finished essay

1 files changed, 7 insertions, 4 deletions

diff --git a/slst450/film_report.md b/slst450/film_report.md
index 771a0ff..408d784 100644
--- a/slst450/film_report.md
+++ b/slst450/film_report.md
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-	In comparing depictions of women in Ninotchka, The Meeting on the Elbe, and From Russia with Love, it is important to keep in mind the time period these films were released in. 
-	Ninotchka is a film largely depicting a transformation. Where the titular character is first introduced, she is depicted as cold, robotic, and in a sense genderless. In one of her first lines, she urges her companions to not make a deal of her womanhood. Throughout her interactions with Leon, she is humanized through femininity--the film frames her transformation[ ]. 
+	Ninotchka is a film largely depicting a transformation. Where the titular character is first introduced, she is depicted as cold, robotic, and in a sense genderless. In one of her first lines, she urges her companions to not make a deal of her womanhood. Throughout her interactions with Leon, she is humanized through femininity--the film frames her transformation as a shift towards a personality that is more in tune with her true self. Where the cold, communistic Ninotchka may believe what she says, the human, feminine Ninotchka feels what she says. 
 Despite this, Ninotchka is presented as having agency. It is not the case that she must be feminine simply because that is what is expected of her, rather, it is what she truly desires. Ninotchka's journey is one of self-discovery, where femininity is portrayed as an evidently desirable thing.
-Of course, Ninotchka is shown in opposition to the Duchess Swana. I've elected to briefly discuss Swana's character, as I believe she demonstrates an interesting juxtaposition, and illustrates 
-	James Bond films are infamous for their depictions of women, and From Russia with Love is no exception to the typical model. 
+Of course, Ninotchka is shown in opposition to the Duchess Swana. I've elected to briefly discuss Swana's character, as I believe she demonstrates an interesting juxtaposition, and illustrates a surprising ability to deal with nuance in gender. Swana is illustrative of Old Russia, where Ninotchka exemplifies the ideal modern Russian woman. However, Swana's femininity is not sufficient for her to be viewed as a good person within the narrative. She exercises her personal agency to oppose the will of Ninotchka, and later Leon. While Swana is depicted as feminine from the beginning (Leon asserts that her beauty will sway the French courts), it is not an integral aspect to her character. Unlike Ninotchka, her motivation is not developed past her personal interest in material positions, and possibly in Leon.
+	James Bond films are infamous for their depictions of women, and From Russia with Love is no exception to the typical model. The viewer's introduction to Bond is of him on a romantic canoe voyage with a lover, whom he quickly abandons upon receiving a call from his agency. This scene sets the stage for the film's general treatment of women--set pieces to advance the plot, rather than characters able to exert their own agency. As SPECTRE's plan unfolds, it is revealed that a young Russian cryptographer named Romanova has been ordered to seduce Bond, and tempt him with the Lektor encryption device. The nature of this plan is further evidence of the film's general treatment of women; Romanova's sexuality is not only a narrative tool for the film, but also a tool within the film. I will not touch upon the character of Rosa Klebb, as I don't believe her appearance is necessary to support the argument I make here.
+From Russia with Love commodifies female sexuality further, in a rather literal sense. When Bond first sleeps with Romanova, the tryst is covertly filmed by SPECTRE, to be used as blackmail.
+	The contrast between Ninotchka and From Russia with Love is quite evident. Where, in Ninotchka, the decisions and feelings of the female characters play a critical role, this is not the case in From Russia with Love. Perhaps the nature of the transition experienced by Ninotchka enabled the filmmakers to introduce this element of agency without offending the sensibilities of the audiences at the time. Either way, in this sense, Ninotchka is perceived as a more progressive film.
+	Unlike the other two, the Meeting on the Elbe is a Soviet film. Therefore, the enemy is the West, and specifically the US. This film emphasizes women less, though there are a few notable exceptions. First, the Western occupied side of Germany is shown to be full of debauchery and sexuality. A sign to the nightclub informs visitors that all women are welcome, so long as they have a suitable ideology and are free of sexually transmitted diseases. The Meeting on the Elbe interlaces certain themes of control with gender, indicating that Americans are perhaps controlled by women in some sense. I am less interested in examining this film, as I believe the gender portrayals offer less interest to a modern audience. 
+	Broadly, Ninotchka deals with femininity as a choice made by women. It is the ultimate expression of innate, natural female desires, and something that is unjustly supressed by the communist ideology. The acquisition of certain physical goods, such as the hat, is viewed as a means of expressing one's natural gender roles. From Russia with Love treats femininity as an asset to be used by men. Women can be used as a tool to manipulate men, but it is not through their own action that this occurs. Women do not have agency to dictate the nature of the gender expression. Finally, the Meeting on the Elbe deals less with femininity and more with sexuality. Rampant debauchery leading to sexual misconduct, and a lack of moral character is the characterization given to the West.