During these quarantine days, I enjoy spending my time relaxing and watching movies. After coming across a movie with only female main characters, I was very inspired and proud of being a woman. This film demonstrated how women can do the same tasks as men, since both genders have the same skills and intelligence levels. The movie is called Ocean’s 8 and it is lead by eight famous women who have proven themselves to be as successful as the men in their industry. These inspirational women are Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, and Anne Hathaway. This movie shows feminism in two ways. Firstly, it is impressive to see all-female cast and secondly, this movie proves that women can do anything that men can.
Many of you might know the movie Ocean’s 13 that came out in 2007 with George Clooney (Danny Ocean) as the main character. The movie is about thirteen men who rob a casino which was looked at as a movie made by men for men to watch. The women actors saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate that they can play the same type of role in a movie. If men can rob a casino… why can’t women do the same? Sandra Bullock (Debbie Ocean) plays as the main character in Ocean’s 8 and she is supposedly Danny’s sister who wants to seek revenge for the murder of her brother. Therefore, she sets a plan and recruits seven other women to do the job with her. Debbie’s goal is to commit the largest jewel heist of the 21st century by robbing the most expensive jewels including a 150 million-dollar Cartier diamond necklace called the Toussaint. The plan takes place at the Met Gala and the women succeed.
These women proved that men and women should be equal across the globe. They overcame stereotypes such as women are too scared to commit crimes or that women lack the intelligence of plotting such a risky endeavor. This movie empowered women all around the world by showing them that eight women can receive the same attention as thirteen men. They brought forth this movie to fight for equality and prove that heists are not a traditional men’s game. Women can play the same roles as men such as being a hacker (Rihanna), a con artist (Sandra Bullock), an illegal salesperson who deals with stolen goods (Paulson), a street hustler and pickpocket (Nora Lum), etc.
This movie has represented a leap towards feminism in the acting industry where women can lead action movies or any other kind of genre. The Marketplace asked Olivia Milch, the co-writer of the movie, why they chose an all-female, all-star cast and she replied, “The hope is that we get to a place where there’s just a lot of movies being made with female protagonists and female voices” (Milch 2018). The all-female Ghostbusters movie and Ocean’s 8 are two films among others that are beginning to really commence the talk of feminism and equality. These movies are giving voices to all female actresses and supporting them by giving them an important platform to share their stories and opinions.
The film industry plays a big role in our society as movies are very influential in the real world. Many people base expectations on movies and live their life believing that movies could become reality. Therefore, it is important to show gender equality as it can create an impact in today’s society. Movies have the power to represent how our world should see a woman’s position in society. Ocean’s 8 inspired me to not be afraid and to be proud of being a woman because we are indeed powerful, successful and inspirational.
References
Marketplace. “The feminism behind Ocean’s 8.” (2018). https://www.marketplace.org/2018/06/01/the-feminism-behind-oceans-8/
Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5LoVcVsiSQ
Alternatives 