A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a very sexist movie. Philia's entire song about being lovely is a prime example of this. She has no education, cannot cook or clean, but she is lovely and that's just enough for her. The way the courtesans were treated also illustrated this in the way that they were paraded around like pieces of meat and easily replaceable.
Sexism is a bit of an issue today. There are certain behaviors that each sex must stay in the realm of: men must be strong and show no emotion, and women must be delicate and submissive. Though these archetypical behaviors are prevalent, sexism is a part of our culture that is very slowly being driven away. Feminism is on the rise as women fight for equal pay and strive for equality in other social manners. So though it is still an issue, sexism is dwindling to be less and less of one.
I really like how you talked about Philia having no skills other than being lovely and that's enough for her. Makes a really good point and is extremely true. I never really thought about that. I also agree with your point about how women are portrayed as being expendable and paraded around like meat. This movie shows that very clearly that you just see images of the women but they dont say things like the other men in the scenes. Even the soldiers say little comments that gives them humanly traits, the women not so much.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point about Philia. Though did u consider the wife and how she had power over her husband. She was in many ways the direct opposite of the courtesans and she held immense power within her household. She was not a piece of meat to be bought, but was covered up and shrewd. The movie then has two ideals of women pieces of meat or a shrewd. I also agree that in today's society the stereotypes that you mentioned are slowly being driven away, but it will take time.
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