The Male Role in French Cinema - Essay Example

The Male Role in French Cinema It is no hidden point that the male role in film has, for centuries, been based on the stereotypical ‘power’ concept. Early film portrayed men as the money-makers, the strength of a family or within a relationship; the hero was often the man, and he always fell in love with the woman, who at some point he had, or was about to save from terrible danger or even death. This typical setup of male portrayal is still at large, and is a technique used constantly. This is not to state that male roles represent no other element; often, film will represent man as weak and vulnerable, yet often such film makes a point of portraying this as a tragedy, an injustice in which man is stripped of his natural power. In stark contrast; the female role is often a vulnerable one – she is the beautiful daughter or the caring wife – she is the home-maker who cooks the meals and cleans the house; she is the child-bearer. Such stereotypical portrayals of the sexes are indeed extremely common, and have roots in the age-old status roles which men and women took centuries ago. This essay will focus on the role of the male in film; it will assess which forms the male role has taken in film and for which message it was intended to portray. Film media plays an immense role in portraying the stereotypical roles of men and women on the screen. As has already been stated, the male role is often connected with masculinity, and all that comes with this label; namely independence, financial success, violence, aggression and physical attractiveness. Men suffering problems are portrayed as ‘drinking’ them away or using methods of violence to ease the anger associated with the problem. A ‘real’ man is portrayed as muscular, harsh, well-endowed and often is a womaniser because of these qualities. It is almost as if these qualities give the male a reason, or a right to such womanising activities. The French male role is often the suave, less masculine in terms of violence, yet more beautiful and poetic. Entre nous depicts and accentuates the difference between the ideal and the typical male role. It portrays the ability of the female characters in constructing a network of friendship and mutual support, in which they are able to establish and maintain a form of independence from their husbands. In this film, the male role depicts that of the caring husband, the admirer of his wife and daughters, the provider of the family, yet in a less masculine sense. By depicting the women in this manner, the film manages to accentuate that what is often thought to be a male set of characteristics can also appear to portray him as a weak and vulnerable character. It is as though the masculine role of the male in film depends on the weakness of the woman he stands next to. It appears that this is what intended by the film; to state that, although the male character is ‘male’ in the sense that he provides for his family, and adores his women, he is unable to provide the security and the confidence which the women so require in order to respect the male character. We thus see an inverting of the roles; of the females joining and the males falling apart from insecurity and vulnerability. The roles of the male and female are switched, and once this occurs, the female characters take on a much stronger role – it is as though the male masculinity when placed into the woman’s body is much stronger and more reliable. The male role portrayed in One Sings, The Other Doesn’t puts another perspective on the role of males in film. It tells the story of women’s struggles during the feminist movement of 1970’s France. Like Entre Nous, the film portrays female power in solidarity; thus one can begin to understand that the characteristics which make male roles masculine can make them weaker in that it causes them to compete against each other. The remarkable ability of women to unify and to work together is accentuated as overstepping the brute force and power of the male – an ironic take on the two sexes and the constant battle between the two. The film further portrays the constant struggle of females in trying to remove the way in which society sees them as sexual, home-keeping, children-bearers. Again, it seeks to increase their strength in that it shows that men never had to fight for such simple things; that male is powerful by virtue of his historical depiction; he never had to really try for it. It also shows that often, the less brute form of fighting can prove more powerful than the male force that is often used for male roles. For the omwne in the film to maintain control over their bodies and their lives goes a long way in attempting to ridicule the often overestimated masculinity of men; it suggests that the outside masculinity of men is not as strong once emotional aspects come into play. Indeed, Lena is portrayed at first as constantly trying to live up to her husband’s expectations, yet by realising that he is nothing without her fulfilling of these expectations, that his very existence depends on finding this idealistic vision he has of a woman. And thus the male role becomes one of dependence, of finding himself in the woman he finds, and by placing on to her the responsibility to make him strong. We thus begin to see his male role being placed upon the woman’s ability to give him that strength. Male roles are often dependent on the inferior female role placed beside them – French film often seeks to undermine this male role by making that inferior female his strength. It is often not known by the male character until her existence and presence is realised, and portrayed blantantly in the film, through a chain of events. This is the style depicted in Mama There Is A Man In Your Bed, in which the simple cleaning lady of a company, Juliette, is ignored by the company’s president, Ronauld. Her role is minimal, and his role takes on the stereotypical successful business man who has money and corporate power in stark contrast to her low level, minimum-wage job. Their interaction is minimal, he hardly notices her, but then comes to realise that her existence is vital for his continuance of the company. Indeed, Juliette, because of her pitiful role within the work place, is able to use her vulnerability and uselessness to help Ronauld. Once again, we see the roles between the male and the female completely change, where the male becomes lenient and completely dependent on Juliette’s vulnerability. In another sense, the movie depicts the ability of the female to use whatever her situation may be to her advantage. Whereas the male character constantly fights against vulnerability and helplessness, for he sees it as a weakness, the female is able to embrace it. By embracing it, she becomes the element that allows the male character to kepp his maleness, to re-establish himself as the masculine. But as the watcher of the film, the masculinity of the male takes on a different role, for all of a sudden his power comes from the female character. The movie undermines and belittles the male character’s role, and shows the irony of power gained from hopelessness and the ‘inferior’ cleaning lady. So far, the movies explored have managed to change the role of the male and the female, or to make the role of the male dependent on the male. This is a powerful technique in French cinema, and it is a rather effective one in undermining the role of the male altogether. Mina Tannenbaum takes a different route. Truffaunt generally portrays in his films two sides of the female character; that of the beautiful, warm, romantic character, and; that side of her which is destructive, vindictive an male-consuming. It is interesting to note that these latter qualities, which are somewhat male qualities are seen as negative in the female, whilst they are such characteristics which would positively increase the masculinity of the male character. Mina