Cultural Approaches to Film

By Richard Davis

Module Title: Cultural Approaches to Film Module Number: 105 AAD Module Lecturer: Claire Lapworth

The origins of the theories of ideology and hegemony - Ideology is an orderly collection of ideas or beliefs that are common in a given class or group of people. We can find these ideological sets of beliefs or ideas in many forms: Religion, media.. Capitalism The belief in a free market, the economic system of a society ruled by a profit motive. Here the wealthy hold power over the working classes and today capitalism is the dominant social, political and economic system in the world. Communism Is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, an ideological system where there is no private ownership of goods or money, but a collective ownership by all people of a given group. Communisms ideology is perpetuated as a fair and equal system and they believe that capitalism exploits workers; the rich become richer the poor become poorer. Karl Marx (1818-1883) was the first to talk about the concept of ideology; his theories were based on capitalist vs communist ideologies. He argued that capitalism as a social system functions to exploit the lower class, the Proletariat, and the Bourgeoisie, the middle class. The class which owns the means of production holds powers over these classes who sell their labour for wages. Marx argues that ideology is a false consciousness and through these dominant ideologies important truths are hidden from the public which preserve the interests of the ruling classes. In todays world this is much more complex and subtle but still evident. Ideological state apparatus is a term developed by the Marxist theorist Louis Althusser (1918-1990) to denote institutions such as education, the churches, family, media, trade unions, and law, which were formally outside state control but which served to transmit the values of the state, to interpellate those individuals affected by them, and to maintain order in a society, above all to reproduce capitalist relations of production. www.encyclopedia.com

We have been asked to demonstrate our understanding of the social, political and cultural contexts in which film is produced. Firstly I will discuss the origins and theory of ideology and then apply this knowledge to examine masculinity in the action film genre: Masculinity in Crisis - from the 80s action hero to todays Modern Man.

Cultural Approaches to Film 105AAD

In theory Communism works, but with the worlds superpowers (USA) being capitalist societies it would be almost impossible for a communist society to function as it would inevitably lead to clashes of interest between these two ideologies. All we have to do is look religion to see how different ideologies can clash, Christianity vs Muslim, so from this we can see that ideology is often the site of struggle, one groups interests verses another. Ideologies fight against one another to become the dominant ideology, a power struggle where those that fall in line with the dominant ideology often become the most powerful in a society.

Hegemony is when one body has a disproportionate amount of influence on political affairs. The dominant ideology is always in favor of the powerful members of society and hegemony looks at how people are lead to accepting dominant ideologies even when those ideologies arent in their own interest. Today influence is garnered through the media, we are shown and told how things are or should be, but it is the ruling ideology which gives us this information. Hegemony originally arose as a critical concept from Marxist, Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) the leader of the Italian communist party in the 1930s. He advocated hegemony as a state where the dominant ideas of the ruling class secure a moral, cultural, intellectual and political leadership over a society, in its simplest form hegemony means control over and discourse analysis is a way of looking at the hegemonic concepts.

It is likely that Capitalism will always rule as the rich will always want to get richer and stay in power, from that power comes control, when you control the masses (through the media) you maintain that power. To change a power system a large movement would be needed, most likely leading to war, and in war those with the money and power will inevitably prevail. This is called hegemony.

Discourse analysis is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken, signed language use or any significant semiotic event. In cultural studies this commonly covers two different cultural areas, but is referred to as a communicative language, its about how ideas are perpetuated in society. 1. Words and Language used by certain groups doctors, rappers, sports fans here we find verbal and non-verbal communication Clothing, signs, rituals. We simply could look at the urban dictionary to find a world of alternative commutation and we can also look at American gang culture to find nonverbal commutation in the clothes they wear. 2. A way of constructing and communicating a reality or a form of knowledge The law, capitalism etc. So discourse analysis is a way for us to interoperate some meaning of a discourse, its a way of approaching and thinking about a problem and can help to reveal any hidden motivation behind a text. Its object is to reveal socio-psychological traits of a group rather than that of a text structure, helping us to understand the conditions behind specific problem or site of struggle. Through Discourse we look at language and see how it is used in a society or a cultural group to bring about change, but its not simply what the language means, its how you use it to make a difference. Michael Foucault looked at the construction of language and how this could be used to gain control. He was interested in power and how it worked socially/culturally and he looked at power systems Justice System, health system, school system etc. He saw that in these systems they have their own language that is used to reinforce a power relationship exclusion through language.

There are many language systems, large and small, and most of us have our own system in our group of friends or co workers, so these systems are not always the site of struggle but simply sets of terms so we can understand said groups specifically.

