And Beyond

In the previous post I discussed AXE's new advertising campaign which utilizes the Astronaut archetype to sell their new product. Essentially, AXE promises that their product will transport the consumer from the real world to the land of mythology, where anything can happen. This is the basis for pretty much all advertising: a Subaru will bring you love; eating McDonald's shows intelligence; drinking Budweiser makes you a part of something greater. These are all things that happen in the hero's journey. I.E. At the end of the quest, Mario gets Princess Peach, Desmond learns the way to the Truth, and, well, Call of Duty soldiers cheer that they survived.

All the heroes go through amazing journeys to accomplish amazing things. They move and shake the world to protect and better it, allowing them to gain happiness, success, and immortality. Society takes note of their actions, and emulate them however they can in the real world. No, they're not literally shooting up the whole plantation house, but they're standing up for themselves and demanding change. Now, most of these heroic acts, whether through buying products, playing a video game character, or watching them in a TV show or movie, are performed by male heroes.

At the end of his Astronaut journey, Pi finds unshakable Faith
Life of Pi, Fox 2000 Pictures, 2012

 I have already gone over the implications of hyper-masculine heroes, as well as the exclusion of girls from movie culture. This post is not an argument for more heroines, but one that explores the implications of male archetypes as a heroes/role models for females. Not in the Freudian sense, which where the male hero would be a father-figure type that she would find sexual attraction to. (After all the friend-zone actually exists.) Is it so hard to conceive a woman identifying with Capt. Jack Sparrow, Batman, or even Simba? Just because society says that Hollywood stars are sexy doesn't mean that women can't learn from their characters' struggles.

Let's take Capt. Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. This Cowboy wants to be free, independent, and rich (in rum), and is very adamant about maintaining these characteristics. On the other hand, Elizabeth Swan, the female protaganist, starts out as a fairly demure dame, who seems rather resigned to marry the stuffy British Navy(?) guy. It's not until she's kidnapped by Sparrow that her heroic attributes appear; she's emulates her captor in order to escape him, and become her own free, independent, and rich (in love) person. So, even if the female viewer is looking to Swan for guidance, she's really looking to Sparrow.

Now, we have a young woman using the techniques of her male heroes in order to get what she wants in life: a free, independent, and rich. She's not above bending the rules, not telling the whole truth, or or drinking her fair share of liquid courage. I mean, that's what Capt. Sparrow did, and perhaps she wants to continue living out her bachelor-ette life in frivolity and fun.

 

Elizabeth Swann manipulates Capt. Jack Sparrow using her sexuality. and targeting his weakness (for rum).

In this clever and piratesque act, she gains control of the rum stash, and proceeds to burn it, thereby saving herself (and the Capt.)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Walt Disney Pictures, 2003  

People, however, don't expect that out of a woman. After all Swan ends up sacrificing this, that, or the other thing in order to be with her have a true love (and a baby). It's the the fairy-tale status-quo happy ending for heroines: meet guy, fall in love, have baby, the end. Meanwhile, Sparrow (and Turner) gets to trapeze the seas and continue to pursue his dream of immortality, as in never ending. American myth/society expects women to eventually end up in the domestic role, never mind what the woman actually wants for herself. We can argue that the women have a biological desire to have children, or just concede that its a sociological pressure.

A Pirate-Woman's Bliss: Where you get to raise a child on your own and see your immortal husband every 10 years.
Puts another twist on Sparrow's "Now Bring me that horizon"
 (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, after credits scene, 2007)

A 'tomboy' attitude is acceptable to a point; wanting to be a leader, express your opinions, acknowledging a sex-drive, and (heaven forbid) being independent don't sound like inherently bad things for a woman, but when put into action people become off-put. Whether they be the woman's coworker, boss, love interest, or stranger, the masculine personality clashes with expectations and causes friction. Some people reading this are thinking, 'not at all, sounds like an awesome woman to me.' Which is true, but is it because the standard is different for women than it is for men. Exceeding expectations is nice, but that is not the same as being judged differently because people don't expect you to succeed? Do you expect this woman to obtain her happiness, which may or may not include becoming mother or other 'domestic' role?

No one believes in the true female-hero. As Anne-Marie Slaughter discussed in her article Why Women Still Can't Have It All last year, everyone has an opinion about what a woman ought to do in order to be 'feminist', 'proper', or 'realistic'. A man moving in with his girlfriend is considered manly and making a commitment.* Society congratulates him on becoming an adult. Meanwhile the woman is seen as giving up on a career and resigning to a life of homemaking OR as a floozy who can't keep up appearances OR as a poor decision because romance isn't real. A no win situation. A Girl's situation.