Tannenbaum depicts the male character in how he views the female. It portrays the way in which two women are shunned by the male role because of their unconventional appearance; it suggests that the male expects the woman to be the stereotypical thin, beautiful form in which she was intended. The main character Mina gains the most success of her art career by copying male art pieces rather than selling her own works. Again we see the woman coping with the situation, and that, by taking on the male role, she is able to sell her work. It suggests that the male role is easily imitated by the woman, and is thus undermined by this practice. Eventually, the main male role in Mina’s life ends up copying her personal work and style; while she had to copy male art to succeed, her male counterpart ironically had to copy her female style to succeed. This technique of role-switching is an increasingly-popular technique in which the lines between both roles become blurred, and the masculinity of the male is decreased once placed in the role of the woman. It brings the male role in film down to the bare fact that the character is male purely in appearance, and that the woman copying his role makes it just as useful, if not more useful. French twist takes on a more humorous view of the male role than the previously analysed films. In the film, a happily married housewife finds love with a female who happens to come into her life by chance. It depicts the introduction of another female to make the housewife realise how irrelevant her husband is. Once again we can see the male role ridiculed by that of the female role; it is as though her presence is fatal to his role as a male. The male character begins as a typical husband; he has the nice house in the suburbs, the good job and the pretty wife. An interesting element added to this male role is his infidelity shown by him sleeping with many other women of the neighbourhood in which they live. He continues this constantly, and has no problem in doing such activities; for his right as a married male is indeed inclusive of this infidelity. It is a clever depiction of men and how they consider infidelity to be a part of their character as males, yet when such infidelity is done by women, the situation become intolerable. Ironically, the husband accuses his wife of having an affair with the women before she actually has, yet his accusations become real, and they have an affair. The main irony of this movie, and its insult to the male role is that, upon hearing of her husband’; infidelity, the woman does not turn to another male to find help or revenge. Instead, she finds this in a female role, again accentuating that the male role is inadequate to give her the support and care she desires. Where one would expect that she turn to a male, for his role would be supportive, caring and protective, she finds these qualities in the female. Again we see the characteristics of the male role being placed into that of the female, and it being used in a much more positive manner than if it were in that of the male. It suggests strongly, as do the other films, that French attitudes towards the male role are ridiculing and negative. It is as though the French film states ‘the male characteristic which made him so superior is nothing; such characteristics were not out rightly given to females for they do not need such brute force to find the best in their situation. The overall approach seems to be one of irony here; that the male begins as the masculine type, but is then reduced to little purely because of his male role and the characteristics he possesses as this male role. Although there exist at the outset of these films the traditional depiction of male and female roles, they all end with the changing of the male and female roles. What does this say about the male role in French cinema? It suggests that the traditional masculinity of the male role as it once stood and was once portrayed has changed a lot. Film makers are beginning to challenge the stereotypical masculinity of the male role, and showing it in a new light. Either the male role becomes dependent on the ‘weaker’ female role, or the male role is played through the female character, which she takes advantage of and uses in a much wiser way than would the male brute force. It is as though such film suggests that the male role is much more advantageous when taken on by the woman, and challenges the viewer to see the female character and role in a whole different light. So we begin to see the male characteristics; power, force, aggression, infidelity through the role of the female, upon which it takes a whole new force. The movies also seek to undermine the male role, and thus French cinema has begun to question his role in film by portraying him in the light of the female role – fundamentally the roles have been switched. It can be said with some certainty that new social values as they begin to evolve are indeed changing the roles of both the male and female in French cinema. With the birth of feminism has come a new way of viewing man and woman; that woman can be powerful, but also can put a mind behind this power and use it to her advantage in a less forceful way. The films also put accentuation on the instinct of the female, and the traditional role of the male is then found at the mercy of this female force. The films also suggest the lack of understanding the male role has once the female character has taken on his role or reduced his masculine stance; this depicts again the traditional sense that males find hard to let go. Traditionally men were the money-making husbands, but who also have a life outside of the home, be it through work, male friends or with a mistress. All of these aspects are a typical male set of characteristics readily accept by most. French film has tried to remove this stereotypical portrayal, and switch the roles of the male and female. Suddenly, the male role is either made dependent on the female, or his characteristics – even though masculine – are portrayed in a negative light. The modern man does not take the typical role any more, and this is increasingly so in the film industry, especially in France. Indeed, it can be suggested that the general male roles in French society have been – and still are – somewhat masculine, in that French men take on the role of womanisers. French film has recognised this and changed the roles to make such elements of the new male either weak, negative, ironic or undesirable. Woman is taking on a new role, is losing her sexual innocence. This is portrayed by Vendredi Soir, which portrays the male role as he who changes the life of a woman. Although it is his role as a male which changes her life, the plot runs much deeper, for it is her personal reaction to him that makes it as powerful as it is. All of the previously analysed films show that the role of the male in French film is changing and constantly evolving. The stereotype is no longer set to a specific set of characteristics, and the boundaries and roles are changing. We are beginning – and have begun since the 1960’s – to challenge the male role and depict it in a different light. This technique goes a long way in changing the way the role of the male has been viewed over the years. The six-pack muscle man, the suited powerful business man, the superior male is no longer so, or at least it is more questionable. This goes a long way in showing how society has changed in relation to male roles, especially through French film. Bibliography Abel, Richard. 1987. French Cinema: The First Wave. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Cardullo, Bert. 2004. In search of Cinema: Writings on International Film Art. Canada: McGill-Queen’s University Press. Cousins, Mark. 2004. The Story of Film. UK: Da Capo Press. Hayward, Susan & Vincendau, Ginette. 2000. French Film: Texts and Contexts. 2nd ed. Oxon: Routledge Publishers. Read More