An Education, 1961, Essay Example

The 1961 film An Education was directed by Lone Scherfig and emphasizes the importance of education. The film was set during a time period in which many women were not expected to go to college to pursue a higher education because society considered their proper place within the home. In the film Jenny Mellor is unique in her ambition to attend Oxford because her peers aimed to enter happy marriages and become housewives at the same time that she was preparing her college application. Ultimately, women were not given expectations during this time period. At the beginning of the film, Mellor falls into these societal normalities and is persuaded to leave her dreams aside to achieve a happy relationship and marriage. When she learns that this is not possible, she realizes the errors of her ways and tries her best to achieve her original goals.

The 1960s was an important period of time with regards to women’s rights advocacy. For example in 1964, the Civil Rights Act was amended to provide protection against discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race and sex. Furthermore, this established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints with regards to this law, demonstrating that the voices of the many oppressed had finally been heard. Mellor served as an interesting character in this film because she is highly representative of the character of the time period that was demonstrated. It showed that even ambitious women did not believe that they would be able to accomplish their goals prior to the government’s demonstration of support for their rights. Mellor shows us that women should do their best to achieve their dreams in spite of the barriers put in front of them and to trust their instinct rather than friendly faces that cross their paths.