A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF MASCULINITY PORTRAYALS IN FILM: DEFINITION, IDEAL, AND POSSIBLE SOLUTION A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS BY CHRISTOPHER FLOOK BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA ADVISOR: DR. JAMES W. CHESEBRO DECEMBER 2007

ABSTRACT THESIS: A Critical Analysis of Masculinity Portrayals in Films: Definition, Ideal and Possible Solution. STUDENT: Christopher Flook DEGREE: DATE: PAGES: Master of Arts December 2007 101

The purpose of this thesis is to critically analyze masculinity portrayals in film at the turn of the Twenty-First Century. Specifically, the films Fight Club and American Beauty are analyzed to determine how these films define masculinity and render the ideal male. This analysis finds that the portrayal of men in these films closely matches the perception of a masculinity crisis. The films also offer a solution to the crisis that follows the philosophical theories suggested by Friedrich Nietzsche. It is concluded that masculinity is a social construction that needs new ideals and definitions to more accurately fit the environment of American men in the new century.

Acknowledgements A great deal of thanks is extended to my thesis committee, primarily the chair Dr. James W. Chesebro. His avid interest in the study of masculinity nurtured my initial curiosity for the subject during my graduate studies. His guiding hand throughout this process has enabled a more complete understanding of masculinity, the writing process, and communication studies as a whole. Thanks to Dr. Beth Messner, whose keen eye helped me significantly to improve my style of writing and focus on the details just as much as the larger concepts. Thanks to Dr. Joseph Misiewicz, who has always provided the necessary connections and ideas, in this thesis and in other projects, that would have been most certainly overlooked.

Chapter 1: Perspectives of Change and the Perceived Masculinity Crisis as Portrayed in Cinema at the Turn of the Century

As America enters the 21st century, a traditional and universal concept of masculinity no longer exists in America. As Michael Kimmel (2006) suggests, American men [have become] increasingly anxious; men feel their ability to prove [their] manhood threatened by industrialization and deindustrialization, immigration and perceived invasion (p. 216). In fact, consistent portrayals of men in modern media have not existed since the end of the Civil War (Chesebro, 2001, p. 204). This problem constitutes a crisis of sorts for men. This crisis has its roots in a number of causes, including a loss of mens traditional perception of purpose in world affairs. Susan Faludi (1999) suggests the old model of masculinity showed men how to be part of a larger societal system [now]masculinity is something to drape over the body (p. 35). The notion of a gender identity crisis for men is predicated on the belief that men and women have an innate tendency that has recently been drastically altered during the latter part of the twentieth century. As Whitehead (2002) suggests, our sex/gender identity is probably most central to how we see ourselves and how others see us: it transcends all cultural boundaries, is not limited by access to wealth or education (p. 10).

3 This chapter argues that men have perceived a dramatic cultural shift in masculine purpose and function in the United States, one that falls short of idealized notions of what male identity ought to be. As Chesebro (2001) established in a speech at Indiana State University, men still recognize a series of traits that are attributed to a definition of masculinity where the pragmatic meaning of masculinity is not biological, but social. Because this perceived shift in male function that falls short of the socially constructed definition, an alleged crisis has ensued. This crisis seeks a remedy. More specifically, this study examines the perceived definition for males and how this definition interacts with their perceived agent-purpose ratio as defined by Kenneth Burke. Additionally, film is used as a reflection of cultural attitudes of this dynamic. Specific attention is given to male perceptions of purpose, definition, and ideals. To explore these elements, film is used to examine how male characters fulfill, or do not fulfill, perceived masculine attributes. Also of interest are the male characters strategies in solving the perceived masculinity crisis. While statistical data and prior research is used to answer questions of male self-identification, film will be examined for aesthetic portrayals of men on screen. In essence, film offers a rhetoric of manhood. Film, as art, often finds itself rhetorically evaluated by critics in an epistemological manner. However, this assessment will examine various films using Nietzsches sense of perspectivism that refutes epistemological claims. As Whitson and Poulakos (1993) see as, the standard of epistemic validity from objectivity to social interaction by positing that knowledge emerges from human exchanges, with agreement serving as the ground for truth (p.133).

