Masculinity In War Films
Kelsey O’Connor
Lit-246
Professor Duessere
Final Paper
Film to express War When film started to become more prevalent as a mass medium, it was a way to capture and express the world. Initially, the film industry was captivated by the relatively quiet and simple nature of the world around them, but slowly it produced a window into spectacle and wonder that captured audiences. Directors also used film to push their thoughts and perceptions about the world into their films, and over time, film became a mirror reflecting on the world it was formed in once you look deeper than the surface level enchantment. At the same time, events taking place in the world were also influencing the types of films being made. At no time was this more evident …show more content…
In the classic war films, the fighting man who fights became glorified as a hero, and military service became perceived as strength and masculinity. These films glorified the ideal American man who is "a strong individual with high morals who will fight for his country" ("Masculinity, War Films, And Windtalkers"). This perception of strength and fearlessness were some of the major pillars of masculinity, and war movies portraying men in these ways glorified that ideal and started to perpetuate an unrealistic stereotype went into this glorification and in large part was because of what was defined as masculine that included characteristics, such as strength and fearlessness. These films also appear to “celebrate male masculinity and normative heterosexuality as the traditional pillars of the nation state in which men sacrifice their lives for country and family” (Konzett …show more content…
In a study done by the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID), 55 films out of 67 that were released in 2012 that GRID analyzed contained a lead character that was male (GRIID). Men in these films are continuously portrayed as the protectors and saviors and have been for a long time. Their characters are expected to be strong, assertive, to keep their emotions in check, etc. and this used as a form of propaganda for the enlistment and investment in the Second World War. The U.S. military wanted strong and powerful masculine citizens to fight in the war and this was how they were portrayed. "While war consumed their enemies' minds and bodies, these soldiers remained dignified, powerful, and firmly self-controlled, because that was how the defenders of democracy and freedom ought to act. American soldiers controlled their emotions and destructive tendencies the way truly masculine men ought to do, and so American men must be masculine men" ("Gender Of A Nation: Propaganda In World War II And The Atomic Age" 11). The propaganda that the U.S. placed on men, specifically soldiers was designed to attract the army of men that the government felt was needed to win the war, but ultimately reflected what American society felt it meant to be manly through films made during and after the
Lit-246
Professor Duessere
Final Paper
Film to express War When film started to become more prevalent as a mass medium, it was a way to capture and express the world. Initially, the film industry was captivated by the relatively quiet and simple nature of the world around them, but slowly it produced a window into spectacle and wonder that captured audiences. Directors also used film to push their thoughts and perceptions about the world into their films, and over time, film became a mirror reflecting on the world it was formed in once you look deeper than the surface level enchantment. At the same time, events taking place in the world were also influencing the types of films being made. At no time was this more evident …show more content…
In the classic war films, the fighting man who fights became glorified as a hero, and military service became perceived as strength and masculinity. These films glorified the ideal American man who is "a strong individual with high morals who will fight for his country" ("Masculinity, War Films, And Windtalkers"). This perception of strength and fearlessness were some of the major pillars of masculinity, and war movies portraying men in these ways glorified that ideal and started to perpetuate an unrealistic stereotype went into this glorification and in large part was because of what was defined as masculine that included characteristics, such as strength and fearlessness. These films also appear to “celebrate male masculinity and normative heterosexuality as the traditional pillars of the nation state in which men sacrifice their lives for country and family” (Konzett …show more content…
In a study done by the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID), 55 films out of 67 that were released in 2012 that GRID analyzed contained a lead character that was male (GRIID). Men in these films are continuously portrayed as the protectors and saviors and have been for a long time. Their characters are expected to be strong, assertive, to keep their emotions in check, etc. and this used as a form of propaganda for the enlistment and investment in the Second World War. The U.S. military wanted strong and powerful masculine citizens to fight in the war and this was how they were portrayed. "While war consumed their enemies' minds and bodies, these soldiers remained dignified, powerful, and firmly self-controlled, because that was how the defenders of democracy and freedom ought to act. American soldiers controlled their emotions and destructive tendencies the way truly masculine men ought to do, and so American men must be masculine men" ("Gender Of A Nation: Propaganda In World War II And The Atomic Age" 11). The propaganda that the U.S. placed on men, specifically soldiers was designed to attract the army of men that the government felt was needed to win the war, but ultimately reflected what American society felt it meant to be manly through films made during and after the