I could write a whole post about how Merida didn't fulfill all our expectations.
Brave, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, 2012

So while AXE encourages young males to blast into space and enter the world of mythology, young women look on with contempt, while celebrating the woman who will be an iconoclast. She won't be a woman who became an Astronaut hero. Her own aspirations of as an individual will be eclipsed by the larger message. She'll be a woman who infiltrated the male hierarchy, who exceeded the expectations that society put on her.

I don't want readers to get the wrong idea. I support women's rights, promoting gender equality, and showing off its amazing women heroes. What I mean by this post is, women are not seen as equal to men. Even with a male mindset, females have to battle against society's conventions. Society (as a generalization) does not think women capable of residing in the land of mythology. It's a reality that can't be escaped: Women who emulate their masculine heroes may go 'beyond' expectations, but still fall short of reaching infinity.



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* Yes this is a generalized statement. But when was the last time you heard a man criticized for moving in with his girlfriend because 'he needed to go to college' or 'Was being immoral'? I would be a lot less times than if they were directed towards a woman. Please tell me if you think this is unfair. I don't but, hey, maybe I'm a feminist bee.

Changing Shades of Brown

I want to discuss the Brown, because I believe this archetype is morphing. And in an odd way. Previously I believed the Brown were "non-Anglo foreigners who do not pose any sort of threat. Socially, politically, and sexually inferior to their black or white counterparts, browns often appear as comic-relief" namely Hispanics, but could include any non-Anglo character.

For example, the very entertaining movie Moulin Rouge! (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, 2001)* has five prominent male characters: Christian, The Duke, Harold Zidler, Toulouse-Lautrec, and The Unconscious Argentinean. (Okay the Argentinean isn't very prominent, but he sings a song).  You'll note that the first three actors listed are of Anglo descent (Scottish, Australian, and English) while the last two are not (Colombian and Polish). Yes, the characters of Zidler, Toulouse, and possibly the Duke are French but what counts are visual cues and accents. We perceive the main influential/manipulating characters (Christian, the Duke, Zidler) as Anglo, while the side characters (who still play a role, just not active ones) as non-Anglo. Toulouse and the Argentinian never threaten Christian's chances with Satine, and only act as advisers/friends.

[*Moulin Rouge! is listed as both a American and Australian film on imdb.com; I'll let you decide if this is allowed in the New American Mythology cannon.]

Besides obvious 'White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Male' dominance that has pervaded American culture since its founding (by WASPM), I believe that kind of Brown existed for several reasons.  First, the 20th Century was dominated not just by America, but the United Kingdom, Germany, and the USSR, and after World War II, to just America and USSR. Which means those 'other' countries (i.e. Mexico, China, Iraq, India, etc) aren't of too much concern. Eastern Europeans and other communist countries (non-Anglo countries), unfortunately, were the enemy and therefore characterized as impotent savages.

He looks just like a Wildman
And by Wildman I mean this guy

Next, the United States won the Cold War, and not just against the USSR. Communism proved to be inferior to capitalism in Latin-America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and vicariously parts of the Middle East. The communist aligned nations were riddled with general instability and lack of infrastructure that stalled economic growth and political development.

Finally, the 9/11 attacks brought a crises of faith for American citizens. They questioned their supremacy, their dominance, and thought that maybe they weren't as potent as they believed. What's more, China and India's econmies and populations burgeoned, taking with it American jobs and investments. In the U.S., Latin-Americans and other other non-Anglo-Americans began to develop stronger presence, voicing concerns of discrimination in politics, the media, and the larger communities. In the first decade of the twenty-first century Americans sensed the world shifting away from WASP dominated culture.  However, the media decided to reassure the public that the 'foreign' invasion was benign with characters like the Argentinean or Toulouse-Lautrec, Fez in That 70's Show, or Oscar in The Office.

Cece in New Girl (Fox, 2011)
The powerful, confidant, sexy best friend of Jess.

However, I believe this is no longer the case. Foreigners have become stronger, smarter, and sexier. Maybe it just took a decade for the media to catch up to people's beliefs. Or maybe the recession has disillusioned those who had clung to the 20th Century. The 'Other' are no longer just the backward folk who live on the fringes of society. They are, in fact, real people, doing real work, with real lives, real culture, and real opinions...

