MovieChat Forums > Georgy Girl (1966) Discussion > Meredith-negative portrayal of the moder...

Meredith-negative portrayal of the modern woman?

posted 12 years ago by fairyqueen
18 replies | jump to latest

The sixties saw a big change in the roles of women and what was expected of them. Three major ones were:
1. More sexual freedom and allowing them to embrace their sexual desires.
2. More reproductive rights. Abortion hadn't been legalized in Britain yet but it would in a few years so people were probably becoming more accepting of it.
3. Realizing that women didn't just have to be wives and mothers and that it was okay if a woman wasn't maternal.

I wasn't around then so I may not be exactly correct but that's the impression anyway. Meredith seemed to be the negative embodiment of those three traits, as if what somebody who hated these changes thought modern women were like. "See, this is why the women's liberation Movement is wrong! This is the kind of woman it creates!"

1. She's very promiscuious and unashamed of it.
2. She's had many abortions and doesn't think it's a problem, even casually telling her boyfriend that "I've destroyed two of yours already."
3. She doesn't feel maternal about her baby and doesn't want to be a mother.

I was kind of bothered by the portrayal of Meredith because I can see some of myself in her. I've enjoyed casual sex. I'm not maternal and have almost no interest in being a mother. I've never had an abortion but probably would if I got pregnant. i know that she was not a nice person but I felt that the movie was saying that she was also a bad person for those reasons.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] SimplemindedSociety 12 years ago

I was around in the 60's and think you're focusing too much on timing/liberation. It's more about the individuals as depicted in this certain film,than the modern women and sending a message. There are women now--and before--the 60's who are the same as Meredith.

[–] beetiesmom 12 years ago

Well, fairqueen - I guess maybe you'd better stick to fairies, and take your birthcontrol on time. Please.

[–] thesnowleopard 10 years ago

Well, fairqueen - I guess maybe you'd better stick to fairies, and take your birthcontrol on time. Please.

Wow. Don't hold back on a total stranger, or anything.

Meredith was a real bitch, it's true, and the way the times were, was probably intended as a negative portrayal of the modern woman of the time. But I couldn't help wondering, in addition to not ever wanting to have a child in the first place, she wasn't suffering from some postpartum depression. I mean, she's stuck alone in this cold, impersonal hospital, with unsympathetic nurses and on a ward full of other women having babies. Meanwhile, her boyfriend is nowhere to be found because he's busy shagging another woman. I'd be less-than-enthusiastic about having a baby under those circumstances, too.

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[–] karmala2 11 years ago

In other words, she acts on equal par with the men. I think she was great. She just should have embraced the pill if she was going to have all those affairs.

"I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes"!

[–] MyMovieTVRomance 11 years ago

I think she was great. She just should have embraced the pill if she was going to have all those affairs.

This ^ ^

Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!

[–] franzkabuki 10 years ago

"In other words, she acts on equal par with the men".

With callous, superficial, bitchy, capricious, egoistic men, yes. Some achievement. What liberation.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] cookiela2001 11 years ago

The portrait of the heroine Georgina isn't that much better.

At the end, "what she wanted all along" (according to the song) was just to be.....wait for it....a mother.

It doesn't matter that she'll never have true love, she'll even marry a man three times her age because he'll give her child a home. It's all worth it because she's got that blessed little babe in her arms, and that's IT.

A bit puke-y.

.

[–] MyMovieTVRomance 11 years ago

The portrait of the heroine Georgina isn't that much better.

At the end, "what she wanted all along" (according to the song) was just to be.....wait for it....a mother.

It doesn't matter that she'll never have true love, she'll even marry a man three times her age because he'll give her child a home. It's all worth it because she's got that blessed little babe in her arms, and that's IT.

A bit puke-y.

I agree. Everyone is complaining about Meredith, but it's actually Georgy who annoys me the most! The whole "I want a baby" things… I just can't relate to it, because it seems like a baby should be the consequence of a happy relationship, or at least the consequence of… Well, you know… But not just because you want one above all else! The chicken comes before the egg, after all!

