The Iron Lady - Strong and Independent Women
The Iron Lady is a film, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, based on the life of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving and the only female Prime Minister of Great Britain in the 20th century. The film shows Margaret Thatcher as an elderly woman who has flashbacks of the major and consequential events of her life. The ghost of her husband Dennis comments and reflects on her successes and failures who really is just the figment of her imagination.
Margaret grows up working at the grocery shop, that her father owned, and listening to his political speeches as the mayor. She idolises her father who supports and encourages her to “go her own way”. However, she had a poor relationship with her mother who is shown as a housewife and is not so pleased when she learns that Margaret has got a place at Oxford University. This hinted that Margaret did not want to end up as her mother; she wanted to do something to bring change. To reinforce this point Margaret, as a young woman, tells Dennis (her husband) that she “will never be one of those women who stay silent and pretty on the arm of her husband, or remote and alone in the kitchen doing the washing up, for that matter. One's life must matter beyond all the cooking and the cleaning and the children. One's life must mean more than that. I cannot die washing up a teacup!” It shows that Margaret wanted to be an independent woman who is not in favour of playing the stereotypical role of a woman. She wanted to bring a change in the economy of the nation and not the economy of her father’s grocery shop or her husband’s home.
As Margaret gradually rises up towards her post as the party leader, she faces down many arrogant and powerful ‘Tories’ with a mixture of charm and strength. She communicates her critical awareness of sexism and class prejudice in a way that makes her eventual success inspirational. In a scene, where the camera pans over the shoes of the members of parliament, we are shown only one pair of shoes that stands out
Margaret grows up working at the grocery shop, that her father owned, and listening to his political speeches as the mayor. She idolises her father who supports and encourages her to “go her own way”. However, she had a poor relationship with her mother who is shown as a housewife and is not so pleased when she learns that Margaret has got a place at Oxford University. This hinted that Margaret did not want to end up as her mother; she wanted to do something to bring change. To reinforce this point Margaret, as a young woman, tells Dennis (her husband) that she “will never be one of those women who stay silent and pretty on the arm of her husband, or remote and alone in the kitchen doing the washing up, for that matter. One's life must matter beyond all the cooking and the cleaning and the children. One's life must mean more than that. I cannot die washing up a teacup!” It shows that Margaret wanted to be an independent woman who is not in favour of playing the stereotypical role of a woman. She wanted to bring a change in the economy of the nation and not the economy of her father’s grocery shop or her husband’s home.
As Margaret gradually rises up towards her post as the party leader, she faces down many arrogant and powerful ‘Tories’ with a mixture of charm and strength. She communicates her critical awareness of sexism and class prejudice in a way that makes her eventual success inspirational. In a scene, where the camera pans over the shoes of the members of parliament, we are shown only one pair of shoes that stands out