In Doug Robinson's "The Hurt, Betrayed Son," he analyzes both the movies and books in the Rambo corpus (corpus is a latin word that means "body of work") in terms of the role masculinity and Freudian psychology (in the form of father figures) plays in John Rambo's thoughts and actions, and those of the other male characters. When watching a move like First Blood, outside of school, we might not pay attention to such characteristics. In terms of the psychology of such characters, it does explain some of their motivations and actions, when you think about it. Robinson is careful to cite specific quotations from both the books and movies as he makes his case.
For this blog entry, I want you to think of other movies, books, or popular culture characters that you can identify that might fit into a similar analysis in terms of the role father or mother figures play in the psychology, actions, and thoughts of such characters. While you don't have the time or space to do a major analysis like Robinson, you can begin to identify sites for further research and argumentation...
My example follows:
I believe the film Conan could be similarly analyzed specifically in terms of father figures and gendered rules regarding masculinity. Conan's parents are slaughtered early on and thus become "absent" figures, much like Robinson's "absent father figure" theory. Meanwhile, the evil sorcerer Thulsa Doom acts as a surrogate (and terrible) father figure. One courld argue that the man Conan becomes is related to the "lessons" he learned as a result of this surrogate father figure. It also explains some of his violence and hypermasculine traits. In the end, with ssassination of Thulsa Doom, he fulfills the Oedipal myth by killing his "father." "Absent" at this point, though, is a mother figure, as Valeria has died. I'd have to work further on this analysis to make it work.
I don't expect you to do as detailed a preliminary analysis as I've done above, but identify at least one story, movie, book, cartoon, that would lend itself to an analysis of gender and/or parental psychological analysis.
30 comments:
I believe in the show "Full House" Danny Tanner could be analyzed as a father figure regarding masculinity. Danny loses his wife and has to take care of a house of kids. Danny does his best to support his family, and care to them for their needs. Although he has some help from Jesse and Joey, he is pretty much the main care taker. He uses his masculinity to teach his kids right from wrong, and help them through their problems.
A father figure that emphasizes masculinity that stands out in my mind is Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator. His job throughout the movie is to protect the boy and his mother from all sorts of danger and rigorous challenges. He uses his masculinity to fight all the evils and to keep the boy from any harm.
I believe that Harry Potter could be a good example of this. Both of his parents were killed by the Lord Voldemort so he is left to be raised by his aunt and uncle that hate him. He finds out in a later book that he has a godfather who he identifies as the closest link he could have to a father. Harry often asks his godfather for advice on things and sometimes he uses this advice to fuel him to accomplish something great or figure out a certain aspect of his past. Harry (without ruining the ending) uses the love that he has found in his close friends and godfather to accomplish greatness.
I think that in the Lion King, Mufasa ,teaches his son Simba how to act and behave. He taught him life lessons, to never forget who he was and to remain loyal to his family. When Scar kills his father, simba runs away, forgetting his past, running away from his problems. But as time progresses, he is taken back to his roots, remembers his father, and takes back what is rightfully his.
I think in spider man the father figure is Uncle Ben. Peter blamed himself for Ben's death. Because of his Uncle's death, Peter tries to get rid of all crime. His uncle's death forced him into masculinity because he tried to fight all crime.
A father figure that stands out to me is Apollo Creed from Rocky. You dont know much about Rocky's family from the start and when Rocky gets into the boxing scene and fights Apollo, Apollo realizes the talent that Rocky has. Apollo takes Rocky under his wing and teaches him what he already knows about how to survive in the boxing world.
In the movie John Q, Denzel Washington has a son who is sick with a heart disease. He goes through the process to get a heart transplant for his son, but no luck comes out of it. His son is at the bottom of the list and the hospital can do nothing about it. John cannot just sit there and watch his son die, so he hijacks the hospital to get his the surgery. His masculine and father instincts for his son to survive come through while watching this, yet you see a scared John Q as the movie goes on.
