Girls cleaning

You seem to have missed/ignored the part where every one of the boys also cleaned the house right along with the girls.


"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."

Well, you explained it yourself in your post, it's set in the 60s, and they wanted to made the movie realistic, so it can't be unnecessary. On the contrary.
There is the same thing in Mad Men for example. Except for some female characters, it depicts a society where it is normal that women are considered almost inferior to men, and don't have the same opportunities.

I'm in no way defending this position, but what is the point to set a story in the 60s if you have to cool down those very real aspects of that time? If it was a modern Disney movie, they would surely have not done the same, and gave the impression to see modern characters in a 60s context.

You also obviously do not know much about gender roles in Japan that even in the current society are a LOT more traditional than in the West. Even know a lot of women are expected to quit their jobs once married. It happens more and more than women do stay at work, but in most cases, they give up and stay at home.

On the top of that, you seem to miss the point that they came there not just to clean up, but to help boys save the clubs. They did it as an act of friendship, not to slave away for nothing. It helped build their community and it was a way to be nice to each other.

I think adding Western and modern perspective of this film is completely unnecessary, a lot of people seem to want to fit the films in very tight molds of what they think is right or wrong, which is a shame.


In the beginning there was nothing, and it exploded.

I would also suggest that in Japan this view of women as house workers is not as outdated as it is in much of "the West". I have been to Japan a few times and on one occasion a women was laughing at me for making my own bed. I asked why she was laughing and I was told that it is because I was doing a "woman's job".

I would also suggest that in Japan this view of women as house workers is not as outdated as it is in much of "the West". I have been to Japan a few times and on one occasion a women was laughing at me for making my own bed. I asked why she was laughing and I was told that it is because I was doing a "woman's job".

In Porco Rosso, there's a scene where only womens build a fighter aeroplane

Thoughts?

Old fashioned gender roles didn't distract me from the story.

Can't stop the signal.

Gender roles are still progressing in Japan. Given that Japan has stereotypes for women and men, it would be hard to have a movie that doesn't reflect it in some ways. However, I really give Studio Ghibli a lot of credit for having many females as the main protagonist. There are many ways, I feel, this movie was proactive towards equality.

**Spoilers**

While the women did come to clean the club house, it was also a female's idea on how to save the club house. Both male and female students worked at cleaning a repairing the club house side by side. A girl showed up a boy when plastering the wall demonstrating skill in a male oriented skill. They requested Umi to come to Tokyo reflecting her equal share in responsibility. Umi is sorta of the breadwinner of the family. Her mother and her also want to become doctor's (and not nurses).

If you want to find gender stereotypes, you'll find it in almost every movie. I don't think this was a movie that leaned heavily on it.