By Sakshi Kanodia
Almost every one of us has read and watched chick flicks. And if not chick flicks, then most Bollywood and Hollywood dramas.
One thing that I have realised over the years about these is how they portray characters in them. Most movies, especially the ones which come under the genre of romance, have a typical storyline.
The male lead is a playboy who sleeps around with the hottest girl around. And in the same way, this hot girl is a playgirl who wears short skirts, clothes and quality makeup. She is easily open to have sexual relations with guys.
On the other hand, of course, is the female protagonist who is a meek, subdued person, doesn’t really know how to stand up for herself and is the ultimate goody-two-shoes who can do no wrong. And not-so-surprisingly, she is the one who bags the male lead at the end of everything.
From our childhood, we always aspire to be that girl who keeps quiet and her little act of rebellion gets her a prince in shining armour. Because every girl who wears make-up, dresses in revealing clothes, walks around in heels and is not shy around boys is nothing but a b*tch and hence, she does not deserve anything good in life.
Take it, for example, Hollywood movies like A Cinderella Story or every Disney movie for that matter. In all of those movies, there was always this portrayal of the difference in women based on their clothing and way of life.
The movie which hit my gall bladder was one which was much closer home, the 2012 movie, Cocktail.
So, of course, everyone was rooting for ‘Meera’ in the movie, the miss goody-two-shoes and her relationship with Samar. Nobody, not even Samar’s mom liked the girl Veronica, because a girl like her was okay for time-pass and some casual sex, but to have feelings for a girl like her and then to think of a future with her? No, that is asking too much of the male population.
Don’t you think that it is high time for the society to change this mindset and especially the filmmakers out there who have stereotyped the negative female characters with such an objectifying portrayal?
Another thing which is also hideously portrayed is when the lead male character actually leaves the “b*tch” and goes over to save the female protagonist. When I was younger, I actually used to be happy about that. But now, it is not so. Because, as I have grown older; I have come to a greater realisation.
That everything is not black and white.
In fact, everyone is grey in their own way.
Because let’s face it. Wasn’t the female protagonist aware that the male lead and the other girl were in a relationship? Shouldn’t she have stopped herself from falling for him and from him coming onto her as well? Didn’t she practically steal the man from the other girl’s life?
But no, filmmakers will of course not show the story of the other girl.
They will never acknowledge the fact that the alleged “b*tch” has a heart and also does deserve love and affection. Maybe she was also in love with that guy and maybe that’s why she has the guts to fight the world to get her man. And seriously speaking, that is not a bad thing at all.
I would any day play the bitch in the movie rather than the female protagonist because that woman would have guts, courage and the capability to hold her head high and give competition to every man around her.
You may also like to read:
http://edtimes.in/2017/02/hate-strong-female-character/