4 Several essential questions guide this study. These questions are: How do men define themselves in modern America? How are men portrayed in American cinema? Are these portrayals a reflection of how men in America define themselves? How are gender roles being redefined in the 21st century? If the currently held definition of masculinity contradicts preconceived ideals, does this constitute a crisis in male gender identity? How do certain men seek to rectify this perceived crisis? Chapter One begins with a descriptive analysis of several key terms including the masculine ideal as described from the conservative perspective of masculinity, a socially constructed definition of masculinity from Chesebro and Fuse (2001), and an understanding of modern American men based on the philosophy of Fredrich Nietzsche. Next, the thesis of the study is clarified in both its scope and intention. Third, masculine portrayals in modern American cinema are examined. This is followed by a brief history of masculinity in film from the end of World War II to today. The chapter then turns to the perceived crisis of masculinity and how this perception is depicted on the screen. Chapter One concludes with a brief summation and outlines the content of the following chapters. Definitions and Key Terms: Masculinity Ideal, Definition, and a New Agent-Purpose as Solution To suggest that American masculinity has a single definition would be absurd. A myriad of influences shaped definitions of masculinity, including social and biological forces. In 1990, Clatterbaugh argued that masculine ideals, definitions, and purpose are specific to the individuals involved.

5 For this reason, the masculine ideal described in this paper is what Clatterbaugh describes as the conservative legacy. This conceptualization is employed to demonstrate a particular ideal of masculinity that has a philosophical, political, and biological basis. The conservative legacy is chosen as an ideal due to its acceptance among American males. Strongly influenced by sociobiology and moral conservatism, The moral conservative vision is so entrenched in American beliefs that few, if any, public officials, social theorists, families, or individuals can escape its influence. Its strength lies not in the fact that it honors tradition but in the fact that it is tradition1 (p. 25). Clatterbaugh defines the conservative approach, and thus this idealistic masculinity perspective in the following way: According to conservatives it is perfectly natural for men to be the providers and protectors of women; it is natural for men to be politically and socially dominant. Masculine behaviors and attitudes are manifestations of male nature. According to moral conservatives, masculinity is created by society in order to override mens natural antisocial tendencies; it is the civilized role men play when they are fathers, protectors, and providers. According to biological conservatives, virtually all social behavior is a manifestation of mens natural tendencies as selected through an evolutionary process. (p. 9) Along with moral issues, the conservative approach also connects to a scientific influence -- sociobiology. Sociobiology attempts to explain male behavior where Male nature is shaped by the strategies that have increased inclusive fitness (Clatterbaugh, p.20). The conservative approach suggests that a man, left in his natural state is violent,
1

Italics are Clatterbaughs original.

6 destructive, and competitive (p.18). Men, in the conservative ideal, are naturally aggressive and require women and society to temper this nature (pp. 18-20). In terms of a perceived definition of masculinity, we turn to Chesebro and Fuses 2001 essay titled, The Development of a Perceived Masculinity Scale. In this essay, the authors assert that masculinity is the study of the discourses and the effects of discourses generated by men, unifying men, and revealing the identity and characteristics of men ascribe to themselves, others, and their environment (p. 203). The authors conclude, masculinity is most appropriately and usefully understood as a social and symbolic construct that changes and evolves over times as sociocultural systems adjust to new situations and environments (p. 250). The researchers found that men and women are perceived to be more masculine if they exhibit the following features: physiological energy, masculine physical characteristics, masculine sociological roles, an idealized version of masculinity, opposite sex preference, a positive subjective masculine self-conception, a positive self-conception of ones age, a positive racial and national self-conception, being lustful, and displaying erotic male characteristics (2001). Two of these ten dimensions have direct relevance in this thesis: an idealized version of masculinity and displaying erotic male characteristics. Both dimensions represent important aspects of male identity in the 21st century. Chesebro and Fuse found the: idealized version of masculinitybelieve that society has a strong concept of a masculine man, believe that a strong conception of a masculine man exists in the local environment, believes that ones partner is significantly less masculine than

