“The Beautiful, Unattainable Trophy and Beast” by Haley Ecker

Pretty? Check. Skinny? Check. Successful and smart? Check and check. This criteria makes up the modern day “trophy wife.” The term was coined in Fortune Magazine in 1989 as, “a woman who is a decade or two younger than her husband, sometimes several inches taller, beautiful, and very often accomplished” (Friedman, par. 11). For the average man, attaining a woman like this seems impossible. Getting a woman extremely out of his league would be a massive achievement and elevate the man’s status.

This pursuit becomes the goal for Gennarino, a communist, Sicilian deckhand who gets trapped on a deserted island with a beautiful, wealthy woman in Lena Wertmüller’s film, Swept Away. The object of Gennarino’s desires, Rafaella, comes from a life of leisure and luxury as opposed to his lower class background. When stowed away on the island, Gennarino abuses and assaults Rafaella multiple times in an attempt to make her want him as a potential partner. He does not do this out of love, however, as he, like many lower-class men, wants her as an object to boost his prestige. Obtaining her affection is nothing more than a way to increase his confidence and status rather than pursuing her for love.

At the beginning of the film, Gennarino is a servant to Rafaella and her husband while on their yacht. She bosses around Gennarino while she and her rich friends lounge, swim, and eat on the deck of the boat. Rafaella has complete agency over the deckhand, at this point, and does not consider him to be anywhere near as impressive as her own wealthy, intellectual husband. Gennarino complains about Rafaella behind her back, irritated by the fact that a rich woman has the audacity to boss him around, and there is nothing he can do about it (Wertmüller, 00:08:50). He loathes the pretentious, political conversations Rafaella has with her husband and shows no fondness towards her whatsoever, since she represents something he knows he can never attain.

There is a change of power, however, once the two are swept away to an abandoned island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Gennarino finds himself in power since he is the only one who knows how to perform manual labor and feed himself. Whenever Rafaella demands help, he rejects her and forces her to do demeaning tasks to earn her food. He is able to get away with things he would never have been able to do had they still been on the yacht, such as forcing Rafaella to clean his pants (Wertmüller, 00:53:00) and kiss his hand (Wertmüller, 1:00:51). Although these are traditionally flirtatious actions, Gennarino’s demand for such actions comes off as him getting Rafaella to no longer consider him as a servant but rather a master. He wants her to feel the way he felt when she was bossing him around on the boat, such as when she complained about his pasta not being edible for her (Wertmüller, 00:12:32). He does, however, eventually go on even further than the point of just getting back at her for the mistreatment. Anna Rudegeair compares Gennarino’s taming of Rafaella to be resonant of Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew. Both Katherine and Rafaella are considered challenges for their male counterparts to pursue, with love and power being the prizes at the finish line. Petruchio, Kate’s partner, “insistently flatters and threatens Kate despite her protests” (Rudegeair, par. 3). Petruchio tries to tame Kate for the purpose of winning her affection while Gennarino just wants to make Rafaella his subordinate and elevate his status by getting her to do demeaning tasks.

Gennarino’s poor treatment of Rafaella is out of frustration since she represents everything he detests about upper society. While he beats her, he screams, “that’s for causing inflation and not paying taxes and hoarding your money in Swiss banks instead… That’s for the hospitals where the poor can’t even get in… That’s for raising the prices of meat and cheese” (Wertmüller, 1:09:18). By putting her in her place, he is able to gain revenge for the lower class and feel successful in his status as a man by dominating her. There is a purpose to this domination, however, as it not only allows for Gennarino to get revenge for his lower class but also get Rafaella to look at him as a macho man rather than just a lowly deckhand.

He continuously beats Rafaella like a broken toy to the point of submission so that she wants him more than her wealthy husband. In normal circumstances, Rafaella would never bat an eye at Gennarino. On this isolated island, he finally has the opportunity to express his masculinity and dominance without any repercussions. He believes that breaking her down to the point where she sees how much bravado he has will show Rafaella that just because he is some poor Sicilian deckhand does not mean he cannot satisfy her. He is trying to prove that he is more competent and masculine than her wealthy Milanese husband. Earning her affection would boost his confidence and show the world that he is capable of wooing one of the most unattainable and untouchable women in the world.

