The Representation of Masculinity in Die Hard 2 - Essay Example

? The Representation of Masculinity in Die Hard 2 of 15th November McLane and Masculinity Drawingon your Mulvey and Neale readings, as well as Tasker’s discussion, analyze the representation of masculinity in one of the Die Hard films. How is the McClane character represented as a site of identification? As spectacle? The Representation of Masculinity in Die Hard 2 The dominance of masculinity over femininity is visible in many aspects of human life; it has occurred throughout history, and it is likely to continue following the presence and continued production of films depicting males, as the characters to look out for in the said films. In Renny Harlin’s film Die Hard 2 (1990), masculinity has both physical and mental power over femininity. According to Carroll (2003, p.54) John McLane, the Die Hard series’ principal character, is a prime example of masculine dominance, and ‘studies in the film field pay specific attention to the Herculean physical performances and spectacular body appearances of starring characters’. Although heroes play important roles in many successful films, most of these female characters are known only in relation to the films’ male heroes, which is partly due to male domination in society. This paper will analyze the representation of masculinity in Die Hard 2, and incorporate arguments from work by Mulvey (1975), Neale (1983) and Tasker (2004). Die Hard 2 tells the story of New York police officer, John McLane, played by Bruce Willis. The film’s opening scene takes place on Christmas Eve, when McLane visits his wife in Los Angeles (Gates 2006, p.35). McLane has what Rzepka and Horsley term ‘unresolved issues’ (2010, p.89); consequently, he is not in good terms with his wife. When McLane arrives in Los Angeles, he finds his wife at an office Christmas party, and supposed political terrorists then invade the building where the party is taking place. The film portrays McLane’s heroic attempts to save his wife from these terrorists. In Die Hard 2, as in many action films, masculine characters possess virile physical prowess and display social dominance. Social dominance, in this case, is a term used to refer to the position that the said characters hold in their spheres of influence as the main characters. This can be seen as in the case of John McLane, who is a police officer and his role in society qualifies to be dominant. Another important aspect of masculine heroes in action films is their excessive aggression. Prior studies of Hollywood’s films that primarily focus their attention on male characters characterize Die Hard 2 as a male-driven action film, with the ‘presentation of the lead hero as a macho man’ (Milestone and Meyer 2012, p. 50). This is due to McLane’s spectacular ability to wrestle his enemies, which is often a trait of the hero in male-driven films. This is due to the nature masochism in male characters in action films, where the characters are meant to be heroes with all the skill at making the evil characters come down to their knees. Carroll comments that the ‘physical masculinity of an action hero gives a preferential tone for the action narrative’, which refers to the progression of the masculine characters in film (2003, p.79). In Le Guin, (Goodwill 2009, p.13) it is found that audiences tend to accept male characters’ heroism in films, whereas they tend to find female heroism less acceptable. This is due to the social and cultural notion that males are physically and mentally stronger than females, thus making them heroes at the expense of female characters. Rzepka and Horsley define masculinity in film as ‘an opinion that a film-maker intends to deliver that involves physical prowess, sexual virility and aggression’ (2010, p. 61). Gates argues that Die Hard 2 focuses on physicality: the way that McLane is displayed as a hero ‘forms a vital ingredient of a film’s visual effects’ (2006, p. 58). Similarly, Bould states that literature on action heroes discusses the body or physique as more important than sexuality, race, class and nationality (2005, p. 59). Berg believes that critics largely applaud the Die Hard series due to ‘John McLane’s ability to withstand physical assaults despite his age’ (2002, p. 80). Thus, the physical appearance of the hero in action films such as Die Hard 2 plays an important role in attracting audiences. Imagine, for example, if Rowan Atkinson were to play the film’s hero instead. Atkinson is widely known as a comedian and has never been portrayed as a serious action or romantic hero in a film. This could be due to the relative weakness of his physique compared with that of typical action heroes. Another factor that relates to physique is age, which is no barrier for action heroes if they appear muscular. A hero’s body thus contributes to the success of action films such as Die Hard 2. For example, Bruce Willis was 35 when he starred in the first Die Hard (1988) film, which is typically past ‘the age of presenting a youthful masculine image’ (Carroll 2003, p. 112). Despite this, the first Die Hard (1988) film was still a box office hit. Every film in the Die Hard series focuses on the physical toughness of its lead character, rather than his age (West and Lay 2003, p. 55). McLane continues to be a tough character with a strong masculine personality, who is able to cope with pain, habitual brutality and repeated punishments. For this reason, critics applaud him and audiences accept him in spite of his age. In Die Hard 2, when terrorists enter the building where the Christmas party takes place, McLane uses his masculinity, masochism and physical skill affiliated with males at fighting to fight 10 men single-handedly (Benshoff and Griffin 2010, p. 91). As Bould (2005, p.80) points out, this implies that masculinity is associated with superhuman powers. Action heroes can thus withstand hardships, think quickly, overpower obstacles that normal humans cannot tackle and show machismo. Under normal circumstances, it is extremely unlikely that one man could overpower 10 others. However, in Die Hard 2, McLane does not stop fighting, unlike his opponents, ‘who lose their lives, machinery, and most importantly, their money’ (Gates 2006, p. 66). McLane also uses mental power, along with physical power, to vanquish his enemies through quick thinking where he attacks one of the villain’s men and takes his radio, which is encrypted, in order to intercept communication from the main villain and his subjects. Therefore, Die Hard 2’s representation of masculinity embodies superior mental as well as physical power. Die Hard 2 captures the art of masculinity by having McLane display impressive power that represents men’s supposed ability to physically and literally battle