Social inequality Experienced by March Sisters in Greta Gerwig’s Film Little Women (2019)

Abstract

This research examines social inequality as an issue that affects people’s opportunities, daily experiences, physical health, and psychological well-being. This research focused to find the forms and the impacts of social inequality through the March sisters character in Little Women (2019) film. This research aims to identify the forms of social inequality and described the impacts through the characters, using sociological approach by Sutton & Giddens (2009), with Hurst’s (2010) books’ theory of social inequality. The researcher applied qualitative method and the primary data are collected from selected dialogue from Little Women (2019) that reflect the forms and impacts of social inequality experienced by the characters. The data collection technique used in this research is documentation by Bowen (2009). The researcher used Creswell’s (2014) descriptive technique in analyzed data. The analysis examines how social inequality is represented in the film through the experiences of the March sisters and how these inequalities affect different aspects of their lives. The first result of this research found that the forms of social inequality: 1) class, income, and wealth, 2) status inequality, and 3) sex and gender inequality. The second result of this research found that the impacts on the characters: 1) physical health, and 2) psychological health. The film presents social inequality as more than a social issue, showing how it affects the life of the characters and influences how they feel physically and psychologically.