Real Women Have Curves
Adam Milkovich
Professor David Finley
English 101
20 April 2012
Women in Unfair Work Conditions: The Fight Over Independence or Family! The play Real Women Have Curves was written by Josefina Lopez, it depicted the hard ships of immigrant female workers and the power and strength of women working together as one. About a decade later a movie was made. However the movie Real Women Have Curves still shows the same struggles these women in the play face and also shows how strong women working together can be. The key differences from the movie and the play are that they depict two different stories and almost give off completely different messages, especially when the movie has male influences. The theme of the play is that women are powerful especially when working together. The theme of the film is that a woman is more about being independent and making one’s own decisions: like deciding to leave and go to college and start her own life. After reading the play Real Women Have Curves readers could tell the story was feminist. The play has five main female characters set working in a factory making dresses for a very cheap price and in horrible working conditions. The play only takes place from Estrela’s point of view. The movie however tells a different story. For example the fathers lends Ana money to give to Estela when the factory is under, and he even tells her “You have my blessing” (Real) when her mother clearly doesn’t want her to leave. The grandpa is extremely supportive even when he’s driving Ana to the airport. Also Ana’s love interest Jimmy is nothing but a true gentleman and Ana’s cousins who play a little role are also supportive. In the movie you don’t see Estela’s struggles working in the factory. The theme of the play is that women are powerful and strong while working together, but in the movie it can be argued that the women are only more successful with the addition of a
Professor David Finley
English 101
20 April 2012
Women in Unfair Work Conditions: The Fight Over Independence or Family! The play Real Women Have Curves was written by Josefina Lopez, it depicted the hard ships of immigrant female workers and the power and strength of women working together as one. About a decade later a movie was made. However the movie Real Women Have Curves still shows the same struggles these women in the play face and also shows how strong women working together can be. The key differences from the movie and the play are that they depict two different stories and almost give off completely different messages, especially when the movie has male influences. The theme of the play is that women are powerful especially when working together. The theme of the film is that a woman is more about being independent and making one’s own decisions: like deciding to leave and go to college and start her own life. After reading the play Real Women Have Curves readers could tell the story was feminist. The play has five main female characters set working in a factory making dresses for a very cheap price and in horrible working conditions. The play only takes place from Estrela’s point of view. The movie however tells a different story. For example the fathers lends Ana money to give to Estela when the factory is under, and he even tells her “You have my blessing” (Real) when her mother clearly doesn’t want her to leave. The grandpa is extremely supportive even when he’s driving Ana to the airport. Also Ana’s love interest Jimmy is nothing but a true gentleman and Ana’s cousins who play a little role are also supportive. In the movie you don’t see Estela’s struggles working in the factory. The theme of the play is that women are powerful and strong while working together, but in the movie it can be argued that the women are only more successful with the addition of a
Cited: Lopez, Josefina Real Women Have Curves. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic, 1996. Print Real Women Have Curves. Dir. Patricia Cardoso. Screenplay by Josefina Lopez and George LaVoo. Perf. America Ferrera, Lupe Ontiveros, and George Lopez. New Market Films, 2002. DVD.