Mildred Pierce Assignment

Mildred Pierce 1945 Film Assignment

1. In her article, "The Genre", Jeanine Basinger says there are 3 main purposes of the Woman’s Film. Which purpose (choose one) do you think best describes the messages in Mildred Pierce?  Explain why. 

Out of the three main purposes of woman’s film by Jeanine Basinger, I believe the third purpose best describes the message in the film Mildred Pierce. The purpose is to provide a temporary visual release, whether it is an escape into love, sexual awareness, luxury or into the rejection of the traditional female role. In Mildred Pierce, Mildred is first shown as the typical traditional female, in that she stays at home all day and cooks and cleans for her husband who goes to work and provides for their family. However, he soon leaves her and their two children, forcing her to take the control of her small family. She becomes a waitress and sells her bake

d goods on the side, and eventually starts her own restaurant. This shows her temporary visual release as she escapes her old lifestyle as the traditional female and becomes her own independent woman who works and can provide luxurious things for her and her daughter. I believe the overall message of this film is that women are meant to stay as the traditional female role, at home where they belong. Mildred does everything to try and be independent and successful, but is constantly knocked down by the men in her life, her career, and her daughter Veda. This message suggests that no matter how hard women try to be on their own, they will never succeed without a man helping them.

2. Into which Women’s Film category (Molly Haskell's four categories) would you place Mildred Pierce? Why? (Use the Woman's Film Lecture notes for this question). 

Molly Haskell has come up with 4 categories that can describe a women’s character in films. Mildred Pierce would be put in the “Sacrifice” category, which is described as sacrifice herself for her children, her children for their own welfare, marriage (respectability) for her lover, career for love, love for career. Mildred fits into this category because she is constantly putting others before herself. Even at the beginning of the film, when she was perceived as the traditional housewife, she was selling her pies and cakes to have money to buy her daughter fancy dresses. This continued on in the film, always trying to impress her daughter and provide her with luxurious things and spoil her, even if it meant working long and hard days to do it. When her daughter Veda still wasn’t impressed with all that she had done for her, Mildred married Monte because he had taught Veda about the fancy life that she so desired. This shows Mildred’s sacrifice for her daughter’s approval by trying to provide her with all the luxuries she wants. She was willing to marry a man she did not love just for her daughter, which shows her sacrifice for her children. Also it is shown through her determination of her restaurants. She starts out as a waitress, which she hides from her daughter, and slowly works her way up to open her own restaurant. These become popular enough for her to open multiple restaurants. This shows Mildred’s sacrifice and her love for her career and becoming successful. 

3. Robin Morrison contends that Mildred cannot be seen as a “good mother” because she’s working outside the home – in what ways is she shown to be a “bad mother”? Please differentiate here between YOUR personal opinion and critical analysis; you want to employ critical analysis and situate Mildred Pierce as a representative icon of patriarchal structures and sexist ideologies. Try to disengage here from what your personal beliefs are on this matter.  

In a traditional family setting, the father works and provides for the family, the mother stays home to cook, clean and tend to the family, and their children are respectable and well behaved. In the movie Mildred Pierce, this is not the typical family dynamic. Mildred’s first husband cheats on her and leaves her and their two children. Mildred starts work as a waitress and works her way up to have her own restaurant and provides for her and her daughter. For this reason, Mildred works outside the home and as Robin Morrison stated, cannot be seen as a “good mother.” Due to the fact that society has altered our perception of this traditional family, that the mother stays home to raise the children, if otherwise, the mother may be seen as a “bad mother.” Ways that Mildred could be perceived this way, is the lack of time she spends with her children. Her children are then forced to be brought up by the nanny, rather than their own mother. Another way Mildred is shown as a bad mother is the relationship that is bonded between herself and Veda. Mildred constantly allows her daughter to act like a spoiled brat and always tries to give her whatever she wants, and in return only receives nasty insults. It could be argued that Mildred gave too much love for her daughters and not enough for her first husband, Bert. At the beginning of the film, Bert arrives home looking tired and frustrated that Mildred has bought her daughter Veda another expensive dress. They then get into a fight that all Mildred does is try to provide their daughters with fancy things rather than be financially conscious. Mildred straight away says, "You might as well get this straight right now, once and for all. Those kids come first in this house, before either one of us. Maybe that's right, and maybe it's wrong, but that's the way it is. I'm determined to do the best I can for them. If I can't do it with you, I'll do it without you." (Crawford, 1945 Mildred Pierce). She treats herself and her husband second to her kids, driving her husband away and leaving them without any financial income.

