. The film begins with her getting captured (and putting up no fight at all). She then proceeds to spend the first half of the movie pretty much sitting there and doing nothing at all to try and help herself escape. The fact that she does nothing to try and help herself indicates that the film portrays her as powerless and useless without the help of a man. This is further showcased in the second half of the movie. Once Annabelle Lee is saved by our hero, she then becomes useful and begins helping the train get back to the south. One could argue that since she does help along the journey back to the south, she is not a traditional damsel in distress. However, this would be incorrect because while she does become useful and does become more productive than how women were often portrayed, the movie still conveys the message that she is powerless without a man. In addition, she is also the victim of many jokes throughout the movie, the most prevalent one being when she chose to take the broom a begin sweeping the train when she has nothing else to do. There are subtle moments throughout the movie that reflect the idea that she is nothing more than a clumsy woman who is in way too far over her head.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the film, The General, portrays Annabelle Lee as a damsel in distress. From sweeping the engine to being submissive towards her family, Annabelle truly takes on the role of the stereotypical 1920s woman in the house. Aside from being able hold the North Army’s train back in the middle of the movie, Annabelle appears to follow the male characters blindly and not think for herself. She also fits the role of being a stereotypical damsel in distress because she is captured by the enemies (which in this movie is strangely the North Army) and can only be saved by the protagonist. There is nothing about her that a modern day feminist can admire. She was simply a stereotypical woman in the 1920s.
ReplyDeleteThe film says many things about gender roles. By having only one female character and having her be a stereotypical damsel in distress who follows men blindly, the film is saying that women should not be able to think for themselves and do not have a large role in society. The film is also saying that the only things that woman should be doing are chores around the house. This is because when Annabelle does not know what else to do because she is receiving orders from men all the time, she just begins to clean.
Overall, the portrayal of Annabelle Lee in The General is one of a stereotypical damsel in distress and not one of a revolutionary feminist. The General is by no means a feminist movie. It encourages women to conform to the societal norms of the time and not think for themselves.
In Buster Keaton’s, The General, Annabelle generally assumes the role of the damsel in distress. Despite the nuances of her portrayal as a damsel in distress, she fits most of the criteria as the aforementioned archetype. Throughout a large majority of the movie, Annabelle assumes the one-sided archetype of a damsel in distress through the way she reacts to stressful situations. For example, when the Union soldiers kidnapped Annabelle on Johnnie’s train, she did nothing to stop them or to rescue herself, but rather let the soldiers tie her to the chair. Moreover, when the soldiers were preoccupied with Johnnie chasing after his train, Annabelle does not attempt to signal for help or to escape, despite having the opportunity to do so. Later in the evening, when the soldiers put Annabelle in a bedroom for the night, all she did was cry. This compilation of scenes demonstrates that she has been acting like the stereotypical damsel in distress because instead of attempting to escape, she shows that she’s expecting someone, like a man, to rescue her. Despite having many opportunities presented to her throughout the majority of the movie, she chooses not to take advantage of those because of gender expectations with males and females. However, the nuances of her portrayal enter the picture after Johnnie rescues her. Annabelle showcases her ability to solve problems when she successfully decided to tie the rope to two trees to slow down the Union’s train. Even though she demonstrated that she has the ability to solve problems, she only did so when Johnnie was backing her up, so she only participated when there was a man to back her up in case something would go wrong. Moreover, it shows that she fit the role of a damsel in distress during the first two acts because of how complacent she was acting during the kidnapping, waiting to be rescued, rather than using her skills to her advantage.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few different ways to look at the way Annabelle is portrayed throughout The General, but looking at her through the specific lens of 'damsel in distress' would not fit the bill of her character. I would agree to an extent that Annabelle is portrayed as a damsel in distress in the manner that she is helpless until her knight in shining armor came to save her, but outside of this fact she shows in multiple ways that she is more than capable of handling herself. Starting out with her capture scene, Annabelle is alone inside one of the freights when four or five northern soldiers burst into the train to steal it. I think that most people in that situation would do exactly what she did; Annabelle froze and complied with what they wanted her to do, whether it was a means of quick thinking and protecting herself or being frozen with fear is uncertain, but it would not be considered unnatural for this response. However, it also would not be unreasonable to think she complies with the northern soldiers and sits in the bedroom because she realizes the situation that she is in, and that acting against them could very well get her killed. After Johnnie is able to get Annabelle out and on the move, your typical damsel in distress would let her rescuer do all of the heavy lifting. Not only does Annabelle show she can help by finding a method to stop their pursuers from following them (tying the trees together with a rope) but that she knows how to operate a train. albeit she doesn't do the best job, as someone who isn't trained to do such a task she manages it well enough that she can get the person who's JOB it is to operate trains back in the vehicle. I feel that this would be a better way of looking at the scene rather than assuming she stops it for her 'lover' to get back in, but putting someone more capable and skilled operating the train. Another example lies in Annabelle and Johnnie's plan to take the train from the northern soldiers by putting Annabelle in a sandbag and removing the train pin from the vehicle. This continues to show that Annabelle indeed isn't useless and at very least is not a stereotypical damsel in distress.
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