"Farsan": Comedic Masculinity

Ruth/Rachel this is SIFF blog 1 for regular grading.

There will be spoilers of Farsan in this blog entry.

The first film I went to see in the Seattle International Film Festival was Farsan. The film centers on Aziz, an older man seeking a new lady. Aziz is a first generation Middle Eastern immigrant to Sweden who works in a bicycle shop. He lives a quiet life but is seeking some more companionship as he misses his deceased wife. He is looking forward to the expected birth of his first grandchild and is seeking a new wife.

Ethnicity is highlighted in this film mostly through Aziz and Aziz's coworker Juan. The expressions of ethnicity are also very deeply tied to masculinity. In the case of Juan's ethnicity is not specifically stated, but he is a Spanish speaker and shows some elements of the Latin Lover. He is an older 'ladies man' who has multiple dates and dances with mulitple women. He even ends up serving lamb testicles claimed as an aphrodisiac at a double date with Aziz. Aziz's ethnicity is explored in his interactions with women that could be regarded as more culturally suited for an older time and his nation of origin. His dress and a hasty marriage proposal to one woman show this. As well, Sami, Aziz's son feels a great pressure from his father to have grandchildren and carry on the seed, so much so that Sami and his wife fake a pregnancy approaching a pending adoption to cover up Sami's infertility. Aziz displays some traits of a stereotypical first generation immigrant parent. Though traits of these stereotypes are visible the characters have more complexity beyond these traits. Though this film did not pass the Bechdel test for gender it passed for race (counting Middle Eastern people as a race).

The emphasis on masculinity among the characters of Aziz and Juan is also shown in their relationship with each other. They often say "Macho, Macho" after their displays or stories of masculinity and talk about how 'well endowed' they are. Their macho masculinity transfers to their boss Jörgen after Jörgen expresses that he has sex with his wife less often than the other men find fitting. Aziz takes Jörgen under his wing to teach him how to be macho and win more affection from his wife. Aziz takes him on fulfilling extreme dares pushing him out of a car and down mounds of rocks to 'make him strong.' Jörgen takes proving his masculinity to an extreme by picking fights with his wife, Lotta to assert control, getting a tattoo of a bull that says 'DEATH' and making a "macho salad" crushing vegetables hilariously with his body for Lotta. Lotta rejects this new behavior and wants him to return to his 'wimpy' self. Jörgen's character shows the extremes that proving masculinity can go to and how comical it can be trying to achieve unattainable standards of gender roles.

Overall, I enjoyed this film quite a bit and would recommend it to other SIFF goers and felt it had a thought provoking commentary on masculinity.

Photos Courtesy of:

Tankadirr

GP

Trailer Courtesy of:

Youtube

Murderball: Acquired Disability & Masculinity

Ruth/Rachel: This is the blog I would like graded for week 7.

The film Murderball follows quadriplegic rugby players who compete for team USA in the Paralympics of 2004 in Athens, Greece. The film shows the speed, aggression, and athleticism involved in playing quad rugby. As well it tells the story of these mens lives as people with quadriplegia. One theme throughout the film is proving masculinity. This can be seen clearly in the lives of Mark Zupan and Joe Soares.

Zupan was regarded as tenacious, confrontational, and tough by his parents and peers growing up. According to his friends and peers on the court that remained even with his quadriplegia. He was an athlete to be feared with tattoos and a spitfire attitude to match. In the film Zupan says that he has gotten into confrontations before where he has questioned "Not going to hit a kid in a chair? Hit me! I'll hit you back." showing that his disability has not compromised his masculine trait of being able to address problems with physical violence. As well, Zupan talked about how able-bodied artifacts got to him such as seeing soccer cleats or photos of him playing sports. This built up a lot of anger in Zupan which could be seen on and off the court.

Joe Soares also displays his masculinity through his aggression and athleticism. He is easily angry, aggressive and was one of the greatest quad rugby players ever. When Soares was not asked back on the Paralympic team because of age he left the US to coach for the Canadian quad rugby team in a seemingly bitter revenge-motivated move. He was furious and frustrated for not being included again in the team felt that his athletic ability (and possibly masculinity) was being challenged. As a coach he was unrelenting and vicious with opponents. His tough love attitude also channeled into his relationship with his able-bodied son, Robert. He told Robert that he should stand up for himself physically as he did when he was a child and didn't fully appreciate Robert's achievements in academics and music. Joe sought, in a typical male gender role fulfilling fashion, for Robert to be a strong man by being involved in sports and by using his physical strength to establish power and respect. Towards the end of the film and after suffering a heart attack Joe's attitudes seem to change somewhat but the prevailing message shows Joe's competitiveness, aggression, and athleticism prove his masculinity.

