Last night, I sat down to watch Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019) with very high expectations. It’s many peoples’ favorite movie, and now I understand why. Little Women follows the lives of the March sisters as they navigate what it means to be a woman in 19th century America.
One of the main themes in Little Women is that women are complex and their different priorities do not make them less of a woman. Jo wants to be a successful writer, Amy chases the life of an artist, and Meg dreams of living a life of luxury and riches. Each sister also has different views on love. Meg gives up the chance to marry rich for the man she loves, while Jo refuses to compromise her dreams for any man and believes she will never fall in love. Meanwhile, Amy originally views marriage as an economical transaction.
I thought back to these ideas during our discussion today about Paris is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1990). While in a different context, Little Women explores similar themes of wish fulfillment and dreaming of an unattainable life due to societal barriers. Both groups of people dream of fame, recognition, or riches. While the Harlem ball communities have an outlet to be whoever they want to be for a bit, the March sisters each end up having to compromise some of their values or dreams. This doesn’t make them any less of a woman, and they don’t need to be subservient to the societal expectations they face. Ultimately, both groups are looking to realize their dreams while remaining true to themselves.
Leave a Reply