Male Dominance in the Presence of Romantic Comedies by Grace

Grace Smith

ENG255F

17 February 2020

Professor Sinowitz

                                Male Dominance in the Presence of Romantic Comedies

The overarching power that men possess over women is overwhelmingly established in our society. Male dominance can be found just about anywhere and everywhere we look whether it’s in the workplace, college campus, religion, etc.  Even in simple examples, we can find this concept in something as casual and entertaining as romantic comedies.

I will be referencing William Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing, as well as It Happened One Night directed by Frank Capra. Shakespeare wrote Much Ado in 1599 and was produced as a play in 1623. In fact, this was the beginning of what we now think of as a romantic comedy. We can see the impact that Shakespeare has on the current idea of a romantic comedy in today’s society. Frank Capra, a very famous Italian American film director and producer, is credited for his work in It Happened One Night 1934. It Happened One Night highlights and reproduces elements that have been established in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. With hundreds of years in between the two, one can see that Shakespeare’s element of male dominance is much prevalent in the film.  In first reading and viewing, one typically wouldn’t notice the suppression of women by men. The truth of this element is hiding behind the superficial comedy, but can be noticed with a closer, in depth look. The male dominance that Shakespeare highlights can be shown in multiple ways in It Happened One Night. Ways in such the women are the ones who are reliant on finding and needing a man to function in society. However, in this essay I want to specifically present the way in which women are compelled to cooperate while consistently being instructed on what to do by the male characters restricting them from being rebellious.

     Shirley Nelson Gardner critiques Shakespeare’s work, specifically in terms of male dominance. In her essay, “Male Bonding and the Myth of Women’s Deception in Shakespeare’s Plays,” she goes into detail on the pattern of elements presented in Shakespeare’s work. In these eight steps she presents, she is showing how male dominance is present over women and how women are seemingly convicted of something they didn’t do. Specifically, she claims one of the steps as, “Sixth, the women must die… Eighth, the woman forgives him” (Gardner 136). 

We can see how Shakespeare specifically shows women cooperating in Much Ado. Hero had to pretend to be dead in order for the plot to end in a way that allows for her and Claudio to be happily ever after. Let me repeat this; Hero had to pretend to be dead in order for the male character to realize he was wrong about his accusations. It wasn’t her choice to fake her death. Friar had to first off, instruct Hero to fake her death, and second off, Hero had to cooperate with Friar to fake her death. All to allow that we, as a viewer, can be entertained and content with a happy ending. When initially reading this play, this isn’t what the audience first perceives. At first glance the audience sees this as something that has to occur in order for the “guy to get the girl” and without the obedience of the female character there would be no plot and no happy ending. There is no room in the conclusion of the plot for the woman to be rebellious.

              The use of a man instructing, and the cooperation of woman can be seen many years later in the film It Happened One Night. Above are two screenshots of a particular scene in It Happened One Night. In this scene, Peter is shown instructing Ellie on how to properly hitchhike. In the first image it is clear that he is seen as more dominant. In the way in which he is positioned in front of Ellie the viewer can see his over reigning confidence. Even in his facial expression and posture the viewer can see how dominant he stands in comparison to Ellie.  In the background, the viewer can see how Ellie is positioned. She’s observing Peter as he instructs her on how to successfully hitchhike. Peter, with cockiness in his tone, tells Ellie to, “Keep your eye on that thumb, baby, and see what happens.” In the second image, the viewer can see how little and small Ellie looks in this shot. She’s literally “watching and learning” while Peter is tall and strong in the foreground of this shot. In other terms, she’s cooperating while being told what she needs to do. What is so interesting is that Peter is ridiculously unsuccessful in what he is trying to instruct Ellie to do. As a viewer who is casually watching a romantic comedy, we find this comical and entertaining. However, when taking a closer look, we see that male dominance is illustrated all over this particular scene as the male character is instructing the female character on what to do. We can thank Shakespeare for his initial use of this element from Much Ado.

             Shakespeare is one of the original writers for romantic comedies and has mapped out elements that can be seen hundreds of years later in romantic comedy films, specifically in It Happened One Night. There are multiple parallels that can be traced back to Shakespeare but one that is most interesting and contains deeper analysis is the way Shakespeare has envisioned women in his work. The way in which he portrays women as following instructing orders from men and having them corporate can be overseen by the typical plot of a romantic comedy. However, when taking a deeper look, one can see that it contains much more analysis connected to our society and can be seen as problematic. The irony that both of these pieces of works, as well as many more romantic comedies in the future, are both works written by men. The basis of romantic comedies are in the perspective of the man. If women were the first authors and directors then things could be different. One could argue the view of women's roles in romance would be illustrated much differently potentially changing the way women are seen in society. Overall, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing created a foundation for romantic comedies in our society.