Representation of Masculinity in Die Hard 2 - Essay Example

Representation of Masculinity in Die Hard 2 of Introduction The dominance of masculinity over femineity is visible in every segment of human life, in the past and present. The same trend may most probably continue in the future also. Masculinity has both physical as well as mental strength to dominate over femineity. The dominance of masculinity is more evident in the film field. According to Carroll (2003) “studies in the film field pay specific attention to the Herculean physical performances and spectacular body appearances of starring characters such as John McLane in the Die Hard series” (p. 54). Even though heroines are playing an important role in the success of films, most of the famous films are known in the name of heroes. This is purely because of the male domination in our society. As such, this paper intends to analyse the representation of masculinity in one of the Die Hard films, namely Die Hard 2. The analysis will be drawn by reference to the works of Mulvey (1975), Neale (1983) and Tasker (2004). Representation of Masculinity in Die Hard 2 “The story of Die Hard 2 is revolving around a police officer (John McLane) who lives in New York. The movie begins on Christmas Eve when he visits his ‘distanced’ wife, who lives in Los Angeles”(Gates 2006, p. 35). “John McLane has some unresolved issues; it is partly due to these that he is not on good terms with his wife” (Rzepka & Horsley 2010, p. 89). Upon his arrival, he finds her and the rest of her colleagues having a Christmas party in the building in which they work Coincidentally, some criminals posing as political terrorists invade the building, demanding the release of war criminals who are jailed in an American penitentiary. The film portrays the heroic acts made by John McLane to save his wife from the hands of terrorists. In films, masculine characters are usually portrayed with virile physical prowess and social dominance. Another important aspect of these masculine heroes is their high level of aggression. Prior studies concerning Hollywood’s presentation of male genres have characterised Die Hard 2 as a male-driven action movie. “The audiences of this movie will not find it difficult to spot the genre of the movie as male-driven. This is prominent in the presentation of the lead hero as a macho man”(Milestone & Meyer 2012, p. 50). This is because of his spectacular ability to wrestle his enemies, a trait of the hero in movies of the male-driven genre. It should be noted that super human and unbelievable efforts are usually made by the heroes of the action oriented movies like Die Hard 2. Nobody will think about the reality when they see movies in which action heroes like John McLane fights and wins against a group of enemies (Say five to ten terrorists). “Indeed, the extant studies and research from a feminist perspective clearly states that the physical masculinity of an action hero gives a preferential tone for the action narrative”(Carroll 2003, p. 79). It should be noted that the audience accepts heroism when male characters in films perform it. On the other hand, female heroism are less acceptable to audiences. This is because of the notion that males are much stronger than females both physically and mentally. According to Rzepka & Horsley (2010), “Masculinity as a spectacle merely depicts an idea or opinion which a film-maker intends to deliver to their audience. This depiction involves physical prowess, sexual virility and aggression”(p. 61). Gates (2006), Bould (2005) and Berg (2002) supported the ideas expressed by Rzepka & Horsley. “An analysis of Die Hard 2 highlights the movie director’s focus on physicality in action heroes such as John McLane, and the way they display the body of their hero forms a vital ingredient of a film’s visual effects” (Gates 2006, p. 58). “The literature examining both the hegemonic male and the action hero routinely discusses issues such as sexuality, race, class, nationality and, above all, the body”(Bould 2005, p. 59). “Despite the ageing protagonist’s physical prowess, most reviewers and critics greeted the Die Hard series with a great deal of passion and acclaim. This is due to John McLane’s ability to withstand physical assaults with his hard male body, irrespective of his age”(Berg 2002, p. 80). The physical appearance of the hero plays an important role in attracting audience towards action-oriented films like Die Hard 2. Imagine a situation in which Rowan Atkinson plays the hero role of Die Hard 2. Even though, Rowan Atkinson has huge acceptance among the public as a comedian, nobody will accept him as an action or romantic hero. This is mainly because of the weaker physique of Atkinson, compared to that of the action heroes. “Therefore, the figure that depicts powerful masculinity may only exist or be embodied in legendary heroes, mythical figures and a minute number of males within a society”(West & Lay 2003, p. 27). Age is not a barrier for action heroes if their body appear to be stronger. In other words, body of the hero plays an important role in deciding the success of an action movie like Die Hard 2 rather than the age of the hero. For