Gennarino is trying to add another trophy to his collection, and he is aiming for the most difficult trophy in all of Italy. She presents a challenge to Gennarino because she is the kind of woman someone like him would never be able to have. Turning her into a quasi-trophy wife would allow Gennarino to feel that “he has been able to snag, in a sense, a spouse or a wife that other men are envious of” (Friedman, par. 26). No one amongst Rafaella’s rich socialite friends would be able to imagine her with someone as grimy and plain as Gennarino, which only further motivates him to get her to fall in love with him. She is unlike his ordinary Sicilian wife back home because Rafaella is “highly educated, self-assured and able to hold her own financially.  She’s also not afraid to intimidate any male” (Houghton, par. 7). These are qualities that modern day men search for when hunting for their trophy wives; they do not want just some plain Jane who does whatever he wants.

Women such as Amal Clooney, Michelle Obama, and Melinda Gates are like Rafaella in their elite status amongst society, intelligence, and ability to speak their minds. Rafaella’s verbal skills become apparent in her debate with her husband and his friends about the legality of abortion (Wertmüller, 00:04:18). She is able to carry any intellectual conversation and defend her opinion without any worry (that is, until Gennarino starts chasing her across the island). Dr. Dion Metzger, a psychiatrist and expert in couples therapy, states that “powerful men [search] for a trophy wife to accompany their wealth and prosperity” (Dixon, par. 4). On the island, Gennarino finally gets to be the “powerful man” (finally something prosperous for him) and claim Rafaella as his. The reaction he would receive back in Italy should they remain together would flabbergast his and Rafaella’s family and friends. The pursuit of Rafaella as a personal trophy serves as a way for Gennarino to exert agency over her. She represents everything Gennarino could never attain. Assaulting her and getting her to refer to him as her “master” would prove to him that he is as valuable and capable as all the elites who Rafaella associates with (Wertmüller, 00:59:44). The island is the only place on Earth where the tables are turned and she is found begging to be with him. 

Leaving the island together was supposed to be the final test to prove to the aristocrats of Italy that he is just as masculine and desirable as they are by returning home with Rafaella. He calls this the “ultimate proof” to have her show how much she wants him (Wertmüller, 1:37:58). The journey home would be the official confirmation for Gennarino that he is as good, if not better, than the elite men that Rafaella surrounds herself with. She is simply a tool for him to show the world how much of a masculine, domineering man he is. For Gennarino, having Rafaella tell her husband she prefers the Sicilian deckhand rather than her wealthy husband would be the ultimate middle finger to the upper-class folk he has been oppressed by for so long. It would put him on equal footing with the wealthy men who treated him poorly in the past.

Rafaella has the opportunity to give Gennarino the validation he craves should she leave her husband for him, but she rejects him in the end. This rejection denies Gennarino of the satisfaction and power he would have received if she chose to stay with him. Love was never the end game for Gennarino – it was all about leveling his status with the wealthy elites that have mistreated him for so long. It is understandable to empathize with him for wanting to get back at the upper class, but Gennarino’s conquest of Rafaella as the hunt for the most valuable trophy around is all for his own selfish reasons.

Works Cited

Dixon, Carole. “The Modern Day Trophy Wife Is All About Goals, Not Gold.” Bravo TV Official Site, 13 Oct. 2016, www.bravotv.com/blogs/the-modern-day-trophy-wife-is-all-about-goals-not-gold. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.

Friedman, Emily. “Blond and Beautiful? What Really Makes a 'Trophy Wife'.” ABC News, ABC News Network, abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3372209&page=1. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.

Houghton, Kristen. “The New Trophy Wife.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 25 Jan. 2015, www.huffpost.com/entry/the-new-trophy-wife_b_6207364. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.

Rudegeair, Anna. “The Same Old Story: Tamed Women and Their Misogynistic Counterparts.” Blogspot. N.p. 28 Feb. 2018, http://giantstepspress.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-same-old-story-tamed-women-and.html. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.

Wertmüller, Lena (Dir.). Swept Away. Perf. Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato. Romano Cardarelli, 1974. Film. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.

An Abused Woman’s Colonization and Declaration of Independence in SWEPT AWAY by Ariana Farajollah

The only sensation crueler than physical enslavement is its mental impact. Many individuals experience one or the other, but the female protagonist in Lina Wertmüller’s film endures both. Swept Away depicts the tale of capitalistic cruiser Rafaella and communistic crew member Gennarino. Despite her earlier mockery of Gennarino, Rafaella is forced to seek out his survival skills when the two get stranded on a Mediterranean island. In a wild turn of events, passive Gennarino becomes disturbingly dominant, demanding sexual favors in return. As a result, the character of Mariangela Melato forms a positive attachment to her captor, portraying many signs that point in the direction of Stockholm Syndrome. However, this condition hardly insinuates that women are inevitably, continuously doomed.

