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Post Feminism In Bridget Jones's Diary

1476 Words6 Pages

Throughout the years femininity in Hollywood cinema has changed quite drastically. The industry has gone through several phases that changed how femininity was viewed. This paper will address the postfeminist phase in Hollywood, while focusing on the film Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001). It will show how postfeminism is viewed in cinema as well as the characteristics that make a film considered to be postfeminist. Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001) showcases all the characteristics needed in a postfeminist film which makes the film a great representative of postfeminist attitudes in media. In order to discuss why Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001) is a postfeminist film, it is first important to understand exactly what postfeminism is. Postfeminism came …show more content…

One characteristic is the freedom of sexuality. Since this movement is suppose to be beyond feminism, women in postfeminist movies are not shamed for being sexual. Whether this means that the women want to have sex or they have sex with multiple men, there is no judgement for the women. Postfeminism is usually referring to young women. Since it is seen as young women having more freedom and choice in their lives thanks to traditional feminism (McRobbie 255). In most feminist movies the protagonist is always a young women, usually between the ages of 25 and 35. This is an important age range because it shows that the protagonist is able to live on her own and support herself but she still has enough time to settle down and have a family. Even though expressing sexuality is an important part of postfeminism, in the end, the main goal is to eventually settle down with a good man and have a family. Since postfeminism goes back on many aspects of feminism, the same happens in post feminists film where in the end the heroine either ends up with a man or finds happiness with a man. This is indeed the ending for the film that is going to be examined in this paper. The reasoning why this is the ending in so many postfeminism films is because it is the first time since feminism that it is okay to end up with a man. Most feminist rhetoric was, and is, about how women do not need men to survive. While that was showcased in the beginning of the film from Bridget’s character and lifestyle, it later shifts to where she wants to find the right man. This is a change in Hollywood that came about with postfeminism, where it was once again okay if a woman wanted to end up with a man. There is one characteristic of postfeminism that did not appear in Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), and that is that Bridget did not have a feminine profession. In most postfeminism films, the leading lady always has a

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