Are Women Easily Tempted?

     I am a huge fan of Tyler Perry films. He is known for his meaningful and uplifting stories on the big screen. However, his most recent film "Temptation" starring Jurnee Smollet-Bell (Judith) , her husband Lance Gross (Bryce) and Robbie Jones (Harley) has caused a bit of controversy. It displayed a message to its audience to work out their relationship problems with their significant other. I believe that it was a good film but its portrayal of women should have been stronger.

     We discussed in class, the gender binary system which includes society's different expectations of behavior between females and males. Stereotypically, men are expected to cheat in a relationship as opposed to a women. However, Tyler Perry switched this gender norm. In this case Judith, an ambitious married woman that becomes restless in her relationship doesn't resist her temptation for Harley, a handsome billionaire who becomes dangerous and alters the course of her life. Although Tyler Perry changes the norm, I think the film displayed women as being easily tempted. Bryce was the only man Judith ever been with. They knew each other since they were children, fell in love and got married. So how was it that this woman that knew her husband her whole life was able to easily betray him because another man wooed her?  This was her test of loyalty in her relationship and she failed. She emphasized her marriage to Harley but not enough.  She may have felt that her answers to her troubles in her relationship was another man, but why did the solution have to be another man? The audience may have got the idea that this is how most women are and that they look to other men for solutions. However, it depends on the type of woman you are and your morals.

     Judith had dreams of becoming a marriage counselor instead of working her current job in a dating service. Harley made her believe that he was going to help her open her own marriage counseling office. He influenced her to start doing drugs, leave her husband for him, disrespect her mother, domestically abused her and eventually gave her HIV. I hope that the male audience didn't perceive the idea that women are this easy to manipulate. This was just an example of desirable passion because Judith could have in fact resisted her temptation for Harley if she really wanted to.

If you haven't watched the film yet, below is a short clip of scenes which displays how Judith threw away everything she had in her life for a split second of passion and luxury: