Huy (Tommy) Vo

FLM 1070
April 21, 2017
9 to 5 (1980) Formal Analysis

The 1980 film 9 to 5 by director Colin Higgins was quite a hit in the

1980s, with themes of feminism and sexism. The second wave of feminism

was a period of feminist activity that started around 1960s. In the United

States the movement lasted through the early 1980s. The three main

characters in the film shows the struggles of many women around that time.

It also showed the message that women can be just as good as men or even

better in the case of our three characters.

In one of the beginning scenes the themes of the movie are already

starting to show when the boss is introduced, Franklin M. Hart Jr. Mr. Hart

speaks to all the ladies in the office with a very condescending tone. He even

makes comments about how men are privileged because they know

teamwork through playing baseball and football, saying its a shame women

never get to know that. Also, Judy is a welcome addition and a damn pretty

one too you should see some of the crones coming through here lately.

Pathetic. Right, Violet? The director uses close-up shots to portray the

dismay in Violets face when he is speaking so the audience can get a sense

of how the ladies in the office feel towards their boss.

As the film progresses, we meet Mr. Harts secretary, Doralee Rhodes.

Again, the same themes reemerge. There are many scenes where Mr. Hart

sexually harasses his secretary by making advances at her like Would you

grab your pad and bring your pretty face in here? or you mean so much
Huy (Tommy) Vo
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April 21, 2017
more to me that just a dumb secretary. He also knocks over pens so shell

lean over to pick them up, and lies about sleeping with her.

Violet Newstead is a senior employee and knows more about the

company than anyone except the big boss upstairs, yet we see her being

passed for promotion after promotion by the very people that she trained.

She even trained her current boss, Mr. Hart. She seems to be forever stuck in

the position of secretary even though she has been there the longest. Mr.

Hart gives Violet a different set of struggles besides passing her for many

promotions, he has her do some of his shopping for him, as well as making

him coffee daily, which is not in her job description but Mr. Hart uses the

threat of not getting a promotion as leverage to make her do almost

whatever he wants.

Judy Bernly is very new to the company and new to the workforce

itself. She recently had to get a job there because she got divorced to her

husband. The struggles she goes through are similar to Violet and Doralees.

She is talked down to and insulted by Mr. Hart for incorrectly using the copy

machine.

These themes were already present in the 1980s, in fact, the EEOC

issued sexual harassment guidelines that same year. The equality in pay

barely changed from the 1960s to the 1980s. Twenty years and the

difference in pay was minimal, that is one of the many factors that are

driving women out of certain jobs and the reason we see certain genders
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April 21, 2017
with certain jobs. For example, female nurses and male doctors, female flight

attendants and male pilots. The higher positions have already been taken

because women usually stayed out of the workforce and instead stayed at

home taking care of the kids and house, while the men worked. Some

women just had to find jobs because of marital problems that came from the

Baby Boom following the World War II. The second wave of feminism also

emboldened women all around the world, so they started entering the

workforce, to find that most of the upper positions were already filled by

men.

9 to 5 was filmed mostly during the day. The film is a comedic work

and uses bright colors to highlight all the main characters. Colors were

important to set the mood of many scenes. The office building that Violet,

Doralee and Judy work for was all grey and white. Very bland. The non-

essential characters wore bland colors as well. Mr. Harts wife, grey and white

clothing. Peggy, the office drinker, wore grey and white colored clothing as

well. The choice of color was used to highlight the main characters who all

wore brightly colored clothing.

The camera choices the director used were mostly close-up throughout

most of the film. This technique is used to establish a closer relationship

between the audience and the characters. The shots were mainly composed

of 3 or less people, so the audience could see the facial expressions of the

characters.
Huy (Tommy) Vo
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April 21, 2017
Music did not play a large part in this film. 9 to 5 is focused much more

on dialogue between the characters. There was dramatic music that fit with

the hospital scene and happy music at the beginning and end. Other than

those scenes, the movie did not have background music as it focused on

dialogue.

This film was released in 1980 and showed the struggles of women in

the workforce at the time. Equal job, equal pay, feminism, sexual

harassment, and sexism where all important, dramatic topics of the 1980s

and the film portrayed those issues with comedy, which was a great

approach from the directors.