True Grit, Mattie Ross and Feminism?
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0:08 - 0:11Mattie Ross is the star of the award winning film True Grit
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0:11 - 0:12made by the Coen Brothers
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0:12 - 0:15this is a remake of the 1969 film starring john wayne
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0:15 - 0:19which is in itself an adaptation of the 1968 Charles Portis novel
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0:19 - 0:23the 14 year old lead character is played by Hailee Steinfield
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0:23 - 0:26who much to my surprise was only 13 when filming the movie
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0:26 - 0:29this is a significant and welcome change from the original casting
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0:29 - 0:32where actor Kim Darby was 21 when playing Mattie Ross
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0:32 - 0:36it's always nice seeing young actors playing lead roles in serious films
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0:36 - 0:39especially young women, because they are offered so few of these
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0:39 - 0:43Without giving too much away, this is a classic Western narrative about the serach
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0:43 - 0:47for revenge, self-relience, and independence in a harsh and unforgiving land
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0:47 - 0:51The movie follows Mattie on her quest for revenge against the man who killed her father.
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0:51 - 0:57To help her on in this venture, she hires notorious US Marshall Rooster Cogburn, known for his ruthless grit
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0:57 - 1:01The Marshall initially dismisses Mattie because of her age and gender
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1:01 - 1:06However, she convinces him of her confidence and they set out on the trail to find the killer
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1:06 - 1:09For those of you who haven't seen True Grit, there's going to be a few spoilers ahead
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1:09 - 1:14What's so captivating about Mattie's character is how witty and smart she is
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1:14 - 1:16and how daring, self-reliant and independent she is
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1:16 - 1:20She's full of confidence in herself and her abilities in a hostile, male-dominated world
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1:20 - 1:25These are traits rarely ascribed to female characters, let alone female teenage characters
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1:25 - 1:29One of my favorite scenes comes early on when Mattie sucessfully negotiates with
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1:29 - 1:31an unscrupulous horse trader
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1:31 - 1:35And I want $300 for Papa's saddle horse that was stolen from your stable
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1:35 - 1:40You have to take that up with the man who stole the horse
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1:40 - 1:44Tom Cheney stole the horse while he was in your care. You are responsible.
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1:44 - 1:50hahaha... Yeah, I admire your saying, but you'll find I'm not liable for such claims.
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1:50 - 1:54You are the custodian. If you were a banker robbed you could not simply
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1:54 - 1:55tell the depositer to go hang.
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1:55 - 1:59I do not entertain hypotheticals, the world as it is is vexing enough
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1:59 - 2:05Secondly, your evaluation of the horse is high by about 200 dollars.
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2:05 - 2:06How old are you?
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2:06 - 2:09If anything, my price is low. Judy is a fine racing mare.
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2:09 - 2:12I've seen her jump a 8 whirl fence with a heavy rider in 14.
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2:12 - 2:15Mattie really is a breathe of fresh air
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2:15 - 2:17As Rebecca Keegan points out in her LA Times article
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2:31 - 2:38I wholeheartedly agree, however, I've been a little dismayed by some mainstream media articles
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2:38 - 2:41and some blog posts that are quick to label Mattie a "feminist character."