7 you, and believes that others react as if ones partner is significantly less masculine than you (p. 203). The second dimension of displaying erotic male characteristics: holds: one believes one should use and that society uses a mans weight, muscle tone, and overall physical appearance to determine how masculine one is as well as believing that one should use and society uses a mans grooming, clothes, hair style, and fashion sense to determine how manly a person is. (p. 204) The idealized version of masculinity dimension shows that men still retain some traditional ideals of what men should be. With the display of erotic male characteristics dimension, masculinity is therefore reduced to media images and portrayals for erotic purposes. Masculinity has become a sign of itself. Chapter Five explains this in further detail. Assuming that the conservative approach to masculinity has been adopted by some men as the ideal of masculinity, the second dimension of Chesebro and Fuses aspects contradict the former: at least some transformations in the role of men as breadwinner, husband, and father can be noted. Indeed, since the early 1980s, a host of writers have attributed a more erotic image of men (2001, p. 205). This suggests that a perceived crisis may result from the incompatibilities between masculine ideals and dimensions. From here, we turn to the agent-purpose ratio. This is used to explain how men [i.e., agents] interact with their perceived environment and develops a strategy for dealing with the crisis [i.e., their purpose]. Toward this end, Friedrich Nietzsches oftenmisunderstood philosophy of the will to power is used. Nietzsche believed that the will to

8 power is a process through which one expands and vents creative energy and embarks upon a process of self-overcoming (Nietzsche, 1964). Ofelia Shutte summarizes the will to power: Nietzsches thesis of the will to power as self-overcoming is at once an affirmation of life through the notion of its intensification and a critique of the metaphysical notion of the self. Self-overcoming means the intensification of life by which all divisive (even if conserving) boundaries on life are destroyed or transcended. Self-overcoming involves the overcoming of the Apollonian principle of individuation and drive to permanence in favor of the greater reality of the Dionysian flow of existence in which the boundaries between subject and object, time and eternity disappear. (1984, p. 86) Nietzsches theory requires an active engagement of life and suggests that struggle is the purpose of life. Every living organism gropes around as far as its power permits, and overcomes all that is weaker than itself: by this means it finds pleasure in its own existence (Nietzsche, 1965, p. 215). As the following analysis of film, it will be shown that male portrayals in certain films in the modern cinema adopt the will to power strategy as a solution to the perceived masculinity crisis. Thesis of this Study This thesis suggests that the masculinity crisis is perceived as one in part because of an ever-changing concept of what masculinity means to the individual American male. The media has drastically changed understandings of how men should act, look, and define themselves. This newfound American male ideal contrasts sharply with both the

9 inherited conservative perspective legacy and messages from other sources including time-honored traditions. This thesis provides a critical analysis of this problem and ultimately rejects the corporate media influenced definitions of the American male, largely because they are unattainable. While many men have adopted such definitions, others have not only rejected them, but have actively fought against acceptance of the erotic and consumer definitions of masculinity. Evidence for this is found in the way certain men are portrayed in films such as Fight Club and American Beauty. As extrapolated in these films, the solution to the perceived crisis is an agentpurpose ratio that closely follows actions defined and theorized by Friedrich Nietzsche. The second chapter closely examines and evaluates these terms from Nietzsche. Using the will to power as an explanatory tool, males should define themselves based on individual criteria because no single universal definition exists for the male gender. Such a definition cannot be acceptable or even realistic. The Object of Study in this Analysis: Masculinity and the Cinema Male portrayals in film experienced a dramatic shift at the end of World War II. In Seeing is Believing (1983), film critic Peter Biskind remarks, By the fifties, the tough, hard-boiled Hemingway male of the thirties and forties, the man who hid his feelingshad seen his best of days (p. 252). The tough stoic masculine portrayals in Casablanca (1942) were replaced with the new male stars tough but tender Rock Hudson, slight and sensitive Montgomery Cliff, mixed-up and moody James Dean[they] were a different breed from Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney or Gary