I believe that Harry Potter is an appropriate example. In the books/movies Harry's parents are murdered when he is a young child. He is then forced to live with his aunt and uncle who treat him horribly and provide no parental acomadations for him. When he becomes a teenager he is introduced into the world of wizardry. He is excited to leave and be anywhere away from his aunt and uncle. When he gets to Hogwarts he meets Dumbledoor and he comforts him, provides him with advice and tries to protect him, therefore becoming the father figure in his life.
In the movie "Goodfellas" with Ray Lioata he grows up in a Brooklyn neighborhood. Growing up in the 1950's New York mafia scene. He quickly gets accepted by the boss of the family Paulie who looks after him like a father figure. This father figure really didn't do anything positive for him. Paulie turns Ray Lioata character into a money hunger criminal that beats and shoots people.
in the movie "the departed" jack nicklson, the head of the boston mob, becomes matt damons father figure when he is very young. even though its in a negative way, jack takes matt under his wing and he gives him a sense of security and acceptance. matt damon grows up with that feeeling of loyalty and feels like he is in debt to jack. he joins the police force and gives jack tips for him and the mob to avoid getting caught by the cops. matt damons appeciation of jack nickelson forces him into a masculine life of killing and ruthlessness.
A father figure that emphasizes masculininty from a movie, in my mind, is tom hanks character in Sleepless in Seattle.
He loses his wife, and focuses on raising his son and getting through as a family with him. Even though he is hesitant to meet Meg Ryan character in the end, he proves his masculinity by believing his son and going to meet her, thus being unafraid.
In the movie 'Save the Last Dance" the teenage girl's mother died and she had to go live with her father who she hasn't seen in years. She would fight continually with him because she was angry that her mother was gone, she took her anger out on others like her dad and friends. She ended up not doing so well in her dance auditions because she didn't have her mothers presence and love with her. Instead of missing the father figure like Rambo and struggling with that she is struggling missing her mothers role.
I see Russel Crowe's character in Gladiator, Maximus, as a personality similar to Rambo. Maximus is also forsaken by a paternal figure, the Roman government, which taught him to kill without feeling. They taught him to function like a machine. When the good emperor is murdered by his son, the son takes over and demands Crowe to serve him. Crowe refuses and is sentenced to death but escapes and travels to his home. At home, he finds his wife and son murdered. At this point, it seems like a part of his humanity dies and becomes even more machine-like. He then makes it his life’s goal to kill the em
When I read the question for the blog, I thought of the old horror movie Carrie and the way her mother treats her in it. Her mother abuses her and makes her thing she's a freak and ugly and never good enough for anything.
Because of this treatment, Carrie ends up killing her mom towards the end of the movie. Although Carrie was already psycho, her religion obsessed mom made it much worse but locking her in closets and screaming at her all the time.
The show "Lost" could be analyzed as a father figure that emphasizes masculinity through the character, Jack. His plane crash onto a island with few survivals. He is a doctor and help cure people with injuries. With his survival tactics and intelligence he become the leader of the group. He made sure that everyone is healthy, get their nutrients, and is protected.
I think that in the movie "Leave it to Beaver" the father figure has a great impact on his son Beaver. He wants him to play football and be the typical boy because that's how he thought it should be. Beaver hates football and is not good at it, but continues to play or pretends to play to make his father happy. His brother is the all-American boy and he just wants his dad to appreciate him just as much. The mom in the story is also the typical mom in that time. She cooks, cleans, and is perfect in every way. These set roles effect the way that Beaver grows up and how he views the roles of men and woman.
I think in the movie Forest Gump, Forrest never grew up with his father. Throughout the movie Forrest relates to many of his mother's sayings that helped shape his views and actions in life. SHe had certain sayings that he could relate to and base his life on.
In Sandlot, Smalls doesn't have his real dad around instead he has his step dad who he doesn't take to very well. His step dad shows a lot of masculinity after he hits Smalls in the face with a baseball while playing catch and tells him he's fine. In the end, he becomes more of a father figure to Smalls and they end up liking each other.
A film that shows parental roles that effect their offspring would be Requium for a dream. The main character played by Jerrad Ledo, his mother is perscribed speed to make her lose weight. He is a herion dealer but doesn't shoot up a lot, but when he sees his mom go off the deep end he starts to use drugs more. Because of his parental realtions that are going sour because of drugs he starts to use drugs more and more offten until he eventually develops gang green. His problems are a direct reflection from his mothers addiction.
