Gender Roles In The Movie Toys

Kendall Childers
Amnee
206
11/02/17
Culture and Gender Concepts in Film
Within our families and friends whom we do identify with develops many different forms of culture, based on the environment we grew up with. The film “Toys” by Barry Levinson, is based on a toy factory that Leslie's father created, but when his father turns ill and turns the rights of the company go to his uncle, a war-mongering general who tries to take over the company by planning to build military weapons disguised as toys. The film shows how different ways culture are used even within an family that don’t always get along.
Leslie's father gives his uncle the rights to the company just before having a heart attack. Leslie’s uncle, Lt. General Leland Zevo and his cousin,

Captain Patrick Zevo uses a high context culture to demonstrate authority with tone of voice and facial expressions. Patrick uses the use of authority around the factory to get some information over the espionage of the company. Likewise his father Leland use his authority to get what he wants, when he wants it, like the development and planning other war toys. When Leland and Patrick join Leslie and Leslie sister, Alsatia Zevo to dinner; Patrick tries to avoid a discussion over his mother’s death, he uses uncertainty avoidance to avoid an situation that was unpredictable to control. He gets offensive when ever someone brings up his mother, because he doesn't want to show emotion toward an unexpected life event.
Leslie ’s personality portrays how much he likes being funny and making others happy, like his father always did. Ethnocentrism, is how Leslie and his fathers characteristics are demonstrated to their own culture of making others laugh and happy. Leland Zevo find out about a leak within the company and wants to solve the problem with the help of his son Patrick Zevo. Instrumental talk, is the purpose to solve a problem, like exposing the leak in the company. Leland Zevo after obtaining the rights to the company; starts to take space from the toy factory for himself to make war toys in secret from Leslie. Leslie demonstrates the need to find out the truth of what his uncle is planning within the restricted rooms is individualistic culture, which emphasizes an responsibility to oneself. So with the help of Alsatia, he created a diversion, to get pass the guards and to enter the restricted rooms.
Uncle, Leland Zevo uses military weapons to attack Leslie, Patrick, and others within the restricted area. Shows how Leslie, Patrick, and Alsatia are the out-group; to Leland Zevo they are a group of his own family who do not identify with his ideas of developing war toys for warfare. Uncle uses his new creation of weaponized toys to attack Leslie and Patrick throughout the restricted area with no concern if they would get hurt or not, because it’s war. Leslie uses his father’s original toy creations to defend the factory. Leslie presents the toys with a war speech before little weaponized tommy tanks come in; expressive talk is to express emotions to the toys the importance of saving the company from weaponized toys.
At the end of the film when the fight ended with Leland getting injured by his own creation, they compromised on a agreement to put in production army men toys in the factory. After the fiasco they learned to get along with each other despite their differences, and learn from each other in the company. In this film it describes how within a family can develop cultural differences based on the environment and the people we grow up with over time. In the film “Toys” I have described the use of the concepts that best describe the different ways culture communicated even through family members.