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2:41 - 2:43Personally, I think it's a little bit of a leap
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2:43 - 2:46While it is certainly true that Mattie possesses a number of admirable traits
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2:46 - 2:48rarely seen in female movie rolls
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2:48 - 2:51I'm just not convinced she's a feminist character
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2:51 - 2:52Here are the two main reasons why:
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2:52 - 2:551) All characters need a good story arc
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2:55 - 2:56where they are one way when the story starts
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2:56 - 3:02and they learn a lesson or change or grow or regress or something
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3:02 - 3:05the point is that the character has transformed from the place that they were
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3:05 - 3:08at the beginning of the story to someplace different by the end
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3:08 - 3:12For all intents and purposes, Mattie is basically the same character
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3:12 - 3:14from the first scene to the closing credits
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3:14 - 3:17When she first steps off the train, she may be a little bit naive
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3:17 - 3:22but she is still fairly confident, self-assured, and emotionally cold
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3:22 - 3:25During her experiences traveling with Rooster and LaBoeuf
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3:25 - 3:30she retains all of those traits and seems fairly uneffected by the danger, brutality and death
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3:30 - 3:32all around her
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3:32 - 3:35As an adult, she seems to have changed very little, if at all
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3:35 - 3:37and that leads directly into point number 2
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3:37 - 3:40At no point in the film do we see a real range of emotion, such as sorrow,
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3:40 - 3:44despair, or grief for the loss of her father
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3:44 - 3:47Mattie's entire reason for being, as far as we're shown in the movie
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3:47 - 3:51is to seek the death of his murderer, an outlaw named Tom Cheney
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3:51 - 3:54She is unwavering in her conviction that justice can only come through
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3:54 - 3:57the hanging of Tom Cheney in the town square
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3:57 - 4:01In fact, the whole film frames the murder of Tom Cheney as justice
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4:01 - 4:05whether he meets it by the state, by the US Marshalls, or by Mattie herself
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4:05 - 4:08It is never questioned that maybe "an eye for eye" is not such a good idea
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4:08 - 4:12We don't see Mattie questioning capital punishment (the death penalty)
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4:12 - 4:16or really considering any other potential forms of justice
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4:16 - 4:18Even after she kills Cheney, she still shows no emotion
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4:18 - 4:23In fact, no one in the movie seems to be effected by brutality, death
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4:23 - 4:25or the suffering of others
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4:25 - 4:27As we know, all people, regardless of gender
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4:27 - 4:30are capable of the full range of human behaviors
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4:30 - 4:33But since we live in a male-dominated, male-centered society
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4:33 - 4:39traits stereotypically described as masculine are more valued
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4:39 - 4:42and consequently, more celebrated by Hollywood
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4:42 - 4:47While tratls typed stereotypically defined as feminine
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4:47 - 4:50are undervalued and often denigrated
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4:50 - 4:53This may be one of the reasons why people are quick to adopt
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4:53 - 4:55Mattie as a feminist character
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4:55 - 4:58and other people pop culture characters who are considered strong and tough
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4:58 - 5:01The feminism I subscribe to and work for involves more than
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5:01 - 5:05women and our fictional representations simply acting like men
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5:05 - 5:09or unquestionably replicating archetypal male values
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5:09 - 5:14such as being being emotionally inexpressive, the need for domination and competition
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5:14 - 5:16and using violence as a form of conflict resolution
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5:16 - 5:21In my feminist vision, part of what makes a character feminist is watching her struggle
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5:21 - 5:25with prioritizing values such as cooperation, emathy, compassion
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5:25 - 5:28and non violent conflict resolution in a world largely hostile to those values
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5:28 - 5:33I think feminist characters should, like feminists in real life
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5:33 - 5:36push beyond societal norms, challange gender roles
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5:36 - 5:39and the institutions that actively work to maintain them
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5:39 - 5:41And let me be clear here
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5:41 - 5:44This is not to say that I don't want characters that are flawed, becuase I do
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5:44 - 5:47I want characters who are subtle, who make mistakes
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5:47 - 5:49and who don't always do everything right
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5:49 - 5:54but I want those characters to fit into overarching themes where they're not stuck
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5:54 - 5:57in stereotypical roles such as the damsel in distress, the girlfriend, or the love interest
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5:57 - 6:03And on the other hand, I don't want them to just recast tough male roles for women to play
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6:03 - 6:06which we've been seeing a lot of lately
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6:06 - 6:08In True Grit, Mattie is certainly subverting expected gender roles
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6:08 - 6:12by being witty and smart and competent and independent
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6:12 - 6:16yet she is not challagenging the set of partiarchal, archetypical
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6:16 - 6:19male values ever-present in most mass media narratives
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6:19 -She is actually adopting them
- Title:
- True Grit, Mattie Ross and Feminism?
- Description:
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Mattie Ross is the star of the award winning film True Grit. She is a remarkable character being cast as a strong, tough, independent, and determined young woman. While I think Mattie's character is (unfortunately) rare in major Hollywood films, many people have been quick to call her a feminist character... I have a slightly different take.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Feminist Frequency
- Duration:
- 06:31
femfreq edited English subtitles for True Grit, Mattie Ross and Feminism? | ||
Ashley Harrington edited English subtitles for True Grit, Mattie Ross and Feminism? |