...which may differ from the 'majority's' in good and bad ways. Now we see non-Anglo transitioning from the background and emerging as a part of American society. American culture processes this change in various ways. The conflicts between the past perspectives and present projections surface in quite interesting ways.

Perhaps the more familiar example of such conflicting ideas is in The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 2007 - ) with the Koothrappali siblings. Raj exhibits the old perceptions: he's inept with women, is a sidekick (to the sidekick), and has sexually ambiguous moments. Overall, rather submissive. Priya on the other-hand gets pick of the guys, is a self-possessed woman (separate from both the girls and the boys), and does not hide her sexuality. Overall, rather normal (compared to depictions of WASPM). And there's the odd part- the rise of the 'other' in America Culture comes in the form of a woman (distinctly not a Girl). Other examples include, Gloria from Modern Family (ABC, 2009), Dr. Cristina Yang from Grey's Anatomy (ABC, 2005), Miranda from The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros. Productions, 2012), and Neytiri from Avatar (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporations, 2009).

Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
Strong non-Anglo in American Culture women aren't limited to fiction.

Why this is...?  It might be an attempt to dis-empower non-Anglo by using a 'weak' symbol. It might be a carry over from Orientalism, where viewers sexualize the exotic 'other'. It might be a way to soften the  integration of non-Anglo into American culture. Of course the male 'other' does appear at times, but largely as a Brown, the inferior, or as an Alien, the unintelligible/irrational threat. We'll just have to wait and see how this new archetype integrates into the larger mythology, and how it effects American's perceptions of non-Anglos. Who knows, maybe Puerto Rico will become a state sooner than we expected.

Brown

• Chang Community (NBC, 2009) - Mostly just strange. If he was more powerful he'd be an Alien
• Abed Community (NBC, 2009 ) - Again, really strange. No sexual motivations
• Mr. Chow The Hangover (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2009) - Although he causes trouble, he isn't a real threat.
• Tom Haverford Parks and Recreation (NBC, 2009) - He started out as just a Brown in a greencard marriage, and although he's developed into a more influential character, he's not really all that important.  
• Borat Borat (Four by Two, 2006) - Sacha B. Cohen played on American's perceptions of non-Anglo to create a very convincing Brown character.

Alien

• Bane The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2012) - subservant to Miranda
• Red Skull Captain America: The First Avenger (Paramount Pictures, 2011) - He's Russian
• Matthew Bascalli (the Art Teacher) Parenthood (NBC, 2010) - Sleeps with Grandma!
• Gustavo/Gus (Pollos Hermanos owner) Breaking Bad (AMC, 2008) - Despite his controlled facade, Gus' actions are not the most predictable, nor are any of the other Latino characters'.

Ambigous/Transitional

• Oscar The Office (NBC, 2005 ) - Gay, and not a power player BUT he is having relations with Angela's husband. 
• Ann Perkins Parks and Recreation (NBC, 2009) - She's more of a Girl, but she is racially ambiguous, and has gained power through the series.
• Most Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson movies - With the exceptions of The Mummy Returns The Rock plays characters that aren't neccisarily Browns or Aliens, just traditionally Anglo archetypes. 
• Jacob in Twilight series - He doesn't end up with the 'heroine', but he's not powerless either.

Has anyone seen Puss In Boots (Dreamworks, 2011)? I couldn't glean much from the trailer, but it seemed like Puss is a cowboy who may have a spunky latina cat friend to protect him. Then again, he is a cute little kitty- Brown?


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Addition: I've named a new archetype after writing this post. The Amazon: Non-anglo individuals (usually women) who do not pose any sort of threat and are socially, politically, or sexually superior to their peers.

Keep the discussion going in the comments below.

Essay - Women Story-Tellers

I wrote this essay in July for a scholarship. They're suppose to tell me today if I won or not, hopefully I did! It's fairly formal with actual research and no pictures. And really long. I don't blame you if you don't read it.

