At the end of Twelfth
Night the only way Viola’s big reveal is theatrical is through the use of
her and her twin brother’s incredible likeness to each other. If they didn’t
look anything alike then Viola would have never gotten the chance to leave her
charade and reestablish her public image as a woman. This being a great plot twist
and reveal, it is no surprise that movies have continue this concept of sibling
likeness in physical characteristic and formed a whole plot around it. For
example, the 2001 Disney movie “Motocross” dealt with a female motocross racer,
Andy, who, after her twin brother gets hurt, competes in his place in order to
prove to herself that she can race and maintain her brother’s motocross career.
Now while in Twelfth Night Viola does
not assume the identity of her brother’s and instead makes her own, both
reveals of the Viola and Andy are conducted by men. Viola is outed by her
brother’s actions and Andy is outed by a jealous rival her found out her
secret. While the female characters show great agency by taking on the identity
of a male in order to make the best of the circumstances they’re in, both
female characters are shown to lack the capability to solve any problems on
their own or to figure their own mess out. Men have to come in and save the
day, even if they didn’t mean to. This display of men having to solve the
problems of female could be taken in a misogynistic way that women can’t do
anything without an man’s help and while they can start something, they can
never finish it. While I don’t necessarily agree with this interpretation (even
though I’m the one writing it) I think it’s something to look into. If Viola
and Andy are so smart and clever to the point they can convince men and women
that they are males themselves, then why can’t they have the intelligence to
solve the problem on their own? Is this the case because it’s less dramatic if
they solve it themselves? Or is it because people like to see when things go
awry and people are found out? Either way, I don’t think either female
character is given the credit they deserve.
I have not seen the movie you speak of, but it seems interesting. I wonder if the movie, "Motocross", passes the Bechdel test? I think I agree with you that women aren't treated as men's equal in most movies, although I like Walt Disney movies, because in "Little Mermaid," she confronts the evil queen which has to be the most epic confrontation because of the music and animations.
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