«Two Parallel Worlds» - Great Essay Sample

Introduction

The essay represents an analysis of the two incomparable movies, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Titanic. The essay is aimed to identifying gender, social class, and ethnic representations in these films. The essay focuses on interpretation of the patterns appeared in viewers, while watching the films. It is valuable to understand that both films include significant questions, which are related to the modern world. Moreover, either Titanic or Harry Potter describes social inequality that is common in the modern world. Basically, a fantasy film compared to melodrama shows that it doesn’t matter, where the action takes place, in fantastic world or in the past. The fact is that social injustice is seen in both movies. It is clear that movies are interesting and touching for its goal audience. Therefore, they must be watched attentively and critically. Despite the fact that the films are completely different, they are joined by common themes. 

Methodology

The main data, which is related to the essay, were collected, while watching the movies, analyzing their plots, overviewing reasonable literature, observing critics conclusions, and discussing it with other films’ viewers. The inductive and deductive methods were used, while working with the essay and the info related to it. Inductive reasoning is also known as the logical one. That is why it was chosen to express main thoughts and to prove them. The essay consists of general propositions, which are derived from the specific examples. Admittedly, the essay is based on the deductive method, when specific examples are derived from the general propositions. While working with the information, all observations made were analyzed and noted as the separate statements. Discovering the information, there was a surprising fact that thoughts and opinions of critics vary very much. It was confusing and interesting at the same time. However, own impression and attitude towards particular things was held to solve doubtful questions. 

Analysis

It is difficult to compare Titanic, a historically based film, with Harry Potter,a fantasy based film. However, it should be noted that both Titanic and Harry Potter are in English. In addition, it is a well-known fact that fictions are not taken from the vacuum. There are pre-conditions or a true story for their creation. Harry Porter is a fantasy film, which interlaces with reality. Titanic has the same line in its plot. It refers to both the past and the present. Both films have two parallel worlds. Harry Potter studies in the magic school, Hogwarts, which is separated from the real world. The main action of the movie takes place there. The same happened to Rose in Titanic. She has lived her life in the parallel world of her dreams of love. Even, retelling about her love adventure on Titanic, she backs to life. Anyway, these two stories seem to be different, but they combine the same actual themes. While watching the films, it is seen that main characters are facing the similar problems. The problems reflect on their faith. However, the problems raised in the movies are current nowadays as well. Either Harry or Rose is fighting for their equal social condition as the members of the society. They disagree with current stereotypes and try to act in their own way. Obviously, there are gender, social class, and ethnic particularities in both movies.

Gender, Social and Ethnic Attitudes in Harry Potter

Speaking about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, few sociological aspects are clearly seen. The themes of race, status, class, and family as a sociological unit, etc. are raised in Harry Potter. In sociology, the term ‘status’ means all socially defined positions presented in the society. The social class means some social system based on economic position in the definite society (Ruthnan, 2006). There are few social classes in Harry Potter movie. They are Squib, Muggle Born, Half-Blood, and Pure-Blood.

Squibs are those, who were born in a magical family, but do not have magic abilities. The muggle -born are wizards or witches born to both muggle parents. Basically, Pure-bloods frowned upon the muggle born, because of their not pure magical lineage. In the movie, muggle born have a nickname ‘mudblood’, which means they have dirty blood.

The half-bloods are those, who were born in the family, where only one of the parents has magical abilities. Most wizards in the film are half-blood. Pure-bloods still dislike them, because they make the magical world dirty with the muggle blood. Harry Potter is considered to be a half-blood. It is based on the fact that his father was pure-blood wizard, while his mother was muggle born witch.

Pure-bloods are those, who were born in the pure magical families. All members of such families must have magical abilities. Some members of pure magic families consider that pure-blood wizards should be the only type of wizards, while other think that half-bloods keep wizard race alive.

It does not matter that the world of wizards is based on the other sense of reality, but it deals with the same issues that any other society does. There are minority and majority groups, discrimination, prejudice, racial, and gander classifications. Despite Harry Potter movie is a fiction, it is very close to reality. There are many social problems raised in the film.

Harry was born in the real, non-magic, world, and grew up in it. He got used to people around him, who bothered and cared for him. They treated him in a different way, because he was poor. When Harry starts attending Hogwarts, the only thing that has changed in his life was the emergence of magic. It means that the magic world has social classification, which is typical for each society. 

