The Notebook is one of the most famous romantic
dramas of our generation. Ask any girl, and probably most boys, in the 15-25
age range and I guarantee they have seen or heard of The Notebook. That
being said, some may think that analyzing a popular film such as The
Notebook is cliché, but I believe it is an extremely important. The
Notebook holds many messages about relationships, gender, and sex and to
not consider what these messages reflect and how they may potentially affect
our society is ignorant.
Summary
The Notebook is told in a series of flashbacks
disguised as scenes from a book that an old man is reading to an old woman who
is living in a nursing home. The plot later reveals that this old man and women
are actually the two main characters from the book, and that the old man (Noah)
is reading to his wife who is now suffering from Alzheimer’s in the hope that
the story will help her remember their past together. The flashbacks depict the
history of their love affair. He is a poor country boy and she is a wealthy
southern bell. The relationship is steamy and full of passion, but also fraught
with peril because Allie’s parents dislike Noah due to his status, and ultimately
they send her away to school. Allie ends up finding another love interest, Lon
Hammond, a wealthy southern gentleman from a good family. The two get engaged.
While all of this happens, Noah wallows in his sorrow for the loss of Allie by writing
her 365 letters before enlisting in the army. Noah is then deployed to fight in
World War II. Upon returning he buys the old house him and Allie talked about
living in one day. He then proceeds to fix up the house in the hopes that he
will get Allie’s attention and that one day she will return him. Allie end’s up
seeing Noah’s picture in the paper one day, and does indeed return. This leads
to a tumultuous reunion and a reconsideration of her engagement to Lon. In the
end, Allie ends up choosing Noah despite all odds. The second plot ends with
Allie finally remembering Noah, and for a split second they share their love
again before both dying that night of natural causes.
The first excerpt I chose to analyze is a compilation
of scenes in which Allie and Noah fight passionately in a variety of settings
while a voice over (Noah in his later years) states, “They didn’t agree on
much, well they didn’t agree on anything, but there was one thing for certain,
they were crazy about each other” (Emmerich & Cassavets, 2004). This
compilation reflects a number of things about how both men and women should act
in a relationship.
To begin, this scene depicts Noah teaching Allie to
drive. The two yell at each other as Allie becomes frustrated and emotional,
and Noah becomes angry with Allie for not understanding how to complete the
task. This scene perpetuates the message that men should have knowledge of
activities “men are good at” such as driving a car. Furthermore, it
portrays the message that it is normal, and the man’s duty in a relationship,
to teach woman skills such as driving a car because women don’t naturally have
the skill set or capacity to do so. This traditional message about men knowing
how to do stereotypically “manly” things still rings true in our society today.
It is further perpetuated through movies in scenes such as this. Take for
example the notion of a man knowing how to drive a stick shift. If a man states
he knows how to drive a stick shift one normally brushes this off, considering
it normal. However, if a woman states that she knows how to drive a stick shift
one is more likely to respond in a surprised fashion. This scene sends the
message that these kinds of ideas are ok and acceptable in our society and
within our relationships.
The next little snippet of this montage depicts the
couple fighting in the street. Allie slaps Noah then Noah grabs Ali’s face and
the two begin to make out. This part of the montage demonstrates that when a woman
is mad she can get extremely upset, to the point of physical violence and that
is ok. This demonstrates a complete and total double standard, as men are never
allowed to physically harm a woman and have it be seen as socially acceptable.
Beyond these general observations, I found some
aspects from the montage to align with codes from the article, Love will
steer the stars” and other improbable feats: Media myths in popular love songs by
Anne Bader. In this article Bader discusses Galician’s 12 Media Myths
about Sex, Love and Romance, which is a list of myths believed by the public
about sex, love and romance that are perpetuated through the media. Bader
applies these myths to love song lyrics, but I found a few of them to be
applicable to this specific excerpt from The Notebook. In particular the
myths, “All you really need is love, so it doesn’t matter if you and your lover
have different values” as well as “Bickering and fighting a lot mean that a man
and a women really love each other” can be coded (Bader, 2007, p. 149). While
the actions depicted in the scene are less than enjoyable aspects of a
relationship in real life, the voiceover actively usurps the negativity of them
by spinning the bickering and fighting in a positive light and suggesting that
this coupled with differences in values can be normal and healthy parts of a
relationship. Thus, perpetuating the myths discussed above ten-fold.
This scene depicts Noah and Allie’s first night
sleeping together. This scene starts off hot-and heavy with a steamy make out.
Then, Allie tells Noah that she wants to have sex with him and the two disrobe
in what feels like an awkward and juvenile way. As they begin, Ali is on bottom
and Noah is on top. Allie starts to have second thoughts and begins badgering
Noah about he is thinking, leading to an exasperated Noah who tells Allie that
it is ok if the two don’t have sex that night. Allie brushes this off saying
she wants to, and Noah tells her that he loves her, and voila sex!
