Imprisonment and Freedom in American Beauty vs. The Piano

The Piano takes place in a time when women had little and almost no rights in Europe. They were hardly considered a part of society. Women were forced to wear tight, restrictive clothing to imprison them in their own shell. Sexuality was something that was denounced in public. When Ada and Flora arrive in New Zealand, you can ins

Ada is pulled into the water and begins to sink with her piano. Ada, as she is sinking with her coffin, wonders if freedom is what she truly wants. In a brief second, Ada realizes that freedom from the piano is what she needs. She struggles and slips her shoe off to free herself from her own coffin. She rises to the surface where she is rebirthed with a new freedom and a new life.

tantly tell that their dress comes from the strict times of Europe. Their dress was hardly adequate for the conditions that they were now entering. Although, their clothing was designed to be a form of imprisonment for females, Ada used her dress as an escape from harsh weather while they lay in wait from Stewart. The whole mail-order bride concept is another form of imprisonment by the males of Europe. It forces a woman to live and cohort with a man that she has never known or seen. It is crude because of the fact that a woman can be bought and imprisoned by a man for a price. As Stewart soon realizes, Ada does not speak. Ada has imprisoned herself in a world in which she doesn’t use her voice; instead she chooses to free herself from having to express herself from speaking. Ada has many other ways that she expresses herself, and her way is often clearer. As Stewart starts to leave, he tells the natives that the piano is too heavy to bring with them. Ada is infuriated that Stewart is going to leave her piano. To Ada, the piano is a form of escape and freedom. It helps her relax and allows herself to put into another world where there are no worries.

The Maoris may not be seen as a main part of the film, but they are more deeply rooted in the movie than most think. The more times that you

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