The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and Feminism

Tonight I went to a movie on opening night; something I have never done before.  If you have not seen the latest Hunger Games movie, SPOILER ALERT!  You have been forewarned.

This week in class, we have been reading A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner and analyzing the short story using feminist criticism.  As I watched The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, I tried to also watch for examples of feminism.  The entire Hunger Games series, especially this final movie, is clearly a part of the Third Wave of Feminism.

The protagonist of the movie is Katniss Everdeen, a young female, living in a dystopian society.  She is a strong female character that holds power in society over not only the rebels but the capitol.  As the “Mockingjay” she represents the movement for change in the corrupted society.  All the rebels hold great respect for Katniss and all she has done in the games and for the fight against the Capitol.  When she walks into a district that is preparing for the war, everyone immediately holds up three fingers as a sign of respect.  The Capitol is the corrupted but powerful government that is controlling and ruining the lives of everyone in the districts.  The Capitol is scared of almost no one, but views Katniss as a serious threat to their totalitarian state, as she has become a symbol of the fight against the Capitol to all of the districts.  Katniss, a woman, is truly empowered as she holds so much influence and power in society.

She also does not need “saving” by a man.  Actually, it is the men in the movie that rely on her and need her help.  Often in stories and movies, it is the female character that is portrayed as the weak one who needs saving by a man but, Peeta, who is one of the male leads is taken in and brainwashed by the Capitol; not Katniss, the female lead.  Katniss throughout the movie is able to help Peeta overcome his trauma as he recovers from being brainwashed.  She is always there for him to help remind him of who he is and help him distinguish between what is real and what is false.  She reminds Peeta for example that his favorite color is orange, but specifically the orange color of a sunset.  

When the leader of Katniss’ unit in the war dies, he entrusts her with the device that finds all the dangerous pods.  Whoever is in charge of this device must lead the group.  He could have turned over the leadership of the group to one of the many men in the unit, but instead gives Katniss, the woman, the responsibility.

The two “love interests “in the movie, Gale and Peeta, both vie for Katniss’ affections.  Instead of both men competing for her love like in a romantic knight’s tale or choosing amongst themselves who will “get” Katniss, they give the power to her.  They both acknowledge that they like Katniss, but decide that Katniss will be the one who gets to choose which of them she wants to be with.  The female protagonist has the power to choose rather than the male characters.

The defining moment for Katniss that truly exudes pure feminist power is at the end of the film.  She is the one who is supposed to kill Snow, the former, corrupt leader of the Capitol.  However, the new President of Panem is already exhibiting behavior that indicates that she is going to become just as ruthless and corrupt as Snow.  When Katniss prepares to shoot Snow as planned, she uses the opportunity to kill the new President which leads to all the former rebels also killing Snow.  This entire event leads to Panem becoming a true democracy with a real election that will ultimately lead to a brighter and less corrupt future for all citizens.  The corrupt and totalitarian world is ultimately overturned as a direct result of Katniss’ actions.  

Katniss is a strong and powerful leader and woman in the dystopian society of Panem.  This last installment of the Hunger Game film series especially showed the power of feminism and the benefits of not having a patriarchal society, but rather a society that values people based on their abilities and personal qualities.

Mary Poppins and Feminist Criticism

Last week I decided to psychoanalyze the musical we are putting on in school, Mary Poppins.  This week in English class we focused on feminism and feminist criticism.  All week I had been trying to think of what I would talk about in relation to feminism, and then I realized that not only can Mary Poppins be analyzed through a psychoanalytic lens, but it can also be analyzed through a feminist lens.  In the musical, Winifred, often referred to as Mrs. Banks, struggles with her role as a woman in her family and in society.

In the beginning of the musical, Mrs. Banks acts to please her husband and fulfill her role as a stereotypical wife and housekeeper.  Mrs. Banks is an upper class woman with a husband and two children.  She lives in a patriarchal society in England during the time of the first wave of feminism.  She is clearly inferior to her husband who is very misogynistic.  Mr. Banks is the breadwinner and works at the bank, while Mrs. Banks is in charge of the children and other “womanly” things like throwing social parties.  Mr. Banks tells his wife that they need a nanny so she can fulfill her role as wife and “do charity work and entertain”.  When Mrs. Banks tries to complain to her husband that she should have some independence and freedom to invite her true friends, Mr. Banks as the man in charge has the final say.  He will not let her invite her acting friends and even implies that Mrs. Banks should feel ashamed for her old life as an actress.  As an actress, she was a more independent person.  Mr. Banks believes she should feel ashamed of this former life because she was not adhering to the role women are expected to play in society.  Mr. Banks tells Winifred that “It’s your job, to be Mrs. Banks”.  This misogynistic comment shows that Mrs. Banks lives in a patriarchal society where women are defined by their husbands and not by their own roles.  Mr. Banks wants her to be defined by him, rather than by herself.  She is defined essentially not by herself as the actress, but rather as Mr. Bank’s dutiful wife.  Mrs. Banks even sings a song about being defined by her husband, and she sings “I have a name which tells the world; I’m someone else’s wife”.

