Masculinity is ubiquitous and can be a changing thing. Based on what a certain individual will view as masculine, there can also be so many different meanings. What I mean by this is that one person may think that someone recycling is masculine because they are saving the earth whereas someone else could say it's feminine. The concept of masculinity is challenging but our group decided to dissect masculinity within four theories: hybrid, hegemonic, compensatory, and rites of passage which we have discussed in depth in class numerous amounts of times. The Disney movies proved to be an excellent area to focus on masculinity in. In particular, Peter Pan and Trolls were the ideal films that could help me show professionalism in masculinity.
Peter Pan:
Above you can see the two most widely known characters when speaking about this movie: Captain Hook and Peter Pan. Although they both are the same sex, they both exemplify different forms of masculinity. Take a look at Captain Hook. With his facial hair and the fact he is a pirate, he shows hegemonic masculinity. This means that he shows the most stereotypical masculine traits. Now take a look at Peter Pan. He is merely a boy yet still manages to defeat the most masculine character in the movie which is what we call hybrid masculinity. Rites of passage in this movie are nonexistent which is odd because, for us humans, the ability to grow up and go from child to teenager to adult is a huge deal. This film reminds me of the reading in class about fraternities because they are antiparallel. Fraternities tend to come off as mainly hegemonic masculine filled men along with a lot of rites of passage whereas, in this film, hybrid masculinity is the majority with Peter and the lost boys being children forever and the lack of rites of passage. Some people may even question Peter's sexuality of straightness because of the way he acts. This is why he is the epitome of hybrid masculinity. This film does a good job of relating to professionalism because of the different ways hegemonic and hybrid masculinity act as leaders. Captain Hook has his crew of swashbuckling pirates to lead and Peter has his lost boys. Obviously, the lost boys are "softer" than Captain Hook's crew but the way Peter leads them is more effective. Peter shows them respect and kindness which in the end helps defeat Captain Hook, whereas Captain Hook treats his crew as inferior and bosses them around.
Trolls:
Trolls:
Above you can see characters from the two main groups in this Disney movie called the Trolls. On the left, you see a hideous king who is the ruler of the Bergens. On the right, you see two adorable trolls who are just part of the small trolls community. The Bergens are known for eating the trolls so there is a sort of hierarchy where the Bergens are superior. The picture is not to scale but the Bergens are so much larger than the tiny trolls. In this film as well, the four theories can be shown. Hybrid masculinity is shown through the female troll which is the pink troll above because she ends up saving her entire population of trolls from being eaten by the Bergens. Typically in movies, the females are the ones who are being rescued not the other way around. Hegemonic masculinity can be seen through the king of the Bergens. He is an old, evil ruler who was the one who started the ritual of eating trolls. The entire Bergen population respects his rule greatly. Compensatory can be seen through Branch who is the blue troll above. Branch lost his family because they were eaten by Bergens. Instead of sobbing and being depressed he has held his feelings in and displayed himself as a grumpy and mad individual instead. This film can be related to the very first reading we did about Hylton's cousin. Hylton's cousin was very masculine and always was ready to fight and drink. It is possible that he did all of this in order to mask things that occurred in his childhood that would cause him to be emotional just how Branch was trying to mask his parents' death. This film relates to professionalism because of the way that King Gristle of the Bergens rules over his group and how King Peppy rules over the trolls. King Peppy is a very professional man who initially broke the trolls out of captivity from the Bergens out and started a new way of life that was fear-free. This resulted in the trolls cherishing him and celebrating every day in awe of their new freedom. All the trolls are known for being especially happy. In contrast, King Gristle rules over the Bergens in more of a tyranny. What he says goes and it is unacceptable to contradict it. He also started the tradition of eating the Bergens and yells at his son, (heir to the throne), for being so soft.
Professionalism:
This topic is important in starting intriguing plots in films. By creating a professional way the characters can interact with each other, conflict can form between two groups who show different types of professionalism. Just like how the trolls and Bergens go about professionalism, the differences caused a conflict and hierarchy which lead to a good film. If all characters lead by the same professionalism, there would be no plot, no difference among characters, and no difference in movies. Without professionalism in general, all the film would just be childish rubbish that would reduce audience sizes whereas by having professionalism in the characters right now, Disney can appeal to audiences of all ages.
Sources:
“AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS.” AFI, https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50973-PETER-PAN?sid=9d89b9ce-d3c5-4329-bf87-d504f3f7b12b&sr=15.1123295&cp=1&pos=0.
Ihnat, Gwen. “Trolls Hides a Profound Message in a Sickly Sweet Confection.” Film, Film, 20 July 2018, https://film.avclub.com/trolls-hides-a-profound-message-in-a-sickly-sweet-confe-1798189331.
Hylton, Wil S. “My Cousin Was My Hero. Until the Day He Tried to Kill Me.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 May 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/magazine/cousin-kill-me-male-violence.html.