Abusive relationships result in long-term effects and under this umbrella lays Stockholm Syndrome. Without either of the two realizing it, the disorder creeps up to the couple caught in captor-captive relationships. Mental disorder therapist Julia Layton describes the cause of the syndrome: “In a traumatic and extraordinarily stressful event, a person finds herself held captive by a man who is threatening to kill her if she disobeys him in any way. She may be abused — physically, sexually and/or verbally —  and have trouble thinking straight” (par. 1). Rafaella undoubtedly fits all of the criteria. In Rafaella and Gennarino’s case, the couple is unexpectedly trapped in the middle of the ocean. To surmount it all, the event is especially anxiety producing due the fact that the individuals share a mutual contempt for one another. For instance, Rafaella complains that the fish Gennarino so painfully caught emits a horrific odor and thus justifies her propelling it overboard (Wertmüller 0:25:19). Stripped of her privilege, Rafaella struggles to feed herself and proceeds to ask the scruffy man for assistance. Gennarino smirks, agreeing to find sustenance under the contingency that she participate in sexual intercourse with him (Wertmüller 0:59:33). When Rafaella disobeys, Gennarino rapes her and threatens to keep the food to himself, thereby indirectly killing her (Wertmüller 1:08:19). In short, under stressful conditions, Rafaella’s Syndrome is caused by the sexual onslaught and refusal of food when she expostulates his request.

The Milan-bred blonde sheds her high maintenance character and transitions, instead, to a self-sacrificing slave. She becomes attracted to Gennarino’s abuse of power and begins to view it as a positive display of masculinity. At this point, Rafaella exhibits symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome. Prime Health Channel’s website states that one common symptom is “showing admiration for abductors” (par. 6). She forgoes all resistance of torture, replacing it with confessions of love and proposals of marriage (Wertmüller 0:1:23:07). Critic Tania Modleski describes the situation best: “[Rafaella] luxuriates in her lover’s abuse and even surpasses him in devising more exquisite sexual degradations for herself” (par. 7). Rafaella’s change in temperament and abnormal positive attachment to her “master” provokes Wertmüller’s audience to diagnose the submissive woman with Stockholm Syndrome.

Despite the façade of an erotic sex life the beached couple has curated, the relationship lacks substance. One reviewer comments, “…there's no love between the two….Wertmüller's simply created a situation in which no other options exist for Rafaella” (Rembrandt, par. 2). Forced to remain close to Gennarino for survival, the captive accepts that her situation will be exacerbated if she resists. When opportunity arises for the pair to escape the imprisonment of the island, Gennarino insists they do so out of insecurity (Wertmüller 1:48:00). He seeks validation of Rafaella’s romantic feelings towards him. However, the woman regains the snooty essence of her character, recognizing that their relationship would crumble under the circumstances of the civilization due to their artificial affection. Thus, Rafaella chooses to desert her suitor, evidencing the notion that she never truly loved him, and that her mind was, in fact, merely colonized by the influence of Stockholm Syndrome.

Frustrated by the fashion in which the female director chooses to portray the symbol of feminism, the audience may question society’s view of a woman’s destiny. They ask if this is the lot women are squared off to in society and if submission to man is the only passageway to survival. Critic Roger Ebert argues that Wertmüller is attempting to relay the message that  “woman is an essentially masochistic and submissive creature who likes nothing better than being swept off her feet by a strong and lustful male” (par. 5). However, I must disagree. Although women are susceptible to caving into weak points — just as men are, might I add — they are just as readily prepared to overcome the struggle. Similarly, Rafaella endures complete dominance and abuse from her captor; however, her resilience allows her to break free from the shackles of her mental illness by leaving him immediately after the two reach civilization. Of course, initially, Rafaella appears oppressed, but the disturbing progression of the film merely serves as a set-up for her victory, or declaration of independence. In her analysis of Swept Away, student Samantha Storms stresses the sentiment that “the negative light that is shed upon women such as Rafaella is not a symbol of inhibition, but an indication of forward movement and progression within a corrupted, subjugating culture” (par. 6). Women are individuals who are not damned to be the oppressors in society, but rather, are inherently the advancers.

