Essay Prep for Power & Pleasure

QUESTION: discuss the notions of discourse and power within the film The Sapphires, making reference to the key binary oppositions within the film.

Binary Oppositions: Binary opposition is a key concept in structuralism, a theory of sociology, anthropology and linguistics that states that all elements of human culture can only be understood in relation to one another and how they function within a larger system or the overall environment. We often encounter binary oppositions in cultural studies when exploring the relationships between different groups of people, for instance: upper-class and lower-class or disabled and non-disabled. On the surface, these seem like mere identifying labels, but what makes them binary opposites is the notion that they cannot coexist.

The problem with a system of binary opposites is that it creates boundaries between groups of people and leads to prejudice and discrimination. One group may fear or consider the opposite group a threat, referred to as the 'other'. The use of binary opposition in literature is a system that authors use to explore differences between groups of individuals, such as cultural, class or gender differences. Authors may explore the gray area between the two groups and what can result from those perceived differences.

BINARY OPPOSITIONS IN THE SAPPHIRES:

·         Men + Women

·         Black + White (cousins in particular)

·         US + Aussie

·         Vietnamese + Aussie

·         Irish + Aboriginal

-          The film makes the comment that the girls’ worth shouldn’t come from pleasing men. Yet, their big moment of moral clarity happens when they decide to please men because they want to, rather than because they’re told to.

-          The film comments on the individualism and strength of the Aboriginal singers, but ironically they needed a white person to help them succeed.

 PLAN:

Introduction:

BP1 – Define discourse and how it relates to social context.
- Explore the definition of discourse and how it is closely related to ideology.
- Explore how discourse is dependent on social context. Song (2010)
- Perhaps explain how discourse exclude certain binaries to make them ‘inferior’ and therefore reinforce dominant ideologies.

BP 2 - Power and Power Relationships in the film:
- Foucault (DATE) argued that power cannot exist without the opportunity to revolt.
- in the film, the aboriginal girls are clearly disempowered through a number of binary oppositions, including patriarchal and racial.
- they are not, however, oppressed; they have the opportunity to conform to societal ideologies and adopt the discourse of their culture (which they are encouraged to do by other members of their culture), or they can choose to forge their own path.
- the fact that they did not win the talent contest is symbolic of society overtly disempowering them, yet still allowing for a revolt (true power relationship according to Foucault.)
- The film, however, adopts the discourses of a racist and patriarchal society in presenting its counter-myth, and as such reinforces the dominant ideology.

BP3 – Racial binary oppositions.
- perhaps the most obvious binary opposition in The Sapphires that was established early in the film.
- film presents the counter-myth that white people are inferior.
- a white man is first seen just in his underwear. White singers are all terrible.
- these white people are clearly wealthier and still clearly hold the power in their relationship to the aboriginal people.
- though it tries to show white people as inferior, the film does it through the dominant societal discourse and ends up reinforcing the idea that white people are superior.
- this is further supported by the fact that they needed the help of a white man to achieve their dreams.

BP 4 - Something about the societal construction of “black” vs “white”?
- “can you make it sound… blacker?”
- the context of the film makes clear distinctions between races, and what is appropriate for a black person vs what is appropriate for a white person.
- the girls had to conform to the discourse surrounding what it means to be “black” before they could be accepted by society.
- once power has been established, the dominant discourse can only be challenged through the lens of the overarching cultural ideology.
- discourse is a paradox; it influences culture because it is influenced by culture.

BP 5 – Gender Binary oppositions.
-  The main characters of The Sapphires are clearly disempowered at the start of the film. They are unhappy and discontent with their lives, tying into the patriarchal ideology of the late 1960’s.
- Once they “made it” in Vietnam, however, they were happy and their countenance changed.
- The film suggests that their worth came from making men happy. When they had the approval of so many men, they were happy.
- Though they are seemingly ‘empowered’ by their fame and choice to be singers, this empowerment actually reinforced patriarchal discourse as it suggests that women will truly be happy when they are content with performing for and pleasing men.

BP6 - The film also reinforces the idea that women are happiest when men are in power. Huge.
- One of the power-struggles of the film is between the characters of Gail (Deborah Mailman) and Dave (Chris O’Dowd), who both want to lead the group of singers but struggle over maintaining their power.
- this power struggle is revisited a number of times in the film, until in a touching moment, Gail and Dave begin to slow-dance. Dave says “Let me lead. Just once, let me lead.”
- this is deeply symbolic, as from this moment on the relationship between the two is mended and the power struggle is over. Furthermore, both characters are happy.
- this affirms the discourse that women will be happy when they let men lead them. ***Link to power somehow*

BP 7 – Counter-argument.
- Of course, it could be argued that the women were empowered by pursuing their dreams and not because those dreams happened to be fulfilled when they performed for men.
- The film may be empowering women by suggesting that they have no need to conform to societal norms surrounding masculinity and femininity, but can, in fact chase their dreams and break free from the status quo.
- This is where social context is crucial to consider, however. The writers could have placed the performers in a setting where women were enjoying their music as well (it is far enough away from true events that it would not cause the piece to be less historically accurate), but the writers chose to let their climactic big moment be when they decided that by performing and pleasing men, they were fulfilling their duty and their dream. (Solis, 2012).

***”let me lead. Just once.”

*** unnatural vs natural discourse (and truth)

*** Foucault (1998) power and knowledge are the same, and are determined by “truth”.

‘We must cease once and for all to describe the effects of power in negative terms: it ‘excludes’, it ‘represses’, it ‘censors’, it ‘abstracts’, it ‘masks’, it ‘conceals’.  In fact power produces; it produces reality; it produces domains of objects and rituals of truth.  The individual and the knowledge that may be gained of him belong to this production’ (Foucault 1991: 194).

discursive practice

This term refers to a historically and culturally specific set of rules for organizing and producing different forms of knowledge. It is not a matter of external determinations being imposed on people's thought, rather it is a matter of rules which, a bit like the grammar of a language, allow certain statements to be made.

Introduction:

·         Power relationships are easily identified both on a personal and a societal level.

·         From parents and children to policeman and convicts to governments and cultures, power is all around us.

·         Power, however, is also evident in binary societal relationships. Historically, men have held power over women and white people have held power over black people.

·         How does one binary achieve power over another?

·         Foucault argues that discourse and power are inexplicably linked.

·         This essay will maintain that societal discourse creates power by presenting one binary as ‘natural’ and another as ‘unnatural’ (Mills 1997) Furthermore, it will be argued that once power is established, society adopts the discourse surrounding that power and reinforces the dominant ideology by referring to alternate ideologies through the larger framing discourse.

·         This idea will be explored by examining the binary oppositions in Wayne Blaire’s The Sapphires.