Tarantino’s women
Jo Zelzulka
In this article, Zelzulka argues that Tarantino demonstrates a strongly feminist approach to his female characters including Beatrix Kiddo and Jackie Brown. both characters demonstrate strongly stereotypical views of womanhood through their prioritisation of motherhood. However, Zelzulka explains that this allows the characters to become more three-dimensional as the stories follow a plot which is able to intertwine motherhood within it. It is also clarified that ideas surrounding motherhood are present within the films not out of misogynistic views but from a place of adoration from Tarantino who describes his own mother as “ambitious, competent, successful, and well-educated” due to her ability to raise him without a consistent father figure for Tarantino. Jo also states that Tarantino’s representations of women display them as “strong, independent and complex characters…in all his films” further accentuating the idea that women in his films have characteristic depth and strength to them. From this it can be concluded that Tarantino chooses to present the female characters within his films as complex to reflect the strength and determination of the women within his own life who he appears to strongly uphold as both influential and inspirational. Zelzulka iterates at the end of her article that her opinion could be heavily influenced by the fact that she is a woman. She would see things from the perspective that supports her view that Tarantino would represent women and men in equal resale to of character without stereotyping either gender. Tarantino himself recognises the difference in approach which can be taken by men and women when looking into gender roles within his films. He elaborates that “…some of the strongest defenders of Reservoir Dogs were women…the women who got it would take on all comers.” which could suggest that Zelzulka may be accurate in her perspective of what Tarantino is trying to convey about women through the way that male characters within his films talk about and address women.
Feminist theory: Liesbet van Zoonen
Van Zoonen argues that females in media are often restricted to secondary roles as they are consistently led or controlled by a stronger male character. They typically possess the role of the romantic interest or another supporting role within television. However they tend to positioned in order to peruse male-based dependence through advice within magazines. Women are often constructed as passive participants in their roles which can be seen in sports coverage, shown in both magazines and news, due to the predominant focus on the performance of male athletes. This displays a clear theme in multiple media products of women being seen as almost a character that stands behind a man and bends to his will, creating patriarchal ideas about gender inequality and the stereotypical ‘weakness’ of women.
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Natasha’s Story: life as a new mum in temporary accommodation
Natasha discusses her fears as a new mother whilst being homeless. When her daughter was born, she felt terrified as her and her daughter had nowhere else to go. Natasha explains how living in temporary accommodation affects the lives of her and her daughter on a daily basis. She tells the audience about how their id mould and damp everywhere in the property. Her daughter has had a cough from the age of three days old until now. Within the property, there are damp collectors which tend to fill up within the space of a week and a half to two weeks. Natasha struggles to sleep because she is concerned that her daughter is going to stop breathing in her sleep. their toilet is filled with sewage and after it is flushed, it comes back with 20 minutes to half an hour. They are currently eating mainly tinned foods and baby dishes that do not need to be cooked because they do not have an oven. they also have rats within their accommodation, making the environment uninhabitable. She also explains that even without these issues, the accommodation is so small that it is dangerous for an adult and a toddler to be living there. Natasha does not feel safe in her temporary accommodation due to loud noises which can be heard from people being arrested and their doors being ‘booted in’. She has previously come back to her property and seen parts of the wall surrounding her lock that have been chipped away, making her worried for the safety of her and her daughter as she feels defenceless in the potential event that someone breaks in. She feels that there have been several serious issues that have never been dealt with. None of the tenants have direct contact with landlord and are only able to contact a team that works for the landlord, who have recently began ignoring Natasha’s phone calls and emails. Natasha and her child spend most of her day out of their accommodation, even in winter months just to escape their situation. One of Natasha’s neighbours has been in their accommodation for 7 or 8 years. Natasha said that feels that there are “not enough people that care” because there are not enough landlords that will help. She also discusses how there are a lot of new buildings being constructed but only to be bought or rented. She feels that these buildings should be social buildings in order to help thousands of people. Natasha often tells herself that their situation could be worse as her and her child could be living on the streets but due to the mice and sewage she feels that she is almost in that situation. Despite this, Natasha says that her child empowers her and is her motivation as she dreams of one day not being in temporary accommodation with her daughter. Through this video, Shelter informs the audience that temporary accommodation is not a solution to homelessness but instead the government need to invest in a ‘new generation of social housing’.
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