English sexism and misogyny

¶ … Love Got to Do With it?

I'd like to start this essay out by saying that I agree with Bell Hook's critical examination of the Piano. I agree that misogyny and sexism are the central themes in the movie, although I have to say that the movie relies on these ideas to keep it alive and of interest to women because it's the very most thing they are familiar with. The movie has received rave reviews because of its sexuality and expression, although I do not think the average person sees the misogyny present. I believe this is because it has become so mainstream and accepted that it's hardly recognizable anymore. The following paragraphs will detail the film's themes and the advantages and disadvantages it portrays for women.

Without a doubt, the Piano has some very powerful emotional themes to it. While I'm writing to agree or disagree with the thoughts of Bell Hook's, I cannot help but be compelled to mention the films most poignant theme -- passion. I say this because the passion the film depicts isn't illustrated just in Ada but instead it appears in all of the film's characters. Although it's obviously most apparent in Ada, who through her role expresses many other themes as well. Instances of passion include, Baines, who no longer abides by the values of British society and who has became embraced by the Maori methods of living. Although, the Stewart clings to the only English ways he knows, he is still very passionate about them. He refuses to allow himself to feel until one violent when he becomes completely out of control. Ada, hampered as much by her lack of voice as by social pressures, is yearning to break free, and only through Baines does she find the courage to do so.

The story of the piano is gut-wrenching throughout the whole thing. There is symbolism everywhere; a point not lost on Bell Hook, but a point I'm sure is missed by the average movie goer because the symbolism extends further than the lands of New Zealand portrayed in the film. I see the symbolism in these men, in their domination, but mostly in Ada and her means of expressing herself. The Maori society that she lives in also represents the release of inhibitions.

It turns out, Ada doesn't love the men nearly as much as she loves her piano. While she cannot talk, she is able to communicate with music which makes her seem like a vulnerable character. Her great love for her piano is shown when her new husband won't arrange for safe passage for the piano to her home, and Ada becomes furious with him, but finds another way to make it work. Ultimately, Baines ends up with the piano, while ultimately keeping the affections of Ada in the same way. He also arranges for Ada to give him lessons. It all seems so easy and innocent -- he does her a favor, she should do him one in return. But this is where Bell Hook's point because painstakingly clear.

In this example, I see that Ada is being manipulated in a way that she ultimately ends up being at Baines arm, needing him for reasons that he is most certainly aware of. He seduces Ada and they participate in passionate sex, which clearly demonstrates the exchange, the passion. He has something she wants, he wants her, she become supplicating, albeit out of choice. The idea is that Ada loves and wants the piano so much that she is willing to sell herself to Baines for payment of one day at a time. She loves the piano, not Baines. So, it also appears that she is being quite manipulative herself.

But love is mysterious in these ways, always. Love is often an exchange of things. An exchange of power, a woman giving a man herself because he has something she wants. It happens even in our culture today. I believe this is Ms. Hook's contention with her essay. She is saying that women are used in exchanges, as in the rap videos; they are being used to make men look bigger, stronger, and more powerful. Although there is always a choice. Ada is willing to throw away her marriage to a man she doesn't love to be with one she does, but she has her reasons beyond those concerning love. The only thing that is missing is the freedom to make that choice, the freedom to do it without pain or sacrifice. But freedom always comes with a price, especially for women. In the process of gaining her choice, Ada loses a finger, loses her piano, and almost loses her life.

We have to also look at history in the film. The Piano seems historically correct because women didn't have the right to choose their mates during this time. Love almost always came at some price. Ada chose to express her love the only way she knew how -- through her piano. But she is not making the right choice, because in the process she is sacrificing herself. She is unable to stand up for what is right because the pain is too great and too lonely to bear.

While I think Hook's view of male supremacy seems somewhat harsh, I think she has a point. There is clearly male domination in the film; Ada was dominated by her husband, father, and her lover -- by every male she came to love. But this is also where we can discuss money as being the motive for everything. It seems to come up in almost any argument, and it can be argued in regard to this film, too. Ada, while limited in her choices because of the times, still had choices before her. She had choices of love, of money, of lifestyle, and ultimately she chose the easy way, which involved being with a man she did not love. In gangsta rap, it's the same thing. These women, while they may not agree or like the way they are portrayed in these videos, are ultimately willing to sacrifice their image and every other woman's image, for the money. Ada did the same thing, she could have been poor, her daughter could have learned differently about love, but her love for the piano motivated her to throw everything else out the door. Love may have been part of her motivation, but it wasn't the greatest, and it wasn't what ultimately prevailed.

All the disturbing moments in this movie, not surprisingly, revolve around the piano, its voice, and how these men attempt to either restrict or manipulate it to get what they want. Ada's sense of self is dangered because of it. One hand, she is being liberated and given the freedom to express herself, on the other hand, she is stifling her expression by her need to have a "a good man." A "good man" never comes without sacrifice, a point that Bell Hook's make in her essay, although not in those words.