500 Days of Summer and Frozen explore how women can have masculine traits and can be presented as a more masculine rather than feminine character to challenge the typical story line and typical representation of women.
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In 500 Days of summer this scene shows Summer - the female character - take on a more masculine role and not the stereotypical female you would expect to see when it comes to talking about relationships and love; she wants to be independent. This scene also gives off a sense of realism due to Summer giving off a realistic message about love and how she doesn't fully believe in it; many people can relate to this.
We also know that Summer is more of a masculine character despite her feminine name; they are located in a pub, she is drinking a beer (stereo-typically a masculine drink), her hair is tied back, her clothing isn't revealing therefore she is covered up and doesn't reveal her figure in order to attract the male attention.
Within this scene taken from the Disney hit Frozen it shows Elsa freezing the town and running away; it expresses Elsa's anger and masculine traits. Elsa's powers of being able to freeze things represents being cold hearted which in turn leads back to love. Elsa doesn't believe in 'love at first sight' which sparks a problem when her sister Anna brings home Prince Hans just after meeting him to announce they are getting married (just like any typical Disney film). This therefore causes Elsa to start getting angry, Anna pulls off her glove which in turn causes her to react uncontrollably with her powers causing the whole town to freeze and for her to run away to be free.
We also know that Elsa is a more masculine character in this scene by her costume; her costume although it is a feminine dress it is also very deep blues and purples; she is also a very closed person we also know this by the way she dresses. Her dress doesn't reveal any body, its long sleeved, high necked, its long in length and she also wears gloves so really the only part of Elsa that is on show is her face.
Both films show males to act in a feminine way in order to subvert from the typical Hollywood narrative and the typical way a 'love' story or Disney film is presented. Both films, do this in order to challenge the story line, get the messages across and make the films more realistic and relatable.
Both films explore how men can have feminine characteristics, this also challenges the stereotypical characteristics a male character should have and helps provide the realism that each film is trying to express.
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This scene is the very opening scene of 500 Days of Summer which straight away gives you an impression that Tom is a very feminine character who is heart broken. The scene shows Tom talking to his little sister and his friends about his heartbreak and Summer; the girl he loved. Before the part that is shown in the YouTube clip we also see Tom smash plates and cry over the one girl he thought he truly loved. We know that Tom is a very feminine character by this due to him confiding in his younger sister, crying, taking a break up badly and acting like the typical girl would in a relationship.
The clip shows Tom explaining what has happened through a series of flashbacks and memories he had shared with Summer; this makes him weak and feminized as these are the characteristics you would expect from a woman after a break up. Also Tom confiding in his sister who is a lot younger than Tom himself on relationship/break-advice also shows that he is vulnerable and not very independent.
This clip from Frozen shows Prince Hans subverting from the typical traits in which a Prince or man should have either within a typical Disney or romance film. Earlier on in the film we saw Prince Hans save Anna after accidentally knocking her over with his horse, falling in love and arranging a marriage - just like any typical Prince. However, this clip shows Prince Hans walking away from the 'act of true love' Anna needs in order to save her life. Prince Hans also brings a sense of realism to this scene as in real life an act of true love can't save someone, and also he refers back to them arranging a marriage after just meeting (just like in most typical Disney films) he is expressing how ridiculous she was to believe that. It tells the audience that 'love at first sight' isn't always as it seems. This scene also makes Prince Hans weak as he is not being the masculine hero saving Anna like you would expect a man to do.
500 Days of Summer and Frozen as well as having feminine and masculine traits they also explore the importance of being fully rounded (masculine & feminine)
500 Days of Summer the final bench scene - Summer explains to Tom how she has found love, got married, and how he was right about true love. (unfortunately no clip can be found)
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This scene from 500 Days of Summer shows the importance of being a fully rounded person consisting of feminine and masculine traits despite your gender. Summer and Tom meet back up after their break up which Tom took badly. They meet on the bench where they use to spend their time together; Summer thanks Tom and announces her marriage and how he was right about true love. Summer has come to terms with the thought and reality of love. Although the film gives off the message of how love isn't always what it seems; it also takes you through Summers confusing and stages of finding out what this so called love is that everyone is obsessed about. It gives off a sense of realism and helps put forward the messages of the film.
Now that summer has come to terms with love she has also become feminine in this process as well. She has her hair down and is dressed in a more feminine way, she is wearing a feminine trench coat which is undone and also a dress with a necklace, this is a change in appearance in point/scene 1.
This clip from Frozen also shows the importance of being a fully rounded person consisting of feminine and masculine traits despite your gender and the ability to change your views on a subject you once felt strongly about.
In this scene we see Elsa discover what love is and its the realisation that love is real and comes in all different forms and isn't always a bad thing. Elsa discovers what love is after an act of true love - Elsa herself - saved her sisters life. Once Elsa discovers this love everything unfreezes and Arendelle is happy and back to normal again. The messages within this scene is that everybody needs love and it's not always a bad thing. It also brings forward the realisation of love once again that its not only between man and woman or prince and princess.
500 Days of Summer and Frozen are both good representations of how Hollywood and Independent films can cross the line, and use characteristics from one another that you wouldn't usually expect and subvert from the typical Hollywood narrative and film characteristics.
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500 Days of Summer follows the typical traits that an Independent film should have; they do this by starting of with one of the endings to the films and then going through day by day taking you through the journey of Tom and Summer's friendship to relationship. They start with an ending so straight away you know what to expect; this also sets the story and sends a message to the audience about the reality of relationships. Although 500 Days of Summer is an Independent film production it challenges the story line of a typical 'love story' we know this from the feminine and masculine roles being reversed.
Frozen follows the typical characteristics of a Hollywood production but also crosses the line to Independent in order to widen the audience and give the film more of a message allowing people to relate to it more. It doesn't follow the typical traits of a Disney film as its not the typical love story of princess falls in love with prince; for example the end scene where Anna needs an act of true love. In a typical Disney film it would be the prince who gives this act of true love and saves the princess however, it is Elsa - Anna's sister. This gives the film a sense of realism of how you don't just need a prince to save you and it diverts from the typical Disney story line.
Overall, Frozen and 500 Days of Summer give off realistic messages and subverts from the typical Disney love stories. Both films do this by showing men act in a feminine way and women acting in a masculine way; a way in which you would not expect from a love film. 500 Days of Summer follows the typical traits of an Independent production by starting with an ending and taking you through the story line day by day in order to challenge the audience. Frozen subverts from the typical Hollywood traits in order to widen the audience to get the message across and give a sense of realism. Disney do this by challenging the typical story line that all Disney films hold and having a deeper message than what catches the eye. These films prove that Hollywood doesn't have to stick to Hollywood and Independent doesn't have to stick Independent; they can vary in order to have a wider audience.
