Sociology

There has been a dichotomy of the roles of men and women in society. Women are perceived to hold the traditional role of housekeeping and raising the kids. Men on the other hand are the breadwinners, the ones who provide all the financial needs of the family. This is an almost universal perception. Through the years, however, the role of men and women in a family has shifted, overlapped and interchanged. We see more women having careers and helping the men pool resources for the family or even take the role as their own. We also see women, even married ones, having prominent positions such as Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey of the United States, Mary McAleese of Ireland and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines. Men, on the other hand, are slowly taking the place of women in the homes while their wives go out and earn money for the family or they take the dual roles themselves.
    The movies analyzed in this essay reflect the different roles that men and women play in the family. These portrayals are reflections of what has been happening in real life specifically in different cultures and societies. They feature women and even men who take on roles which are non-traditional and which go against cultural expectations and social norms. Despite this, however, what is common among the movies is the positive outcomes of the non-conformance not only to the main characters but also to their family members. 

NORTH COUNTRY
    This movie features Josie as the main character, a woman who left her abusive husband. She moved to her parents  house wherein the situation did not get better. Her father questioned her fidelity to her husband and her mother asked her to go back to him. This clearly shows that they have little trust and confidence in her as a woman, a mother and a daughter. Since she is alone to raise her kid, her main preoccupation  is to support her child. She got a part-time job washing hair. Through another character, Glory, she learned of available jobs in the iron mines. At first, she was reluctant because her father also worked there but then again she needed the money so she applied and was accepted.
    With the job, she was able to move to her own place and support her child however, there was a big payoff. In the mines, she together with the other women suffered all sorts of discrimination from their men colleagues. Even in the beginning, it was made known to them by the owner that it was a men s world. It was their territory but because the law compels companies to hire women and so they did. At first, Josie was determined to stay in the mines and at least do something about the discrimination that she even talked to the owner to no avail. In fact, she was even told to resign. Rumors about her being a whore was circulated in the neighborhood which affected even her child.
    What finally made her quit was when Bobby Sharpe, her former boyfriend in high school and her supervisor sexually assaulted her. She filed sexual charges against the company but she was unable to get her former co-workers to testify. In fact, they even signed a document stating that all her allegations are fictitious. Josie s lawyers said that only three witnesses were needed in order to file a class suit. In the end, her co-workers including her father gathered the courage to stand up in court and testify. She won the case.
    This movie shows a woman, Josie, who took the role which conservatively belonged to men and that is the role of being a breadwinner. Her dual role of being mother and father at the same time is also reflective of what women are experiencing nowadays with the cases of divorce and separation between husband and wife where the kids usually end up with the mother. Thus, at times because of the need to work, women experience discriminations and abuse. Take for example those women who work abroad in order to support their family end up being raped, discriminated and even killed.   
     It is also noticeable that when Josie went to live with their parents, her mother urged her to go back to her husband. This, apparently, is true outside of movies   a woman will try to save the family even if it means living with an abusive husband for the sake of her kids and even for the sake of saving face.

SAVING FACE
    This story revolves around three women, Wilhelmina a Chinese-American lesbian surgeon Ma, her unwed pregnant mother and Vivian, her dancer-girlfriend. Wil s mother showed up at her doorstep one day to live with her because she was shunned by the Chinese-American community because of her pregnancy. Their culture looks down on unwed mothers, thus, in order to save the face of Wil s grandfather and in order for Ma to be allowed to return to their place, Wil tried to set her up with Cho. The wedding was set but soon Wil found out that her mother actually loves someone else so the former had to stop the wedding.
    Meanwhile, Vivian and Wil s relationship was on the rocks because of the issue of coming out and its effects to Wil s medical career. In fact, Wil introduced Vivian to her mother as only her friend.  Thus, Vivian went to Paris but three months later she and Will reunited through the concerted efforts of their mothers.
    In this movie, it shows another non-conservative facet of women. Different societies and cultures views on lesbianism or homosexuality is different if not conflicting. There are countries who allow same-sex marriage like Denmark, Spain and Netherlands and there are more countries that don t. Nonetheless, lesbian relationships are common even in conservative societies. Despite the fact that American society generally takes a liberal view on homosexuality, there are gay people who sets limitations on coming out especially those who occupy important positions in society such Wil for example who was a doctor.
     The significance of the role of Wil s Chinese widowed mother in their family is also apparent. By being pregnant and unwed, she will tarnish the reputation of her father who demanded that she gets married first so she can go back to the place which she shares with her father. Her status is unacceptable in Chinese-American culture, thus, it is up to her to save her father s face by getting married. She has to comply with this condition even if it mean marrying someone she does not love.

KRAMER VS KRAMER
    In this movie, Ted Kramer takes up the dual role of mother and father when his wife left him because he prioritized his work over the family. When his wife left, Ted must take up the role of housekeepng and raising their son, Billy. At first, father and son had a difficult time adjusting to the situation since Ted must do the extra house chores and take care of Billy that he was not able to cope up with the demands of his job thus losing it. Eventually, he found another job that does not conflict with his paternal responsibilities. In the end, father and son adjusted to each other and grew to love each other very much. When Joanna, Billy s mother came back, she filed a custody suit which she won but when she realized how the two got very close, she decided not take Billy with her after all.
    This movie like Saving Face also reflects the shifting roles of men and women in society as the circumstances require it. Here, Ted tried to balance his paternal duties with that of his professional duties achieving a good outcome despite the absence of his wife. As was stated earlier, because of cases of divorce and separation in the country, it is not surprising that a woman takes up the role of a man in a family and vice versa.

REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES
    This movie focuses on Ana Garcia, a Latina, who was torn between her responsibility to her family and her dream for a college education. In her culture, she was expected to stay with the family, help in her sister s business, find a husband and have kids. Due to the fact that her sister Ester cannot bear children, it is Ana s responsibility to give her parents grandchildren.
    Forgetting her dream of going to college, she worked for her sister even helping find a way for her sister to sell her collection in the mall. She also had an intimate relationship with Jimmy, her high school love interest but eventually she realizes that she is not love with him. When she received a grant from New York University, she decided to take the opportunity. Thus, she informed her family and surprisingly her father supported her. Her mother, on the other hand, still did not agree to it even refusing to say goodbye to her when she left.
    Latin women, as shown in the movie, hold the important role of bringing forth the future generations of the family withholding even their right to pursue their own dreams. Ana, at the end of the movie went against this tradition in order to follow the desires of her heart which is already common nowadays.

CONCUSION
With the dynamism of culture and society, gender roles have shifted and transformed to adopt with it. The roles which have been previously attributed to men are now being done by women and vice versa. The movies which have been studied above are reflections of reality which also show that the shift and interchange of gender roles is not that bad. In fact, by being adaptive to social changes, men and women become fit to survive life s challenges.  
    Gender roles as can be gleaned from the movies Saving Face and Real Women Have Curves are for the most part culturally imposed. People who are not part of that culture may not understand or may view these roles as limitations but cultural traditions must always be evaluated not on standards of the outsider s culture but they must be understood on the terms of those of who  are within the culture.