An officer and a Gentleman

An officer and A Gentleman

An Officer and a Gentleman was released in 1982 and directed by Taylor Hackford. It stars Richard Gere and Debra Winger. In the UK it is rated a 15 as it has some scenes of a sexual nature. The film is about a young man called Zack Mayo who wants to be a Navy jet plane pilot. When he is at the training centre he mets a girl called Paula, at first it is a casual affair and they accept that once he has finished his training he will be posted far away. Zack’s friend Sid also dates Paula's friend Lynette they have fun as a foursome together and really enjoy each others' company. However, the boys are warned about girls trapping them in to marriage by getting pregnant. Paula and Lynette don’t seem like the kind of girls that would do that and being in their company really helps support the boys through their hard training. As they near the end of their training Zack tries to distance himself Paula but Sid and Lynette grow closer and Lynette thinks she might be pregnant. Sid takes full responsibility and fully considers being a father to this child. He decides that the Navy isn’t really for him and that he wants to quit and marry Lynette. He goes to propose to Lynette but it turns out she is not pregnant, he still wants to marry her, he loves her, but when she finds out that he has quit the Navy she isn’t interested. Sid is heart broken and kills himself. This is devastating to Zack he almost quits himself. Fortunately, he doesn’t and he realises that he loves Palua and after he graduates his training, he goes and take her with him.

The film is different from the other films I have already watched as it is taken more from the male character's perspective then the woman's. We know more about Zack, the audience gets an insight to his life before he meets Palua and we see him develop as a character. The film is based in the Navy camp, meaning there are lots of shaven headed men, cars, guns, chatting, uniform and exercise throughout the whole film. The men look like the ultimate definition of masculinity. They are portrayed this way so that the female audience fancy them and lust after them, just as Paula and Lynette do. This lust towards the male characters draws the female audience in and creates a connection between the audience and the characters. The male perspective in the story also benefits female audience as they feel the man is the one who drives the romance. Female audiences have always loved the 'knight in shining armor' story and in an Officer and a Gentleman, we can see elements of this classic structure. In the famous scene at the end of the film Zack goes to Paula’s factory and sweeps her off her feet, he is masculine, strong powerful and in control, all things female audiences love to see in their male characters.

In the film there are lots of drinking and bar scenes. The attitudes in this film is a lot different than in the previous films I watched. Everything is a lot more casual and the characters are quite promiscuous. This is because in the 80’s this kind of lifestyle was more widely accepted. The film contains some quite graphic sex scenes, which although they do add to the audiences understanding of the characters relationships, at times made me feel a little uncomfortable as I thought at times they were unnecessary.