Masculinity In Bound

Bound: Violet’s Control of the Male Gaze and Masculinity

In 1996, the Wachowskis wrote and directed the noir crime thriller, Bound. In this film, the directors turned some of the archetypes of film noir on its head. Most notably, the role of women in film. Film theorist, Laura Mulvey, claims that the main role of women in film is to function as a source of pleasure, to be objectified, to be passive and at the command of male fantasy. This relationship of looking and being looked at causes each gender to have a particular presence within film; the male is active and the female is passive (Mulvey, 1975). However, in Bound, the character Violet, who is obviously objectified by the gaze of the male characters, does not hold a passive role within the film itself. Violet is a force that acts upon the narrative, manipulating events and scenes to her favor, along with actively controlling male gaze and using it to her advantage. Film theorist, Tania Modleski argues that there are passive and active roles within films that have connotations with “femininity” and “masculinity”, but these roles do not have to apply to the gender or outward appearance of characters that they align with. Modleski focuses more on the actions, not the outward appearances, of the film

However, in Modleski’s analysis of the film, Rear Window, it is apparent that it is the actions of the characters that evaluates and defines their masculinity or femininity. The heroines, Violet and Corky are opposites when it comes to appearance. As it was established, Violet is feminine and Corky is masculine. However, in the film it only initially seems like Violet plays the more passive role and Corky plays the more active role. At the escalation of the film, Violet demonstrates her masculinity and actively uses the male gaze in her