Enough

The movie enough is about a stereotypical perfect marriage that turns in the wrong direction. The main character role is a motherless young woman named Slim, played by the Jennifer Lopez. Slim works as a waitress in a diner and meets a guy named Mitch. A few years later, they become the stereotypical happy couple and seem to have it all; happily married, a perfect house, a precious daughter and a comfortable lifestyle. Slim then discovers that Mitch is sleeping around behind her back, and things begin to take a turn for the worse. The perfect Cinderella story turns into a nightmare when a former waitress' perfect marriage gives way to adultery and physical abuse and revenge. When Slim tries to protest on Mitch's cheating way, he slaps her around and uses their daughter to keep her in line. With the help of her friend, Slim tries to escape, and Mitch attacks and nearly kills her along the process. Slim then has to resort to changing her identity, by using wigs and different residencies, but Mitch still hires people to try and retreive her.
Basically, Slim becomes so terrified and helpless that she resorts to turning herself from the hunted to ther hunter. She begins going to trainers to help her with defense. In the end, Slim comes out safe and no longer bothered by Mitch.
This movie depicts the gender role of a female who is abused and takes action. Like the movie Thelma and Louise, this movie too depcits a battered woman seeking liberation. In the article Genre and Gender, it says that the stereotypical protagonist is increasingly entrapped the more desperately he/she seeks emancipation (Boozer 209). This is seen within the movie Enough. From the moment Slim finds out Mitch has cheated behind her back, she tries to protest. When she does so, he slaps her around, and the abusive side of Mitch shows. From this moment on, Slim seeks emancipation from him, only to become more and more entrapped. She confronts him and he slaps her around, she runs away and he attacks and almost kills her, she changes her identity and he hires people to seek her out. This film has an emphasis on the protagonist (Slim) forces response to an abusive male and her determination to regain control of her private destiny. The male character, Mitch, failed to maintain what we assume is the proper masculine image, and becomes a cheater, abuser, and along the lines of psychopath.
I chose this movie because it is a stereotypical gender role of a feminine response to male aggression (Boozer 213). It depicts more than one stereotypical aspect, ranging from the stereotypical perfect marriage, to the cheating, abusive husband trying to hunt her down, to her running, and her fighting back. The storyline could be inspirational to some, seeing that she remained strong for herself, her daughter, and did not remain with him after he was unfaithful, event if it meant the abusive things she had to endure.