Masculinity in Crisis - The representation of masculinity in Hollywood cinema had shifted through the years and I will be taking a look at this progression, from the 1980s action films perfect male to the fragile representation of masculinity in the 1990s, in particular, Ted Kotcheffs, 1982 film, First Blood and David Finchers 1999 film, Fight Club. I will be looking at how action films define masculinity and render the ideal male.
The dramatic difference between the 80s action hero and the modern action hero of the late 90s

This shift in masculinity certainly did not start in the 1980s, in seminal films such as, Nicholas Rays 1955 film, Rebel without a Cause, we see actor, James Dean, redefining masculinity, Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley also of that era show their feminine side and clearly possess a vivacious beauty. The portrayals in the 1950s showed men a different way to be from someone like, The Duke, John Wayne, the epitome of masculinity at the time. Here mens masculinity was not defined by their previously attributed acts of aggression. Move forward to the early 1980s and the action era, we see the action films take over Hollywood. Blockbusters like, Ted Kotcheffs, 1982 film, First Blood, introduced us to a hyper masculinity.

In early 1980s action cinema, men were very impressive, larger-than-life, imposing, violent action heroes. In First Blood, Actor Sylvester Stallone starred as a troubled Vietnam War veteran, who becomes a "one man army". Stallone became a star when the film Rocky (1976) became a smash hit. What followed was a string of successful action movies, Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), Rocky III (1982) and Rocky IV (1985)

Rebel Without a Cause A film which was originally banned because of its portrayal of a troubled male youth and weak father figure.

Other standouts of the era included Chuck Norris, Missing in Action trilogy (1984, 1985, 1988) and Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988). The 80s action era was all about the hyper masculine, an era of powerful demonstrations of force and dominance. John Rambo (First Blood) is one of the most powerful images in this era, an ultra-muscular and hyper-violent former Green Beret killing machine. Rambo who is unparallel in combat, with his huge guns and knives, uses very few words to settle his disputes and get the job done. Here Rambo proves his ability to survive on his own and his toughness is personified as he sews up his own arm.

Another star of the 80s was Arnold Schwarzenegger, an ex body builder and Mr. Olympia, he appeared as Conan the Barbarian in 1982. He went on to appear in his signature role in James Cameron's science fiction thriller The Terminator (1984). Like Stallone, he had great success in this era and made a number of films: Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), Predator (1987) and Red Heat (1988).

He is a constant show of force, through his actions and his physical presence. Much like Rambo, Schwarzenegger as the Terminator and Conan, was the biggest and strongest of men, essentially indestructible. Clearly the 80s heroes were obsessed with becoming muscular and powerful, women fell by the way side, the films being almost exclusively about mans strength to achieve anything on his own, like Rambo, the one man army.

In these films we are presented with iconic images of men. With few words they speak through action. These films perpetuated the idea of men being about dominance, power and control.

Here the dominant ideology of what our culture expects of a so called real man is portrayed on screen through the steady stream of images that define manhood as connected with muscles, a predilection for violence and perfection, but this is an image cleverly constructed by the dominant ideology at the time.

The actions heros of this period also promoted the use of weapons, guns, knives etc. His weapon empowers him to take control; this could also be seen as an extension of his ego and reinforce his masculinity by having the biggest and baddest, often contrasted against the small useless weapons of his enemies.

Violence - It can be said that the 80s action film promoted violence as an accepted part of masculinity. In these films we see the hero as a man in control, but often he is rarely in control of anything outside of himself, if something gets in his way he destroys it, but he has little or no control of what goes on around him, often finding himself in desperate situations, but having the tenacity to overcome them.

Muscles - A representation of power and self mastery. We see the ideal male physical body and authoritative demeanor but the male torso is shadowed by the spectacle of the story thus taking away any eroticism from the body

Conan the Barbarian (1982) perfecting his sword fighting art, Conan seeks revenge on the men who killed his parents. A solitary man on a mission, master of the sword and his own body, everything under his control he perfects.

The hero shot from below, building him up, making him look powerful, the camera work lets us see the body in action, and the heros figure is the object of the spectacle.

Commando (1985) John Matrixs daughter has been kidnapped, and he is willing to kill every one to get her back. Like First Blood, there is no love interest; the characters are on their own personal quests, fighting independently.

There is a difference between Stallones and Schwarzeneggers characters in these films, Stallones characters show a suffering masculinity, whereas Schwarzeneggers characters show the victorious warrior.

