Little Women Meaning And Response

Question 1

Representations-

Answer 1

•Amy’s monologue in her studio in Paris about the role and place of a woman: “as a woman there is no way for me to make my own money..if I had children, they would be his not mine “

•The film represents love at different stages of life in differing ways, with childhood love as warm and adult life as complex and complicated

•The publisher’s daughters encouragement of Jo’s book shows there is a clear market for female stories, showing representation of successful female authors

Question 2

Aesthetics-

Answer 2

• Aesthetic shifts occur in several places, there are both juxtapositions of time and location

Question 3

Cultural and institutional context points-

Answer 3

• Little Women was made in the wake of the #metoo movement- Hollywood wanted to champion female voices and stories, having a film not only about women but having them behind the camera with Greta Gerwig’s womanhood being a driving force of her appeal as a director

• Little Women was also released in the third year of Trump’s first term, a president infamous for his many sexist comments, with the film showing female capability and strength

•Institutionally, it’s a lavish studio production from Sony with a vast budget of 40 million dollars

Question 4

Ideology-

Answer 4

• Greta Gerwig wrote and directed the film, it’s from an entirely female lens and pen. Similarly, it’s an iconic female novel. The film teaches the spectator to negotiate and know their worth

• The ideology of the March family is explored through the strength of the matriarch

Question 5

Spectatorship-

Answer 5

• Extensive long take reactions of Jo and Laurie create intimacy, recognition and stitch the audience close into their intimacy

•The relationship between the audience and Jo is continually tested with her refusal of Laurie and cruelty to Amy with the audience morally evaluating her behaviour

•When in Paris the two romantic interests are positioned next to each other for the audience to compare. The calm and caring Fredrich and the rude and drunken Laurie. Getwig changes this representation via writing more intimate and personal scenes for Laurie, altering audience perception later on