10 Cooper (Segal, 1990, p. 4). The male ideal had shifted from the biologically conservative ideal to the morally conservative one. Men were no longer brutalizing others on screen, they had transformed into sensitive and docile creatures. In subsequent decades, male portrayals in film continued this trend and turned towards bonding. An emphasis in de-sexualization permeated the screen: The classic buddy film also tended to end in tragedy in the late 1960s and 1970s; what's more, the settings for these films became increasingly ironic in films like Easy Rider or Midnight Cowboy, both released in 1969. The male bonding celebrated in these films is a defensive reaction to traditional masculine failure; the men turn to each other because the world (and women) have failed them. In Easy Rider frontier escapism becomes a tamed delinquency, complete with an unsettling hallucinogenic drug experience; but the macho defiance is ultimately tragic, even as its misogynistic core goes unchallenged. In Midnight Cowboy a deeroticized homosexuality an emotional, but not sexual connection - occurs in a highly ironic context. (Kimmel, 2006, p. 189) As the 1980s dawned, masculine portrayals shifted back again to the biologically conservative approach. Over-the-top depictions of men began to draw crowds at the theaters. Rocky (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), First Blood (1982), Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984), Wall Street (1987), Lethal Weapon (1987), Die Hard (1988), and Batman (1989) seemed to usher in a new era of masculinity in the theater. In many of these films, the lead male characters fulfilled a world purpose that personified and supported conservative masculine characteristics. Rocky, for example, follows a reluctant boxer as he trains for a fight against a seemingly

11 superior fighter. Sequels portray Rocky as a breadwinner for his wife and son (1974). Additionally, the biologically conservative ideal in Raging Bull, First Blood, Conan the Barbarian, and The Terminator is evident in portrayals of hyper-masculine male characters whose bodies bulge with muscles and utilize violence as a chief means to interact with the world. Their purpose and interaction in the world includes the use of violence in lieu of their perceived inferior positions; they lash out at the world. Again, these portrayals support the conservative ideal of masculinity and the ideas in these films found acceptance with young men of the decade. Webb and Brown (2004) found that during adolescence, males develop a pecking order, a kind of proto-patriarchy with the strongest alpha male(s) at the top[where]cruel teasing is the main mode of communication (p. 95). Hyper-masculine films of the early 1980s definitely portrayed their masculine protagonists as idealized versions of manhood: Normal adolescent cognitive development makes boys more self-consciously aware of themselves. Given their developing gender identity, they are looking for models of successful masculinity. It is for this reason that the action-adventure genreis so appealing to them. Heroes in the action mode powerfully portray the physical and moral embodiment of manhood in a manner unlike other films heroes. Identification with appropriate social role models assists in transcending adolescence, and actions heroes play a part in this process by modeling power, autonomy, and sovereignty in a distinctly different manner than that offered by family and school in everyday life. (p. 95) To illustrate, consider depictions such as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, in which a tragic man ends up in prison after a failed boxing career. Also, in First Blood, Rambo wages

12 war against police officers. Conans violent methods are questionable, and Arnold Schwarzeneggers character in The Terminator clearly represents the villain as he ruthlessly cuts down civilians. As the decade progressed, so too did portrayals of men in film. While the overthe-top, violence inclined action hero never really left, a new class of action heroes emerged on the screen. By the end of the decade, the muscle bulging fantasy hero of Conan the Barbarian had transformed into the greedy and powerful, yet less muscular Gordon Gecko in Wall Street; the suicidal and violent Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, the intelligent and daring John McClane in Die Hard; and the troubled and wealthy Bruce Wayne in Batman. In The Right Stuff (1983), a group of adventurous test pilots gladly risk life and limb to become the first Americans to be thrown into space. In this film, men are portrayed as heroic and controlled; yet they exhibit characteristics of risk taking. These depictions are defined by the morally conservative ideal. Men in the early 1980s were larger-than-life, violent action heroes. By the end of the decade, more realistic men who exhibited characteristics of heroism and intellectualism, yet were still violent, replaced these brutal monsters. Men on screen slowly began to shed their violent tendencies in favor of using their intellectual capacities to interact with the world. With the exception of Wall Street, each of the male protagonists in the above films worked to improve the society. Martin Riggs, John McClane, and Bruce Wayne were violent, but chose aggression only as a last resort against a criminal. For example, the characters of Riggs and McClane were police officers and retained some of their

