Frida Movie Essay

Questions on Frida

1. How did Kahlo become a feminist icon?
In a time were art was full of male artists and their work, Kahlo came and drew from her heart. As her husband puts it, Kahlo paints what she feels and goes through rather than just what she sees. She has put her life and biography into her work. As a local critic puts it “It is impossible to separate the life and work of this extraordinary person. Her paintings are her biography” (Lucie-Smith, 2008). Kahlo’s life was full of all kinds of pain a woman would experience: Injury and disability, miscarriage, husband’s unfaithfulness, etc. All of these were demonstrated in Kahlo’s work and that has made her a feminist icon where other women would look up to.

2. Kahlo demonstrates uniqueness and originality throughout the movie? Give an example.
Kahlo’s uniqueness and originality has been demonstrated many times throughout the movie. Examples are listed below:
a. Early in the movie we see the family

Her attachment to her culture is very obvious. We can notice it in both her style of painting and use of bold colors. We can also notice it in the way she dresses, the jewelry she wears and hair style. She sticks to her culture even after travelling around and meeting women that are considered modern and dressed up to fashion.

3. Where do you see Diego in Kahlo’s paintings? Give an example.
You can see Diego in a number of Kahlo’s paintings. Two examples are listed below:
a. The Two Fridas: Kahlo explains that this painting was done after her divorce from Diego and the two women resemble different states of the same Frida and Diego’s effect on both.
b. The Broken Column: In this painting Kahlo draws half her body with many needles stuck into it and the biggest in her heart. She explains that those needles resemble the different kinds of pain she had to go through and that the biggest was Diego’s.

4. Why is it taken more seriously when women are unfaithful than when men are unfaithful? Relate it to the