Women in Film Blogathon (Allie)

John at Hitchcock's World is just on a roll lately. He's come up with some great Blogathons for everyone to take part in. If you don't remember, we took part in his Favourite Movie Scene Blogathon a few weeks ago, and now we're back to take part in his Women in Film Blogathon.

 

 

I thought I would struggle with this topic. Honestly, I'm more of a 'handsome, young man saves damsel in distress' kind of girl, but after getting into the Fargo TV Show so much over the last couple of months, actually my decision was easy. I chose Marge Gunderson from Fargo (1996). If you haven't seen our review of the film yet, you can check it out here.

 

The rules for the Women in Film Blogathon are as follows:

1 - The female character in question should have qualities that make her strong. That doesn't necessarily mean better than the guys, just well-written; we're trying to promote equality here, not reverse misogyny.

2 - Unlike my previous blogathon, I'm going to be a bit stricter here and say that each entry should only focus on one character. However, if you like you can write multiple entries examining different characters.

3 - If you can, do try to find less obvious choices. There are a few that I can expect are likely to get picked: Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, etc. If you decide to write about any the "obvious" choices, I encourage you to at least try and find something new to say about them.

4 - You are allowed to pick characters from any film from genre or time period you like.

 

Marge Gunderson is the Chief of Police at the local police department in Brainerd. A series of murders are taking place around the town and whilst her colleagues seem to think dead bodies are 'icky', Marge is right up there looking for clues and figuring out what scene might have taken place.

 

She's just about the nicest police officer around, which is a huge difference to most typical cop films. Did I mention that she's also heavily pregnant? Poor Marge must be just a few weeks away from giving birth, she's dealing with a highly disturbing homicide investigation, and she has a husband at home who I'm guessing she is supporting financially?

 

 

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD: At the end of the film, when Marge finally catches the criminal, on her own, I might add, instead of the scene we might expect (criminal tackled to the ground, obscenities shouted, etc) she confronts him with these heartfelt words:

 

"So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it."

 

Marge Gunderson stays strong no matter what happens in her life or the lives of those around her, and she always tries to see the best in people. That's why she's my favourite woman in film.