13 clich and subsequently conservative masculine characteristics. In Wall Street, Gordon Geckos motives are to obtain wealth and status, yet his behavior is devoid of violence. While his intentions may be less than admirable, his methods remain morally conservative. For the action hero of the late 1980s, intelligence trumps brutality. This transformation of male lead characters from muscular, violent, and socially immoral behavior to less muscular, intelligent, and less malevolent men marked a dramatic shift in male depiction in film. The aggressive brutes who paraded on the screen in the early 1980s gave way to men who had a socially just purpose in the world. If we look at masculinity through the lens of conservative male ideals, depictions of men on screen swing like a pendulum. On one side is the conservative biological portrayal that suggests men are naturally inclined to aggressiveness, while the other side depicts men as morally conservative. Thus, their natural tendencies can be mitigated and put to good use in society. Men and Movies at the Dawn of the New Millennium While brutish and muscular male characters clearly gave way to the thinking-man action hero, a universal depiction of men in recent American film remains largely inconclusive. The indecisiveness of proto-typical male characters reflects the perceived crises of masculinity in the general population of men in America. In Susan Faludis Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Male (1999), the author describes American men attempting to live up to expectations of masculine definitions as defined by the post-war era. However, she finds that cultural and economic situations like globalization and downsizing have made it difficult for men to meet these cultural expectations. In essence, the male role has diminished amid a sea of betrayed promises,

14 many men have found themselves driven to more domineering and some even monstrous displays in their frantic quest for a meaningful showdown (Faludi, 1999, p. 31). Work force statistics support Faludis claim. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, completing an analysis on part of the Department of Labors population survey, found a dramatic shift in gender in traditionally male-dominated jobs. For example, from 1983 to 2002, automobile mechanics, once an almost entirely male occupation, experienced a 177 percent increase in female workers. The same analysis found a 360 percent increase in female police detectives, a 315 percent increase in female millwrights, a 174 percent increase in female firefighters, and a 167 percent increase in female civil airplane pilots and navigators (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007). Female entry into traditionally male fields, aids in the diminishment of conservative masculine identity. However, while women signify some threat to the conservative male ideal, they cannot be entirely blamed for the perceived change. Other contributing factors include the integration of immigrants into the workforce and the globalization of jobs. As Kimmel (2006) found, many men over the past one hundred and fifty years have identified masculinity with the image of the self-made man. However, it has become increasingly difficult to become self-made in a traditional sense. Furthermore, the lure of adventure has long been associated with male selfidentification in the United States. No doubt this stems from the history of the American western frontier. The ideal became personified in the archetype of the cowboy: Nowhere could American men find a better exemplar of rugged outdoor masculinity than out west with the cowboy, that noble denizen of the untamed

15 frontier. The cowboy occupies an important place in American cultural history: He is Americas contribution to the worlds stock of mythic heroes. (Kimmel, p. 99) Western films, such as the spaghetti western during the 1960s and 1970s, often portrayed the American cowboy as a rugged individualist, bent on achieving personal achievement through violent measures. These films often portrayed cowboys as independent survivalists. This contradicted the actual pastoralist nature of the profession. As such, the cowboy embodied many conservative masculine characteristics. However by 2005, the cowboy archetype had changed dramatically as demonstrated in the film Brokeback Mountain. This film follows a socially forbidden and secretive sexual relationship between two male cowboys. Thus it represents a dramatic shift in the rendering of the American cowboy. The cowboy was the chief agent of the American frontier. Yet, the frontier, where self-made men came to be, had closed well over one hundred years ago. The masculine characteristics embodied by the archetype left the cowboy and became infused in other modern archetypes. While the cowboy evolved, the conservative masculine definitions of individualism and sexuality, and the concept of being self-made surfaced elsewhere in the business and entertainment worlds. Whitehead (2002) sees the emergence of a new kind of male empire-builder, a man who sees to make his mark on and change the world through his drive, energy, self-discipline, initiative, [and] his financial acumen (p. 122). Globalization has become the new frontier where multi-millionaires like Bill Gates, Donald Trump, George Soros, Richard Branson and Rupert Murdoch serve as the new frontiers chief male agents:

