Study Task 3 - Images and Theory

Task 3 - Images and Theory

My research this week included the texts below:

 From Mouse to Mermaid

 Chapter: The Curse of Masculinity, Susan Jeffords

I found this extract very interesting in its analysis; addressing ideas of gender, the values that are attached to the archetype of a ‘hero’ and how contextual events can impact these values portrayed. It is very raw in how it deconstructs the presentation and progression of men between the 80s and 90s in films, drawing reference to race, male fragility and reasoning.

Jeffords poses the idea that the 90s man was shown to need family to be whole (presented in Kindergarten cop) and that violence he may show is him being self destructive and just doing his job; in turn it shows his frailty as family is his resolution of changing. 90s films are allowing them to always react to an outside force, be it jobs, nations or friends which put them in these violent situations, therefore eliminating the idea that the man be blamed for his own internal aggression. Whereas 80s action- adventure films are glorifying scenes of destruction.

I cannot put into any better words than Jeffords on her reading on Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) not being portrayed as lethal, the first shot of him being surrounded by loving family, and the idea that an African- American black man who only kills when provoked is the ideal archetype for a predominantly white audience who do not want to see him oppose US systems. Murtaugh’s “masculinity, has not been taken away from his family, largely because, such films imply, he has not been out saving countries... not, in other words, been carrying the white man’s burden, o, by implication, his masculinity.” This racial subtext is dangerous in ensuring that ideas of heroism and bodily integrity are centered in a white body. These films suggest that if there is a body that has been historically victimized by society, it is not a person of colour but the unloved white man who needs love and attention to reform, not criticism. 

'Masculine' roles played by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Cyborg Cinema, Sue Short

The following text was relevant in how Jeffords looked at the Terminator, and then reading how the archetype was to be perceived by a leading man in the 1980s. Calling it an ‘obsolete model’, this text looks at the success and longevity of the SF genre itself, and looks at the successful qualities for a cyborg, highlighting how female cyborgs are often deemed inhuman and disposed of.

Having a look into a different direction for my research, I began to look at sentient spaces, or how character and background interact together. As a first pit stop I skimmed The Art of Howl’s Moving Castle. This gave me a quick insight in to what I could follow on to in research as it touches on how background colours interact with the emotion and development of a character and the colour cues that we don’t necessarily consciously notice but are placed to aid the narrative and Mitsunori Kataama (Director of Digital Animation) said ‘now I understand what people mean when they praise character depth in a film’ and the importance of strong character design!

Howl's Moving Castle