When the film genres of zombie action and buddy cop film are discussed it is within reason to assume the primary target audience is male. It is also not unreasonable to assume that the same audience probably wouldn't choose to see a film about male friendships. However, the history of films suggests that the genre of buddy films provide male audiences with just this. In the journal article “Contemporary Hollywood Masculinity and the Double-Protagonist Film” David Greven states “The 'buddy' is an extension of the cultural cliche of 'male bonding,' a situation in which men can fantasize about being released from there repressions imposed by the company of women. In film, the 'buddy' allows adventure, joking, safe community, marginalization of women, and an apparent absence of sexuality”.
The films Shaun of Dead and Hot Fuzz directed by Edgar Wright on the surface appear to be comedic genre films. However, they are not simply parodies, but rather satires of social discourses reproduced by the film genres. One of the most prevalent theme in these films is the focus on male relationsh...
Throughout the century gender roles have changed dramatically. During the 60s roles were given to certain genders. Stereotyping them to play the action of what their gender was expected to do. One may believe that a man or women should have a specific role, but as the years came, certain genders stuck up for themselves, making a statement that they are just as capable to do anything anyone else does. The 1968 drama film Night of the Living Dead directed by George Romero is full of gender discrimination. This movie shows the typical actions of how women and males were supposed to act during the 60s; however, the roles played in this film have changed majorly over the years. Women and males have every right to play any role they want in today’s world. Romero may leave the audience angry with how he judges gender roles in
Over the years America’s ability to address taboo issues by channeling them through popular culture has become increasingly popular (Pruitt, 2007). Among the many taboo issues as evidenced by the number of mainstream films which minimally address the matter, is the issue of men living on the down low (Hamilton, 2009). An example of such is the 2011 film “For Colored Girls.” The film like many bring up the issue of men being on the down low, but they have neglected to go in-depth as to why men chose this lifestyle – rather than the age old notion that they fear social rejection (Pruitt, 2007). As it relates to the drama “Angels in America,” written by Tony Kushner, the work does a great job highlighting men who have secret lifestyles and two of the characters within the drama that exemplify characteristics of living on the down low – Joe Pitt and Ray Cohn (Kushner, 1993)
Smith, Jeff, and Chloe Beighley. "Normalizing Male Dominance: Gender Representation in 2012 Films." Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy. N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
How is humour created in the story? Discuss Beth’s obvious respect for mother despite her irreverent attitude.
A Few Good Men (1992) is a classic American film, with classic gender disparity. The name itself is indication enough. Set on a military and legislative backdrop, the hegemonic order between masculinity and femininity thrives. In an interview, Aaron Sorkin (the film’s screenwriter) was asked to elaborate on his worst experience as the screenwriter.
It is irrefutable that media alters societal perceptions. As an audience, we are constantly being exposed to messages that influence us in minute and massive ways. With ever evolving technology, the exposure to concepts will only increase as the availability of these messages increases. The clips collected in the assignment demonstrate different aspects of masculinity from television shows: stereotypical masculinity in Parks and Recreation, Toxic Masculinity in Jersey Shore, and the fragility of masculinity in Shark Tank.
Mainstream movies are about men’s lives, and the few movies about women’s lives, at their core, still also revolve around men (Newsom, 2011). These female leads often have male love interests, looking to get married or get pregnant. Strong independent female leads are still exist for the male view, as they are hypersexualized, or the “fighting fuck toy,” (Newsom, 2011). This depiction has created a culture where women are insecure and waiting for a knight on a horse to come rescue and provide for her as well as the acceptance of women
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
‘Lad flicks’ or ‘lad movies’ is a type of film genre that emerged in the late 1990s. They are defined as a “‘hybrid of “buddy movies”, romantic comedies and “chick flicks”, which centre on the trials and tribulations of a young man as he grows up to become a ‘real man’. ‘Lad flicks’ respond in part to the much-debated ‘crisis in masculinity’” (Benjamin A. Brabon 116). This genre of film explored what it meant to be a ‘real man’ in the twentieth century and in order to do so, they would have to grow up and leave their juvenile ways behind to enter the heterosexual world. Gender relations in ‘lad flicks’ portray masculinity as a troubled, anxious cultural category hiding behind a humorous façade and also rely greatly on a knowing gaze and irony. The two ‘lad flicks’ that will be analyzed are The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow 2005) and Role Models (David Wain 2008).
As such, some Brony fan practices do not mesh well with traditional concepts of masculinity. Young men talking about friendship, cosplaying as ponies, and singing songs about smiling do not run parallel with many of the gender norms many young men and boys are taught from an early age. As Brenda Weber proclaims, “American masculinity has long been predicated on the values of the self-made man, the concept that manhood finds its greatest source and definition in self-determination, autonomy, and individualism.” With that being said, the emergence of the Brony fandom shows conventional gender norms are not as stable as previously thought.
There are two types of films that associate with the idea of male friendship. The first is the buddy film, in which the characters often have contrasting personalities but gain some sort of understanding and mutual respect for each other. The second is the bromance film, which further expresses the idea of male friendship by incorporating emotion and activity. The Hangover is a bromance with elements of a buddy film because of how the characterization of the four main characters and the setting of the film makes audiences relate to the guys’ experience.
... These portrayals and the manner in which the characters handle such situations actually blight the importance of male bonding that these various media try to uphold and ultimately further male heterosexism, homophobia, and purposefully exclude women from the equation entirely. It is time to squash the overly complicated notions surrounding bromances and represent male friendships in a respectful, non-discriminatory manner.
In the film Crash, directed by Paul Haggis and co-written by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco, Cameron Thayer, a successful movie director, becomes the object of racial stereotyping. By focusing on the interactions between him and his wife, as well as Officer Ryan, the audience can identify how the concepts of stereotyping and power are correlated with one another. In addition to the life of Cameron Thayer, Crash identifies several different persons who are subjected to stereotyping by those with power throughout the film. As many of the character’s lives crash into one another, issues between race, gender, and ethnicity become key components to the film’s plot, which provokes the audience to question the roles of stereotyping in our daily lives.
As a student at Tisch, students may often hear people commenting saying “Oh, look at this sequence man, God, it’s so Scorsese! ”, or “Oh lord, this is such a Woody Allen film.” not only for Tisch students, moviegoers who have watched a decent amount of films will recognize something common in mostly every piece of work a filmmaker has done, and we call it the filmmaker’s fingerprint. Not only these well-known filmmakers contain their own fingerprints, Xavier Dolan, a young rising director/writer, has only done films about homosexuality like I Killed My Mother is about the relationship between the gay son and his mother, and Heartbeats is about a love triangle among three close gay friends; Steven Chow, a Chinese filmmaker, has ninety percent of his art works like The God of Cookery, Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle to be classic Chinese comedy with tremendous amount of Chinese humor; Julie Taymor who is an independent filmmaker always brings experimental elements into her narratives and adjust the visual image with over-the-top color corrections. These artists have very strong personal tastes of their art works, and the fingerprint gradually becomes audiences’ expectations of their films: audiences hope and believe that the trend will continue throughout his career, and also because of that, the filmmaker’s fan base is settled - people who love Dolan and appreciate the homosexual focus will most likely continue loving him, people who get a good sense of Chinese humor and appreciate Chow’s narrative will always want to watch his latest work…
International Communication Association. (2008). Assessing Gender-Related Portrayals in Top-Grossing G-Rated Films. California. Choueiti, M., Granados, A., Pieper, K., Smith, S..