Colonization of the mind is powerful. Left with no option but to rely on evil Gennarino for survival, the young woman guiles her mind into a synthetic lust, evidencing a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome. A declaration of independence is even more powerful. Rafaella slips from her captor’s chokehold and evolves into an emblem of female empowerment. The flip from Rafaella’s tainted mental state to an account of female empowerment speaks volumes regarding Western culture. Lina Wertmüller’s iconic piece Swept Away causes her audience to question society’s views on mental health and a woman’s place — or lack thereof — and, furthermore, serves as a catalyst for social progression.

Works Cited

Ebert, Roger. "Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August Movie Review (1976) | Roger Ebert." RogerEbert.com.

Romano Cardarelli, 20 Feb. 1976. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Layton, Julia. "What Causes Stockholm Syndrome?" HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks,

            29 Aug. 2006. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Modleski, Tania. "Wertmuller’s Women." Jump Cut Review of Contemporary Media.

            Jump Cut Review of Contemporary Media, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

PHC Editorial Team. "Stockholm Syndrome - Causes, Symptoms, Cases and

            Treatment." Prime Health Channel. Prime Health Channel, 6 Oct. 2010. Web.

            18 Apr. 2017.

Rembrandt Q. "Swept Away (1974)." Letterboxd. Letterboxd, 2 May 2014. Web. 19

            Apr. 2017.

Storms, Samantha. "Passion’s Dark Side: Roeg’s Walkabout vs Wertmüller’s Swept

            Away by Samantha Storms." Taking Giant Steps. Kirpal Gordon, 08 Dec. 2016.

            Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Interpreting WALKABOUT and SWEPT AWAY: Saeviri Humanum Est by Isaac Hoffman

Reviewers and interpreters of the films Walkabout, by Nicolas Roeg, and Swept Away, by Lina Wertmüller, tend to paint the over-arching messages of the films as acutely monochromatic, when often there is much evidence that through the motifs of juxtaposition in the two pictures, the directors not only contrast “civilization” with “savagery” and capitalism with communism, but also compare the adverse concepts in such a manner that the viewer is forced to critically contemplate the value of each. These interpretations, though perfectly valid, often neglect the inherent reciprocity of “juxtaposition,” that the correlation of different ideas highlights both differences and similarities.

In her analysis of Walkabout, “Eyes Wide Shut,” Alexa Grabowski skillfully elaborates one such comparison in the beginning shots of the film:

People’s faces were not shown for the majority of the opening scene; they were cut off at waist level. The children even appeared to be panting like dogs while in class leading me to believe that Roeg wanted us to see them as a herd of animals rather than individuals. At that point I understood that there was going to be a hint of societal mockery throughout the film. (2)

This is an engaging interpretation, and later in her essay, Ms. Grabowski explains that to interpret this “societal mockery” as purely subversive detracts from the film’s message as a whole (4). Rather than focusing only on the contrasts between civilization and savagery, the film considers the parallels between modernity and its ancestors in tribal systems and unfortunately suggests no solution to the problems which Roeg presents.

In a similar manner, Xavier Eang Lee in his analysis, “The Colored Man’s Burden,” interprets a poignant scene in the film which juxtaposes the Aborigine boy’s gutting of a kangaroo with cuts to a professional butcher in his shop:

The switching between visuals shows the connection between the two ways of butchering. Ab’s way is messy and out in the open, while the Western butcher is chopping in a clean, white environment.  Although these two methods are different they are still essentially the same thing.  Roeg uses the constant changing between frames to show that what may seem savage or taboo from one point of view may not be so from another. (4)

This scene does not demonize Western society, but uses the assaulted sensibilities of the viewer, offended by the brutality of the butchery, to remind him/her that the most significant difference between the two worlds, civilized and savage, is that Western society demonizes the personality of the uncivilized; the concept of civility pretends that the connection between actor and action has been severed, that interaction which remains impersonal is of higher status. Notice that, much like the children in Ms. Grabowski’s scene, the face of the butcher is not in the field of view, his identity is separate from his deeds.

This insulation of doer from done is most clearly present in the young boy, who runs about playing war in the beginning of the movie, yet does not understand the implications of his own father taking shots at him. Society has severed the connection between the deed and the morality and brutality of its author, no one is personally invested in their action and this allows them to do as they please without intervention on the part of the conscience. It is this intentional severance which Roeg is highlighting in this film and he gives no real suggestions for solving the problem.