Another interesting element to this story is that both of these men became quadriplegic in an acquired disability. They were not born this way, Zupan was in a car accident and Soares suffered polio. I think in some ways this amplifies their desire to prove their masculinity because they may feel that they once were at a state of being able-bodied and active, as a stereotypical man should be and now feel that they have to regain that piece of masculinity.

Another point made by the players in Murderball that separates them from other people in the

disability community and affirm their honest athletic talent is their emphasis on the difference between The Special Olympics and The Paralympics. According to The Special Olympics website "[the] Special Olympics is where athletes with intellectual disabilities celebrate and are celebrated for their accomplishments." Whereas, "the Paralympics are elite sport events for athletes with a disability. They emphasize, however, the participants' athletic achievements rather than their disability." (Paralympic Games Website) In the words of player Scott Hogsett in the film: "We're not going for a hug. We're going for a fucking gold medal." Though Hogsett says he respects the work of The Special Olympics he does not want to be categorized with its athletes. In someways divided by different types of disability, but also in the case of many quad rugby players, their disability is acquired. Whereas, those participating in the Special Olympics with intellectual or developmental disabilities are born with their different abilities.

I think this brings up two thoughts. One, that people with disabilities do not generally want to be lumped together in the big category they are and often do not identify with people who have different disabilities than they do. Another that some people with disabilities may identify their disability as better, less limiting, or less effecting of gender roles than another. In the case of the quad rugby players in Murderball it seems that they have been able to create a strong male identity for themselves regardless (and in conjunction with) their disabilities though they may feel intellectually disabled athletes do not bear the same masculine drive of competition.

So what kind of athlete is most masculine? A quad rugby player, a special olympics competitor, an able bodied weight lifter? Does one have to dominate? Do sports have to be able bodied AND masculine? For the last two I would say no, but I am waiting for more media messages to tell this truth. Here's my call for differently-abled women's roller derby!

Images From:

Reel Artsy Blog

USA Today

V Generations

The Paralympian Online

Quotes:

The Special Olympics website

Paralympic Games Website

Scott Hogsett in the film Murderball (Dir. Dubin & Sharpio, 2005)

Class and Gender in the Ring

Ruth & Rachel: This is the entry I would like graded for week 6.
In America you can do anything you set your mind to, right? As long as you work hard enough, right? Maybe not. The tangibility of the American Dream in our society may well do with the strong presence of the Horatio Alger myth portrayed in the media. According to America On Film the Horatio Alger myth is "the idea that anyone in America can rise to economic success through hard work and the aid of friendly benefactors."(Benshoff and Griffin, p419) How does the Horatio Alger myth play out in terms of the working class man and how do the stereotypes of lower class men effect how these men work within the Horatio Alger myth?

Working class men are often involved in physical labor. In the media they are often portrayed as unintelligent, uncomplicated but physically strong and active. They are often displayed with bulky muscular bodies and often fit into a brute stereotype. Working class male stereotypes do not allow them the power of wealth and intelligence that upper class men have, but they are given power in their physical strength. Many times they are the center of an American Dream story, showing that if you just keep working hard enough you can have class mobility. This is often seen very well in narratives about boxers.

Rocky (and its sequels) tells the tale of an Italian-American man who is not very bright but twice as brute. He gets a chance to compete in a boxing Championship when another contender drops out. Rocky Balboa manages to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World (in Rocky II) and reaches a higher class status with his boxing income. Showing that he is able to move up the class ladder, but only by the work of his physical strength that is the power a lower class man holds.

In Cinderella Man there is the story of a once prominent Irish-American boxer James Braddock who was forced to give up boxing because of injury but continues to work hard labor to try and support his family in the backdrop of the Great Depression. Like in Rocky, Braddock is given a chance opportunity in the ring as a fill in at the last second, which leads him on to achieving the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World. Once again rising to a status of power with the hard work as described by the Horatio Alger myth, but in the mode of physical strength as prescribed to the stereotype of working class men.

