Theoretical Analysis of Mrs Doubtfire - 999 Words

Mrs. Doubtfire Mrs. Doubtfire is a corky, light hearted movie that gives a glimpse into the lives of a family going through a divorce. The film sheds light on the rockiness of a marriage between two middle aged parents. However, analyzing the movie from a different perspective paints it in a much darker tone. The comedy of the film covers up underlying predispositions the Western culture has on sex and gender. There are many blatant as well as minute details of the film that point not only to biases of sex and gender but also to the prevalence of gender roles. Also the film shows the stresses of veering away from a social institution engraved into our society and how the viewer responds to that action. Within the movie Mrs. Doubtfire†¦show more content†¦Sex is defined as biological differences that distinguish men from women, whereas gender is the state of being male or female in reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones (Conley). Note how the briefness of t hese definitions leaves much to be interpreted. Daniel is regarded highly in his career for his ability to create cartoon characters and portray them through his voice. Using this ability he is able to fool his family into believing this act. Of course Mrs. Doubtfire is a creation of how he would believe a typical nanny to act and appear. Before becoming a nanny he knew nothing of how to cook. This can be further understood by Talcott Parson’s sex role theory which argues that the nuclear family is the ideal arrangement in a modern society with a work-oriented father and domestic-oriented mother (Conley). These roles are complicated as the mother is slightly more work-oriented than what is idealized, however she is still the domestic-oriented mother as explained by sex role theory. Due to this fact Daniel is portrayed as the husband who knows not how to cook. A nanny who cannot is not sensible, as an elderly woman would be even more eloped in the woman’s gender culture . This is not overlooked by Daniel, as he is forced to become a better cook as a nanny. It is interesting to see how much the lives of the children seem to improve as this gender role is