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The Importance of Women Story-Tellers to American Myth

For when scrutinized in terms not of what it is but of how it functions, of how it has served mankind in the past, of how it may serve today, mythology shows itself to be as amenable as life itself to the obsessions and requirements of the individual, the race, the age. – Joseph Campbell, The Hero of a Thousand Faces 

American Myth 

Joseph Campbell, one of the most influential scholars in the twentieth century, spent his life pouring over ancient myths in order to find enlightenment. He believed the metaphors within myths gave sociological, psychological, metaphysical, and cosmological guidance to anyone willing to interpret them as such. The fundamental structure found in what he called the monomyth particularly interested Campbell with its perennial philosophy that contained universal truths and insights to human nature. The journeys of Hercules, Rama, Jesus Christ, King Arthur, and plethora of other great men follow the monomythic path: challenging society’s beliefs and introducing new, enlightened concepts. (Campbell, 1949) 


Movies convey the same “world-historical, macrocosmic triumphs” of a hero who “brings back from his adventure the means for the regeneration of his society as a whole” (Campbell, 30) as any ancient myth. America’s silver screen heroes retrace the hero’s path to impart new knowledge on today’s captivated audiences. Luke Skywalker in George Lucas’ Star Wars trilogy remains the most famous conscious use of the monomyth, but even more recently Peter Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man, 2012), Tony Stark (Iron Man, 2008), and Bruce Wayne (Batman Begins, 2005) each “venture forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” (Campbell, 23). Even Stu from the 2009 movie The Hangover stumbles through a hero’s (mis)adventure to come upon his own life-altering enlightenment: living safely does not always guarantee happiness.

The Problem with American Myth

Americans look to the silver screen for guidance on how we should live and what the world is like (Behm-Morawitz and Mastro) (Escholz et al) (Taylor and Setters) (Tylka and Calogero), but when they do the hero archetype remains archaically male. Sara Nicholson proposes in her feminist critique of Campbell that in ancient myth females exist only as a symbol “in contrast or relation to the active hero” (191). Unfortunately, such symbolism quickly decays into stereotyping that perpetuates a patriarchal society that “subsume women as subtext, a bracketed subspecies of Man” (Nicholson, 187). Martha Lauzen’s analysis of recent block-buster films movies confirms this notion: even though half the population call themselves female (US Census Bureau, 2011) only a third of the characters in the top 100 grossing films of 2011 were female (2012).

Clearly the film industry needs to change something, and not just the heroes’ gender. Again, Campbell provides us an answer which Nicholson structures as such: “As part of the mythological system of framing, ordering and control, the ideas shaping gender images in mythology are limited by recourse to the time and location of their conjuring.” (192) That is, the story tellers morph the monomyth to reflect or challenge their society’s values and beliefs. Hollywood needs new story-tellers.
Lauzen’s statistics again back the theory with numbers: women held only 18% of major behind-the-scenes positions in the top 250 grossing domestic films of 2011. Only 14% of writers were women in the films, and, most deplorably, only 5% of directors. (Lauzen, 2012) What’s more, given similar budgets in the top 100 grossing worldwide films of 2007, the gender of the filmmaker or protagonist did not correlate with any significant monetary success or failure of the film (Lauzen, 2008). Only when gender and race demographics in Hollywood accurately reflect America’s population will the film industry be able to honestly portray American ideals.

The Story-Teller and Myth 

The story-teller, namely the director and writer, imparts social and personal nuances to the tale to make it relevant, thought-provoking, and inspiring to the audience. Without conscious, purposefully adjustments to the story, the female heroine becomes a stereotyped, secondary characterization rather than a strong, memorable personality. Rapunzel in Disney’s 2011 animated movie Tangled suffers from such short comings. Although entertaining, financially successful, and different than previous Disney Princess movies, Tangled failed emphasize the ‘girl power’ message it so desperately wanted to impart. The male directors Nathan Greno and Bryon Howard with male writer Dan Fogelman fell back on conventional gender roles and downplayed Rapunzel’s heroic journey. The movie is even told from the male protagonist’s perspective and opens with Flynn Rider narrating “This is the story of how I died. Don’t worry! ... The truth is it isn’t even mine, this is the story of a girl” (0:00) The lack of feminine and feminist insight behind the camera prevented Tangled from shaking off Disney’s sexist reputation. A woman director or writer could have imparted her own experiences of becoming an independent adult through the movies cinematography, dialogue, tone, etc.

Vicky Jenson did just that when she co-directed Dreamworks’ Shrek in 2001. Her outspoken opinions at the early stages of the film got her promoted to co-head of the story team and then to director. In an Life After Film School interview, Jenson describes insisting to the producers “you gotta go this way! The louder I got the more people listened” (8:37). ‘This way’ being towards a quirky and unique children’s comedy rather than a rehashed adventure story. Although the movie centers around Shrek, the female protagonist, Princess Fiona holds her own as a character and, arguably, goes through a more meaningful psychological transformation than her male counterpart. Shrek remains one of the landmark animations that generations of children and filmmakers will look to for moral and professional guidance.

