OPPapers.com Essay Index >> English >> Mildred Pierce
We have many free term papers and essays on Mildred Pierce. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Mildred Pierce. Mildred Pierce The protagonist of the film Mildred Pierce
does everything in her power to help her children. Mildred ...
Mildred Pierce Summary, Character Analysis, and Opinion. Summary: Mildred Pierce,
by James M. Cain, begins in pre-Depression California ...
... By the 1940s, Mildred Pierce manufacturers recognized how customers were developing
relationships with their brands in the social, psychological, and ...
... that of film noir. In film noir, such as The Maltese Falcon or Mildred Pierce,
the mood is melancholy. The fashion, black and white ...
... A Piercing Look at Society "If it sticks out, pierce it" is a motto for ... Tattoodles
Doll in toy stores, and as games on the Internet such as Piercing Mildred. ...
Submitted by umidunno on May 10, 2006
Category: English
Words: 1957 | Pages: 8
Views: 127
Popularity Rank: 84,587
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
Mildred Pierce
The protagonist of the film Mildred Pierce does everything in her power to help her children. Mildred dreams that one day her daughters will be prima donnas and concert pianists, and pursues these fantasies to the best of her abilities. By twenty-first century standards, she could be considered a good mother—she works as a waitress to make her single mother ends meet and starts her own business. The filmmakers, however, labor to portray her as the a bad mother according to standards in the 1940s: Mildred attempts to shoulder fatherly responsibilities, which makes her the worst kind of mother possible. The matriarchal coup ends in disaster, and reveals the filmmakers' message: a woman's place is in the household, and she cannot hope to thrive in a man's world.
Warner Brothers released the film in 1945, a year many American soldiers returned from World War II. It left millions dead, but the calamitous event also boosted women's place in society. During the WWII period, women became the main providers for their families while American men were at war, a situation that lead to increased independence for American women. Popular slogans and icons of the time, like Rosie the Riveter, encourage women to work and take charge of their lives. However, when men returned and re-entered the workforce, society expected women to step aside and rejoin the cult of domesticity. This background knowledge adds many layers of meaning to the movie and is vital to understanding the message of the movie.
Mildred Pierce is meant for an audience of women. It illustrates why economic independence is undesirable and reinforces why women must stay in the house—Mildred's self-sufficiency only leads to catastrophe. The key to Mildred's failure unfolds in the early kitchen scene of the movie when she walks away from the Pierce marriage by kicking her husband Bert out of the house. Pressing financial problems arise as soon as he leaves because Mildred...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!