Herstory Blog Assignment

Kelly Hales WST 3015

February 1, 2010

Nina Perez

Word Count: 813

Mary Poppins / Iron Jawed Angels Analysis

The term "suffragist" is used to describe those (most commonly women) who fought for ensuring women the right to vote. With an extensive amount of hard work and trial, the right to vote was extended to women by the passage of the 19th amendment. The movies Mary Poppins and Iron Jawed Angels depict women suffragists in different circumstances. I think that Iron Jawed Angels portrays a more accurate account of the woman suffragist, while Mary Poppins sugar coats the long and gruesome journey. Megan Seely states in her book Fight Like a Girl that "the feminist movement has a rich history-- a history full of struggle, sacrifice, justice, resistance, and many victories." Iron Jawed Angels spent a large amount of time depicting even the "dirty" details of what being a suffragist really meant.

In both films, the characters that are part of the suffragist movement are obviously very passionate about the matter. The way that each character responds to men, however, is quite different. Alice Paul, the main character in Iron Jawed Angels is apprehensive toward men and rejects all advances made by Ben Weissman. Alice refuses to be pushed around or ordered by men and is a very independent individual. Mrs. Banks, the mother in Mary Poppins is displayed singing a song about the suffragist movement after coming home from a successful meeting. She sings about how she is a soldier in a petty coat, how victory will be won and women will be able to vote because of their actions. In one particular line she sings "though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're rather stupid." This is a very bold statement for her because she is extremely obedient of her husband; the exact opposite of Alice Paul. When Mr. Banks arrives at home, Mrs. Banks ends her song and begins following his orders. She happily writes a newspaper ad at his command and continues to serve him with pleasure.

Aside from the character Bert in Mary Poppins, all of the men in both films act very similar. While Bert is a caring and gentle man, the men in both Iron Jawed Angels and Mary Poppins appear to have a significant idea of self worth and display a degrading attitude toward women. Mr. Banks requires that his wife follow his every whim and provide him the utmost respect possible. Mr. Banks often times seems irritated by the presence of his wife and children; which is probably why a nanny is necessary in his household. He doesn't have the time or interest to care for his children throughout the day, and allowing his wife to participate in her activism duties keeps her busy. The men in Iron Jawed Angels are selfish, angry and degrading. They outwardly treat Alice Paul and her group of suffragists like they are crazy animals unworthy of any human respect. The men spit on, abuse, and carry the women away to prison in lieu of dealing with the actual problem - a woman's right to vote. The men in Iron Jawed Angels are much more cruel (and realistic given the time frame) than that in Mary Poppins.

Activism is represented the same way in each film, however, it is not actually shown in Mary Poppins. Mrs. Banks returns home and tells of her fellow suffragists chaining themselves to wagons and being carried away to prison. Alice Paul and her fellow suffragists are actually shown protesting, marching, working, and being thrown in jail. A hunger strike was performed in the jail and Alice Paul is shown being force fed through a tube; a scene which made me literally sick to my stomach. Alice and her group are active suffragists who went through more trial and tribulation than most women will ever understand.

The women in these films fight a long fight but eventually get to see their hard work pay off. Alice Paul gets to see the 19th amendment passed and will be able to vote with her fellow suffragists. Mary Poppins, being a more family oriented film, shows the previously trouble Banks family together and happy. Mr. Banks has become a happy and loving individual. Throughout the trouble that Mrs. Banks went through with her husband, she stayed with her beliefs and is shown stringing one of her suffragist ribbons to the end of a kite that is flown by the family.

Both of these films include strong opinions, while one is more harsh and realistic than the other. The "ism' that is incorporated into the two films is feminism. Iron Jawed Angels depicted it as a more harsh idea of feminism while Mary Poppins depicted a happy and pretty idea of it. Both suffragists in the films are strong, but in different ways. In both films the women remain strong in their beliefs, which to all women voters today should be extremely important.




Resources:

Seely, Megan. Fight Like a Girl. New York: New York University Press, 2007.