Princess Fiona and Rapunzel have a lot in common; stuck in a tower for an extended period, honing fighting skills like karate, wanting to return to civilization, and of course falling in love with their rescuers. The difference between the characters is that Fiona, despite not being the main character, goes through her own heroic journey that is distinctly separate from Shrek’s. Greno and Howard paint Rapunzel as the “spunky sidekick” relation to the “swashbuckling” man (Cowden, Lafever, Viders, 2000). Tangled fails to ‘regenerate’ society’s views on women’s roles, but instead remains a patriarchal myth that perpetuates male supremacy. (Eve Bit First, 2011) Jenson, however, shaped the monomyth in Shrek to successfully challenge social norms for both Shrek and Fiona, namely the one that urges individuals to follow prescribed stereotypes in order to fit in.

Strong female leads like Rapunzel fall short of breaking the social norms due to producers failing to choose women directors or writers throughout the film industry. Examples
span across genres: from the dishonest framing of loss in Richard LaGravenese’s P.S. I Love You (2007) to the antediluvian themes of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus (2012) and the blatant stereotyping of Madea in Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman. These films attempt to bring strong women to the silver screen, but just fall short especially when compared to strong women characters directed by strong women directors, i.e. Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone (2011), Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids are Alright, Nora Emphron’s Julie & Julia (2009).

A Path for New Story-Tellers 

How will the film industry change their demographics? Certainly not by themselves, and we can’t expect aspiring young women to endure it alone. To encourage more women to pursue careers behind the camera, I propose a multifaceted movement that actively targets and supports both girls and women. Girls will be 1) initiated into the film industry through toys, 2) encouraged to think about messages the media sends her, 3) exposed to career opportunities through broadcast interviews of and awards for women behind the camera, 4) given the opportunity to participate in camps and workshops focused on film making. Women actively pursuing need a support system that incorporates 5) scholarships and mentorships.

Imagine, a young girl unwraps a present at her ninth birthday party. How thrilled would she be to see her very own Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games, 2012) doll. Of course this would add to her collection that’s already populated by Storm (XMen, 2000), Hermione (Harry Potter, 2001), and Neytiri (Avatar, 2009). She and her friends will play with them while donning costumes inspired by The Hunger Games, Snow White and the Huntsman, and The Help. Although some of the parents balk at the idea of giving the young girl merchandise inspired by movies rated PG-13, few bat their eyes at her twin brother receiving Avenger’s costumes, Star Wars Legos, or Transformer figurines.

1) Presently the majority of media-marketed toys marketed to girl come from G-Rated franchises or from television. The message that current media themed toys give, besides the “associations with physical attractiveness, nurturance, and domestic skill,” (Blakemore) is that young girls are somehow unworthy of participating in the mature and complex world of film. Marketing more feminine toys using mature movies initiates girls’ interest in the film culture. Because they are made to hook children into franchises, the toys are sure to have a lasting influence on the girl

Assuming Mockingjay, the third installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, comes out two years after the first movie, the fictional young girl will be 11 when it comes out. Her parents give in to her pleads and let her watch the series on DVD and take her to the movie. Because girls mature earlier that boys (Klimstra), she handles the violence, love, and other mature themes better than her brother does at The Avengers 2. What is more, the girl is more likely to reflect on the movie’s themes in relation to her life (Burwell & Shirk).

2) Organizations like Women’s Media Center should encourage parents to watch mature films with their daughters and discuss it afterwards. Providing pamphlets to guide parents through a discussion will help insure the girl understands the themes and messages in the movie. This will help girls, and their brothers, become more media literate and critically think about the role of media plays in their lives.

After the movie, the girl becomes enthralled with the heroine Katniss and researches her online. In her investigations she runs across the other popular adolescent feminine movie- Twilight. Perhaps, as girls do, the girl fosters a crush on one of the characters, and starts watching videos of the cast. She runs across an interview with Catherine Hardwicke, the director of the first Twilight film. In this moment, the girl realizes ‘Whoa, I can have a handsome actor in my house, tell him what to do, and people will pay me big bucks for it!’