example, “Bruce Willis premiered the first of the Die Hard movies at the age of 35, when he had passed the age of presenting a youthful masculine image” (Carroll 2003, p. 112). Even then, the movie was a box office hit. In fact, “all Die Hard movies portray the physical toughness of the leading character as opposed to his age” (West & Lay 2003, p. 55). It can be said that John McLane continues to be a tough character with a hard masculine personality who has the ability to cope with pain, habitual brutality and repeated punishments. It is for this reason that the audience accepts this ageing hero, and the critics applaud him. As mentioned earlier, at the beginning of the movie a gang enters the building where John McLane has gone to talk to his wife. “Movie reviewers have proposed that, due to his masculinity, John is able to single-handedly overshadow and overpower more than 10 men”(Benshoff & Horsley 2010, p. 91). What does this imply? “With reference to the hegemonic male bodies of action legends, masculinity is a sign of the ability to withstand hardships, think quickly, overpower obstacles that normal humans cannot tackle and show machismo in a flamboyant manner” (Bould 2005, p. 80). Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for a person to fight and win against 10 people. However, in this movie the masculinity of the hero, is represented, not only by the physical ability of the protagonist, but also by his charisma. “John fights until the end of the movie without losing his willpower, in contrast to his opponents, who lose their lives, machinery, and most importantly, their money” (Gates 2006, p. 66). In other words, John wins his fight against enemies not only with the help of physical power alone but also with the help of mental power as well. In short, Die Hard 2 represents masculinity in terms of superior physical as well as mental power. “The sheer brute power that John employs while fighting his enemies shows the recent shift from feminine action in the 1970s to the hard male body that emerged in the 1990s, particularly to gain popularity with a youthful audience” (Berg 2002, p. 105). Die Hard captures the art of masculinity, as John displays hard-core power that depicts the nature of men as they physically battle their way out of their problems. Masculinity is represented as a measure of intelligence also, in the film, Die Hard 2. This is evident from the scene in which John “tampers with an airplane’s fuel tank when the enemies are about to take off” (Mulvey 1975, p. 7). As per the analysis of Neale (1983), it can be acknowledged that one common expectation of audiences of movies from the male-driven genre was detective skill of the action hero—for example, James Bond (Neale 1983, p. 15). Plenty of detective films have caught the attraction of audience in 80’s and 90’s. However, the trend has changed considerably during the latter parts of 90’s and at the beginning of the twenty first century. Physical masculinity has gained dominance over mental or intellectual masculinity in recent times. For example, Actors like Woody Allen has been introduced as a fresh breed of physical masculinity. “It can be said that Die Hard 2 gained great popularity mainly because of the presentation of John as a man of Herculean physique”(Gates 2006, p. 111). Action is necessary for the success of a film. Today, audiences expect the star to be a strong man. Weaker actors can act only in the character roles or comedy roles in films. An action oriented movie maker always look for actors with strong physique. ‘A general trait expected in a lead actor is a burly and macho personality, evident in his appearance” (Jeffords 1994, p. 100). “At some point, John’s ageing body represents a glimpse of a narcissistic affront to, as well as an attack on, the adult ego, which in turn portrays him as an action hero who remains powerful and potent and says ‘no’ to traits related to weakness and unreliability” (Milestone & Meyer 2012, p. 109). Weakness is perceived as a feminine characteristic whereas action is perceived as a symbol of masculinity by the modern day generation. There are plenty of people, who happen to be stronger even at the age of 50s or 60s. Masculinity persists as long as a male preserves his body shape and strength. “Epitomic movies, such as the Die Hard series, perfectly represent the typical blockbuster action films of the eras that bombarded the audience with images that were considered to portray the best attributes and characteristics of a ‘correct’ man” (Benshoff & Griffin 2011, p. 115). Earlier, masculinity was perceived as a measure of the facial appearance; however, at present, it is perceived as the appearance of the body as well as the physical and mental strength. A strong man with weak mental power cannot be considered as a masculine figure. Same way, a weak man with superior mental power also cannot be labelled as a symbol of masculinity. Both physical strength as well as mental strength are essential characteristics of masculinity. That is why Die Hard series heroes were portrayed as people with superior physical and mental abilities. “The Die Hard series replenished the cinema field with literal action, as