In the television show, Scrubs, John C. McGinley's character, Dr. Cox shows an immense amount of masculinity. He is constantly trying to repress his feelings of love. He doesn't like to show affection. I chose him because he is kind of like a father figure to the main character, J.D. He is constantly nagging on J.D. and telling him he is a girl, just because he shows his emotions. Cox doesn't even admit when his back is in intense pain. He tries to be the ultimate man.
In the movie Big Daddy with Adam Sandler he is forced to take care of a kid that is not his.
He is forced to take care of him to the best of his ability, no matter how bad of a father he is. No mother figure is in the beginning of the movie so Adam has two partake in both roles. Sonny starts to buy into what Adam believes although they are not necessarily appropriate for a young child.
I believe in the movie Lucky Number Slevin,Good Cat (Bruce Willis) could be analyzed as a father figure for Selvin (Josh Hartnet) in that he takes in Slevin as a young boy when the 2 mob bosses in New York have his parents killed. Good Cat raises Slevin and they end up teaming up to become gangsters and they kill the 2 mob bosses that killed Slevin's parents in the beginning.
In the Simpsons, Homer is a strong father figure. He is the one that has the job and makes the money while marge stays home and watches the kids. Bart is a rebel and he acts out to get his parents' attention. The way Homer punishes Bart is throttling him. He is an emotionally unavailable father who hangs out at Moe's when he is not working or at home. He and Bart the rash ones that are always doing things that get the family into trouble, while Lisa and Marge are the judgmental and reasonable ones. Gender roles are pretty important in this tv show but in most cases it is making fun of them and of the importance society puts on them.
So for a second there i thought you had me but i found a movie... What Women Want with Mel Gibson. Its not the best movie but it is a movie he grows up with his showgirl mother and no father there are father figures but nothing that would be considered role models and he grows up to know all about women just from only being around women. I think if he had a father it would have been different for him he might not of grown up the ganster player like he did he could of been a loser maybe. Or more into sports
The movie Cheaper by the Dozen. The dad is trying to balance being a dad and having a job. He needs to provide money for his 12 children to live off of including his wife. He encounters many struggles and different obstacles he has to overcome in raising a family. He gives up his dream job for his family. He is a hero in the movie and puts his family before himself.
A father figure that truly shows masculinity would have to be Stan Smith from American Dad. The father in this show is the ideal father. He is strong and is always lecturing his family. He works for the CIA and is a man who knows many secrets. Stan is often shooting weapons and I've seen him on several occasions shooting terrorists. He would do anything to protect his family and country.
When I read this blog post I immediately thought of Jenny, from "Forest Gump". Jenny's father was a drunken molester of Jenny and her sisters. I believe this is why, later in the movie, she grows up to be a rebellious, free-sex-loving hippie. This is often the case with sexually abused children. At the end of the movie, Jenny finally dies of an "unknown" illness, which is clearly AIDS.
I will use Terminator 2. In the beginning, John Connor is a teenage boy with both an absent father and mother figure. His "parental" figure's have been the streets in a way because he is rebelling against foster parents.
We find later that his mother, Sarah Connor, Is in an institution because of her dementia towards the future with cyborg hunter killers. She plays an absent mother figure that is also overly masculine because of the coming war.
The terminator comes to fill the spot of the father figure, an overly masculine cyborg that feels no pain or emotion. He teaches John about perseverance. That he must survive. This shows the boy in a sense what the previous essay says about comics. There is less to understand. It is point blank what he sees. A very tough man with guns that can take anything and feel nothing. Though in the end he understands emotion.
In the movie Hardball the man takes over a baseball team in the ghetto to make money to pay on a bet. He is a rough character, but he has to clean up his act to be a father figure to the kids on the team. Most of the boys on the team have never had a father in their lives. They deal with violence and death with this man as their "father".
In the television series The O.C., Sandy Cohen is the head of the household and father of the children. In the show, Sandy is always very protective over his family. If something was to happen to anyone in the family, he gets revenge in the worst way, kindness. He is the ultimate father figure.
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