Background of the study

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the study

In the mid of the 18 th century, feminism was used to refer to the equalities of female, and it was not until after the First International Woman’s Conference in Paris in 1892 that the term, following the French term feminist, was used regularly in English for a belief in and advocacy of equal rights for women based on the idea of the equality of the sexes. Feminism compromise a number of social, cultural and political movements, theories and moral philosophies concerned with gender inequalities and equal rights for women. The word “feminism” itself originated from the French word féminisme in the nineteenth century, either as a medical term to describe the feminization of a male body, or to describe women with masculine traits. 1 When it was used in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century it was only used to refer to one group of women, namely that group which the uniqueness of women, the mystical experience of motherhood and women’s special purity. Yet, feminism is to make an equal position between men and women. 1 Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan. Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies. London : SAGE publication Ltd, 2004 , p.48. 1 Film mostly reflects the social condition in certain community. It raises about feminism issues which in social condition between men and women can find something like treat differently and make gender inequalities. In this case film is more complete to describe feminism in society because film is cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating or indoctrinating citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication. 2 One of the most extraordinary films that indirectly present feminism issues is Anna and The King. Since it describes about the portrait of gender injustice that happened in early of nineteenth century in Siam, this film deserves a thorough analysis. This movie tells about King Mongkut who used the patriarchal convention as the legal law toward his command. Men have power toward women. Women are forbidden in public sphere. Women do not have right to give order to men and they forbade sharing their opinion. Those are some of feminism values presented in this story, and perhaps there are still many others can be analyzed. Besides having an interesting story, this film also created based on upon diaries the real life of Anna Leonowens that recounted in her own books; The English Governess at the Siamese Court 1870 and The Romance of Harem 1873 which is Anna’s part of biography and travelogue. In these books, she 2 Http:en.wikipedia.orgwikifilm, retrieved January 2, 2009. gives some critiques for Siamese court for the way treat slaves. She also represents an important link in 19 th century cultural imperialism. Consequently, in this research, the writer hopefully can reveal much deeper about feminism values delivered by the movie by exploring as many related theories as possible so that the writer can show that this movie is really gender-educating and worth-watching.

B. Focus of the Study