[I just never understood how a woman could want a baby without being in love with a man, because to my way of thinking, babies are consequences of relationships... Of course, it's different when you're stepping in because someone needs you… That, I understand. But I think Georgy took it a bit far in that it seemed like all she cared about was the baby and not James Mason's character at all]

And, I was so very annoyed with how she just took the baby at the end, embracing her, and seeming to basically ignore James Mason's character. It would've been better if the three of them were in an embrace – if both James and Georgy were hugging on Sarah, instead of just Georgy. I felt sorry for him quite a bit, because I just knew that that wouldn't be the only time he would feel left out in the future.

Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!

[–] MyMovieTVRomance 11 years ago

1. She's very promiscuious and unashamed of it.
2. She's had many abortions and doesn't think it's a problem, even casually telling her boyfriend that "I've destroyed two of yours already."
3. She doesn't feel maternal about her baby and doesn't want to be a mother.

I was kind of bothered by the portrayal of Meredith because I can see some of myself in her. I've enjoyed casual sex. I'm not maternal and have almost no interest in being a mother. I've never had an abortion but probably would if I got pregnant. i know that she was not a nice person but I felt that the movie was saying that she was also a bad person for those reasons.

I understand where you're coming from with this. I too was bothered by the fact that the movie seemed to want to say that Meredith was a bad person for the reasons you mentioned. In fact, I think it's unfair for any of the characters in the movie to blaspheme Meredith for not feeling maternal towards the baby. If anything, they should feel sorry for her, they shouldn't be angry at her or insult her. For that reason, I was sort of irritated with the Georgy character, the car she seemed so offended by Meredith's lack of feeling for the baby, when it wasn't her place to be offended. And it really struck a chord with me, because I just know for a fact that anyone who has the problems Meredith had with emotion and feelings would be insulted by the average person, just like she was in the movie.

And another thing, I'm not so sure that it's accurate to say she wasn't nice either. I think that her not being nice is simply a reflection of the situation she was in and the fact that it didn't suit her. Anyone of us can be described as "mean" when put in the right situation. Put Meredith and a more suitable situation for her kind of character, and I'm sure she'd be sweet as pie.

Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!

[–] AngelCake56FJS 11 years ago

I don't think she represented modern women only a flake shameless one. Taking in account of the time Meredith may have felt liberated to behave the way she did.

[–] EllisFowler 10 years ago

+1

She's a bitch. It's certainly all right not to want children but it's rather unnatural to bring one into the world and then not give a flip about it.

[–] Tiburon75 10 years ago

There are people who are nice in this world, and there are people who aren't--it is not in their nature. Ms. Rampling did an excellent job portraying this type of person. Meredith is who she is, a self-centered young woman who just wants to have her job, and have fun when she isn't working. She is not "mother" or "wife" material.Georgy may be more maternal than Meredith because she works with kids, and seems to like being around them. Meredith did not want any part of her child. Not every female wants to be around kids, or wants to be a mother. And for the record, Jos was not exactly "husband" or "father" material either. This may have been "ground breaking" when the picture was made, which was 50 years ago. The movie is a product of its time. Very well done!

[–] EllisFowler 10 years ago

Yes, but it's more than "not in her nature." She's a callous, unfeeling, self-absorbed bitch. She knows Jos is coming to dinner but takes off. Rather than use birth control, she aborts two pregnancies and decides to carry the third one to term and marry Jos because she's "bored and needs a change." She then dumps Jos with no regrets whatsoever. Minutes after abandoning the newborn she literally hates, she gets off on drawing admiring male glances when she leaves the hospital and immediately drives off with a wealthy admirer. I agree that Jos is also a flake and a lousy parent but he's not as downright unfeeling as Meredith.

[–] lizcarlo87 10 years ago

It's fine to not want kids. One would think Meredith would have taken safety precautions rather than have two abortions and abandon her baby Sarah, and did it with no regret. Jos is lousy as well.

[–] 10 years ago

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