The Sydney Pollack Movie Tootsie

The way others view dorothy or michael?

The Sydney Pollack movie Tootsie (1982), named one of the top 100 American films by the American Film Institute, is a successful attempt to portray the public pressures on the first generation of women trying to get into the workplace en masse by using the intricacies of the image-making industry - the media - that houses our collective prejudices and the distorted collective identities of marginalized groups like the women and minorities.

The television industry has been exploited to get into the details of the sad, painful compromises women are seen to make so as to cover distance and make headway in the world of careers that has traditionally been the domain of men. In the process we are also given the gift of hope for the often-encountered hopeless, dead-end streets of the maze called gender relations and cross-gender communication, pithily summarized at the end of the movie by the lead character Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) when he tells Julie Nichols (Jessica Lange) that he was "a better man as a woman, and I need to learn to do it without the dress."

"I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man. Know what I mean?"

Dorothy also known as Michael

Dustin Hoffman character has great depth to it as I look at it. Dustin's portrayal as a woman starts out as an effort to prove he can find work and secure a sought after role. The role advances to the point where s/he is making money. Does he end up being a better person by his understanding of what is going on? I think so. Through Dustin's portrayal of Dorothy Micheals we are exposed to both sides of the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Whether one could call him a beacon or emblem that is open to debate. Mr. Hoffman seems to fashion his career around playing difficult roles. One of my favourite scenes is where Dustin/Dorothy tells Dabney Coleman not to call her/him "Tootsie." I think this is a good comment on life both then and even today. We are all people and should be given respect.

When Michael Dorsey decides to take the role of Dorothy Michaels for a daytime soap opera, we see him put on the garb, the makeup and the persona that women have to adopt to put themselves on show everyday. We are shown all the trouble - conveniently ignored by most men - women have to go through.

The Dorothy character gets mistreated by men like the rest of the women on the sets of the soap opera. A technician casually asks a senior authority woman figure on the set, “So how do you feel about Cleveland?” Another stage extra says “Julie, you want anything?” when asked by the director to get him some coffee. The taxi does not stop at Dorothy’s voice, but immediately comes to a halt when Michael reverts to his natural male voice for a split second only to resume with the Dorothy voice once the taxi stops. The male actor who plays the part of the doctor in the soap opera is constantly hitting on Dorothy on and off screen. One night he actually forces himself into her apartment. Men routinely hit women on their butts or pinch them at the workplace. As Dorothy becomes more famous, there is an increase in instances of unwelcome “attention” and advances.

Julie

Julie reveals to her woman friend Dorothy in private conversation that she would prefer guys were just more honest and come straight to the point: “I find you interesting and I want to make love to you.” When Michael approaches Julie at a party with that comment, he gets a full glass of water thrown into his face. Julie did not mean that. She just meant to share with a woman friend as to what guys really want. They want it quick so that they may then move on. It is a statement on the objectification of women.

The most poignant part in Dorothy as the sensitive and caring woman is when Julie tells “her,” “I really love you but I can not love you.” One, she is lovable, but she is a woman. Not only that but she is perhaps a lesbian. If only she retained all aspects of her personality and magically became a man is Julie’s wish.