Compare and Contrast Sex, Gender & Sexuality in the Movies

Sex, Sexuality and Gender
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Introduction
The film industry has for the longest time been the mirror of the society. It brings out some of the very basic aspect of the social and cultural elements along with economic aspects. Most of the themes that are found on the films, are indicative of the past, current and future projections of the society. It is for these reasons that the film industry makes one of the corner stones of modern culture. One of the themes that is quite common in the film is the sex/gender/ sexuality theme. Most people may not want to speak out about sexual context mixed up in the society, however the film industry through bold directing has managed for decades to bring out elements of sexuality in the society. Of the many films that have been directed, The Watermelon Woman a 1996 feature film by filmmaker Cheryl Dunye and Eat a Bowl of Tea a 1989 film directed by Wayne Wang point out some interesting aspects about sex/gender/sexuality.
Sex, sexuality and gender
These two films offer some very intriguing elements on sexuality, sex and gender. In the film Eat a Bowl of Tea, the main characters are Ben Loy and Mei Oi who begin the film screens with their traditional wedding. This marks the start of their turbulent lives ahead. Their marriage starts off from a rocky start as Ben is mostly absent and Mei is constantly at home sobbing in her loneliness. After sometime the Mei falls for the advances that Ah Song a friend to Ben’s father makes. They make love and Mei realizes she is pregnant. This brings on the theme of women having affairs. The film brings out the fact that men are allowed to have affairs while women should not. Sex plays a major role in the film, which mainly revolves around gender and how the two factions relate to the same, especially within the marriage and family units. In the film The Watermelon Woman, Cherly is a black woman who is also a lesbian who an affair with a white lady whose name is Diana. Ironically Cherly is also invest...