Identify how 'Sense and sensibility' and 'Four weddings and a funeral' represent aspects of British society past and present

'Sense and sensibility' and 'Four weddings and a funeral' are both British films that represent aspects of British society past and present such as marriage, children and gender. The two films represent these aspects at different times with 'Sense and sensibility' being set in the 1800 and 'Four weddings and a funeral' being set in the late 1980s to early 1990s.
In both films the issue of marriage is a big part with characters in both films wanting to get married and finding the right person to marry, however the choice in the matter is different. In 'Sense and sensibility' women are expected to get married, in that time women were very disadvantaged in he way that society treated them, they didn't have job prospects and any inheritance would legally be left to a son. So the only financial stability they would have would be to get married, so they would go from living with their parents to living with a husband. However in 'Four weddings and a funeral' there is a lot more choice because there are a lot more opportunities for women, they wouldn't necessarily have to get married unless they wanted too and this is shown in the film by having two friends living together without being romantically involved.
There are a lot of things that happen in 'Four weddings and a funeral' that wouldn't have happened in 'Sense and sensibility' because of the time that the film was set in. For example in 'Four weddings and a funeral' there are a homosexual couple, which wouldn't have been accepted in the time of 'Sense and sensibility' also in 'Four weddings and a funeral' someone states that the two men were the only ones that were truly married, even though they weren't its because they truly loved each other whereas everyone else was getting married because it was what society expected of them. Another example is in the end where Charles and Carrie decide not to get married but have a child whereas in 'Sense and sensibility' it wouldn't have been acceptable to have children without being married. In 'Sense and sensibility' it was an important thing to marry off your daughters and to find them a suitable husband, with marriage being a serious thing. Whereas in 'Four weddings and a funeral' they almost take the mick out of marriage by having Rowan Atkinson as the minister, having so many weddings in a short space of time and people getting married out of desperation.
Another aspect of British society that both films represent is ethnicity and class. 'Sense and sensibility' was set in 1800 therefore it wasn't culturally diverse and resulting in all the characters being white. Whereas in 'Four weddings and a funeral' it's more culturally diverse not as much as many films now but a lot more culturally diverse than 'Sense and sensibility'. This refers to an article by Leggott(2008) about representing contemporary Britain. He said cinema now takes into consideration sexuality, ethnicity, class and gender. In 'Sense and sensibility' very beautiful women are covered up in long dresses showing barely any skin this shows that in that time women weren't used to look at and their sexuality was exploited the way they are now. Whereas in 'Four weddings and a funeral' there is a scene where two characters have just had sex and the woman is just in her underwear getting dressed This is because people have become more comfortable now with seeing sexual scenes. There is a big difference in the films in which they represent the genders. In 'Sense and sensibility' women are disadvantaged in the way society treats them, there aren't any job opportunities and all the advantages go to the dominant role of being male. Which results in the women getting married at early ages so they can be financial stable. Whereas in 'Four weddings and a funeral' the time is more modern therefore ways of life have drastically changed. Women can live on their own or with a friend and be financial stable maybe not even getting married at all. Also there is a scene where Carrie is telling Charles about her sexual partners which turns out to be over 30, and she isn't married, Whereas in 'Sense and sensibility' having a sexual partner without being married wouldn't be accepted and may go as far as the woman being disowned or isolated. Another article that can be related to one of the films is an article about Richard Curtis and the time period in cinema which was called 'Curtisland'. Curtis wrote films because he wanted people to view Britain differently and not the way they had been. He then made his films optimisitc and happy and always with a happy ending. Curtis wrote 'Four weddings and a funeral' and the film did end happily and there was a lot of love and happiness in the film because of the choices that people had at the time. whereas in 'Sense and sensibility' theres a lot of love but there is also a lot of heartbreak and this is because of the lack of oppertunities and choices that the women had. The two films represent the way British people were seen, or wanted to be seen at the different times.
'Four weddings and a funeral' and 'Sense and sensibiliy are both very British films which is why they both star Hugh Grant who was, and still is a very well known British actor. They both represent aspects of British society but at very different times resulting in very drastic changes. They go from Women being very disadvantaged to very advantaged being shown by the women in 'Four weddings and funeral' not nessacarily having to get married to be finanaicaly stable. Also the fact that there is a homosexual couple in 'Four weddings and a funeral' shows how times have changed and British society has become accpeting of homosexuals whereas in the 1800 it was never heard of. Another thing that has changed is in 'Four weddings and a funeral' they have a child without being married which people don't think twice about whereas in 'Sense and sensibility' this wouldn't have been acceptable because it shows your having sex before marriage which wasnt acceptable. If you therefore watch a British film that was written and set in the 2000s the way the characters behave, the language they use, the clothes that they wear and the apects of British society that they represent would be very different to 'Four weddings and a funeral'