4. Kathryn D’Alessandro describes how many of the visual images (cinematography, lighting) in Mildred Pierce are reminiscent of film noir. Explain how. (You can also refer to notes from 1940's FILM NOIR Lecture notes). 

 Mildred Pierce is an excellent example of a Film Noir by the use of visual images. The first example is right after the credits disappear and the film begins with a murder of one of the characters, whose last whisper is “Mildred.” Right away, this films theme is portrayed as a thriller and melodramatic based from the first 30 seconds. The next example of how this is a film noir, is the use of dark lighting and shadows. When Mildred and Wally go to her beach house, the lighting is very dark and it adds to the suspense because her dead husband is in the next room. Mildred runs away, leaving Wally wandering around the house looking for her. This scene is done with an immense use of dark lighting, casting shadows over Wally’s face and body as he finds Monte dead, shown mostly in a shadow. These examples add to how this movie is a perfect example of a film noir and adds to the theme of a melodramatic film.

Another example is how the movie is made and filmed. Film noirs are famous for their use of flashbacks and voice over narration. This is shown in Mildred Pierce by the way it opens with Bert getting shot and Mildred getting questioned at the police station. The next few scenes are shown as flashbacks of Mildred's life when she is married to Bert, working as a waitress, starting her own restaurant and raising her children. These are revealed with a voice over by Mildred explaining to the policemen what is happening.

5. Sybil DelGaudio defines the racial stereotype of the "Mammy" role in the "Mammy in Hollywood" article in your course reader (also available online). What character is shown as a racial stereotype in Mildred Pierce? How does she fit the Mammy role? 

In Sybil’s article “Mammy in Hollywood”, she explains how there are two types of females; coloured women and white ladies. She states, “ Colored women are maids, cooks, taxi drivers, crossing guards, schoolteachers, welfare recipients, bar maids, and the only time they become ladies is when they are cleaning ladies.” (DelGaudio, 1983, pg.1)
In Mildred Pierce, there is an example of a racial stereotype that adds to Sybil’s theory. Their nanny, Lottie, is the only black woman in the movie and is Mildred’s maid. She is first seen in the beginning of the movie helping Mildred with her baking. The next scene is when Mildred sees Lottie wearing a uniform as she tends to the house. When asked, Lottie says it was given to her by Veda to wear, even though it is Mildred’s waitress uniform. This adds to the racial stereotype that the nanny is almost like their property; there to do whatever asked, including wearing a ridiculous uniform. Lottie never appears to be tired, angry or frustrated while she is doing the housework or tending to the children. She appeared always upbeat and eager to work for Mildred.
I found it interesting that this racial stereotype appeared in Mildred Pierce, because every other stereotype isn’t shown. The typical family dynamic is different in this family, and also how the female is the independent one who works for her family and is successful without help of a man.  It was interesting that they ignored every other typical stereotype in this movie, however included the racial stereotype that coloured women of that time were always the help.

References:

Mildred Pierce. Dir. Michael Curtiz. Perf. Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott. MGM Motion Pictures, 1945. DVD.

From Course Package:

Basinger, J. The genre

D’Alessandro. (2002). Linking styles: Mildred Pierce

DelGaudio, S. (1983).  The mammy in Hollywood film: I’d walk a million miles—for one of her smiles.

Morrison, R. (1988). Mildred Pierce and His Girl Friday: Portrait of working women in the pre-and post-world war period. In Course Package.

From Lecture:

Film noir & psychoanalytic theory.

The woman’s film, Basinger’s 3 purposes, Haskell’s 4 categories.