3) Off-camera women in the film-industry should make a point to move in front of the camera and make their presence known. They can give more interviews and participate in youth geared media. For example, television programs like the MTV Movie Awards or the Kids Choice Awards could add categories like best director, writer and give professionals like Hardwicke the opportunity to expose young people to their world and foster aspirations that go beyond the glamorous lifestyles of stars.

Through Middle and High School, the girl goes to as many film classes, workshops, and camps that she can so as to learn all the aspects to creating movies. Her parents send her to local workshops like Femme Film Texas, Sprout Media by Kids, and Real Girls, Reel Change. She comes back excited to show them all the writing, storyboarding, casting, acting, and directing she’s done.

4) Although many organizations exist to promote women in the film industry or inform girls about the media’s messaging, few exist that encourage young girls to actually learn how to make their own films. Organizations like Movies By Women, Women’s Media Center, and Women in Film Los Angeles should strive to offer film-making workshops, promote their causes, and provide scholarships to promising young girls.

Suppose the girl, now a young woman, goes film school on one of these scholarships. She’s made it right? Although she’s a confident individual, the stress and pressure of succeeding in this male dominated field makes her waiver. Luckily she finds an organization that connects her to other women in the film industry. They support each other’s endeavors while giving helpful tips, encouraging thoughts, and potential opportunities.

5) Women in other male-dominated fields have expressed feelings of “isolation and inadequacy” (Antony and Cudd, 1) that lead to dropping out or transferring to another major. Corporations such as Texas Instruments, AT&T, and Lockheed Martin recognized this problem and began supporting the website MentorNet. It matches professionals with students in engineering and science and is geared particularly for women and persons of color. People in the film industry, big name or small, need to start a similar program that targets college students and young professionals. Not only would this help a young woman deal with cocky peers, chauvinist professors, or the simple challenges of getting through school, but it will also jumpstart her on the all-important task of networking.

As a driven, confident, knowledgeable, and supported woman, this director works her way to the top of Hollywood. She crafts movies with such bravado that the whole world becomes enamored with her. In casting she disregards gender, allowing men and women try out for any role. Actors rave about her ability show them how to feel their characters’ passion. Audiences forget they’re in a theater when watching her films. Most importantly, she directs films in order to challenge social structure and provide models of a greater reality.
She knows her influence reaches beyond the movie theater. Advocating for women, she invests time and money into programs that helped her when she was young including film camps for girls, televised interviews and lectures, a scholarship fund for aspiring filmmakers, and a mentorship with student at the American Film Institute. She also fights discrimination within the industry by declining a jury position at the Cannes Film Festival when none of the nominated films are directed by women and publicly points out her colleague’s pointlessly undimensional female charter as stereotyped. And, when her adventure movie releases, she insures that any toys marketed highlight the intellectual abilities of girls, not the physical impossibilities.

∞

Campbell describes a particular dreamer as a “distinguished operatic artist” who follows “not the safely marked general highways of the day, but the adventure of the special… that comes to those ears are open… to make her way alone through the difficulties not commonly encounter.” (Campbell, 16) Woman’s journey to equality in the film industry can be likened to this dreamer’s. Although unorthodox and arduous, a woman’s career in behind-the-camera Hollywood gives her the ability to frame America’s myths in new perspectives that challenge the patriarchal system we live in today. Any woman or girl entering into such a whale’s belly of a task deserves a strong supportive community of allies so that she can return to society the boons of freedom and equality.

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To see the Bibliography, please contact me, the author. 

This is an original essay: Do Not Steal it in any part without proper citation. Thank you. 

Comics are for Boys: Take-Away Message

The previous post was more of a rant than an analysis. I'm just going to clarify why marketing movies to boys  is more than just a consumerist desire for more products.

Hunger Games Barbie
Available online only. 

Marketing movies to only [White Anglo Protestant] boys discourages girls [and other races] from participating America's most important cultural activities. Television, video games, magazines, and other media remain below theater movies in the cultural hierarchy. Excluding females from the silver screen implies they lack a capacity, whether that be intellectual, social, or etc, that would otherwise make them equal to males and allow them to also become 'Good'* Americans.

For example: Spider-Man, an astronaut, is a hero and role model. The movie suggests that living well means shouldering responsibility and using whatever powers you have to help yourself and others. Not a bad message. But only boys can 'become' (buy) Spider-Man and have super-powers and save the city. That's a bad message.

