Masculinity in film: The Incredibles
The movie that I chose to research was The Incredibles. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie because I thought it gave a really wholesome view of family. I was very pleased with how much Mr. Incredible grew as a person throughout the story. I appreciated how it was full of action, anticipation, and excitement. By the end of the story, I didn't feel that there were any loose ends that needed to be tied up which left me satisfied. Overall, I agree with the point the author of this article was trying to make. I agree that the way men are portrayed in these three films, particularly The Incredibles, has changed since the "princess film era". (Gillam.) In The Incredibles, we see the journey he takes from being full of himself to realizing that he needs his family and friends. (Gillam.)
In the beginning of the film, Mr. Incredible is very proud and believes he can handle anything on his own. He doesn't want any help from his wife, Elastigirl, or an adoring super fan, Buddy. (The.) What Mr. Incredible doesn't realize is that he is making a huge impact on Buddy by shunning him and refusing his plea to help. Mr. Incredible spends his time fighting crime in the city with his close pal, Frozone. Both men were two of the best super heroes back in the day, and they try to escape their lives now by going back to the days of their prime. (Gillam.)
Later on in the film, Mr. Incredible goes to a remote island, Chronos, to try to defeat the newest villain by himself. It turns out that this villain is Buddy, the boy whom he turned away as a child. Buddy only wanted to help, but when he was rejected he decided to use his powers to cause destruction. (The.) Mr. Incredible cannot rescue himself from the conf...
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...are times in life when we, as humans, need to be put in our place. We get so caught up into thinking we can do everything on our own, and we don't need anyone's help. While it is true that we can handle things on our own sometimes, there are other times when we need others' help. My favorite aspect of this movie is how human Mr. Incredible is. We see him suffer before he gets his happy ending. In my opinion, this movie tells us a lot about human nature, and it is definitely worth watching.
Gillam, Ken, and Shannon R. Wooden. "Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar." Journal of Popular Film and Television 36: 2-8. Web. 26 May 2014.
The Incredibles. Dir. Brad Bird. Perf. Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Sarah Vowell, Brad Bird, Spencer Fox, Elizabeth Peña. Pixar, 2004. DVD.
Movies are a new edition in today’s culture. They are a new form of art medium that has arrived in the late 1900s and were a new way to express ideas and viewpoints of the time. A good example of this is the movie The Manchurian Candidate. The movie had a simple plot a man is kidnapped after the Korean war and is hypnotized to work for the communists and take down the U.S. This movie showed the American public’s fear of communism at the time. If a movie like this can easily portray the fears of the American people at the time then it can easily portray stereotypes of gender. There have been thousands of movies where the male protagonist is a rough tough dude but there is one movie that has that stereotype is broken. That movie is none other than Napoleon Dynamite.
Rebel Without a Cause calls attention to society’s obsession over hyper masculinity, fears of overly dominant women, homosexuality, and juvenile “delinquency” during the 1950s. Popularity of suburban life arose – along with the necessity to fit in. Accompanying the pressures of gender roles were also the rise of alcoholism, depression, anxiety, and rage. Moreover, the film explores the conflicts that lied within teenagers because of the social standards that were forced upon them.
A hero can be anyone, short or tall, big or small, and not necessarily empowered with super abilities. Heroes can be someone to look up to for their acts, and personalities, in the case of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredible Close Oskar Schell is the unlikely hero. He exemplifies traits associated with the common hero like courage, as he enters into scenarios that under normal circumstances he would never dare confront. While also being slightly untraditional in the sense that he is only nine years old and suffering from depression as result of the loss of his father, and other ailments. Throughout Oskar’s journey he becomes molded into a stronger person as he comes to closure near the end of the novel thanks to those he encounters along his path.
In the movie Fruitvale Station the main character is Oscar Grant. Oscar Grant, played by Michael B. jordan is male protagonist of the story. Jordan portrays the role as masculine through various acting skills. The first way that one can establish masculinity is through the dress of the character. Grant is dressed in a dark long sleeve shirt and sagging jeans. This style of dress is seen as masculine. The way that he speaks can also be seen as masculine. Grant uses the word “Bruh” often. It can be compared to the softer tone that the mother uses. The mother talks with a soft, nurtured tone. This can be seen in the jail visit scene. Grant got upset at the fact that his mother said that she wouldn’t visit him anymore. Grant becomes visibly upset and starts to yell and scream at his mother. He also begins to use profanity towards her. All the while, the mother continues to talk in her
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
MC is a very selfish man who continually takes part in unfortunate events that he puts himself in. The big question is “Why?”. Why doesn’t he just turn around and stop the
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
As society has evolved, its morals and ideals have changed along with it. Today it seems that men are dominantly placed on the masculine group where women are subsequently put into a group in which no masculinity is present but only femininity. However, despite the positions set by society, different forms of entertainment and media have intentionally, if not subconsciously implemented their views on gender roles. Grown Ups 2 suggests that men are the Naïve, idiotic, layed-back macho man whereas the women are deemed the most responsible ones but also the ones that are dependent on in a way they would fight for the love of a man.
Learning and analyzing chapter 5-8 disparagingly examines roughly theoretical perspectives that attempt to explain how men become men and their masculine forms. These theories include sociobiological, psychoanalytical, cultural, anthropological, and many others. A person’s ethnic or cultural background can form a man’s definition of masculinity. I believe that the author summarized each theory where he points out the strengths and weaknesses of each. One particular quotes that stood out to me can be found on pg.114 in the text “A man defined his identity not just in the workplace but through modes of enjoyment and self-fulfillment outside the workplace outside of it” (Kilmartin). This quote is powerful to me because men is always stereotyped
John Wayne epitomizes masculinity, and did throughout his tenured Hollywood career. He is regarded as an iconic male actor on account of his voice, height, and mannerisms. Wayne’s female counterpart, Maureen O’Hara, was antithetically famous for her stunning beauty and typical portrayal of a heroine. Their character’s tumultuous relationship and the obstacles they face accentuate the internal struggle that a masculine family man must face: torn between serving his country and serving his family.
chase her dream of becoming a boxer and encourage her along the way. Although this male encouragement of female participation in sports seems to promote female empowerment, a closer look at Maggie’s relationship with Frankie reveals that Maggie’s only purpose in the film was to be the daughter Frankie lost so that he could redeem himself by being a good father. Instead of portraying an empowered female athlete, Million Dollar Baby reduces Maggie to a tool in Frankie’s redemption of masculinity.
and many more. These films have shaped the behaviors and characters of both the feminine and masculine species in the society.
favorite part about him. He is one of the most unsespected heros in the book but one
3b. The books talk about the masculinity or tough man representation in crime films. The book also talks about the prison and the power to reform. A prison is a place where people are supposed to pay their punishment but it is also a place where people are humiliated like what we see in American History X when the guard yells and talks in an unprofessional manner to the inmates. Prisons are inhumane. Derek was reformed not by the prison itself, but by the actions of his fellow inmate who changed Derek’s perspectives towards minorities in particular to African Americans.
Comparably, the criminalization of Black men in America is as prevalent and dangerous. In her 2004 work We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity, bell hooks eulogizes the 1997 film Amistad, praising its portrayal of Black men and the difference between this portrayal of Black men versus another movie that enforces the gangster and buffoon stereotypes. Reading through accounts of history, men back in Africa - where gender was determinative to their role in the community; these men were innocent until their right to dominated women was seen as necessary to be taught to them and this patriarchal masculinity was implemented into the minds of these young men. Part of reconstruction process of Black masculinity was, by many men, to fight; Frederick