Get Carter scene analysis

Superficial Liberation

One of the myths that came out of the 'swinging sixties' (which was a myth within itself) was the fact that now thanks to the contraceptive pill and other factors that females in our society were now fully liberated and were able to control their own bodies. They were also thought to now have more power over themselves than ever before. However, we know this isn't the case due to many factors displayed throughout this film.

 One of the best scenes to exemplify this is the scene where Anna is on the bed rolling around pleasuring herself whilst she is on the phone to Jack. When Carter phones Anna, the camera cuts to her and we can see that she is getting ready for bed as she is taking her top off. While she is then on the bed, Carter is instructing her and telling her what to do for his own sexual pleasures, not for hers. This scene is literally pointless to the film and doesn't progress the narrative in any way, shape or form. It is purely for the visual pleasure of the audience. Even if this scene was still in the film, it wouldn't have to feature Anna rolling around on her bed naked as Jack isn't even in the same room as her. We have no other choice than to look at the scene in this sexual way, we can't look at this scene any other way, we're forced to view Anna from the eyes of a straight heterosexual male. The dominant role of males in this 1970s society is also shown at the end of this scene, Anna tells Jack that she'll 'come' later, whereas Jack tells her to wait until he's there. This shows that Anna can't experience her own sexual pleasure for herself and her own satisfaction, it has to be for a man and with a man. 

Another scene that can exemplify this is the scene where Jack comes to Edna's B&B with Thorpie. Jack comes up to Edna's house and knock on the door and requests a room, she declines. Despite her saying no, Jack completely ignores what she says and tells Thorpie to take the room upstairs. The men then walk and Edna tells Jack that she will call the police to which his response is 'no you won't'. This can tell us two things, the first being that the liberation of females is false, and the females who seem to have been liberated assume their traditional roles in society when a man enters their home. The second point being that females in the 1970s couldn't be heard, they didn't have a voice and no one would listen to them. To Jack, Edna's threats are just empty and meaningless because he knows no one would listen to a woman over the strong, dominant male figure. He even tells her to make him a cup of tea and 'he might let her watch' - She actually does make him the cup of tea and doesn't phone the police. The fact she is submissive to him and follows his orders shows how the liberation of females in this era is nothing more than a myth, as even when a man walks into an independent woman's house without having her approval, the traditional gender roles are assumed.

A third scene that can demonstrate our point of superficial liberation is the scene where Glenda picks Jack up in her sports car. You would presume that she has worked (willingly) and saved up a lot of money to buy herself that sports car. However, we of course know different as she works for the crime boss Cyril Kinnear. Jack climbs into the car and Edna drives off. What follows is a montage of close up shots of Glenda's body that also happen to be from Jack's POV (Point of View). It cuts from her feet, to her hands, to her chest, thighs and pretty much everything you can think of. We only see her body in cut up and separated parts showing that she is an object, we don't see her whole self - Although we do with Jack, which again shows that he's the dominant male. Intertwined in this is also a sex scene between the two, again we see sections of Glenda's body and the camera cuts to a close up of her behind while she is pulling her underwear down. This is of course for the sexual pleasure of Jack and the audience too, nothing she does is for the benefit of herself. At the end of the scene, Glenda looks almost dead and empty in side after she has had sex with Jack. It is obvious that Glenda didn't want to do this but she really didn't have a choice.

From this, we can conclude that the 'swinging sixties' was nothing more than a myth itself and that the idea of female liberation coming out of it was an even bigger one. In the 1970s, women were anything but liberated. They still took mens orders like submissive, mindless people (not that they had a choice to begin with). They were sexual objects and objects in general that were only there for one purpose and one purpose only, to serve men for the benefit of men. The contraceptive pill was intended for women but benefitted men like Jack and Kinnear. Women didn't have a voice of their own and it was a horrible