The Bachelor and Objectifying of Women
FYI, this is The Bachelor I’m referring to, not the (inexplicably) popular reality show. That too objectifies women, but that is another topic for another day.
The Bachelor is a 1999 movie starring Renee Zellweger and Chris O’Donnell. O’Donnell plays Jimmie Shannon, a committment phobe bachelor. Zellweger plays faithful girlfriend Anne Arden. That is until she dumps him after a horrible proposal attempt.
Jimmie’s grandfather dies shortly after the breakup, and Jimmie finds out if he hopes to come into the money his grandfather left for him, he has to get married by his birthday - which is a day away.
Towards the end of the movie, there is a scene where hundreds of women, all of whom magically managed to find perfectly fitting wedding dresses, show up at the church where Jimmie is, hoping to marry him.
This scene, being kind, I would describe as uncomfortable. Being honest, I’d call it downright offensive. The wannabe brides proceed to lambast Jimmie, asking him what his type is, then accusing him of only liking “skinny blondes,” which he did not at any point say. Another older woman tells Jimmie he is her “last chance.” The desperation and anger from all these (I’m assuming) jilted women, is, as I said before, totally offensive. Why the director felt he had to portray these women as a bunch of shrieking harpies who are desperate for love, even if it’s with a man they don’t know, is beyond me.
A lot of women I know are strong, independent and beautiful. However, movies like this do absolutely nothing to reinforce that. Instead they make it seem as though women are nothing without having a man to come home to. I wouldn’t call myself a feminist by any means, but I have been independent for a very long time and never needed a man to rely on. To know that women are still seen by many as incapable of surviving without having a boyfriend/fiancee/husband is insulting to all the amazing women I consider myself lucky to know - and the ones I don’t know, as well.