The way that people are represented in films is very important. Films have been seen as sometimes racist or sexist in the past due to mis or under representation of different groups of people and genders. Now Whiplash has also come under fire for it's supposed under representation of women. I'm now going talk about that.
Whiplash is about Andrew Neman. Andrew is a guy who wants to become the best drummer there is. This is the main focus of the story. At one point in the story Andrew meets a girl, Nicole. Nicole quickly becomes his girlfriend when life begins to look up for Andrew. Nicole is also only in about 3 scenes. She is also the only female character to really have even a passing impact on the story. To some she is under represented in the film and as a result so are the entirety of women. To me personally I don't see a problem.
Now Nicole's story is not the main focus of the film. Andrews is. Andrew is the lead and his story is about life and the sacrifices people make to achieve what they want to achieve. Nicole is just someone who comes into his life and then they are gone. If anything she is used to show that Andrew is a bit of a cold uncaring character. He neglects her, his family and himself to get where he wants to be. I think Nicole is used perfectly. She brings out the good side of Andrew. Makes him seem like a better person. Then he ruins that.
I do however agree with the criticism that she could have played a slightly bigger part. Appearing in more scenes maybe in order to allow the audience to connect more with the character before she is taken away. In the end if everyone was represented the same amount with the same amount of screen time there wouldn't really be any story or characters. Films need leads.
Whiplash is about Andrew Neman. Andrew is a guy who wants to become the best drummer there is. This is the main focus of the story. At one point in the story Andrew meets a girl, Nicole. Nicole quickly becomes his girlfriend when life begins to look up for Andrew. Nicole is also only in about 3 scenes. She is also the only female character to really have even a passing impact on the story. To some she is under represented in the film and as a result so are the entirety of women. To me personally I don't see a problem.
Now Nicole's story is not the main focus of the film. Andrews is. Andrew is the lead and his story is about life and the sacrifices people make to achieve what they want to achieve. Nicole is just someone who comes into his life and then they are gone. If anything she is used to show that Andrew is a bit of a cold uncaring character. He neglects her, his family and himself to get where he wants to be. I think Nicole is used perfectly. She brings out the good side of Andrew. Makes him seem like a better person. Then he ruins that.
I do however agree with the criticism that she could have played a slightly bigger part. Appearing in more scenes maybe in order to allow the audience to connect more with the character before she is taken away. In the end if everyone was represented the same amount with the same amount of screen time there wouldn't really be any story or characters. Films need leads.