My roommate had an assignment for her Spanish class this weekend in which she came across the film, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Almodovar, 1988). As I was doing homework next to her, I heard her shout, “Oh my god, this film is so sexist!” I looked at IMDb’s description of the film, and it seems to center around a women trying to contact a man to figure out why he has left her. I have never seen the film, but I think it would make a great addition to our class discussions. Even just the title of the film seems to be a clear indication of gender discrimination. Do you think it is ethical for directors to make such films? I think one could argue that film is art, and people should not easily take offensive to the comedic gender stereotypes that films like these play on. However, where does one draw the line? Clearly, my roommate, who is not even in this feminism and film class, noticed that this film was an ethical issue.
I definitely see this film as being sexist. Even in the trailer it says it’s a story about “women who love men, ” and then goes on to show all these girls looking for this Ivan character. One part of the trailer that screams sexist is when the woman admits how she’s been waiting for him all these years and he asks her to tell him she would have died if he hadn’t returned. From my understanding, it seems like this film is just showing men in power, and how women will do anything to keep a man in their life.
I do not believe that films like these are unethical, however, it is dangerous to continually promote the same messages about women. Women are constantly being defined in relation to men, so girls will grow up learning that this is all that there is for them.