The 2009 film, He’s Just Not That Into You, features several well known actors. However, I did not feel that the film depicted women in a realistic way. In fact, I think the film dumbed down the actresses to make the move more entertaining. I also feel the film dumbed down the audience. It was as if they thought women really are helpless alone, and need guidance on their one life quest, to find a man and true love. This isn’t reality for many women, we all do not sit around waiting on a man to call, or stressing over what will happen. Society has changed in regards to dating and relationships. A woman can be the first to call, or ask a guy on a date, and if a woman is single at age thirty it is not frowned upon. Seriously, do women really need a film to tell them that a guy isn’t into them?
Gamble and Gamble states that women are “typically depicted in films as victims, powerless or dependent on men, involved in/consumed by relationships” (368). This passage couldn’t describe the movie He’s Just Not That Into You more accurately. Women were not victims in the conventional way, but they were victims of failed relationships or a lack there of. Men held all power in the film. By expecting a man to call first, he is put in the position of power. The character GiGi, would represented the clueless, desperate, in need of a relationship girl, was fully dependent on her friend, Alex, the bartender. She couldn’t handle a situation alone, the second she had a question or encountered a conflict, she called him for help. What also was interesting about their friendship was they ended up having romantic feelings towards one another. This also demonstrates the stereotype that men and women do not have friendships without intimate feelings, which seems to occur often in films.
Though these women were not occupied by housework, or children, they each felt they needed “a man to complete them” (368). This film exemplifies the stereotypical notion of women, and I do not feel this is good in regards to society. Films such as this send the message to young girls that they do in fact need a man to complete them. This puts a great deal of pressure on them to look the right way, and act the right way, all just in hopes of a male liking them.
Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2003). The Gender Communication Connection. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company
(2009). He’s just not that into you trailer. Retrieved June 17, 2009, from YouTube Web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IeXqvFR6HI
