Post 5

I must say that I really enjoyed the film Frida. This is mainly due to Salma Hayek’s performance. I think she does an incredible job of becoming Frida Kahlo and giving a realistic performance. Having studied Frida’s life somewhat in my Spanish class, I knew of the pain and suffering she had gone through in her life. Salma portrays this well, making us truly understand why the subject of so many of her paintings are dark and filled with sadness. I also found Frida’s relationship with Diego to be fascinating. It seems to be a bit of a roller coaster ride. One minute, Frida and Diego are happy and we like them together and the next minute he is unfaithful and we don’t know why she is staying with him. Whether she loves him or dislikes him at the moment, he remains a huge inspiration for her work and that is something that always remains the same. Finally, the cinematography and imagery in this film is beautiful. I found it very interesting how in certain parts of the film her art came alive. For, example, after her accident when she is in the hospital we see an animation with images from her paintings to express her pain from the bus crash. Also, I enjoyed the cinematography when Frida and Ashley Judd’s character Tina do the tango. There is so much passion in their moves and the camera captures it all.

In Ortner’s article, she talks a lot about female subordination and how it tends to be profound. She also discusses how women are to be more identified with nature, and men with culture. Otner says, “Women’s body is seen as closer to nature because of its functions, man’s philosophy frees him more completely to take up the projects of culture.” In her quote and in the article, culture or men seem to have more power over nature or women. Therefore women are subordinate to men. I believe that this is depicted in the film Frida. The main man of the film, her husband Diego, has a lot of control over Frida. Even though Frida is stubborn and strong at times, it seems he does have some sort of control over her. It was the cultured part of Diego that first attracted Frida to him. He was a very successful muralist and had many connections in the art world. Through Diego, Frida knew she could become a part of that culture. She needed him to get there. Diego (man) is cultured. Frida is identified with nature. She has been dealt hardships in her life and pain and has had to deal with all of it. She even depicts these natural feelings and emotions in her paintings.