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The Intern: Rewriting Gender Roles in the Workplace Through Media



‘The Intern’, a 2015 movie starring superstars Anne Hathaway and Robert de Niro serves more than just an entertainment purpose. It offers an insightful look into the gender dynamics of the workplace- an unlikely friendship between a young, successful businesswoman and a retired senior intern. With the portrayal of a woman in a position of power alongside an elderly male character taking on a supportive role, the light of reflection falls on the media and how its gender expectations are evolving.

 



Jules Ostin- played by Anne Hathaway-a young and ambitious CEO of an e-commerce fashion company with a high drive for success. In many films, when women are portrayed in a position of power, they are depicted as cold, ruthless or emotionless like done with Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada, the only qualities known to man that would empower a woman to be successful in her field of work. Jules, however, is neither. She is assertive yet unaggressive, focused yet emotional, passionate yet empathetic- a portrayal that not only denies stereotypes that media often perpetuates about female bosses but excellently depicts the complexity of women in leadership roles.

Alongside scrutinising this stigma, the movie finds the perfect balance of reiterating the pressures that Jules and all women face in power. Constantly struggling to establish some middle ground between her professional and personal life, Jules almost resigns from her post as a result of those that criticise that she ‘isn’t doing enough at home’. Media frequently portrays this gender narrative, where there must be a choice made between being a successful career woman and a successful mother, however the word ‘successful’ speaks in these entirely separate contexts.

 

Robert De Niro’s character, Ben Whittaker, is one of the single most important things needed to cover how the movie reshapes gender dynamics in the workplace- a retired widower becoming a senior intern for Jules, a lady boss. Ben represents a type of masculinity that is far from the traditional stance; a type of masculinity rarely seen in media- one that is nurturing and supportive not sidelined nor dominant as a supporting role. Ben enters the workplace without competing for authority. Instead, he supports Jules in her chaotic journey offering wisdom and advice- the calm amongst the storm. Subverting the traditional depiction of men at work, his characters narrative redefines masculinity with care and patience rather than power and control. The intern flips the script on an older male character unable to adapt to changing times and introduces Ben as someone challenging conventional ideas about gender roles in media.

 

The contrast between Jules and Bens experiences reiterates the key themes of the movie and gender expectations about work-life balance. Jules’s struggle to balance her demanding career with her responsibilities as a family woman provokes the audiences heartstrings as her marriage is strained by her success and guilt- highlighting how the common media narrative expects that a woman must ‘have it all’- a thriving career and a perfect family- or must focus on just one- preferably a perfect family. In contrast, Ben has already had a long career and reached retirement, reinforcing how men are able to seamlessly transition from being working men to family responsibilities or from family back to a career, differentiating between the emotional labor required for both genders to thrive in the workplace.

 

'The intern' offers a positive perspective on how gender norms are changing. By telling a story in which both men and women challenge gendered dynamics, this articulate piece of media encourages the audience to look forward to a future void of criticism, judgement and the idea of what men and women ‘should be’.

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6 Comments


25020297
Oct 21

I feel like at the same time it can also be argued that gender norms are seen not to be fully challenged. Despite being a successful woman at work, she is shown to be presumably lacking in her family and love life. Where she is unable to spend time with her husband who ends up cheating on her, not visit her daughters school events. And through the character of her daughters class mate's mothers this aspect is brought into light. It can be argued that this is just showing the idea of how a good woman is supposed to be and not supposed to be when it comes to the domestic realm of her life which invalidates her professional realm…

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This post is an enlightening view on the film The Intern in relation to breaking down gender roles in the corporate world through the character of Jules Ostin, a strong independent woman CEO, and her intern, Ben Whittaker. Thus, the post shows how it is crucial to depict gender in media not only in a stereotyped way but also demonstrate how to undermine stereotype in relation to working men and women. Jules has been depicted as a self-asserting yet caring woman and thus a women in power does not have to be a cruel woman to be powerful, unlike the models given in the media plumped on portraying female leadership. This is a better attempt at portraying woman in leadership…

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i believe this post effectively analyzes the impact of media in breaking preconcieved notions of gender roles, particularly in the workplace. The discussion about Jules Ostin’s character is insightful, particularly in how it contrasts with typical portrayals of women in leadership roles. By showing her empathetic side, the analysis brings the concept of multifaceted female characters in media. It would be interesting to explore how this portrayal could influence societal perceptions of women leaders and the expectations placed upon them.

The analysis of Ben Whittaker’s character serves as an example of supportive and nurturing masculinity, which is often not the case in media representation. It is very rarely shown that a man is the supporting character instead of the main…

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The role of Ben Whittaker in this movie is really an interesting one, played by Robert De Niro, adds an important dimension to the film’s take on gender roles. As an older man in a traditionally supportive role, Ben’s character is nurturing and offers guidance without competing for power or authority. His calm and supportive demeanor stands in contrast to the typical portrayal of men in workplace settings, where dominance and control are often emphasized. The relationship between Jules and Ben not only redefines workplace dynamics but also presents a heartwarming example of how different generations and genders can collaborate and uplift one another without falling into traditional, restrictive roles.

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onesamirr
Oct 08

I think this movie that you chose is an excellent example of a media form breaking strereotypes. These characters not only demonstrate personality traits that are inferred as opposite to their gender, infact, they characterize themselves as complex individuals with a varitey of traits. This resonates well with stuart hall's understanding of breakinh stereotypes. He claims that stereotyping is essentially the practice of reducing a person to a certain type/characteristic and therefore potraying individuals as complex beings that make both good and bad choices would be the opposite of that. For instance you mentioned that Jules is sharp and assertive yet non-aggressive.


Secondly, your discussion on Jules having to balance work-life and domestic life alligns well with the critique of…

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