Gangstas, thugs, vikings, and drivers ppt
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This thesis considers how the depictions of masculinity in the films of Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn function as a critique of mainstream Hollywood cinema’s perpetuation of the notion that violent male behavior represents a heroic ideal for men to emulate. In films such as Pusher, Bronson, Valhalla Rising, and Drive, Refn constructs and presents his male characters by drawing upon recurring archetypal figures such as the gangster, the gangsta, the gunslinger, and the samurai. These figures recur throughout popular culture and across genres, and they perpetuate and reinforce a specific version of masculinity that emphasizes individualism, stoicism, and violence. Mainstream Hollywood films in general and male action cinema in particular often present this narrow and rigid vision of masculinity as a heroic manly ideal, and this, in turn, can inform how male viewers construct their own masculine personae. The male characters in Refn’s films serve to critique and destabilize this ideal by demonstrating how an insistence on appropriating or conforming to this sort of violent masculinity results in negative consequences for both the individual and the society around him. For more, please see my complete thesis, which can be viewed here: http://via.library.depaul.edu/cmnt/25/
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Gangstas, thugs, vikings, and drivers ppt
- 1. Gangstas, Thugs, Vikings, and Drivers Cinematic Masculine Archetypes and the Demythologization of Violence in the Films of Nicolas Winding Refn Christopher John Olson DePaul University September 2014
- 2. Introduction Violence in film Nicolas Winding Refn
- 3. Archetypes Carl Jung ◦ Universal patterns and images ◦ Recur across cultural and historical contexts ◦ Actualized via representation Robert N. Bellah ◦ Individual unconscious ◦ Developed via interaction with environment ◦ Similarities in socialization process
- 4. Cinematic archetypes Media images reflect cultural values/attitudes Connect contemporary experience with primordial figures Screen characters reflect prevailing sociocultural notions of gender
- 5. Masculine archetypes Man with No Name Gunslinger Samurai Gangster
- 6. The Male Action Hero
- 7. Characteristics of archetypes Stoicism ◦ Verbal and emotional reticence Individualism ◦ Loners who shun society Violence ◦ Action speaks louder
- 8. Archetypal male figures The Stoic Man ◦ Ex: Man With No Name (Sergio Leone’s “Dollars” Trilogy) The Tough Guy ◦ Ex: “Little Caesar” Bandello (Little Caesar) The Beast in Me ◦ Ex: The Incredible Hulk (The Avengers) The Greek God ◦ Achilles (Troy)
- 9. Refn and the archetypes Alignment with archetypes ◦ Stoic tough guys ◦ Rugged individuals ◦ Violent men Masculinity as performance ◦ Tensions between front and reality Negative consequences ◦ Refusal to abandon performance
- 10. Aligning with the archetypes Pusher ◦ Gangster/Gangsta ◦ Tough Guy Bronson ◦ Tough Guy ◦ Beast in Me ◦ Greek God Valhalla Rising ◦ Stoic Man ◦ Greek God Drive ◦ Stoic Man ◦ Greek God
- 11. Archetypes vs. reality Vs. Vs. Vs. Vs.
- 12. Consequences of archetypal masculinity Isolation Incarceration Injury Death
- 13. Conclusion So what? Limitations of study Future directions
Editor's Notes
- According to Carl Jung (1959/1980), archetypes represent a set of universal, often recurring patterns and images that originate from a collective unconscious. These patterns and images function as autonomous and hidden forms or potentials that become transformed when actualized by individuals and cultures, at which point they are rendered recognizable at a conscious level (Feist & Feist, 2001). In other words, archetypes exist in the collective unconscious and only become known in a conscious sense when constructed and presented through representation. Archetypes obtain specific context through historical, cultural, and personal representations known as archetypal images (Stevens, 2006). Jung argues that some archetypal images recur across cultures, appearing repeatedly in the myths and stories that those cultures create, particularly those stories relating to human behavior (Jacobi, 1959). Unlike Jung, Robert N. Bellah (1991) argues that archetypes do not reside in the collective unconscious. Instead, they exist within an individual’s unconscious as the result of the interaction between the individual and his or her social and physical environments during early childhood. Thus, rather than sharing archetypes with others in a culture, individuals may develop ideal images specific to his or her own lived experiences, which are then further refined when coming into contact with similar idealized figures. Bellah contends that archetypal images resemble one another across cultures due to similarities in the socialization process. Furthermore, archetypes reflect popular sentiments and behavioral or cultural values, making them similar to stereotypes (Barrett 1989). Indeed, Barbara Greenfield (1983) contends that contemporary notions of gender stereotypes emerge from Western myth, and therefore hold great social, cultural and psychological significance.
- In each case, archetypes represent a sociocultural ideal: a model for how to think and act reinforced and perpetuated through recurring patterns, forms and figures. These models of behavior are then passed down by the stories that people tell and the images they produce. Cinema and other mediated messages, then, have the potential to produce their own models for ideal types of people or behavior, and thus their own archetypes. The images appearing in media often function as a reflection of cultural values and attitudes, while simultaneously connecting “contemporary experience with primordial figures that express similar psychological and social content” (Wiegmann, 2004, p. 399). For example, characters in films can be constructed to reflect prevailing sociocultural notions of gender stereotypes, particularly as represented within popular culture, in order to function as a form of cultural critique (Wiegmann, 2004).
- The same repetition and thus construction of archetypes can also be found in the creation of masculine figures. Indeed, patterns emerge in how films construct male characters, and these patterns become considered cinematic archetypes, regardless of the culture in which the pattern appears.
- These figures tend to reinforce a specific version of masculinity. Recur across cultures and different types of movies.
- The same repetition and thus construction of archetypes can also be found in the creation of masculine figures. Indeed, patterns emerge in how films construct male characters, and these patterns become considered cinematic archetypes, regardless of the culture in which the pattern appears. (You will want to say where this taxonomy comes from, and then, because this taxonomy is what you used as the framework for your thesis, it needs to be more focused on. I would suggest having this one come before the slide with the male action here, and use this slide to introduce how those four types align with this taxonomy. So, for each category presented here, give examples of characters that go with them and how they align with things like the action hero, the gunslinger, the man with no name, the samurai, and the gangster. I suggest this slide comes after the Hawksian woman discussion, is set up as prominent and used to discuss what are in the current slides of “cinematic masculine archetypes”. You can even separate this one slide into four, one slide per category, to really allow you to flesh those out, and then go into your discussion of the archetypes.)
- Frank and Tonny seek to align their masculine personae with the sort of characters that exemplify the gangster and tough guy archetypes (describe how they do this) Michael Peterson seeks to align his persona with the Tough Guy and the Greek God archetypes (describe how he accomplishes this) One Eye functions as personification of archetypal figures like the samurai, the Viking, and the Man With No Name (describe how this works) Driver functions as personification of archetypal figures like the samurai and the Man With No Name (describe how this works)
- So what – development of masculine identity Limitations of study – Focus on cultish films not widely known, theory rather than application Future directions – application other movies, reception studies