their way out of problems. The film also represents masculinity as a measure of intelligence (Mulvey 1975, p. 7), which is evident in the scene where McLane interferes with the fuel tank of his enemies’ plane. Neale’s (1983, p. 15) analysis shows that a common expectation of action film audiences is the detective skills of the action hero — for example, James Bond. James Bond in this case refers to a popular action film series depicting a male hero, James Bond, who always saves the day. Gates (2006, p. 111) argues that the popularity of Die Hard 2 can be linked to its presentation of McLane as a man of Herculean physique. Jeffords (1994, p. 100) reinforces this by explaining that a lead actor is also expected to have a burly and macho personality. Physical appearance is important in terms of how an audience perceives a character because a character’s physique is the first thing an audience sees, and their first impressions can help them determine whether a lead character is supposed to be a hero figure. In addition to physical appearance, Carroll (2003, p. 130) suggests that violence became a masculine attribute during the 1980s, primarily because 1980s films portrayed cinematic heroes as brawlers. Consequently, brawling became a way for male protagonists to express themselves and thus influenced audience’s perceptions of male heroes. In addition, a cinematic shift that occurred between the 1970s and 1990s demonstrated a change from feminine action heroes to hard male heroes with strong physiques; this shift occurred partly to gain traction with younger film audiences (Berg 2002 p. 105). According to Milestone and Meyer (2012, p. 109), McLane’s ageing body is an attack on the ego: he is denying weakness and unreliability by being so physically strong. Weakness is perceived as a feminine characteristic whereas strength is perceived as a symbol of masculinity; thus, masculinity persists as long as a man preserves his body shape and strength. Nevertheless, a strong man with weak mental powers cannot be considered a masculine figure; he needs to have a strong physical and mental appearance. In the same way, a weak man with superior mental powers cannot be an effective symbol of masculinity. Die Hard 2 is full of scenes that enhance the typical attributes and characteristics of a masculine man, such as the daring nature of McLane in tackling the drug baron in the airplane scene (Benshoff and Griffin 2011, p. 115). According to Gates (2006, p. 82), the Die Hard series produced an ultra-masculine hero in response to the weak gender ideologies portrayed by male actors such as the concept of brawns where characters are depicted as brawlers in various 1980s films. Die Hard 2 maintains the accepted masculine attributes of the so-called authoritative male action hero; it also goes further by constructing a ‘godlike’ identity in McLane. McLane possesses superhuman character traits that enable him to constantly outsmart his enemies and survive situations that a normal man would find impossible (Bould 2005, p. 119). Another shift in the portrayal of film heroes during the late 1980s is a lack of visible emotion, which is also one of McLane’s traits (Berg 2002, p. 140). Displaying sentiment is often perceived as a feminine characteristic; McLane is hyper-masculine, and thus cannot show his feelings without compromising his image. To remove any association with emotions, the dialogue in Die Hard 2 relies heavily on quick quips and catchphrases such as “I just have a feeling” and “Ouch. When you get those feelings, insurance companies start to go bankrupt”, this is different from the drawn-out monologues of many 1980s films, such as those directed by Woody Allen. This reduced verbal interaction means that McLane relies primarily on physical action to communicate: as the ideal macho man, McLane expresses his thoughts and feelings in a physical way (West and Lay 2003, p. 90). While the 1970s style of masculinity forced lead characters to define distinct attributes such as the use of physical strength, or just raw brawn, the lead character in Die Hard 2 possesses both ultra-masculinity and authoritative masculinity (Tasker 2004, p. 76). McLane is both powerful and quick-witted. The battle between ultra-masculinity and the feminized masculinity of the 1970s remains one of today’s cinematic trends in portraying the power of physical strength in male film characters. In Die Hard 2, McLane’s feminized masculinity is represented by lack of over-emphasis on his features, which have contributed to the film’s continued popularity. In particular, Die Hard 2’s appeal reveals the resurgence of McLane’s style of machismo (Jeffords 1994, p. 66). The Die Hard film series, particularly Die Hard 2, epitomizes how Hollywood portrays masculinity in film; moreover, a troubled police officer manages to redeem his personality through hard labor; masculinity and its associated traits, such as physical strength and prowess, are prevalent throughout the film. Other than the success of Hollywood in making hits referring to masculinity, the Die Hard films have an angle at bringing out masculinity to the screen in a manner very different from that of the 1980s, and do it in style. References Benshoff, H. and Griffin, S. 2011. America on film: Representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies. New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell Publishing. Berg, C.R. 2002. Latino images in film: Stereotypes, subversion, and resistance. Austin: University of Texas Press. Bould, M. 2005. Film noir: from Berlin to Sin City. London: Wallflower Press. Carroll, B. 2003. American masculinities: A historical encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE. Gates, P. 2006. Detecting men: Masculinity and the Hollywood detective film. New York: SUNY Press. Goodwill, J.S. 2009. The action hero revisioned: An analysis of female “masculinity” in the new female hero in recent filmic texts. MA thesis, University of South Africa, Pretoria. Jeffords, S. 1994. Hard bodies: Hollywood masculinity in the Reagan era. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Milestone, K. and Meyer, A. 2012. Gender and popular culture. Cambridge: Polity Press. Mulvey, L.1975. “Visual pleaure and narrative cinema”, Screen, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 6-18. Neale, S.1983. “Masculinity as spectacle”. Screen, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 2-17. Rzepka, C. and Horsley, L. 2010. A companion to crime fiction. New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell Publishing. Tasker, Y. 2004. Action and adventure cinema. London: Routledge. West, R. and Lay, F. 2003. Subverting masculinity: Hegemonic and alternative versions of masculinity in contemporary culture. Amsterdam: Rodopi. Read More