It is difficult for the reader to understand the connection between Harry Potter movie and the real world. However, the truth is that even though they possess some magical abilities, they are still human and apply to all human issues. They keep dealing with prejudice, disappointment, betrayal, and school crushes. Such conditions help children to make friends in the uncommon situations and environments.

From time to time, the representation of genders in Harry Potter is stereotypical. The movie has little amount of female characters (Ruthnan, 2006). The expansion in the film is so extreme that it can be accepted as an attempt at gender inclusion. In the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the first female character appears, Ginny Weasley. In this episode, Ginny becomes more flashed out despite her crush on Harry is her more significant characteristic. During next episodes of Harry Potter Ginny’s character will develop more. The Harry Potter movie does not portray the gender unfairly. It does stress on the problems, which exist in the society. Furthermore, Harry Potter film is well-reasoned, smart, and has interesting sub-textual conclusion. It proudly proves that even in fiction girls should look better, achieve more, work harder, and make bigger sacrifices. Therefore, the magic world of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets portrays the world, where females are ostensibly equal, but remain in positions of inferiority (Ruthnan, 2006). It means that female take secondary position at best, while men are in charge everywhere.

It is very hard to discuss ethnical treatment in the movie. It depends on dearth of information. Ethnic groups are defined by their national origin (British and French wizards). The only distinguishing feature between wizards and witches is their lineage belonging.

What Were Genders, Social and Ethnic Roles on the Titanic

The main plot of the film is the love affair between two young people from different social classes. The suitor was not accepted by the lady’s family because of his belonging to the lower (third) class, while lady belonged to the first class. Her family has found richer suitor for their daughter. The film depicts the relation between the social classes in 1910s in Britain (Sandler, 1999). The Movie Titanic supports the theory of class conflict and focuses on inequality and oppression in the society. The theory of class conflict explains the human social history between the two classes. The class conflict is in every part of the movie. It is a part of the main plot of the movie. In addition, it lies in the dramatic episodes related to the tragedy. The movie describes high class as foolish people without basic knowledge.

At the time, when Rose and Jack were falling in love, the Titanic collides with an iceberg. When Titanic was sinking the still door was locked in order to block the third class passengers’ path. It was made to keep them away from getting to the lifeboats, and to make more free space in boats for the first class people. The third class passengers were threatened to be killed for their attempts to get out of their compartment-trap (Sandler, 1999). This event brightly identifies the real treatment of the first class in comparison to the third one. As a result, seven hundred first-class passengers, being considered as a chosen people, were saved, while one thousand and a half representatives of the third class descended in the North Atlantic Ocean. The social inequality is brightly described in the film’s episodes.

Speaking about Titanic, it is imperative to note that the gender patterns were depicted in the film as well. The entire movie, the main character, Rose, is rebelling against pre-set gender and class roles. However, the movie expresses women’s position in society in 1910s. First, Rose was expected to marry Karl, a rich man from the steel industry. The marriage for women was the only legitimate way of advancing themselves in life. Then, there is a presumption that Rose must be rescued by Jack or Karl. It comes from the phrase ‘women and children on the boats first’. It sounds nice, until one considers that this statement implies that women are incapable to take care about themselves in the extraordinary conditions.

The difficulties related to Rose’s relations with Jack deals with gender patterns as well. If it is possible to reverse genders in the movie, Jack was a woman and Rose was a man, there would be no comment about high social class man in sexual relations with a woman of the low social class. The gender inequity is seen from the fact that Rose is not being able to express her own opinion (Sandler, 1999). Karl does not allow her to order her own food. She is not expected to control her own body too. Karl wants her to sleep with him and shows violent attitude towards Rose. She is expected to tolerate it. Moreover, the simple example of male dominant gender is that women wear were dressed into painful and constructive dresses, which they did not want to wear. Rose was told that women are not allowed to smoke, when she lit up, but men retired after dinner for brandy and cigars.

Conclusion

The paper investigates the gender, ethnic and social class patterns in Harry Potter and Titanic movies. The essay sates that both films describe social injustice and gender inequality. It is imperative to note that essay was designed to be a comparison of the way ethnicity, gender, and social classes are represented in both films. It is obvious that Titanic is a movie representing the social reality at the beginning of the last century. So, its social, gender and ethnic portraits will differ from those, appeared in Harry Potter. The main focus of Harry Potter is with a modern era and magic world. The essay showed the ways males and females are portrayed and the roles they are given in the movies.