A 1,290word film essay which analyzed the subjection and individual freedom of the female characters in the film "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days." The essay was part of a Philosophy course which was instructed by Professor Janna Van Grunsven of Fordham University; Fordham School of Professional and Continuing Studies.

1. Mr. Matthew S. Shepler
Professor Janna Van Grunsven
PHIL 1000
10 May 2015
A Film Essay on “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days” which analyses the Subjection and Individual
Freedom of Gabita and Otilia
Introduction
In his philosophical text The Subjection of Women, John Stuart Mill argues that the
morality of justice must not only include equality among the sexes, but also sympathy and family
structure. When applying this philosophical thought to the film, “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2
Days,” we can see that Gabita and Otilia live in a region of the world where morality rest more
along the lines of an “obligation to submit to power” rather than a right (Mill, 46). There, some
women may be influenced to subject themselves to superior males who are evil in character
because of inequality among the sexes which is common in places like Romania. The subjection
of Gabita and Otilia led to an unjust life. Mainly, because of the fact that Mr. Bebe persuaded
Gabita to undergo an illegal black-market abortion. Even though the illegal medical procedure
involved serious risks—risks that related to health and law—Gabita still decided to subject
herself to Mr. Bebe. With that in mind, this paper seeks to not only analyze the subjection of
women within Romania, but also answer the following question: “does film educate people about
philosophical theories more than text?”
Argumentative
This argument contradicts the fact that Gabita’s subjection was obligated by supporting
the thought that Gabita exercised her right to subject to Mr. Bebe. In fact, the subjection of
Gabita may have been influenced by Otilia when she began to explain that Mr. Bebe was a well-
known medical practician who specialized in abortions. Mr. Bebe wasn’t just a superior when
compared to Gabita, but may have also been perceived as an educated person who attained

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professional knowledge that related to the field of medical practice. Mr. Bebe began to explain to
Gabita that subjecting to the abortion would be alright because he would be the one who would
be at risk with the law. After Gabita prepared for the illegal procedure, Mr. Bebe began probing
Gabita for private information that related to the duration of time in-between periods. Gabita
then provided the information to Mr. Bebe, as he then advised young Gabita to prepare for the
medical procedure.
The Subjection of Gabita
The subjection of Gabita was influenced by the inequality of sexes and great risks to
Gabita and Otilia which may have endangered their freedom, as well as Gabita’s health. Gabita
explained that she didn’t have the desire to proceed with an illegal medical procedure—which,
therefore, didn’t create the metaphorical motion to subject to the superior figure who was going
to conduct an illegal abortion to her body. Gabita’s lack of desire to have the illegal abortion
caused a nervous emotion during her subjection.
Mr. Bebe complained when Gabita and Otilia couldn’t provide enough money to pay for
the abortion. In fact, Mr. Bebe began expressing anger which increased his superior role. Mr.
Bebe explained to Gabita and Otilla that they were the one’s seeking the illegal abortion. Gabita
then showed more intense characteristics of inferiorness, and even subjected herself further.
Gabita’s subjection was natural to her inferior character. In fact, the more Gabita subjected, the
more Mr. Bebe would make her feel like an inferior—mainly, by explaining greater risks with
the law which persuaded Gabita and Otilla to think that they were the ones to blame for the
illegal activity. Thereafter, Gabita stayed in the room alone to re-cooperate from the illegal
abortion.
The Subjection of Otilia

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Adi showed promise of treating Otilia like an equal because of the fact that he was more
good in character when compared to the evil character of Mr. Bebe. This thought was supported
by fact that Adi explained to Otilia that his solution would have been marriage. Otilia subjected
herself more to Gabita than she did to Adi, but probably because it became her obligation. To
explain, Otilia made progress toward better equality when she traveled back to Gabita’s hotel
room and disposed of a dead child’s corpse—Otilia’s crime was her involvement with the
murder
of an unborn child. Here, the “vice of Ceausesais Romanian dictorial state” (Grunsven) was
exampled when analyzing Otilia’s involvement with the murder and disposal of an unborn child.
After having lunch at a public café, Gabita asked Otilia what she did with the dead corpse. For
this reason, Otilia probably lived with a lot of nervous emotions later her life when reflecting
back to being associated with Mr. Bebe, and recollecting the probing of Gabita’s private
information.
Conclusion
Even though the risks that related to illegal medical practice would have made Gabita Mr.
Bebe’s obligation, Gabita expressed emotions that supported the idea that she felt obligated to
subject to the illegal abortion. To support this claim, Gabita expressed a lack of desire for the
illegal abortion which prevented her metaphorical motion of subjection to Mr. Bebe’s illegal
medical practice. After Otilia and Mr. Bebe used money, risks, and superiorness to help
persuade Gabita to subject, Gabita finally subjected to the illegal medical practice of Mr. Bebe.
The illegal black-market scheme posed great threats to their freedom, health, and even supported
an inequality of sexes within the Romanian region. Even though this was the case, Gabita was
able to preserve her future by restricting herself from the right to give birth to her own child. In

4. Shepler, Page 4
other words, she became obligated to fulfill an illegal covenant with Mr. Bebe.
Even though part of Gabita’s subjection was influenced by Otilia, in a place like
Romania, sometimes a woman may need to subject herself to another woman to protect her from
dangerous risks—risks that may be forced unto the woman from a superior male who don’t
perceive his inferiors as an obligation. The character of the male—either good or evil—may also
have an influence on the subjection of a woman. Superior males who inhabit the region of
Romania may use the law to persuade women that males are the superior being which continues
to influence their subjection toward a “vice of Ceausesais Romanian dictorial state” (Grunsven).
To provide more support to this claim, Otilia’s subjection forced her to dispose of a dead child’s
corpse so that she could save her own freedom—Otilia’s crime was her involvement with the
murder, and hen the disposal of a dead child!
The dark lighting and social surrounding of the alley helped display the secrecy and risks
that was involved with disposing the dead child’s corpse. Also, the film demonstrated Gabita’s
lack of desire and metaphorical motion to subject when she was hesitant and showed nervous
emotions to Mr. Bebe. To come to a conclusion, in an environment that supports inequality
among the sexes, Gabita and Otilia turned away from the direction of family structure, as Gabita
became obligated to subject to a male who posed to be evil in character. To explain more, Gabita
aborted her child, as Otilia departed from Adi who invited her into his family and even
mentioned marriage. Though, in regards to comparing the learning outcome from philosophical
texts and films, this essay shows that texts may educate people more on philosophical theories,
but film may help a student attain a further understanding than he or she comprehends from
studying a philosophical text.

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Resources
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. Dir. Christian Mungiu. Perf. Oleg Mutu, Mihaela Poenaru, Dana
Bunescu, Christinel Sirli, Phillip Avril, Alex Teodorescu. IFC Films, 2007. Dvd.
Grunsven, Janna Van. “topic of film essay.” Message to Matthew Shepler. 03 May 2015. E-mail.
Mill, John Stuart. The Subjection of Women. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1988.
Print.