Unleashing Amelia: The Unbelievable Journey of a Shelf-Dweller

Roar season 1, episode 3 "The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf" concludes differently compared to the other episodes. In this episode, Roar's main character, Amelia, who is depicted as a trophy wife, simply moves to a different shelf, leaving viewers with an unhappy ending. Roar is a series on Apple TV+ that is inspired by Cecelia Ahern's book, also titled Roar, which consists of 30 short stories about women facing challenges. Despite incorporating magical elements, Roar's stories are rooted in real social circumstances, as exemplified by Amelia's experiences.

"The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf" introduces Amelia (played by Betty Gilpin) as a participant in child beauty pageants during her upbringing. Eventually, she becomes a professional runway model and eventually marries the man of her dreams. However, Amelia's husband constructs a shelf to showcase her as a physical trophy wife, leading to Amelia's loss of independence and free will. Although she eventually destroys the shelf and leaves her husband, Amelia still faces a setback that denies her a truly happy ending.

What Happens In The Roar Episode Ending

"The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf" concludes with Amelia ascending another shelf to promote her self-named beauty brand, implying that she achieved success independently. This ending exemplifies how Roar challenges feminist themes in today's media and entertainment. Amelia's action of constructing her own shelf, despite having destroyed the one built by her husband, reflects the gradual process of becoming a strong and independent woman. The one-year gap between Amelia's two shelves exemplifies the enduring impact of internalized misogyny.

"The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf" delves into the concept of internalized misogyny, the unconscious projection and acceptance of sexist ideas by women. Amelia, throughout her life, has been conditioned to be an object of admiration for the male gaze. By returning to a self-made shelf, Amelia illustrates that political consciousness is not a sudden result of a single dramatic gesture or event. Even within the realm of magical realism, internalized misogyny remains a lasting ideological burden that may require years to overcome.

What Amelia Getting On The Shelf Means

Amelia's fate in "The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf" highlights the importance of the visibility and influence of female characters/social figures. However, it also emphasizes how women can use these opportunities to perpetuate harmful beliefs. Amelia's beauty company, although initially seen as a subversion of her husband's misogyny, ultimately reinforces the damaging notion that a woman's worth is tied to her beauty. This realization occurs when a young girl compliments Amelia's appearance, highlighting how the shelf inhibits Amelia from conveying the message that beauty alone is not significant. Despite leaving her husband and starting her own business, Amelia realizes that she is still viewed as a mere trophy, demonstrating the complex portrayal of feminism in comparison to other shows like Roar.

In "The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf," the girl demonstrates to Amelia that the notion of beauty as an indicator of worth continues to haunt the future generation of women. This echoes the message Amelia received from her mother during her childhood: "If I had to choose between you being intelligent or beautiful, I would always choose beauty." In episode 3 of Roar season 1, it is revealed that sexism and internalized misogyny persist as ongoing challenges that permeate entire corporate industries and institutional systems. Rather than breaking free from this cycle, Amelia constructs her own metaphorical shelf and perpetuates the cycle by imposing her internalized misogyny onto other women.

How Does This Ending Compare To Other Roar Episodes?

Compared to the other seven episodes of Roar, "The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf" has a notably darker conclusion. However, among all the endings in Roar, episode 3 explores one of the most intricate feminist themes. Throughout the series, we witness women triumphing over their challenges; for example, Wendy finally gaining visibility and a voice in "The Woman Who Disappeared," or Ambia reconciling her guilt as a new mother and resuming work in "The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin." What adds to the peculiarity is that "The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder" actually deviates from Cecilia Ahern's Roar book by presenting a more uplifting ending.

Although "The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder" combined two stories from the Roar book, it raises questions about why "The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf" had a negative outcome while the others generally had positive ones. This is due to the complicated issue of internalized misogyny, and it was crucial for Amelia's character to demonstrate how women can internalize and perpetuate this harmful mindset. By not overcoming the male gaze and remaining a trophy in Roar, Amelia signifies that the battle against internalized misogyny begins with women themselves (although it does not absolve men from their responsibility in this matter).