Now, people can argue that girls won't want Spider-Man toys. That's a lie, but fine. At any rate, plenty of female centered movies could easily churn out products marketed to girls. See previous post. It's not the content I'm angered/saddened by, its the system that the message perpetuates.

It is easy to adapt television shows
into preexisting girl-toys, but not movies! Lies. 

The point is, American society sees males as the ultimate keeper of our culture. Selling products to boys too young to see the movie allows the young boys to feel included in the patriarchal structure. Once initiated into such a system, they grow up seeing themselves as powerful and responsible individuals that can choose and follow the American Dream, just like Spider-Man.

This does not happen for girls. Girl toys rarely come from movies, and then only G-rated. The toys for 9-15yr old girls look remarkably like those for younger girls or like plastic versions of 16+ year old interests (jewlry etc). Meaning: girls cannot participate in the cultural transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. The limitations allow little exploration of who a girl can become and deny them super-heroines to look up to in awe. The message in such marketing casts females as lesser than males, and therefore powerless and not responsible for their well being. Consequently, women should not/do not peruse the American Dream but support the someone who is.

We can talk about equality in adult-terms of voting or the workplace or sexuality, but this sexual dimorphism happens before we become aware of its effects on our lives. American culture tells us how American should live, what makes us U.S. To ignore how culture effects children is to be a zombie: ignorant and irresponsible, mindlessly consuming what is given to you. By all means, follow the patriarchal system if that's what you believe. There are biological differences between boys and girls after all. What I want is the equal opportunity for girls to actively participate in their own American Dream.

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*'Good' in the Aristotelian sense of eudaimonia, or living well.

Comics are for Boys

How curious. The Motion Picture Association of America rated The Avengers (2012) as PG-13: Parents are strongly cautioned to give special guidance for attendance of children under 13 – Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. I'm not about to get up in arms about bringing impressionable minds to 'violent' or 'inappropriate' movies; I don't really care about that just yet. What strikes me is targeting (pun, yes) young boys as the ultimate consumer for these movies. Perhaps the random adolescent/young man picks up Hulk Hands or a Iron Man voice modulator, but the bulk of these products go to what looks like 5 - 12 year old white males. Don't you love reinforcing stereotypes? Well, the black kid is in the Ironman suit, but he's on screen for a total of three seconds, 10% of the commercial, most of which his face is blurred.

In addition to The Avengers (minus Hawkeye and Black Widow), Spider-Man, Batman, Transformers, Star Wars, and (the original) G.I. Joe themed products line Targets shelves. Maybe people perceive the PG-13 movies as appropriate for 5 year-olds because they originate from colorful comics, campy TV shows, or just plain nostalgia.

Actual Target Product
Where's the Hunger Games version!? Etsy.

However, if we take analogous movies, TV shows, or other products that were aimed at women, we might be a little apprehensive. Imagine a Twilight themed party where the 8 year old birthday girl wore Black Widow costume while her friends wore clothes from Mean Girls. I bet the Jones' would be whispering. Film 'inspired' girl-oriented toys do not come from the PG-13 rated media, but the PG and G: Disney Princesses and Hello Kitty. If they made a Monster High live-action movie, I bet it would be PG-13 though.

It wouldn't be that hard to market PG-13 movies to young girls. Instead of a generic 'princess' outfit, recreate it from Snow White and the Huntsman. How about a horse figurine with a War Horse logo on it? Maybe a Poo-Pie Playset inspired by The Help- I'd definitely buy that for my cousin! And don't we all want Hunger Games swag and costumes. While we're at it let's make some fake fangs and wolf-hair for the boy Twihards.

The Hunger Games (2012)
These are just the 'pretty' costumes!!

Point is, girls aren't feeble and it's weird that companies market to them as if they were. In reality, girls are more mature than boys and probably could handle the Amazing Spider-Man better than their counterparts. What girl wouldn't want a super-hero boyfriend who had a mode of transportation that avoided traffic? Mary Jane, Pepper Pots, and Jane Foster have their shit together and Black Widow and Katniss Everdeen are badass. Why not market mature movies to girls? They've got just as much if not more sway over Mom and Dad's money than their brothers.


So Target please will you actually put "A Superhero in Every Aisle" and not just the boy's aisles?

