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... gly emphasised. Within conformity comes power and this is how the characters from both texts were able to hurt others and get away with it. They used their authority as a group to over-power individuals. In the two films, both the microcosms seem to be corrupt as a result of this power. In Shame the local boys stayed together as a large group in order to have control and power over individuals and even the town.
This is evident throughout the entire film: from the way they overpowered the actions of the police to the way the rapped the local girls. In one scene, after waiting for Asta to be alone, four young teenage boys cornered her and tried to force their physical strength onto her. Playing hard to get hey? Now that your friend isnt here youve got us all to yourself.
Tonights the night sweetheart. As a group they found security and courage in order to move onto Asta. However she escaped, only when see resorted to violence. Violence is not a female stereotyped action; in fact it is male action.
From this, as the viewer, we are positioned to feel that in order to be powerful women must take on male qualities and characteristics. They must veer from their stereotyped weak and innocent perception. In both films this idea is promoted: through Asta in Shame and the three Heathers and Veronica in Heathers. This idea of taking on male qualities is presented in the opening exposition of both films. In Shame Asta riding her motorcycle into town symbolizes her power and her masculine traits associated with this power. In Heathers however, this symbolism is far for evident and subtle.
Being at the top of their high school hierarchy these four girls had power, unlike the women in Shame. In the opening scene, they are playing crocket, and the three Heathers walk straight over a bed of flowers. They crush them, this symbolically representing the way they use their power to destroy life, the lives of students below them, they simply do not care about the nature and beauty they damaged. This act of self-righteousness is just like the boys had done in Shame. Also just like the boys in Shame, the girls use their sexuality as power, although in a different way. While they are playing crocket, the song Que Sera is playing.
This audio code gives this audience the opinion that even though they are powerful and ruthless, they are still sweet and innocent little girls. There sexuality hides their destructive perception and values and attitudes. It hides their male stereotyped characteristics. This role of taking on male qualities is maintained throughout the span of both films as in order to maintain power they had to maintain these qualities. In both films there is a top dog within the dominating group. In Shame it is Danny and in Heathers, it is Heather Chandler.
Both these characters are at the top of their hierarchies and have power over the rest of the group. Heathers power is symbolically shown by her red scrunchy. They boss the others around and make decisions for the group. Nobody within their crowd will stand up to them, as they are scared as been deemed an outcast. Even though they most probably dislike the top dog, they are comfortable with the security of the group. They find protection and safety within the conformity and therefore they follow the leader.
Within both films, when someone actually stands up to the leader they are discriminated. Veronica stands up to Heather Chandler who responds with: Monday morning you are history. Transfer to Washington, Transfer to Jefferson. No-one at Westerburgs gonna let you play their reindeer games. She did not like the idea of not having complete power over Veronica and was willing to devalue her in order to keep it.
This showing how power is corrupt. Veronica conformed to Jason Dean and murdered Heather Chandler as a result of this corruption. Veronica regained her power. She again took on male traits. This murder does not only positions us, as the audience to believe that power can corrupt and results in violence, it positions us to think that even people with power that seem unbreakable are very vulnerable. The concluding of both films shows this vulnerability, as the people who conform are led to serious consequences.
In both films it took the outsider for society to realise this and change. They were made to see the real results of power and how it is abused, through conformity. In Shame Danny led the boys to attacking Lizzie, her father, her grandmother and Asta, while he sat a watched. He later kidnapped Lizzie, which resulted in her death. He did this simply to regain his power over Lizzie after he was arrested for rapping her. It took Lizzie's death to make society accept the rapping's as wrong; it took her death to make society change.
In Heathers, Jason Dean manipulated Heather Duke to gain the power after Heather Chandlers death; she had the red scrunchy. She conformed to him and made everybody in the school sign a petition, a petition that she was led to believe was for a band to play at the prom, which was actually a school suicide note. She was following her mentor; Jason Dean actually had the power not Heather Duke. However Veronica faced Jason Dean and she shot off his finger, which symbolically represented his penis, his male dominance over her. She had the power over him and the rest of the school hierarchy. Jason Dean then committed suicide as his job in the microcosm was done; he had enlightened Veronica to change.
Veronica then took the red scrunchie from Heather Duke; she now had the power. Both the deaths of Lizzie and Jason Dean acted as a catalyst to change within their societies. They both symbolically represented a martyr figure. They were sacrificed for the greater good; the bigger picture.
As the viewer, we are led to believe that it took their deaths, these extreme consequences, in order for society to realise what was going on was wrong. It took their deaths to expose the corruption of power. We are also led to believe that after their deaths the societies and hierarchies within the films will change, and learn equality and justice. These texts are trying to tell us not to conform within the crowd simply to have power. Instead they are manipulating us as the viewer to want to be our own person and stand up for our own rights. Both these texts expose the concept that power can be abused by gender and sexuality.
They were constructed in order to expose the tragic consequences, which can lead from this abuse and further conformity. As the audience we are made to face the concept of inequality of genders in relation to power within society and further the whole concept of power. Even though gender stereotypes have grown through time to more equal standards we are positioned to see that in order for women to have power over men they must take on male traits. In relation to power, will women ever be equal? We are left to wonder.
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Research essay sample on Taking On Male Qualities Taking On Male Power
