The first thing I noticed about the film was how uncensored and unrestricted it was. Compared to current American films, this film probably wouldn't be allowed to be played in theaters even as a rated R movie. The way certain topics that are usually untouched in American culture (i.e. violent rape, female masochism) was easily depicted shows the large gap between gender norms in Spanish and American culture. The women in the film completely ignore society's rules and choose to do whatever they want to do. Pepi freely starts her own business, Luci leaves her abusive husband to become a tour groupie, and Bom is a lesbian punk rock singer. While some may believe that the film is too outrageous and blunt, some can also argue that the film is good in the way that it does not portray women by stereotypical standards. By not giving in to masculine figures, the women are liberated from the social constructs of female inferiority.
Taking this into consideration, I start to question how come American culture (most known for freedom and equality) is more confined than Spanish culture in terms of gender roles, or at least portraying them on screen. Sure, they may be some American movies about women doing "masculine" things such as fighting, but most of the time, the women on screen still follow gender social standards. The women that are portrayed as sexual in American films are usually trying to seduce a man, and the man is in control of the situation. However, in Pepi, Luci, Bom, the sexual women are independent and more in control of their own circumstances. They are attributed with a sense of freedom that women typically do not have. So in the end, is America really "the land of the free?"
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