I recently had the unfortunate pleasure of watching Clash of the Titans, Warner Bros. latest box office hit. For those of you who didn't know, this is indeed a remake of the classic 1981 film with the same title. This male dominated movie is nothing more then a bunch of guys killing things and shouting corny one liners to each other.
-WARNING SPOILERS-
Sam Worthington, of James Cameron's "Avatar", plays Perseus a demigod, (half man, half god), trying to discover who he is. Early on in the film the audience learns that Perseus is indeed the bastard son of Zeus, the king of the gods.
Zeus, portrayed by Liam Neeson, is a "god", whose persona is very much what we view in our society today as manly or masculine. Within the first fifteen minutes of the film, he plans to "punish" the humans for their lack of worship towards them. With little council to any of the few female gods, or any of the other gods for that matter, Zeus decides to destroy the human's most precious city, Argos. Though the human race is not necessarily a female person, per say, Zeus does this to establish his dominance and gain the love of the humans once more. This idea of gaining love by violent means is a dangerous and usually unsuccessful way to do so, yet it is an idea that is still instilled in a lot of the media that we consume. Martin Luther King Jr. put it bluntly, "Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
Perseus, our protagonist, is much like the strong action hero that began to get famous in the 80's. He's ripped, sexy, and can beat the crap out of anything. Though he wears a skirt through most of the film, his traditional masculinity is not questioned. He shows no emotion accept anger and hate towards the gods who killed his human family. Even when his love interest, Lo, (a demigod like himself) is killed brutally onscreen, the only emotion shown is that of anger which in turn leads to revenge. Can "real" men not cry, or show any type of sympathy? Apparently not in the mythological, patriarchal realm where this story unfolds. It seems in order for one to be considered masculine he must possess strength, be bent on revenge and care only for himself.
Although this movie did have its moments, it suffered greatly due to what I would like to call, the "dude factor" aka the hyper-masculinity. The few female characters involved in the plot are either love interests or villains who end up being killed, once again establishing male dominance and supporting the idea that women are to be seen and not heard.
Well, I thought that I wanted to see the Clash of the Titans, but not anymore after reading what you've written. I can't believe that this movie shows how selfish men are and how women are dead at the end. I think you did a very good job establishing the masculinity from this film and male dominance. Also, how you noticed that there were very few women and how they were all dead at the end which, like you said, women are suppose to be seen and not heard.
ReplyDeleteWe're talking about past not present......Yes, back in those days women had no power to be heard in the society but to be seen and the other hands, men had ahd on top and had all the power while women were only used as sex subjects and house wives all the feminine stuff.
ReplyDeleteA. Richet
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ReplyDeleteGreat job. Nice analysis of many messages about both masculinity and femininity in this film. Be sure to italicize or otherwise differentiate titles.
ReplyDeleteI like your pictures and writings. You have a great sense of insight.
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