Gender and Work-Related Issues Faced by Women in the Film North Country

North Country
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North Country
North Country is an American film that Niki Caro directed after being inspired by a true story. The movie revolves around Josey Aimes’ (Charlize Theron) life, which appears to be very challenging. Indeed, it shows the life of Josey when she was a high school, wife, mother of two children, and a mine worker. When Josey was in high school, she was sexually assaulted by her teacher, Paul Lattavansky (Brad William Henke). Although Bobby Sharp (Jeremy Renner), who was her boyfriend at the moment, saw Josey being raped, he ran away and never told anyone (North Country, 2005). As a result, Josey became pregnant with her first child, Sammy Aimes (Thomas Curtis). When she got married, Josey gave birth to another child, Karen Aimes (Elle Peterson). She had to flee from her husband after several instances of physical abuse. Josey got employed at the mine after reuniting with her friend, Glory (Frances McDormand) at a salon where she was working. North Country reveals numerous challenges that females encountered in marriages, workplaces, and society at large.
I selected North Country as the film of my interest since it deals with gender and work-related issues faced by women in the past. In particular, the movie is clear about how women suffered to work in a male-dominated mining company, Pearson Taconite and Steel Inc. All the female experiences in the workplace are reflected from Josey and other women workers, who had to endure many problems, including physical and sexual harassments (North Country, 2005). For sure, North Country brings to life numerous concepts covered in this course, which primarily focuses on female challenges in society and workplaces. Some of the things read from the course materials cannot be understood entirely without seeing them happening in the real life as portrayed by the film. Traditionally, women were believed to bear children for their husbands, take care of their husbands and children, cook, clean, and never complain when sexually harassed by men in society. Society did not take it seriously when females reported incidents of sexual abuse. Many sexual abusers were not punished since many people and institutions, including law enforcers, companies, and the justice system, did not listen keenly to women's issues and always sided with men.
The primary theme of North Country is sexual harassment at the Minnesota mine owned and operated by Donald Pearson. When Josey was sexually assaulted by Lattavansky, her high school teacher, no complaint was raised. The victim remain silent about being raped since nobody would have believed her even if she came out. Despite Bobby seeing her girlfriend being raped, he did nothing and ran away. Indeed, it appears that society sided with men, and institutions, such as high schools, did not have a proper protocol for girls to report cases of sexual harassment. Josey’s parents, Hank Aimes (Richard Jenkins) and Alice Aimes (Sissy Spacek) did not know that their daughter’s first pregnancy was a result of rape. When they hear the fact in the court, they feel ashamed and Hank attacks Lattavansky, making him be kicked out of the courtroom (North Country, 2005, 1:43:39). North Country reveals how women who fled from their husbands for being physically abused were considered as outcasts. Society believed that females were supposed to endure all problems they faced and meet their husbands’ demands. When Josey returns home after fleeing from her husband, her father, Hank, was angry with her and asked whether she was beaten after being caught cheating on her husband. As such, even some parents supported physical abuse, particularly for unfaithful wives.
One of the primary reasons I chose North Country was because of how it shows women's challenges in the workplace. Precisely, many females who accepted to work in the mine, which was believed to be male jobs, had no alternative to earn their living. They were forced by harsh economic conditions, such as being the breadwinner for their families or providing for sick family members. When Josey decided to get work at the mine, she was subjected to a thorough search process that included checking whether she was pregnant. Based on one supervisor at Pearson Taconite and Steel Inc., female workers were expected to work hard like men and keep their mouth shut regardless of being sexually or physically abused (North Country, 2005, 00:30:22). At some point, Bobby, Josey’s high school boyfriend, sexually harassed her in the conveyor, where there was a lot of noise such that no one would come to save her. After Bobby failed to get sexual favors from Josey, he spread the rumors that his potential victim tried to seduce him. That resulted in Bobby’s wife accusing Josey of cheating with her husband and calling her a whore during Sammy’s ice hockey match (North Country, 2005, 00:54:53). The mine’s management did not take sexual harassment as a problem and required female workers to work productively without raising complaints. At some point, male employees at Pearson Taconite and Steel Inc. pushed a portable toilet while a female worker was inside and it fell, splashing the sewage to the occupant (North Country, 2005, 1:00:22). Even after the management noted this problem, it did nothing. At another time, women employees at the mine were forced to wash the walls of the company’s tunnel that were smeare...