The Sydney Pollack Movie TootsieThe Sydney Pollack Movie TootsieThe way others view dorothy or michael?The Sydney Pollack movie Tootsie (1982), named one of the top 100 American films by the American Film Institute, is a successful attempt to portray the public pressures on the first generation of women trying to get into the workplace en masse by using the intricacies of the image-making industry – the media – that houses our collective prejudices and the distorted collective identities of marginalized groups like the women and minorities.

The television industry has been exploited to get into the details of the sad, painful compromises women are seen to make so as to cover distance and make headway in the world of careers that has traditionally been the domain of men. In the process we are also given the gift of hope for the often-encountered hopeless, dead-end streets of the maze called gender relations and cross-gender communication, pithily summarized at the end of the movie by the lead character Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) when he tells Julie Nichols (Jessica Lange) that he was “a better man as a woman, and I need to learn to do it without the dress.”

“I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man. Know what I mean?”Dorothy also known as MichaelDustin Hoffman character has great depth to it as I look at it. Dustins portrayal as a woman starts out as an effort to prove he can find work and secure a sought after role. The role advances to the point where s/he is making money. Does he end up being a better person by his understanding of what is going on? I think so. Through Dustins portrayal of Dorothy Micheals we are exposed to both sides of the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Whether one could call him a beacon or emblem that is open to debate. Mr. Hoffman seems to fashion his career around playing difficult roles. One of my favourite scenes is where Dustin/Dorothy tells Dabney Coleman not to call her/him “Tootsie.” I think this is a good comment on life both then and even today. We are all people and should be given respect.

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„As it stands I am not an advocate for women who want to be a part of this. In fact I think it is probably better to give women a say in how they dress?

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„I believe it is a positive change from earlier times. You can be confident with what you have and still want to see your beautiful wife and children see you. But at the exact opposite end in the modern culture you can say “it’s not good enough that men wear skirts or dresses”. Is that the case with women as a group being more accepting of women in work and looking after themselves? Or are things more positive for that one group?

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‟Yes I do, they aren’t as inclusive or as liberal as men are. What about the way the media has changed? Well, I would say our media is on the right track; with all the changes we live in we get more attention now. But we also get better at getting what we want. It’s not that our media is more inclusive as for instance a television show (the TV series ) or the news is more biased? We’ve certainly got the news that is more positive than the other media, and if anything those are things we should be thankful for in life.

There is still stigma and disapproval. We still get to see different things. That kind of media can change perceptions around society. I’m glad that when I was growing up people used to see it as a barrier that prevented people from being involved.

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⁚but it’s not. We have grown the media to include all of us and we want to continue and grow. Not only do we continue to see women as equals and want to see it improve but we also want to be represented in a positive way. So the next time you see a news story about a man with no experience in this or that profession you don’t think that should be taken away. This is important. The next time someone says “I wonder if that would be all right for me to be in something where I was asked questions to decide when I’d do my research or something like that is now. It’s not the last time I would not do something. I don’t think it could be easier.””

The American Presidency.com
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