it sought to give space and reassert control of some of the scrambled (naive traits of the lead male actors) gender ideologies portrayed in the 1980s” (Gates 2006, p. 82). “As a matter of course, hegemonic male actors established yet another type of masculinity of this era, which movie reviewers refer to as ‘ultra-masculinity’” (Milestone & Meyer 2012, p. 76). Through an analysis of these studies, it becomes easier to understand that this type of masculinity maintained the normal attributes of the so-called authoritative male action hero, but went further to construct itself as ‘godlike’. In his Die Hard series, the actor Bruce Willis possesses superhuman character traits that enable him to outsmart all his enemies at each step of the game and survive every kind of crazy stunt that a normal man would never dare to dream of (Bould 2005, p. 119). “In spite of the fact that the late 1980s films incorporated emotions, John McLane lacks this indifferent trait, which is nevertheless a pragmatic key attribute of ultra-masculinity” (Berg 2002, p. 140). Emotional control is another characteristic of masculinity. It should be noted that heroes in action films like Die Hard 2 may not disclose their sentiments publically. In fact, the demonstration of sentiments is often perceived as a feminine characteristic. The entry of a new breed of action heroes sought to do away with this association after a long decade of men who were presented as having emotional insight. To ensure that this was followed, the film scripts meant for this new era relied heavily on quick quips and catchphrases. This was in opposition to the drawn-out monologues of films such as those of Woody Allen. The application of masculinity led to the use of phrased statements to imply a lack of words by these hard body male actors. With the aim of compensating for the main actor’s lack of words, these films relied primarily on physical action. As a result, the ideal macho man, Bruce Willis, expresses his ability physically West & Lay 2003, p. 90). “After analysing this movie thoroughly, I deduced that violence had become yet another imperative attribute of masculinity in the 1980s” (Carroll 2003, p. 130). This was mainly because the films of 1980s portrayed cinematic heroes as brawlers. Consequently, the brawl became the means through which male protagonists expressed themselves. While the 1970s type of masculinity made lead characters define their distinct attributes; in contrast, in Die Hard 2 the main character possesses both ultra-masculinity and authoritative masculinity (Tasker 2004, p. 76). The presentation of both types of masculinity is represented by the equal presence of power and catchphrases as well as quick quips. The dichotomy representing ultra-masculinity versus the alternative feminised masculinity has survived and made it through to the current decade’s cinematic trends. The presence of feminised masculinity as portrayed by John McLane in some instances in Die Hard 2 is depicted in his possession of delicate and soft features that have made the whole movie remain extremely popular since it premiered. In particular, its appeal reveals the simultaneous resurgence of the machismo that John displays (Jeffords, 1994, p. 66). In conclusion, Die Hard 2, as well as the rest of the Die Hard series, epitomises the ways in which Hollywood and other film industries around the world portray masculinity in the cinema. It shows us a police officer who has troubles in his daily life and who eventually manages to redeem his personality, although only through hard labour. Masculinity is prevalent throughout the movie and the traits that embody such decisive prowess traverse the film. Thus, it can be said that contemporary film-making has allowed development and introduction of newer methods for character narratives, which allows audiences to expect more traits and dimensions in the presentation of masculinity in films. References Benshoff, H. M & Griffin, S. 2011, America on film: Representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies, Wiley Blackwell Publishing, New York. Berg, C.R. 2002, Latino images in film: Stereotypes, subversion, and resistance, University of Texas Press, Austin, TX. Bould, M. 2005, Film noir: From Berlin to Sin City, Wallflower Press, London. Carroll, B.E. 2003. American masculinities: A historical encyclopedia, The Moschovitis Group, New York. Gates, P. 2006, Detecting men: Masculinity and the Hollywood detective film, State University of New York Press, New York. Jeffords, S. 1994. Hard bodies: Hollywood masculinity in the Reagan era, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ. Milestone, K. & Meyer, A. 2012. Gender and popular culture, Polity Press, Cambridge. Mulvey, L. 1975. Visual pleaure and narrative cinema. Screen, vol. 16, no. 3, 6–18. Neale, S. 1983, Maculanity as spectacle. Screen, vol. 24, no. 6, 2–17. Repka, C. & Horsley, L. 2010, A companion to crime fiction, Wiley Blackwell Publishing, New York. Tasker, Y. 2004. Action and adventure cinema. Routledge, London. West, R. & Lay, F. 2003. Subverting masculinity: Hegemonic and alternative versions of masculinity in contemporary culture, Rodopi, Amsterdam. Read More