Rambo, in a rare moment of eroticism, kisses a female agent only for her to be mercilessly machine-gunned moments later, Rambo must go on alone, he does not need a woman, a representation of the monk like hero who rises above his sexual desires in order to save the world. Similarly the Terminator has no sexual desire because he is a machine and the protagonist, Kyle Reese, simply looks to protect the weak Sarah Connor. These films look to polarized gender, masculinity being associated with machismo, independence, competition, emotional detachment, aggression and violence; here these masculine themes are forbidden from the female touch.

First Blood John Rambo: what he stands for and his value in the social hierarchy: The war hero - a working class man A man with no job - through no fault of his own, his war is over A man who lacks a place within the community for which he fights - alienated At first he appears gentle and caring - a model citizen A handsome man in a masculine way he is not vane A simple hard working man - but by no means is he stupid A man tortured by his past - now confused as to his place and role in society

Here Rambo has no job so does not fit into a capitalist social structure, he earns no money, so there for pays no tax. In the story he rebels against authority, when the cops push him out of town. He starts to lose his sense of reality and go mad and in the end is asked to come back to reality by his former commander. Here Rambo represent a type of masculinity, one which devalues the masculinity of the other men in the film, the cops in the film are brash bullies and cowards where Rambo is strong and silent. So initially this film could look to be opposed to the hegemony state, but we see a strong, skilled character who has no job, like many skilled men of the era who had lost work to women, a character that rebels, this tells men they need to be enterprising and step out on their own, maybe promoting self employment in this new era of equality.

John McLane in Die Hard smokes, a sign that he does not care what people think, a rebellious, independent nature.Again we are shown the body in motion. Right: Col. James Braddocks massive gun, his body is also a deadly weapon. These characters were a step towards a more realistic image of masculinity, their bodies not being so freakishly big and they also have more dialogue in the films, allowing them to show deeper levels of intelligence.

Other action films of the era, Die Hard (1988) and Missing in Action trilogy (1984, 1985, 1988) shared many of the same traits but Willis was a wise cracking hero and Norris was known for his martial arts training, an influence from the East that was slowly creeping in to western cinema. Again the characters are on a solo mission, flexing their muscles, as one man against the world.

Here we see hegemonic masculinity: the most valued form of masculinity in a patriarchal culture. The dominant masculinity form is characterised by the traits associated with being real men in these films, this mean men have to fit into this narrow box that defines them as tough, strong, respected and independent, terms that define man hood in film. Opposite terms like weak, wimp, ineffectual, timid etc. exist outside the films but keep the idea of the real man boxed in, so there is pressure on the individual male to conform to this representation of masculinity, one which is perpetuated in film and media of the 80s. Is it a cry for an era trying to keep a hold of a sense of masculinity? Does is point to a fear of women?

The 80s action heros also had a lot to do with class, most of them would be categorized as working class men, soldiers, boxers, cops and even the Terminator, is a machine engineered for a job, men who contribute to society and contribute tax. Economic depression in the late 1980s, hegemonic concepts of masculine identity shifting and traditionally male-dominated jobs diminishing, men become increasingly anxious about their ability to prove their masculinity. Through these films we find that the portrayal of men resembles the perception of a masculinity crisis, we can identify the pressures employed on young men to meet this standard of masculinity but this projected perception of masculinity is focused on the experience of a minority of men and tends to view masculinity as a social construction, pointing to a cultural and ideological form. The 80s actions films reflect the cultural attitude of this dynamic.

Towards the end of the decade, a more realistic portrayal of men began to emerge, as the brutish, muscular male characters of the 80s, gave way to the thinking-man action hero, men who have a socially just purpose in the world and a constructed hegemonic state of masculinity is mitigated. Today we see the divide between binary opposites of masculinity and femininity is gradually disappearing, Faludis theories on 'ornamental masculinity' points to todays masculinity (and femininity) being a constructed form: 'It refers to an increasingly commodified society, where you're no longer a person, you're essentially a consumer - and what you buy is what you are. It's essentially a way of looking at how certain objects are sold as what used to be adornments but are now the essence of masculinity, like masculine beauty products. The idea is that masculinity is a thing that's worn on the skin, whereas the supposition is that previously masculinity had been something that you are.' Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man Faludi (1999) Films like A Few Good Men (1992) and Apollo 13 (1995) featured male leads where Intelligence and bravery are features of the lead characters. By the middle of the 1990s, films such as Falling Down (1993) and Pulp Fiction (1994) began to address the inconsistencies in male representations.

Falling Down (1993) Michael Douglas plays a white collar, middle-class man, who sets out on a violent rampage when he see the various flaws in society and the social forces working against him. He represents white, middle-class males who feel they have become obsolete in a modern society. His once conservative sense of masculinity now challenged, he attempts to assert his masculinity through force and becomes very similar to the character of Rambo. This could reflect a cultural confusion as to what masculinity means.

