(no subject)

[meganbmoore]

Someone please rescue me from exploring The Hathor Legacy's archives.  I am currently trapped in this post (regarding whether or not female audiences are "listened to") and the links in it to other articles.

A couple quotes:

When women dropped over half a billion to see Titanic, frequently citing Kate Winslet and/or her character as their reason (and the special effects in more than a few cases), it was dismissed as a fluke. The biggest gross-earner of all time, and we’re not allowed to learn anything from its success because it was just a fluke. And why was it a fluke? Uh, something about when it was released, and what else was out, and er, stuff. Conventional wisdom. Don’t question it.

On the DVD extras for Firefly, a Fox sci-fi series that was troubled from the get-go and cancelled after 15 episodes, Chris Buchanan (president of Mutant Enemy, creator Joss Whedon’s production company) said:

“The initial results - they made the network nervous. The men didn’t respond as strongly as they thought they would, and the women responded more strongly.”
 

But you know, back to Titanic for a moment.  Err...when it came out I was one of the masses of teenaged girls who were "ZOMG! Best romance ever!"  (leave me alone!)  And then I got over it and went into the seemingly-required "that movie and Leonardo DiCaprio suck and are overrated!" phase...and then I got over those.  Now I like it for Rose.  And the special effects.

BUT!  a spoilery question!

Was Jack fridged for Rose?  Ultimately, his main purpose is to show her that she can do what she wants: break out of her sheltered little world and live her own life by her own merits.  That accomplished, he dies, and Rose moves on to a more fulfilling life, and other men.



ETA:  This and a comment remind me of a thought I've had a few times but never put enormous thought into.  Does it seem to anyone else that attention to women and movies comes in waves?  Like, you have the 30s-50s, where parts of various movies-if not entire movies-seem to be specifically geared towards women, not just in terms of romance.  And then it's like studios went "Hey!  All women need is to have a woman there.  We'll just tuck her into the background and focus on the guys.  Who are more interesting anyway.  All women want is a romance anyway."  And then you get to Sci Fi and fantasy getting popular, and somebody notices "Hey!  I think some women like this stuff!"  and we get Heroines.  And then studios got deja vu and went "Hey!  All women need is to have a woman there.  We'll just tuck her into the background and focus on the guys.  Who are more interesting anyway.  All women want is a romance anyway." again.

Leia:  Politician, rebel, soldier, leader.  Dictates her own life and fate.  Says "stuff you" when men object.
Padme:  Politician, leader, sometime-fighter.  Starts awesome, ultimately reduced to a source of Anakin's angst.

Both spawned from the same brain, just a couple decades apart.

Comments

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I don't remember how it was billed, but it was Rose's story, start to finish.

I think Jack wasn't fridged. His death was tragic, but it was his life that inspired/moved Rose-- had he lived or died, she would've never gone back to her old life. The fridge is, IMO, a death that exists merely to change the lead's life/perspective/what have you.

Oh, and I'll add-- like Hokuto, Jack chose his death to save Rose's, which is a level of agency the fridged aren't allowed.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I remember the previews focusing on the romance. But...err...High School senior. We can't really say those are 100% reliable memories.

And that's very true about Jack.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I was in college! But I didn't have much TV then so don't remember the trailers...er. At all. But yes, there were definitely romance-y ones.