Unlike the previous analyses, the following interpretations attempt to place the film Swept Away in neat little boxes of “misogynistic” or “pseudo-feminist,” with little consideration of how the themes are used in the movie, particularly whether or not the sexism in the film—Gennarino states outright, “Women were meant to serve men” (Wertmüller 59 min.)—is presented in a negative or positive light. Though it is certainly arguable whether or not rape in film (and, in this case, it most certainly is rape) can even be comedic at all, Wertmüller’s film can be interpreted satirically, and the question simply becomes whether or not the mockery was successful and clear (the very fact that it must be debated is evidence that the parody has failed). How this satirical interpretation affects the intent of the film remains mostly unexplored.

Roger Ebert, in his review of the film, argues that the film sends two specific messages:

(1) That once the corrupt facade of capitalism is stripped away, it's the worker, with the sweat of his back, who deserves to reap the benefit of his own labor, and (2) that woman is an essentially masochistic and submissive creature who likes nothing better than being swept off her feet by a strong and lustful male. (par. 5)

While this is one possible interpretation, it assumes that Gennarino is meant to be viewed as the film’s protagonist, that he is in the “right” at all times. It seems a more nuanced approach is necessary. Perhaps Wertmüller intends to highlight the similarities between the two systems, capitalist and communist, as she points out that even when the communist is in power, he abuses his power as much as Raffaella does when she has the greatest influence. This is certainly not to say that her verbal abuse is somehow equal in magnitude to rape, as this is not the case, but if the director is satirizing Gennarino’s actions, then it is incredibly ironic that the communist, who ostensibly fights for a classless society, sets up a diminutive sexist hierarchy as soon as the reigns are his to snap.

James Berardinelli, in his opposing view of Swept Away, argues that those who criticize the film’s sexism are neglecting two pieces of evidence:

First, Raffaella actually starts the abuse with her constant berating of and lording over Gennarino on the yacht. Secondly, this "romance" is not taking place in anything resembling a civilized situation - by virtue of their circumstances, the characters have been thrown back into a setting that mimics prehistoric times, when survival (of the individual and of the species) dictated coupling. Gennarino's physical dominance of Raffaella is, in a strange way, the manner in which he proves to her that he is strong enough to be her mate. (par. 4)

About the most valuable fragments of analysis in this review are the scare-quotes around “romance,” as the film is hardly romantic and not very comedic. The critic’s first point, which has already been touched upon, argues that Raffaella somehow brought the sexual abuse upon herself through her verbal attacks on Gennarino—when he ignores her whining, she shouts, “Your refusal to answer me only shows what a peasant you were!”(Wertmüller 55 min.)—and this argument essentially justifies rape to avenge insult. Berardinelli’s second point romanticizes a primitive state of being and he falls into the trap of demonizing civility and glamorizing “prehistoric times.” The characters’ natural setting is not an excuse to defenestrate morality, but an opportunity to analyze society (which is has both advantages and disadvantages) in an objective manner; injustices can be redressed and a better amalgamated system implemented. To throw completely off the mantle of civilization is to lose its benefits along with its issues, and this principle can also be applied to capitalism, which, though quite imperfect, has some admirable qualities. This is perhaps the message of Wertmüller’s film, that critical analysis and alteration of the status quo is a better path than starting again from tabula rasa. Not to mention that to justify rape by the location in which it was committed, which Berardinelli attempts to do, is morally myopic.

These reviews prove that to focus only on either the comparisons or the contrasts between two concepts limits interpretation, and, ironically, falls into the same trap as the characters in Swept Away, who can only see each other’s differences, physical and political, and not their similarities as fellow human beings. Neither Walkabout nor Swept Away attempt to subvert civilization as it is today, but to force their audiences to think critically on societal issues with an objective morality, without romanticism or hatred of different concepts in their entirety, and by union of the most beneficial aspects of each system to create an objectively better world.

Works Cited

Berardinelli, James. Rev. of Swept Away, dir. Lina Wertmüller. ReelViews. Web.

Eang Lee, Xavier. “The Colored Man’s Burden.” 2016. Print.

Ebert, Roger. “Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August.” RogerEbert.com.

            20 February 1976. Web.

 Swept Away. Dir. Lina Wertmüller. Perf. Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato. 1974. Web.

Walkabout. Dir. Nicolas Roeg. Perf. Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, and David Gulpilil. 1971. Film.

            YouTube. 10 Jan. 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.