This scene sends the message that it should be the
woman’s decision when to have sex and that the man should always be ready to
have sex, as seen through Allie’s verbal cue to begin the process, and Noah’s
surprise and excitement to have sex. This excerpt also suggests the man should
always know what he is doing when it comes to sex, and that he should act calm
and collected even if the women is not, as seen through Allie’s apprehension
and Noah’s calm demeanor and confidence in this scene (which is a bit confusing
seeing as he is supposedly a virgin himself). The scene also sends the message
that it is ok for a woman to scared and unconfident about having sex and that
it is her responsibility to think of the repercussions of losing her virginity.
This is again seen through Allie’s verbal apprehension and instigated pause in
the action. That being said, this scene codes the Management Script, a theory discussed by Maura Kelly in her article,
Virginity loss narratives in “teen drama
television programs. Kelly states that the Management Script suggests teenage sexual activity is inevitable,
if not entirely desirable (Kelly, 2009, p. 482). Here, Allie seems so see sex
as inevitable once she knows that Noah loves her. The Management Script is also, “focused on managing the physical,
social, and emotional risk associated with virginity loss,” as seen in this when
Allie stops Noah in order to talk to him about it and express her concerns with
possible risk. Coding the Management
Script also entails an “emphasis on ‘‘appropriate’’ virginity loss (e.g.,
the teenager is at least 16, is in monogamous romantic relationship, uses
contraception, and discusses sex with an adult) (Kelly, 2009, p. 482).
Allie and Noah seem to be old enough, they are in an extremely loving
monogamous romantic relationship, they are in the perfect place setting wise,
and they seem to have “done everything besides this” making the sex seem
entirely appropriate and thus coding the Management
Script. The consequence of this scene is that it suggests that the Management is Script is what people should strive to experience, as the
relationship between Allie and Noah is one that many individuals wish to emulate.
This portion of the film depicts Lon proposing to
Allie by telling her why he is the perfect man. His states, “I am wealthy, I
come from a good family, I am smart” (The with Allie’s response being, “Well
what is the problem?” and Lon stating, “Well then I guess you’ll just have to
marry me” (Emmerich & Cassavets, 2004). These statements suggest what a
woman should ultimately want in a man. It portrays the message that a perfect
man should be rich, powerful, able to provide, and be the dominant force in the
relationship. In Kim et. all’s article, From
sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime television she
states that the Heterosexual Script is, “a blueprint for societally sanctioned
romantic and sexual encounters and interactions” (2007, p.141). She uses this
script as a basis to code various aspects of romantic relationships and sex in
the media. One particular thing she codes for when looking at the way men and
women interact with each other in media through this script is by looking at
the difference in courting strategies. She codes Masculine Courting
Strategies as, “the active and powerful ways in which men attract and/or
court a female partner. They encompass notions that men are protectors and
providers in romantic relationship, that they assert their power in the
courting ritual by buying gifts or showing off their physical strength, and
that they are responsible for making the first move in dating relationships”
(Kim et. all, 2007, p. 148). In this scene Lon presents himself as powerful, a
provider, and protector in order to gain Allie’s affection thus coding Kim’s Masculine
Courting Strategies. This scene can also be coded under Masculine Courting Strategies because
Lon is taking action to propel the relationship forward without much say from
Allie, reflecting his dominance over the situation through the statement
“Well then I think we will have to get married” (Emmerich & Cassavets,
2004).
A code from Kim et. all’s research that is counter in
this scene is that of the Masculine Commitment code. Kim asserts that in
the media most males are portrayed as actively avoiding commitment, marriage,
monogamy, or taking their romantic relationships "to the next level” (Kim
et. all, 2007, p. 148). This is clearly not the case seeing as Lon is very
serious about his future with Allie. He makes no comment about her looks or
desire to sleep with her, but just his desire for her to be committed to him.
That being said, Kim et. all’s notion of the Feminine Commitment code, where women are expected to be passive
and indirect in order to attract or court a male partner and to engage in
dressing provocatively, touching themselves suggestively, using playful
innuendo, ego-stroking, or pretending to be in need of assistance is barley
seen isn’t entirely present (Kim et. all, 2007, p. 148). Allie is hesitant to
marry Lon, thinking about what that will mean for her future. However, she also
waits for him to take the relationship to the next level and uses the ego
stroking technique as Lon presents himself as a viable option for marriage to
her. Thus, making his scene controversial in if it should be coded under the Feminine Commitment code or not.
Overall Narrative/Conclusions
Overall, these excerpts are consistent with the
overarching messages about relationships that are reflected the larger
narrative arch. The Heterosexual Script is at the heart of the
overarching narrative and within these pieces, reflecting the idea that men
should take care of women either monetarily, provisionally, emotionally or all
three. However, a large majority of the film focuses on Noah’s heartbreak (and not
as much on Allie’s) showing vulnerability of males when it comes to love. In
this sense, the overarching narrative of the film breaks from the Heterosexual Script. That being said,
while the film holds many traditional messages about how males and females
should act in relationships, it also counters these messages at times giving
people a variety of contradicting messages to shift through by the end.
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