Gender Roles in Relation to Pitch Perfect

Rating: 9/10 (13 October 2013)

Anna Kendrick as Beca and Skylar Astin as Jesse are the prominent stars in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect. This comedic and musical film follows college students at Barden University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Beca is a freshman at Barden University and appears at first as an outsider with her interests lying heavily in music and minimally in the college life. The Barden Bellas are a female a-cappella group who previously left a poor impression at a competition when one of the members vomits during the performance. Beca is a new recruit to the Bellas after she was discovered singing in the shower by Aubrey, a Bella returning from the previous year. Beca soon meets Jesse at the radio station where she works, and since he is in the rival male a cappella group, Beca joins the Bellas and works to help them rediscover their voice, their passion, and their talent so that they can find success at future competitions.
By placing a male a-cappella group against a female a-cappella group there is an emphasis placed on gender. In the beginning, the male a-cappella group, the Treblemakers, are clearly superior the Bellas, and they win the competition in the opening scene. This establishes the males as being dominant, more talented and superior to the females. As the film progresses, Beca helps the Bellas become more successful. This increase in success level helps to reestablish the females in the film as being equal to the males and shows them as being co-dominant with the rival group.
Based on the movie, the director had a goal of making the film light-hearted and easy to view, without making the audience think too deeply about what was being presented to them, while at the same time passing on the message that anything is possible to achieve if you try, and that all it takes is a little bit of help from those around you. The emotional scenes were filled with comedic interludes, making the film more entertaining than serious and thought provoking. This film was not intended to be serious, which is clear based on the comedic qualities.
This film is an excellent comedy with familiar music and a talented cast. The comedic style keeps the viewers on their feet for the next pun or jab at pop culture. This film is highly recommended.