I'm not a feminist persay, but I was just wondering what people thought of women's protrayal in this movie compared to other Aurthian Legend movies.
It kind of pissed me off that women were portrayed as the downfall of the Round Table, trying to bring down Chrisianity ect ect.
Anyone else have any thoughts.
I thought that in Merlin the female charceters were rather balanced. Maab's equal was her sister who did not want to get involved... and Maab was noble to a degree, she was trying to save herself and her people... she might have done some evil things, but one persons saint is another's devil. I actually thought that the female characters really didn't play a huge part in the grand scheme of the movie, its was more about Merlin, Arthur and Mordred... but that's my interpretation of the flick.
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I agree that Merlin is more from the men's side of things. You should see "The Mists of Avalon" for a good view from the women of the Athurian tales.
shareActually, I thought it showed women in a good sense. The women is this movie were great actresses portraying very strong women. They were not the downfall of the Round Table. They are fighting for survivial and love.
shareWhy should the women be portrayed any differently than they are?
The reason the film focuses around the men more than the women is because the Arthurian legends did, Merlin is the key player followed by Arthur.
Britain of this time was becoming more Christian and also male dominated. If the film took a female sexist...er Feminist view it would be wrong as it would be different to the legends really.
Warrior woman were rare at this period, in fact they were rare in most periods in history.
THe women rocked! What u saying! Mab(richardson),Morgan(Bonaham-Carter), and Merlins Wife(Rosalinni) were awesome, hands down. They were all, powrful, and real, not like the men who all wanted the same thing.
"Out by Sixteen or dead in the scene but together forever"
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Depending on the literary version of the Arthur legends you consult, the love triangle between Lancelot, Arthur and Guinevere is a main catalyst for the downfall of Camelot. But you don't even need to go that far to "justify" the women's roles in this movie. "Women" (with a capital W) are not portrayed as the reason for the fall of the round table, I would argue. Rather, it is Man's (Mankind's, Humynkind's, Personkind's, whatever) inability to control the passions within, whether for power, possessions, sexual gratification, etc. (a decidedly Christian theme in a film that deals heavily with the advent of Christianity over the old, pagan ways.) Mab relies on this fact as her main "weapon" in her fight to overcome the shift away from the old ways. She counts on human fallibility as a given (indeed, it is assumed by the Mountain King as well, when he states that he will be holding Excalibur forever if he is to wait for a "good man" to claim it.) Each character's downfall, whether male or female, is a result of the triumph of temptation over temperance.
shareI agree with pistola43- it's the fallibility of humans in general that leads to the fall of the Round Table, not women in particular, and certainly not Mab on her own, no matter how much Merlin likes to pretend otherwise.
Face it, would Britain have been in half the mess it was in if Constant, Vortigern and Uther had been decent kings? No, it wouldn't. If Constant hadn't been intent on stamping out the Old Ways, would Mab have fought back as viciously and ruthlessly as she does? No, probably not. If Uther hadn't lusted after Igraine, and been aided by Merlin, would Morgan Le Fay have been so bitter? No. If she hadn't been so bitter and greedy, would it have been so easy to tempt her into seducing Arthur, having Mordred, etc? No. All the characters are fallible, and have faults (look at Mordred- does he actually have any redeeming features? You've got to feel for him though- "My Mum only wanted me so that she could be the next queen mother, and be the power behind the throne"- you could run several daytime talk shows off that one) and it is the human fallibility most of all that leads to the tragic consequences of the film- Mab just uses this to her advantage.
As for women being protrayed negatively in the film, I don't think they are- and I count myself as a fairly feminist person. It's true that they have their faults, as do the men, and it's true that there aren't as many women as men in the film, but that's a reflection on the times. rather than the film. I think many of the female characters aren't given enough screen time to build up their characters, though- take Guinevere, Ambrosia and the Lady of the Lake (whom I detest).
As for the three "main" female characters- Mab, Nimue and Morgan Le Fay, I would consider them to be strong, albeit flawed, characters- perhaps not Morgan Le Fay, so much. She's quite selfish, spoilt and greedy, and easily tempted as a result, but even she can be quite determined and not entirely bad. Nimue seems to put quite a lot of store by her appearance, not wanting Merlin to see her when she's been scarred, but she does stand her ground when facing both Vortigern and Mab - both more powerful and short tempered than she is, and she also gives up Merlin- her love- to the greater good. Mab is certainly strong (literally- when she gets angry, big magic and furniture starts flying), and can hold her own against any man she comes up against in the film. Whilst she is portrayed as the villain of the piece, her loyalty and determination to the Old Ways are admirable, and one can feel for her plight, despite her bad qualities (ruthlessness, cruelty, short temper and a total lack of any kind of sympathy being the main ones). Just because she's the villain, doesn't make her not a strong character- if the movie had been more from her point of view, it wouldn't have been too hard to make Merlin etc. the villains. It's all to do with perspective. (That's what I keep telling myself, anyway... though perhaps attempting to walk through doors without opening them first is taking the whole role-model thing slightly too seriously...) ;)
Not only women are portrayed in a bad way, many men in this story were son of bit** as well.
Uther,Mordred and even Lancelot, when he betrays Arthur having an affair with Guinevere.
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