The media I will be analyzing will be the movie, The Notebook. This film takes place in the 1940s, when the cultural expectations for genders were much different than they are now. Below I have highlighted specific examples from the film that emphasize gender roles and stereotypes. 

 

Masculinity In The Notebook

  • There is a scene in the movie where Noah is teaching Allie how to drive. In the 1940s driving was seen as a skill that was manly. 
  • When Lon proposes to Allie, he says “I’m wealthy, I’m from the South, I got a decent job… I’m a really smart guy”. This scene not only implies that a woman looks for a man that is smart, wealthy, powerful, and a leading force in the relationship, but also that men are expected to be able to supply and take care of a woman. 
  • Noah is very reserved, and not emotional throughout the film. 
  • Another classic “manly” stereotype that Noah portrays is that he can build things and does manual labor. In the film, he builds and renovates Allie’s dream home as an attempt to win her love back (and it works). 
  • Noah is portrayed as very brave. A few examples are when he joins and serves in the army, and when hangs off the top of the ferris wheel to impress Allie. 
  • Most of the men in this film smoke often, but never the women.
  • The men that are very rich work in offices in the city and are often well dressed and put together. These are the men that Allie’s parents tell her she should be with, and not the men that are poor and work in the mines. 
  • The men are the initiators of relationships, and always make the first moves. 

Femininity in The Notebook

  • Allie is portrayed to be very over emotional which is a common stereotype of women. For example, the scene where Noah is teaching her how to drive.
  •  Allie’s parents do not allow her to date Noah. They believe that since she is a young woman she is not capable of finding a compatible husband on her own. They also did not approve of Noah because he came from a poor family. This again highlights the gender role that men are expected to be able to provide for the women and that a woman should have to work for money. 
  •  On Noah and Allie’s first date, Allie mentions that in her freetimes she likes to read, dance, and paint (all of which are seen as very feminine things). This also goes along with the fact that Allie is always put together nicely, very clean, and very naive. 
  •  Allie is seen as a very mothering figure. For example, while Allie is in college she becomes a nurse because she wanted to help the men who were coming home injured from the war. 

 

Shared by: Ella Tristani
Image Credit: https://www.google.com/search?q=the+notebook&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=1T21jDLQGJpL-M2CdYB5ibiiwIt1IM2C2Fm2F047tsx3&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTukTGHa8e2T2d4kfQH4ZzYF5G5Bg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjYyf_7pPryAhWOMlkFHYV8BdwQ_B16BAhfEAE#imgrc=1T21jDLQGJpL-M