Clueless and Sleepless in Seattle

Both Sleepless in Seattle and Clueless show elements that are common in films directed and produced by women, which are outlined in Women Who Run the Show. According to the text, female empowerment in films is highly present when the movie was created and worked on by a woman. This is so because of incidents that stand out in the female filmmakers’ own lives during their period of working in the industry largely involve men who push them down and they had to overcome this struggle, therefore they depict events similar to those that they experienced. Both Clueless and Sleepless in Seattle show this trend. In Clueless, Cher is typified by being dumb and an airhead, but during the film she learns to use her strengths to better her life in the ways that she chooses. Alicia Silverstone is shown to become empowered through the movie; something that women went through in the 60’s and 70’s as they struggled to get into the workplace and the film industry. Sleepless in Seattle also shows this trend in the fact that Annie, the main character, chooses to make a decision for her life that is purely in an attempt to gain something that will make her happy. Meg Ryan’s character leaves her fiancée in order to pursue her dream of real love, a move that an independent woman would only do. Both films exhibit the process of a woman making a decision in order to make herself happy, something the women described in the book also had to do in order to continue with their careers.

Close examination of emotions and relationships are shown in these two movies, something which is not common in films made by men but seen consistently in female works, again as outlined in the text. In addition, stereotypes and other political points are made. Clueless, although not highly emotional, does deal with maturation of character and love which is not a common theme in male produced and directed films. Cher’s character also fulfills a lot of stereotypes of women such as being an airhead and very superficial, but at the same time she is intelligent and breaks the mold and is successful through her exploits. This obviously is coming from a woman because that is something all women seek to achieve in their quest for equality. It magnifies social stereotypes that a man may overlook in films, such as the idea that women cannot be intelligent on their own and the image wars that go on both with men and women. The film uses the stereotypes to show what is wrong with the way society represents its members. The women in this movie have the upperhand and the male characters are used as props in the woman’s plan. The men fulfill their expectations of shutting women down and other demeaning treatment. The women also seem to fit the mold of shallow and mindless people who just enjoy shopping, a common stereotype. If the film had been written by a man, it would most likely feature women in more submissive roles compared to the men Sleepless in Seattle is highly emotional, deals with death, love and personal struggles. This movie definitely shows emotional elements that would not otherwise be shown. It is solely centered around Tom Hanks’ struggle with his emotions concerning the death of his wife and restarting his life. It also examines his relationship with his son in an emotional sense, which would most likely have been represented in a different way had the filmmaker been a man. He is shown as a caring and sensitive individual. In addition, Hanks’ character describes his feelings towards his deceased wife as appreciative of her qualities, again something which was not shown from male filmmakers towards females when they were first coming into the industry and which a woman would want to represent in her film. The theme of deep analysis of relationships and emotions is something not present in films made by men because in society, men are expected to be unemotional and not talk about their feelings. Overall, these themes and more that are pointed out in Women Who Run the Show are highly visible in both these movies and others created by women.