SR.1-'.TlO CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a ~ubstantial extent has been dCC~pted for the award of any other degree or diploma ot a university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text. (Si · SUMMARY In this project report, I argue that one of the foundation stones of sexism in our society, is the promulgation by the Clergy, of the Biblical Genesis Two story of the creation, as the Truth - and their lack of any mention of the first story of the creation, which is of equal authority. In the first story of the creation, God created men and women as equals, therefore, the argument that equality for men and women is natural, is just as valid as the sexist argument that men and women were created different in their nature and roles by God. The sexist ideology of Genesis Two is not only promoted by the church, but by our system of education and shapes society's attitude to women. Because of the influence of the church, the Christian view of Harriage, based on the ideology of the Adam and Eve story, is reflected in Hollywood films on Harriage between 1934 and the late 1960's, while the Production Code was in force. I compare the image and role of women in four Hollywood films on Harriage up to 1970, with the image and role of women in some of those films after 1970, when the Production Code has been relaxed and the Women's Movement has gained momentum. Hy conclusion is, that because of influence of Feminism, there has been a change in the role and image of women and sexual stereotypes, which has led to a reduction of sexism in some Hollywood films on marriage after 1970. MARRIAGE IN SOME HOLLYWOOD FILMS:CHANGING ASPECTS OF SEXISM INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE The Biblical Stories of the Creation CHAPTER TWO The church and sexism CHAPTER THREE What is Marriage? CHAPTER FOUR Education and sexism CHAPTER FIVE The Production Code CHAPTER SIX Marriage in Four Hollywood Films up to 1970 CHAPTER SEVEN Feminism and Film CHAPTER EIGHT Marriage in Some Hollywood Films after 1970 CHAPTER NINE Conclusion APPENDIX 1 INTRODUCTION In "The Paradox of the Harry Marriage" written in the early 1970's, Jessie Bernard states that a substantial body of research, supports Durkheim's conclusion, that the regulations imposed on the woman by marriage are always more stringent than those imposed on men. Women lose more than they gain from marriage. Where married women judge themselves as happy, Bernard asks "how happy.is the happy housewife?" studies have shown, she says, that overall, more married women than single women were reported to be passive, phobic and depressed. Almost three times as many married as single women showed severe neurotic symptoms. Twice as many married women as married men have felt that a nervous breakdown was impending. Many more women than men experienced psychological anxiety, physical anxiety and immobilization. Many more wives than husbands mentioned their physical appearance as a shortcoming, reflecting the enormous emphasis put on youth and beauty among women in our society. ( 1) In Australia, according to Bettina Arndt, a 1981 study by the University of Melbourne, found that married women were less satisfied than single people or married men. Working women reported higher well-being scores in all areas of their lives.(2) Nevertheless, the traditional marriage is still held out as the ideal state for women by the Church. This is supposed to 2 be reflected in Hollywood Films on Marriage 1940 to the late Nineteen Sixties, when the Production Code was enforced. Hollywood films at this time were subject to a strict code of morality which reflected Christian values. The Christian values as they pertain to human nature and sexuality are based on the assumption that the story of the Creation of Adam and Eve is true, and secondly, that it is the only story of the Creation in the Bible. In the first four chapters, I try to show that though both these assumptions are incorrect, they have a tremendous influence in our society's attitude to women. As Merlin Stone says, "In the struggle to achieve equal status for women, in a society still permeated by the values and moralities of Judaic-Christian beliefs (which have penetrated deeply into even the most secular aspects of our contemporary civilisation) we soon realize that a thorough examination of this creation legend alongside its historical origins, provides us with vital information. It allows us to comprehend the role that contemporary religions have played in the initial and continual oppression and subjugation of women - and the reasons for this."(3) The influence of this myth is reflected in the image and role of women in Hollywood films on Marriage while the Production Code was in force. The films I have chosen, however, though they are supposed to support traditional and family values, contain an element of revolt, which becomes progressively stronger in each film. 3 The films to which I give special attention are: 1. "A Letter to Three Wives", (1949). 2. "The Marrying Kind", ( 19 52) . 3. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", (1966). 4. "Diary of a Mad Housewife", (1970. I have included "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'?", an adaption of Edward Albee's play, because it most clearly illustrates the frustration and dissatisfaction in what has been described as a "familiar" American Marriage. "Diary of a Mad Housewife" constitutes what I consider to be a "bridge" between the role and image of the traditional wife and husband in Hollywood films on Marriage, and the new kind of wife and husband in some of those films after 1970. These films which I have chosen for discussion are:- "An Unmarried Woman", (1978); "The Last Married Couple in America", (1980); "Kramer v. Kramer" (1979); and "Mr. Mum", ( 19 8 3) ; "Hannah and Her Sisters", (1986). The dissatisfaction with traditional marriage shown in these films, reflects the dissatisfaction with traditional marriage in American society which was brought to light in America after the publication of Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique in 1963.(4) 4 Dissatisfaction with traditional marriage has also been shown by some women in a survey carried out by the advertising agents, John Clemenger, in Australia in 1985.(5) Equality for men and women in marriage is not contrary to God's will. The foundation stone for equalitarian marriage also exists in the Bible. 5 INTRODUCTION NOTES 1. Barnard, J., "The Paradox of the Happy Marriage" from Gorwick, V. and Moran B. (eds.) Women in a Sexist Society, studies in Power and P{owerlessness, New York 1972, p. 149. 2. Arndt, B., Private Lives, Australia, 1986, p. 50. 3. Stone, M., The Paradise Papers. The Suppression of Women's Rites, London, 1976, p. 2. 4. Friedan, B., The Feminine Mystique, Great Britain and Australia, 1963. 5. Preston, Y., "The Unhappy Majority, Housewives who want to Work", S.M.H., 11.9.84, p. 1. 1 CHAPTER ONE: THE BIBLICAL STORIES OF THE CREATION It is not generally known that there are two separate versions of the Creation in the Bible. In Genesis one, according to the authorised King James version (and the revised standard version) V.26. "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth'. V.27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. V.28. And God blessed them, and God said to them 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth'." One explanation for the two versions of the Creation is given by Theologian Bruce Vawter, who explains that the Semitic historical method (which differs from the Anglo-Saxon method) consisted in laying parallel versions of the same story side by side, often retaining the original thoughts and expressions even though they conflicted. He says, that though Genesis is a historical book, not everything in it is history. It reflects the time in which it was written and what the authors intended to teach us. The story of Adam and Eve reflects the position of Women at that time, when under 2 the law of Moses, woman was (in theory at least) the chattel of her father and then of her husband. Gentiles accepted women's inferior social position and sought to justify it on the ground that women were the source of all evil and suffering.Cl) Another explanation is given by Edmund Leach, who states that all human societies have myths, which express a reality which could not have been observed, in terms of phenomena which can be observed. (In this instance, the "reality" is, the coming into existence of human beings, and the "phenomena" which could be observed, was the coming into existence of pots made out of clay.) The very essence of a myth is its non­ rationality, because it is to be accepted by faith, not reason. To the believer, myth conveys messages which are the Word of god.