Sexualization Of Women In Breakfast At Tiffany's

As films venture through time, they are molded and revamped to match the ideals of the era they are made in. Furthermore, films are a very effective medium in enforcing rules, expressing ideas, and convincing society to take action when needed. During the 1940s, World War II had started and soon the United States became involved with the war (The War Years, Gunther). Due to the nature of the times, film became an effective tool for war propaganda. Hollywood and the Office of War Information coordinated with each other to make films that would impact war efforts and the lens American society viewed World War I (The War Years, Gunther). Adding on, Molly Haskell recognizes that “film’s apparent ability to reproduce reality” leads to a “more or
Furthermore, Claire Johnston mentions that an “enormous emphasis placed on woman as a spectacle in the cinema” is prevalent during this time (Thornham 28). A film that clearly demonstrates the sexualization of women is Breakfast at Tiffany’s. During this film, we follow Holly, a woman living in New York and how she goes through her life receiving money and goods from men using her looks. A new person moves into her apartment complex, whose name is Paul. She befriends Paul and even calls him Fred due to the fact that he looks an awful lot like her brother Fred. We also follow the development of the friendship between Paul and Holly. Throughout this story we learn about Holly’s past, such as her previous love, Rusty, who comes to New York to get her to come home with him. She then learns that Fred is coming home from the army in a few weeks. Later on, after she leaves Paul’s life, she learns about the death of her brother, which destroys her, and changes her character in general. She later on marries, Jose, a rich Brazilian man who family is of high status in Brazil. As Holly is about to leave to Brazil, she is arrested for being in contact with a drug lord, specifically Sally, who she visited once a week to listen to his stories in exchange for money. After this, Paul and Doc bail her out, and as Paul try to tell her about their next plan of action she still tries to go to Brazil, to receive a brutal break up with Jose. Even then, she does not want to stay, and wants to move on to her next adventure, when Paul gets angry with her and leaves the taxi cab they were on. Afterward a few moments, Holly runs after Paul and she finally lets herself fall in love with Paul. A quote from this movie resonates with Holly and her character, which is “I'm like cat here, a no-name slob. We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other” (Breakfast at Tiffany’s). This clearly shows