Depiction of Women in "500 Days of Summer" by Alisa Harada

"500 Days of Summer" is a romantic comedy that centralizes on the relationship of Tom and Summer. What is unique about this film is the fact that the roles of men and women are reversed.

Firstly, the film starts with a fairy-tale-like narration, "this is a story of a boy, who meets a girl". Typically, we are inclined to associate fairy-tales to girls, just because fairy-tales are often encompassed around females (princesses, queens etc), and they tend to be narrated through their point of view. However, this film depicts the plot from Tom's point of view, as if he is the 'princess' trying to look for 'prince charming', hence, 'the one'.

Secondly, it seems funny that Tom believes in true love, while Summer does not believe in love at all. Again, unlike the stereotype that are made on gender roles, it appears unusual that the guy character is the one chasing after the girl, since girls are usually the ones going after the guys.

Furthermore, the entire film demonstrates how Summer dictates their relationship; she is in full control of their love, while Tom basically just follows what she suggests. The female character is empowered throughout the film by being able to manipulate the male character and as well as their relationship.

Without spoiling the entire plot for people who have not seen this film, basically, the film depicts an interesting insight into relationship of two individuals, where the male is portrayed as the weak, emotional one, while the female is portrayed with more power and strength. It is interesting how as the story progresses, we start to sympathize with the male character where we almost start feeling sorry for him because of the way the female character treats him. But at the same time, we can sympathize with Summer because of her realistic point of view.

If you haven't seen this film, it's definitely a film that's worth watching!