Females in screwball comedy

 

In this type of comedy woman is never merely an item of exchange between two men; she’s also presented as a desiring subject. This shows the there’s an increase of independence and importance in the roles that women play in comical films.

Even though women in all types of Hollywood films are more often the object of the camera’s voyeurism and are also presented as the object of the gaze of a male character than vice versa, in screwball comedy men are also gazed upon.

Women also seem to have the freedom to make choices even though their choices are limited to the option of whether to marry one man or another. This point is proven in both It Happened One Night by Ellen choosing Peter at the end and by Annie deciding to stay friends with Allvy while exploring other options in Annie Hall. Females in screwball comedies also dominate the retiring males. The female is often faced with the mismatch of suitors which gives her the freedom to play games and be the aggressor.

 

A scene from Annie Hall

Sanaz Gharavi