The cinematic classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s, released in 1961, is not a movie I’d typically be interested in. I’ll freely admit that I’m not a fan of old movies, finding the antiquated social rules and styling to be frustrating and dull. However, Netflix didn’t get the memo, most likely because it’s a shared account, and suggested it to me about a year ago. Although certain elements date the movie (Mickey Rooney’s stereotyped Mr. Yunioshi for one), the overall character-driven plot is innovative and relevant. The central themes of money, prostitution, and love transcend an era.

Audrey Hepburn stars as Holly Golightly, a beautiful socialite with a complicated past. Her stark apartment is one of several in a beautiful New York City townhouse, containing the photographer Mr. Yunioshi and the newly arrived writer Paul Varjak. An unlikely friendship blossoms between Holly and Paul, rooted in the complex relationships they have with the opposite sex. Paul has published a series of short stories, and in the ensuing years, been taken under the patronage of an older, wealthy woman who pays for his room, rent, and suits, in exchange for his love. His writing has stagnated over the years, as he “saves himself” for the Great American Novel. His relationship with this married woman is not one we typically see in mainstream cinema, there are a greater number of examples of men in the position of dominance over a younger ingénue. This emasculation of Paul allows for him to be a nonthreatening presence in Holly’s world, stripping him of the need to inhabit the stereotypical gender role of a man.

In contrast, Holly’s life is defined by the men who inhabit it. Through a series of anecdotes and side characters, we get a clearer picture of the factual details of her past, although we rarely get insight from Holly herself. The first man to provide the viewer insight to Holly is a man who sidles up to Paul at a party to ask him, “Is she or isn’t she a phony?”  The man is O.J. Berman, her former agent, who reveals that Holly was a country girl discovered by Berman. He provided her speaking lessons before sending her out for screen tests for movies in Hollywood. Holly decides to move to New York on her own instead of sitting for the tests. She is also a frequent visitor to Sing Sing prison, where she sees former mob boss Sally Tomato. His lawyer pays her to visit once a week, in exchange for a “weather report” from the inmate. Sally has taken over as Holly’s accountant as well, and reads Paul her expenses, noting it was a sad story in the making. The lingering mentions of $50 from men to “go to the powder room” alludes to sexual encounters with these men for money. Paul later meets Holly’s ex-husband, whom she married at 14, in order to provide a place for her mentally-disabled brother, Fred. Her subsequent annulment from Doc Golightly still hasn’t registered with the man, but he eventually leaves with the ominous message that she must take care of Fred now. In desperation, Holly makes the decision to pursue a marriage with a rich Brazilian, José, who eventually leaves her via a letter delivered by Paul after her arrest in conjunction with a scheme from the aforementioned Sally Tomato. These men continue to impose their own image of Holly over her personage, trying to make her only one thing: a wife, a mother, a call girl. In their vain attempts to “tame a wild thing,” we see a person who needs someone to understand and love her true self, not a visage of perfect beauty or womanhood.

The concluding minutes fall into the classic romantic kiss in the rain trope, as Holly realizes that she’s in love with Paul after she releases her pet cat into a dirty New York alleyway. The cat comes back, and the theme song overwhelms us, as they walk off into the sodden sunset. The difference in overall feeling, however, between this ending and a Taming of the Shrew-type ending are prevalent in the equality of the situations faced by both Holly and Paul and their common ground in needing to see the other’s true self. However, the marriage proposal does some damage to the claim that they have transcended their time, because with marriage comes the aura of respectability, finally, for Holly. Do we see a fully realized Paul and Holly? Or do we see them falling into the relationship ideal for a man and a woman? If the prior hour and fifty minutes have taught us anything, it’s that this is a relationship built on mutual respect for the other person, under the layers of stereotypes and expectations.

In June 2017, Netflix released a new original series, titled GLOW, “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling” that illustrates feminism, empowerment, and sexism by following a group of women as they audition and prepare for televised wrestling. A group of previously unemployed actresses work under a has-been film director to create this dissident, wrestling project sponsored by a ‘too rich for his own good’ millionaire’s heir. The story is centered on a particular character, Ruth, who we witness as a struggling actress in LA and also as the engine that pushes the women on to complete the televised wrestling stint. Like many characters in the TV series, she is an untraditional woman and represents particular aspects of feminism that bring the concept to life. Through an engaging plot of overcoming physical struggles, mental blocks, and societal expectations the women come together in a man’s world to depict a message of rebirth in women’s roles.

The show GLOW does an excellent job of showcasing modern views that occur in 2017, while simultaneously displaying sexist views toward women in 1980. In modern culture, there has been a drastic shift toward creating dominant female presence in media. This includes giving females roles that focus on issues that don’t revolve around men and giving females a more ‘realistic’ portrayal in terms of body type and appearance. In the 1980s, women were commonly seen in media roles that made them appear insignificant or for the purpose of serving a more important male character. Essentially, females existed for the purpose of reacting to their male counterparts and were not to be seen as the lead role. GLOW is written for the purpose of serving both of these cultural ideals in the sense that it showcases the way that women are suppressed by men in the media during the 1980s, while providing a group of women that want more from their life than just to be seen as objects.

The very first episode of the show starts off highlighting the drastic differences between men and women in media roles. The show opens with the main character, Ruth, auditioning for a role in a movie and reading lines for the wrong part. She instead read for the male character because she thought the lines were better, and honestly, she wasn’t wrong. The male’s part was empowering and demanding, where the female character is a one-line role for a secretary. This scene is key as it exposes the submissive way that the media views the role that women should play, and translates the role that men at the time thought women should play in life as well.

The media portrays women as dismissible in their roles, only being drawn attention to when their reacting to a male counterpart. The treatment of women in media appropriates behavior in the real world where men are then able to identify as above females. In GLOW, the director of the show, Sam Sylvia, bases his decisions about casting on a girl’s obedience to simple direction and if he likes the look of their face. By casting females in wrestling roles based on their appearance alone discounts their credibility. Moreover, when the girls ask what GLOW is about, Sam describes the show as “wrestling like with men, but you know, girl on girl”. In saying this, Sam indicates that when men wrestle it’s a sport, but when women wrestle, it’s pornographic. The wrestling moves he describes are tit grabs and crotch punches. Overall, the show GLOW is created for the male audience to derive pleasure and to objectify the women involved. The role of Sam the director embodies the issues of male dominance at the time.

Ruth is portrayed as a woman that has a dream of becoming an actress and will go to great lengths to see that dream come true. It is in this drive that many of the other characters develop a dislike for her. Additionally, she does not have the typical appearance of movie stars at the time, meaning that she is not blonde, bodacious, or overly feminine; adding to the representation of poor appeal.  Because she does not align with the way that media thinks a woman should look or act, she is not able to be successful in the pursuit of her initial movie star dream. This shows that going against the grain at this time wasn’t necessarily the best route for women to take to get to success. However, Ruth was able to discover through uniting these women and looking beyond herself (as she even accepted the undesirable villain role) she found a greater purpose. This was one of leadership, empowerment, and creating a message. Feminism isn’t all beauty and it isn’t all success. It is a battle to be thought of as more than those 80’s social norms represented in this show and a way to give voice to show what is truly powerful about a woman, what’s within.