Predictably, Neville was left partnerless

Lena Dunham's character on Girls deals with a partner who expects flexibility, even when it's not practical, and perhaps not as enjoyable. A plethora of TV shows have episodes that discuss 'spicing things up', and a variety of pop-songs glorify dirty, dirty deeds. A clip from Tracy Morgan's Black and Blue stand-up show talks about gold diggers. Apparently (jokingly?) a lobster dinner is three finger minimum in the anus. At least he acknowledges that it's not everyone's idea of a good time. Setting aside any feminist statements, these messages create unrealistic expectations for men. Virility is cast as reckless, dominant, forceful, and indifferent towards a partner.  Take Don Draper's actions toward his wife Megan in season five:

We know Don Draper is not the best role model. However, pop-culture sees him as one of the most masculine characters on TV today. If guys already look to him for career advice, cocktails, and fashion, than what's to stop them from emulating his sexual endeavors. (Season 1: Cheating on His Wife, Season 2: Cheating on His Wife, Season 3: Cheating on His Wife, Season 4: Having Kinky Sex with Prostitutes and Others, Season 5: Domineering Sex with (Only) His Wife.) No, Draper was not created as a idealized model for masculinity, but the authenticity of Mad Men confuses reality with hyperbole.

At the other end of the masculinity spectrum, we have the guys in Big Bang Theory. Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali each have a personal quirk that makes them a stereotypical nerdy and inept with women. Wolowitz is perhaps the least attractive and most offensive of the bunch: lives with his mother, hits on anything, tries to trick girls into sleeping with him, worst dressed, etc. He even gets a robot stuck on his penis one episode. Despite all this, Wolowitz is the first of his friends to marry. The most aggressive guy, not smartist, nicest, or sensitive, gets the girl.

Now, you can dismiss Draper and Wolowitz' sexual success as plot devices, but similar patterns appear throughout contemporary media. Iron Man is the only Avenger with a girl. In Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy the forcefull love interest loses out to the hesitant. Winston Bishop, the most masculine and sport-oriented roomate is the only one with stable, happy relationship in New Girl. Han Solo gets Princess Leia and Luke, the main character, gets no one in Star Wars. Three and a Half Men - need I say more? Instances where the 'less' masculine is threatened with losing his love interest to a more dominant guy include Spiderman 3 where Harry Osborne/Green Goblin gets MJ instead of Peter Parker/Spider-Man; in the last Harry Potter movie/book Ron leaves the group because he believes Hermione thinks him inadadquet compared with Harry; and even the BBC show Merlin, where Arthur has several love interests and Merlin gets only one during a single episode.

Merlin - Knights of the Roundtable
We're so masculine and scowly with our longswords!!

It's also fair to point out that my previous post discusses women's sexual freedom, and this is just the masculine freedom. True. But wouldn't you say that most guys (people) enjoy sex? My issue is with the dominating-male 'winning' a sexual partner over his friends who have other positive skills, and what this message sends to the general populace. Not only does this portray relationships as competition (which to some extent they are), but sets a woman as a prize for being a particular type of masculine. If you (the male) don't behave aggressively, dominating, or overall cocky, even if its more virtuous path (Luke Skywalker, Thor), then you lose the girl/prize and become miserable. One of two things supposedly happens: 1) a Ron Weasley complex, where the male feels inadequet and depressed, and gives up on his woman or 2) a Harry Osborne/Green Goblin mentality, where the male abandons his real self and tries to out-masculine his counterpart through over-compensation. This, of course, results in very few guys for women to reasonably choose from, and leads to statements like 'crazy' women who hang out with douchebags. But I promised this wouldn't be about "feminist issues" (even though it is).

The point is boys, I mean men, you don't have to compare yourself to the hypermasculine because you're not competing with them. (Unless of course, you are of the hypermasculine personality. Then go for it.) As always, present yourself honestly and your sexual interests will judge you on who you are, not who you're 'suppose to be'. (And women: judge guys on who they are, not who you think they should be). Because at the end of Harry Potter who was the most awesome, lusted-after guy? Not Ron, Harry, Malfoy, Lockheart, the Weasly Twins, Bill, or even Cederic. It was this guy:

http://youtu.be/iRD-qxYkwkc

and just in case you missed it, this guy:

Not yet a Woman

I recently listened to Fresh Air's interview of Lena Dunham, creator/writer/actress of the HBO series Girls.

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls

I have not seen the show, or even heard of it, but the interview brought up a whirlwind of contemporary pop-culture issues. If you want to hear about Girls, listen to the story. It's good. I'm going  to take some tidbits from the interview, and run with them. Far and fast.

You'll make it.... eventually.