Free Essay. Comparing Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men

Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men are films that provide entertainment with a significant degree of sexual characterization. A comparison between the two reveals the nature of influence that femininity has on the characters. This influence allows females to attaint their desires while the men are driven by fantasies and frustrations emanating from the lust-filled actions, which define their association with the women. This makes me frustrated and fascinated primarily by women in their lives. Therefore, this paper provides an evaluation of the role of femininity in portraying the sexuality of the female gender in both Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men.

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Fascination and frustration provide a true definition of the feelings exhibited by the men in both Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men. In the two movies, men are lured into fantasies while women create psychological prison that helps them establish control over their male counterparts. For example, Pandora's Box is an ideal presentation of this situation since Lulu attracts a vast number of men to her charms and uses this situation to her advantage (Gardner). Besides, her relationship with Dr. Schon is based on a false impression of love and attraction that she shows to reciprocate the latter's feelings. She uses Dr. Schon, on the contrary, to get to Alwa the son. When Lulu gets a chance to appear in the musical revue of Alwa, whom she, in turn, also utilizes to get to her next victim (Gardner). Eight and a Half Men, on the other hand, men and women engage in sexual relationships out of individual desire. The female sexuality and the influence of femininity, however, are still visible in scenes in which sexual encounters between women and men are presented. Therefore, these fantasies are easily turned to frustrations later with broken relationships between and among individuals, which later leads to death, as shown in Lulu and Dr. Schon's case.

The male characters in both Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men are attracted to females due to their femininity. The strongest motivation for their attractions is, nonetheless, their sexual desires that they intend to fulfil with the women in the films. The presentation of the women with their beauty and charms, on the other hand, presents a high degree of negativity as these masters the ability to play with the male characters while taking advantage of their sexual weaknesses to attain their goals. For example, in Pandora's Box, Lulu uses her charms to estrange men and drive them toward her and in turn utilizing them to fulfill her desires (Gardner). The women in Eight and a Half Men also present a similar character. They also attain their power through their sexuality, which they particularly use as a tool of control. The beauty and lustful nature of men in the films, therefore, attract them to the females subjecting them to control by the latter.

The predominant fantasies held by men in both films are sexual. In Pandora's Box, the men look at Lulu as everything they desire sexually in a woman. Gardner describes Lulu as the "face that launched a thousand fantasies. She is all things to all men." The number of men seeking to have sexual encounters with her reflects these fantasies. The death of Dr. Schon a representation of the effects of these fantasies with Lulu still using her charms to obtain manslaughter for his death and not murder. In the eight and a half men movie as well, the men are defined by similar fantasies. Their desire for women is characterized by sexual fantasies with the femininity of a woman defining their influences. The charms and characterization of women are influenced by their femininity, providing them with the power to affect men with feelings of lust that define the feelings of the men in the films towards the opposite sex.

In Pandora's Box movie, power and sexuality are exhibited in a way that emphasizes, for instance, Lulu's femininity as a dominant part of her character (Gardner). However, her rise in power is short-lived with the negative effects it has on society. For example, men who follow and get entangled in her web are attracted to their femininity rather than individual abilities. Her insouciant eroticism is also seen to inspire violence and lust that turns the society upside with murders and broken relationships. Therefore, Pandora's Box presents the negative effects of female sexuality and the role it plays in giving power to women in society. Eight and a Half Men, on the other hand, in its presentation of women, also maintains the alluring effect of femininity in the society. The women in the film derive their power from their femininity and use it against men to influence their decisions and lives. In the two scenarios from Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men, the use of femininity is considered a strength to women and a weakness to men. Therefore, this position emanates from the effects femininity has on the men and its use by women to gain dominance and influence.

It is evident from the paper that female characters in both Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men utilize their femininity as a bargaining tool that allows them to reach their objectives. Lulu is one of the women that portray this behaviour in Pandora's Box. The chaotic influence of this approach, however, is evident with the frustration and fascination that characterize men in both Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men. Therefore, both Pandora's Box and Eight and Half Men, affirms the role that femininity plays in creating power and control in the films.

Works Cited

Gardner, Lyn. "Lulu's Her Name, Trouble's Her Game." The Guardian, 29 Nov. 2017, www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/mar/23/1. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.