Men often have to put on an image of masculinity to survive in what every peer culture they are a part of, but this can come at the cost of loss of real identity, seen in Falling Down, so films began to emerge that portrayed men attempting to rectify the perceived male crisis. We also see this loss of identify in the film Fight Club (1999) here we have a man who initially exhibits a socially constructed definition of masculinity but as the story unfolds, the male lead, Jack, ultimately comes to reject his original definition and seek a solution for his male crisis.

Fight Club is a film about masculinity in crisis but also about men attempting to rectify the status quo. Here the capitalist white American male, Jack, becomes confused and jaded with his assumed role in society. In the film his crisis is portrayed through a split personality disorder: Left we have Jack, the Modern Man its easy for us to identify with this character, he lives in a consumer society and initially thinks and acts as we do today, passive and domesticated. Right we have Tyler, Jacks alternative personality created to help him deal with life. Tyler is everything Jack is not, he rejects consumerism in favor of self destruction and his ideal body is often on display.

Self improvement is masturbation. Now self destruction... Tyler

Jack decorates his apartment with IKEA furniture in hopes of becoming a complete person. Its shot in a way that lets us identify with the character. We are shown what it means to be a modern man in todays society.

You tell yourself thats the last sofa Im gonna need, what every else happens Ive got that sofa problem handled. I had it all; I had a stereo that was very decent, a wardrobe that was getting very respectable. I was close to being complete. Jack Shit man, now its all gone Tyler

Jack is an insomniac, and his doctor tells him if he wants to see real suffering go attend a class for testicular cancer patients. Here we are presented with men whos masculine identify has been rocked, men at their weakest. Bob has breasts due to hormone treatment but he regains his masculine identity later on in the film when he joins fight club. To me this is a statement about how its not simply the physical attributes which make a man, for Bob has no male genitalia, but its about his actions which make him a man. In this scene Jack also finds comfort while in between Bobs breasts, like a child clinging to his mother for comfort. Here men are asked to open up; this reflects the feminized men of today and the lack of strong farther figures in many young mens lives. Were still men, men is what we are Bob Jacks fractured psyche is represented by the subliminal messaging in the film, this reminded me of flashbacks Rambo has in First Blood, and in both films we have a main character who struggling with whats real and whats not.

Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing. Tyler The fight club fights clearly represent an older biological image of masculinity; its a club for men only, where self destruction is promoted, a rebellion against the socially accepted standards of how we are told to conduct ourselves in society. The Fight Club also gives the mens lives meaning, direction and purpose.

Jacks at work, its easy for many of us to identify with the setting, the bland office, small cubicle and mundane 9-5 job. After fighting Jack tells us he can deal with anything life throws at him, through getting in touch with a primitive idea of masculinity, he takes away power others once had over him.

We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war. Our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off. Tyler

A woman, Marla, appears - she immediately upsets the balance of main character. She becomes a sex object; he sees no other purpose for her.

A character addicted to therapy The doctor tell Jack he has no problem physically, its all in his head.

When Jacks apartment is blown he is embarrassed about the contents of his fridge something so trivial gives him cause for concern which makes him appear very fickle.

Jack has a technical job he hates and does not morally agree with and his alter ego also has many jobs, waiter etc. this lets many people identify with the characters. Tyler works jobs he hates to fund his anarchist tasks.

Tyler lives in an abandoned house, he owns nothing, he show Jack a way to live free from the accepted social structure.

He also has no one to call and turns to a relative stranger for help a reflection of how many men feel alone in search of purpose with no guidance from parents.

The things you own, end up owning you Tyler

Jack finds it hard to ask Tyler for a place to stay; he does not want to break social protocol. Tyler asks Jack to punch him. How much can you know about yourself if youve never been in a fight Tyler

After fighting the men they feel vindicated, fighting being masochistic and the oldest sport in the world.

Tyler splices phallic images into childrens cartoons at the cinema; this shows how the masculine form can be intimidating.

The moment of revelation: Jack is Tyler Durden. A reflection of how men in society hide behind an image of masculinity, one set out by the dominant ideology.

You are not your job...you are not how much money you have in the bank...not the car you drive...not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis. We are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. Tyler

Tyler builds an army of like minded individuals, who all want to rebel against the system This is how many people feel in the real world, if only they had a cause to fight for. Jack starts to see how things are getting out of control; he is looking for balance and can see it slipping away again.

I look like you wanna look, I fuck like you wanna fuck, I am smart, capable and most importantly, I'm free in all the ways that you are not. Tyler

Back to the very first scene, Jack is tied up in a chair with a gun (a phallic symbol) held in his mouth by Tyler.

