Girlfight
Girlfight is a female boxing movie released in the year 2000. Directed by Karyn Kusama, it is a movie about a high school girl named Diana who is an energy-overflowed and angry girl that often causes troubles. She soon she finds a way to unleash her anger and energy through boxing. However, boxing is not a sport for girls, and although her trainer promises to train her as long as she gets the due, the trainer doesn’t want to her to fight because “girls are not as strong as boys.” But later he changes his mind after watches Diana’s fight, and makes her a good fighter. In addition to her boxing, she wins her boyfriend to prove that she is a good fighter. It is a story about a female boxer, but underneath it is a movie about more than this.
First, this is a movie about youth rather than boxing. Diana is a typical high school youth with typical youth problems such as uncountable energy and angers, which she doesn’t know how to unleash. I think most people have gone through this kind of experience at that age. When they feel angry, an efficient way of expressing their anger is to fight somebody, this applies to Diana as well, who has four fights in one semester. She finds a way to unleash her anger after she sees her brother in a boxing fight at a gym. She loves this sport because it helps her control and unleashes her anger. Another typical problem with youth is family problems. In this movie, Diana has a bad relationship with her father. This is also part of the reason that caused her anger. The scene shows her anger out of control in the fight between her and her father. For these reasons, I consider this as a movie about youth.
Second, this movie challenges female traditional roles in society. In the Heterosexual Matrix, females do work that show their femininity and males do work that show their masculinity. This is the traditional way of social roles expressing gender. Females are supposed to work on light sports, but boxing is an extremely competitive and dangerous sport that could cause physical damage. Just like the trainer in this movie says “girls can’t box, because girls are not as strong as boys,” boxing is often considered as a male game. In this movie, the director is trying to challenge this rule by letting girls box. Moreover, the director sets up this boy versus girl boxing scene to reinforce this challenge and let the girl win in order to prove that females can play male sports.
Overall, this movie shows a brand new point of view on boxing which is from the perspective of females. To reinforce this, the director uses many techniques. For instance, to show the girl as the central character of this movie, in most of her scenes, she is placed at the center of the frame. This method is called Mise en scene. It means use the arrangement of visual weights and movements within a given space. And other supporting actors and actresses are often placed at two sides of the frame. This gives viewers a sense of the character at the center is much more important than characters at other places.
First, this is a movie about youth rather than boxing. Diana is a typical high school youth with typical youth problems such as uncountable energy and angers, which she doesn’t know how to unleash. I think most people have gone through this kind of experience at that age. When they feel angry, an efficient way of expressing their anger is to fight somebody, this applies to Diana as well, who has four fights in one semester. She finds a way to unleash her anger after she sees her brother in a boxing fight at a gym. She loves this sport because it helps her control and unleashes her anger. Another typical problem with youth is family problems. In this movie, Diana has a bad relationship with her father. This is also part of the reason that caused her anger. The scene shows her anger out of control in the fight between her and her father. For these reasons, I consider this as a movie about youth.
Second, this movie challenges female traditional roles in society. In the Heterosexual Matrix, females do work that show their femininity and males do work that show their masculinity. This is the traditional way of social roles expressing gender. Females are supposed to work on light sports, but boxing is an extremely competitive and dangerous sport that could cause physical damage. Just like the trainer in this movie says “girls can’t box, because girls are not as strong as boys,” boxing is often considered as a male game. In this movie, the director is trying to challenge this rule by letting girls box. Moreover, the director sets up this boy versus girl boxing scene to reinforce this challenge and let the girl win in order to prove that females can play male sports.
Overall, this movie shows a brand new point of view on boxing which is from the perspective of females. To reinforce this, the director uses many techniques. For instance, to show the girl as the central character of this movie, in most of her scenes, she is placed at the center of the frame. This method is called Mise en scene. It means use the arrangement of visual weights and movements within a given space. And other supporting actors and actresses are often placed at two sides of the frame. This gives viewers a sense of the character at the center is much more important than characters at other places.
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