Ma Vie En Rose Analysis

The film “Ma Vie en Rose directed by Alain Berliner, takes us through what life is like for a small child of seven years old, Ludovic Fabre, who strongly believes that he is a girl. Through the entirety of the film Ludovic struggles with his identity. He is excited about the idea of marrying his neighbors son when he gets older and cannot understand why everyone seems so disturbed by the idea of it happening. Since Ludovic is convinced that he is a girl he puts on dresses and makeup whenever he gets the chance. However, due to some of his unsupportive family members and judgmental neighbors, Ludo isn’t allowed to fully embrace and express himself. All he wants is to be accepted while also trying to convince everyone around him that he is a

However, as Professor Thompson states in her PowerPoint gender can be influenced by cultural idea’s that separate people based on sex, which in turn sets up gender roles that are expected to be followed based on the sex of a person. Butler (1998) depicts that the idea of gender is an illusion of our beliefs and states that “the body is a historical idea”. With this he is stating that something, in this case gender, only means something when we put meaning behind it. Therefore, if gender ideals didn’t exist, people would have reacted completely differently towards Ludovic Fabre’s mannerisms and choice in lifestyle. Professor Thompson defines sex as the biological differences between males and females. Biologically speaking Ludovic is a male yet his actions such as wearing dresses and trying on makeup, as well as his thoughts of wanting to be pretty or wanting to marry Jerome, would be considered feminine. And this, according to Williams article (2002) is not okay because boys are supposed to be strong, fast and good at sports. For example, in trying to make Ludo more masculine, his parents make him play soccer and cut his hair much shorter in order to conform to societies gender

In the film “Bliss” you can see that men are higher in the social hierarchy, and hold the power to control women’s lives. For example, when Meryem’s situation was first discovered, it was the males in the family who decided her fate. Since Meryem was raped she was no longer “pure,” and no longer deemed worthy of marriage. This proves Kaskla’s (2003) statement about how women’s most important role in society is reproduction. Although Cemal found Meryem attractive, he didn’t act on his feelings for her at first because he saw her as “tainted” and as a “sinner.” As Professor Thompson states in her Powerpoint, how we think and behave “is contingent upon culture’s ideas about gender and the roles, rights, and responsibilities.” Cemal wanted to protect Meryem and maybe start a new life with her, but his old customs were hard to let go of since he would continue to verbally attack or hit Meryem. Also, when told to set the table, Cemal stated that it was a women’s job. Both films and articles demonstrate how gender and sexuality are huge factors when it comes to the way one is viewed and treated in society. They also provide examples as to what is required from specific genders and what they must follow to be accepted. Although gender and sexuality cause prejudice and biased responsibilities, I believe that the same should be expected from