In communism fashion Tyler is looking for balance in the external world, he believes the answer is to reset all debt, but if consumer debt were erased, people would simply build it back up again and communism doesn't empower masculinity; under Marxism gender is considered irrelevant and masculinity is a "social construct."

It's getting exciting now. Two and a half. Think of everything we've accomplished, man. Out these windows, we will view the collapse of financial history. One step closer to economic equilibrium. Tyler

Jack as the narrator in Fight Club evaluates his life and embarks upon a journey that leads him back to a biologically conservative ideal. He interacts with his environment directly and learns to enjoy life for what it is, not as something sold to us by the dominant ideology. He finds out the solution to his masculinity crisis is to engaging life head on, rejecting his corporate masters, and become the master of his own life. He thereby establishes a new set of values to support this reaffirmed ideal and defines himself by his own terms.

Jack seeks balance in himself, and looking to correct this balance he finds the answer is to kill himself, kill the I, the I in this case is represented visually by Jack and Tyler, when these two conflicting personalities are dead he finds that balance and can live free, an end his masculinity crisis. This could be seen as a strong capitalist statement, its not the system that is flawed, its us, and the answers to the masculinity crisis do not lie in the external world, but within ourselves.

The film makes us be reflective on our choices. Rich white men tend to dictate the kinds of stories that surround us, but in todays modern world, with the internet and self publication, we get to see that control loosen and men find new ways to represent themselves in rapidly changing societies. Fight Club is acknowledging that men in this era feel they have no real purpose or place and without boundaries and guidance they feel they are losing their sense of masculinity. Traits that were once quintessential to being a real man are now gone and we are left to our own devices to discover our own form of masculinity. This film is telling us that this crisis is ok, it lets men know others are also suffering, what at first may seem like an attack on any form of dominant ideology, is actually reinforcing it: we are all confused, its ok, find your own way to strike a balance between the hyper masculine and the ultra feminine and everything will work out just fine. These films are inviting the ideal viewers, men, to empathize and identify with the characters on screen to a produce a sense of self. This creation of a sense of self has a commercial purpose in an ideological state. We want to embody the most desirable traits of our on screen heroes, traits that have been set in place by the controlling class. Importantly each film reinforces the existing state of class and dominant form of masculinity, each film sets up the ideological subject as one who has a place in a hierarchical social order. When I first approached this topic I thought it would be very clean cut, but after investigating these films maybe masculinity is, and always will be, in a constant state of crisis. My personal opinion is that an image of masculinity will always be in a state of instability, what it means to be a man is always changing and different in different class systems. Masculinity is not something that exists outside of its self, the social forces that influence masculinity change, how men see themselves and how they are seen by each other constantly evolves.

Faludi, S (1999) Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man. W. Morrow and Company. Gillespie, M, Toynbee, J (2006) Analysing Media Texts. Open University Press. Hooks, B (2004) The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Washington Square. Nelmes, J (1996) Introduction to film studies (4th ed). Routledge. Stadler, J & McWilliam, K (2009) Screen Media Analysing Film and Television. Allen & Unwin. Tasker, Y (1993) Spectacular Bodies: Gender, Genre, and the Action Cinema. Psychology Press. Filmography Avildsen, J (1976) Rocky. United Artists. Cameron, J (1984) The Terminator. Orion Pictures. Cosmatos, P (1985) Rambo: First Blood Part II. Tri-Star Pictures. Fincher, D (1999) Fight Club. 20th Century Fox. Glaser, P (1987) The Running Man. TriStar Pictures. Hill, W (1988) Red Heat. Tri-Star Pictures. Hool, L (1985) Missing in Action 2. Cannon Films. Howard, R (1995) Apollo 13. Universal Pictures. Irvin, J (1986) Raw Deal. De Laurentiis. Kotcheff, T (1982) First Blood. Orion Pictures. Lester, M (1985) Commando. 20th Century Fox. MacDonald, P (1988) Rambo III. Tri-Star Pictures. McTiernan, J (1987) Predator. 20th Century Fox. McTiernan, J (1988) Die Hard. 20th Century Fox. Milius, J (1982) Conan the Barbarian. Universal Pictures. Norris, A (1988) Missing in Action 3. Cannon Films. Ray, N (1955) Rebel without a Cause. Warner Bros. Reiner, R (1992) A Few Good Men. Columbia Pictures. Schumacher, J (1993) Falling Down. Stallone, S (1982) Rocky III. United Artists. Stallone, S (1985) Rocky IV. United Artists. Tarantino, Q (1994) Pulp Fiction. Miramax Zito, J (1984) Missing in Action. Cannon Films.

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