When Mary Poppins arrives to become the children’s new nanny, Mr. and Mrs. Banks assume stereotypical gender roles.  Mr. Banks tells Mary Poppins that “Nothing domestic has anything to do with me!”.  Women are expected during this time period (around 1910) in England to provide and care for children in society.  Mrs. Banks asks Mr. Banks what his job is, and he furthers his belief in stereotypical gender roles by replying that it is “To pay for everything”.  Essentially, he believes that women take care of the children and that men earn the money for the family.

At the end of the musical however, Mary Poppins and the children help Mrs. Banks become a stronger woman.  Mrs. Banks wants to help George who is in trouble at the bank, but believes that because she is a woman that she cannot go and help him.  The children convince her to go and tell her that Mary Poppins says anything is possible.  When the children say “Anything is Possible” they mean that it is possible for Mrs. Banks to overcome her fear of becoming a stronger woman and not conforming with the typical role of women in society.  Mrs. Banks goes to the bank to help her husband, and she is forced to confront the misogynistic attitude of the chairman of the bank who tells her that they are not finished with business, thus implying that she needs to leave.  Mrs. Banks finally overcomes her stereotypical role as a dutiful wife whose place is at home by staying at the bank and successfully negotiating a better salary for her husband.  Mr. Banks also realizes that he has been acting misogynist throughout the musical and tells her that she no longer needs to be defined by him, and that she can define herself by going back to the stage and becoming an actress again.

Yet again this week, I was surprised to find another layer of depth to a fun and uplifting Disney musical.  This musical seems to have it all; flying kites, spoonfuls of sugar, freudian psychology, and feminist criticism.

Mary Poppins and Freudian Psychology

When we were originally told we could write about anything as long as we analyzed it in depth, I panicked.  This week I have put almost everything aside except homework for rehearsals for Mary Poppins.  It is tech week, and this is probably one of the largest if not the largest musical we as a drama club have ever put on.  Thus, it has been a week full of stress and long hours.  

I figured if I wrote about Mary Poppins, I would have nothing to say.  After all, it is a happy, stereotypical, magical musical.  However, upon further examination, I found many examples of Freudian psychology.

The Banks family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Banks and their two children, Jane and Michael.  Mr. Banks is neglectful of his own children.  He is always busy working at the bank and never spends time with his children.  The children go through nanny after nanny because they are rude and they misbehave all the time.  The reason they are always misbehaving is because of the oedipal complex. While the oedipal complex usually just applies to boys, in this case it also affects the daughter. Freudian psychology explains that due to a lack of a father figure Michael is unable to complete the process where he subconsciously fears castration from his father in order to develop his morals and learned behavior.  Michael, as well as Jane, are unable to complete this process of subconsciously fearing their father, so they cannot develop their superego (their morals), and thus they are always misbehaving.

Mr. Banks had the same problem when he was a child.  He had a cruel nanny when he was young, and he did not see his parents more than once a week.  Since he never saw his father and mother, he could not go through the oedipal conflict which has lead to neurotic behavior as an adult.  He uses various defense mechanisms throughout the play.  One defense mechanism that he employs is intellectualization.  His nanny was so harsh and cruel to him as a child that now as an adult he concentrates on the intellectual components of situations and does not feel emotions.  When his children ask him who hugged him goodnight as a child, he responds that they did not have time for “hugs and kisses and all that sloppy nonsense”.  He believes because of his experiences as a child that emotions are bad and a waste of time.  As a result, he shows no love and emotion to his children.  He also struggles to use his emotions when trying to make a deal with Mr. Norfolk.  Mr. Norfolk begs for a loan and says it will help people who are just trying to make a decent living, but Mr. Banks is just focused on the monetary outcome of the deal.  Another defense mechanism that Mr. Banks employs is displacement.  He displaces the anger and anxiety he has for his job onto his wife and children.  He yells at his wife, telling her that she needs to do better at “being his wife”, when in reality what he is angry about is his own job and problems.

While on the surface Mary Poppins seems like a silly musical with talking statues, depth-less purses, and flying kites, much of the plot and the story lines are based around Freudian psychology.  As opening night approaches, and the stress of balancing school and the show rises, I will have to try to remember to use mature defense mechanisms like mindfulness, humor, and gratitude!