Both of these men embody a great vision of the working-class hero. They both start as lower class but work their way up the class ladder with a lot of blood, sweat and tears and manage to achieve the American Dream but their method of achieving it stays consistent with the stereotypes of lower class men's greatest power being their physical strength. The narrative of the working class athlete following the Horatio Alger myth can also be seen in several other sports movies including The Blind Side which adds race into the mix with gender and class.

The mode for achieving the American Dream for lower class men seems to continue to instill the stereotype. In the challenge of being a provider for their families men may be defending their masculinity in the pursuit and display of physical strength and power. This is a contrast to upper class men are often portrayed as intelligent, attractive, well-dressed and active, but not necessarily physically. Their clothing is often more gaudy and more effeminate than that of a working class man, but because of their economic power their masculinity need not be proved by their muscles, but their wallet. It seems that class creates two standards of masculinity and that in achieving the American dream men must always be proving their masculinity.

The Horatio Alger myth when packaged with athleticism can send a message that may not be the best for the working class. It is saying that physical achievement is the only way to make class mobility and oversimplifies the chance of being selected as a well paid athlete. Though these stories are enjoyable they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Not to stop dreaming, but not to expect equity and not to pretend it is there when it is not.

Images from:

View and Review

21st Century Boy Blog

Quote from:

Benshoff, Harry M., and Sean Griffin. America on Film Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. 419. Print.

BE A MAN!

The first outside screening required for this course was to watch a favorite childhood film. I chose to view Mulan because when I was young Mulan was someone I viewed as a role model. Unlike many other female characters in Disney films she was not motivated by a romantic relationship and did not use her attractiveness as her only means of power. She was active, intelligent, creative, strong, brave and was more often the rescuer than the rescued. She was the kind of woman I wanted to be, but she was impersonating a man.

In the beginning of the film, the feminine standards held by the film's characters is seen and heard as Mulan is beautified and prepares to be interviewed with a matchmaker. "Honor to Us All", the song playing during this scene summarizes explicitly what is expected of Mulan:

"Men want girls with good taste, calm, obedient, who work fast-paced. With good breeding and a tiny waist, you'll bring honor to us all." (Zippel, 1998)

As Mulan is unable to bring honor to her family by achieving the feminine ideal, she decides to cut her hair, steal her father's armor and horse and impersonate a male soldier to fight for China against the Huns in the place of her disabled father.

In training camp Mulan learns how to "be a man", as the soldier's theme repeats the phrase dozens of times. The soldiers are then taught by the General Shang to be strong, forceful, swift and mysterious and that these qualities are representative of their masculinity.

As the soldier's come into their masculinity, the masculinity of the character Chi Fu is a joke among them. Chi Fu is not a soldier, is adorned in furs and more lavish clothing, moves with a sway, and is laughed at when he says he has a girlfriend. Chi Fu's character could be seen as be portraying a gay man who is seen by his peers as not masculine. In the end of the film Chi Fu continues to be looked down upon by his peers, is used as a scapegoat for not accepting Mulan's impersonation and is demoted by the Emperor.

Mulan ends up saving the lives of her fellow soldiers & General and outwitting a mass army of Huns, but after being wounded in battle her sex is discovered. She is not killed, but dismissed. Later, she ends up getting her three soldier friends to cross-dress as to distract Hun soldiers as concubines. Even this film shows female sexuality as a weapon. She ends fighting the leader of the Huns, Shan-Yu, and defeats him with her quick-thinking.

Mulan ends with her receiving praise and gratitude from her fellow soldiers, the Emperor, the crowd, and her family. Shang comes to Mulan's home to stay for dinner, but aside from that the ending is left fairly open. It is possible to imagine Mulan pursuing more adventures, maybe with Shang, maybe not. I enjoy this film on a pure entertainment level but also that their is a strong active female as the protagonist, but it is unfortunate that she is the only strong active female, and that she had to be a man to be strong and active.

Though the ending of the film was fairly open, the merchandising outside of the film seems to show a clearer ending. Though Mulan is portrayed through the majority of the film with short hair, no makeup, and in armor or gender neutral clothing, the overwhelming majority of her merchandise is a glamorized, princess-ized image. I could not find a single doll that features her in armor and only one had a hair-cutting "fashion feature". It seems that through merchandising the manufacturers may very well be trying to place Mulan back into her correct gender role. Teaching girls that though Mulan was a soldier, in the end she will go back to fulfilling the path of femininity that was set for her in the beginning. She's had her fun, but it is time for her to put her dress back on.