Response on Tootsie

I feel that this film is worth watching not just for its humour content but also, for the message hidden behind it. This film depicts how Michael changed himself to be Dorothy to get a job due to his unpopularity in the industry. I find this film interesting because of how it showed Dorothy( or Michael) refuting the common stereotype of women. For example, instead of asking the patient who got beaten by his husband to go for a therapy, which was her sciptline, Dorothy( or Michael) asked the patient to stand up for herself. Another example would be how Dorothy stormed off when she was rejected by the director for being "too soft". This was a contrast to how Sandy reacted when she was rejected to act in the play. Sandy ran off crying. Dorothy, on the other hand, told the director off for wanting to prove his point that power makes women masculine. These examples showed how Dorothy refuted the common view of women as weak and submissive.

The purpose of this film should be to encourage women to stand up for their rights and not submit to men just because it was the tradition. For example, Dorothy advised Julie to stop being played by her boyfriend who was obviously toying her feelings. This film was filmed in 1982 which was probably the age whereby feminism was less popular. Thus, the producer probably decided to use this film to encourage women to go against the social norm of portraying themselves as weak and to portray themselves as people with independence.