16 Those men with huge financial empires are seen as the archetypal winners in the global capitalist contest, being assured, rich, lucky and ruthless. The images are symbolically and materially expressed in masculinist arenas such as Wall Street, Fleet Street, Manhattan and Hollywood. (Whitehead, 2002, p. 122) These new archetypes, adapted for the global market place, have contemporaries in the world of entertainment. As Whitehead continues: The dominant images of masculinity captured in the opulent, potent, fastmoving yet elusive public world of successful men construct a fantastical and compelling mythology for many males. Whether it be the clandestine military exploits of a countrys Special Forces, the sexual pastimes of a porn king, or the conspicuous consumption of a rock star, the exaggerated behaviors and unreal lifestyle of such men only serves to reinforce the allure of their masculine display. (p. 123) However, the common American man has not exploited the global market place. In fact, globalization has rendered many American men obsolete, as industrialization had done to the previous generation. Therefore, the new archetype serves as a compelling mythology for many males (p. 123). Yet many men do not lead trans-national corporations, engage in numerous sexual affairs, and exert power and authority over ones peers. In essence, the conservative perspective remains intact as an ideal, even though it is largely inaccessible to most American men. This dichotomy is the catalyst for the perceived male identity crisis that developed at the turn of this century. Men have idealized conservative archetypes or myths of masculinity, yet the circumstances in the workforce and American society have changed

17 so dramatically that it has become nearly impossible to realize these idealized archetypes on a personal level. Finally, it is crucial to examine the development of male objectification and consumerism. Consumerism now provides products to help males achieve a new sense of masculinity, taking advantage of the new definition that includes displaying male erotic characteristics. It has now become masculine to focus a great deal of attention on manicuring the male body. Cologne, wardrobe choices, and body image are now part of the male routine. Corporations now advertise products and services to men in manner that was once restricted only to women: the erotic [male] image is motivated by corporate objectives designed to increase market sizes and profits (Chesebro, 2001, p. 244). Advertising has not limited male marketing strategies to strictly erotic appeals. It also appeals to male perceptions of masculine ideals, definitions, and mens purpose in social interaction. For example, a recent commercial for Hummer features two men checking out items at a supermarket where one man purchases several cuts of meat, while the other buys a series of vegetables. The vegetable man, feeling effeminate for his food choices, quickly leaves the supermarket and buys a giant Hummer, thus reaffirming his male status in the conservative school of thought. Even fast food restaurants have picked up on marketing masculinity. Several commercials from the restaurant chain Hardees include advertising for the Monster Thick Burger for a man-sized hunger. Burger King has similar commercials for their larger sandwiches. The trend continues in the service and entertainment industries, specifically in dealing with the definition of male sexual aggressiveness. Revenue generated from the

18 sex industry has grown significantly in two decades. Revenue spawned from pornography is greater than professional baseball, football, and basketball combined totaling $13.3 billion (Ropelato, 2006). Male Portrayals in Film Changes in the Middle of the 1990s Films from the early 1990s continued the trend from the late 1980s. The films characters were physically tough, yet morally righteous men who embodied the moral conservative man. Dances with Wolves (1990), JFK (1991), A Few Good Men (1992), Schindlers List (1993), and Apollo 13 (1995) all featured male leads whose intelligence was used to combat world evils. These characters reject the use of all-out, brute force. The trend appeared to swing in the opposite direction. In Dances with Wolves, Kevin Costners plays a cavalry officer who befriends the Sioux. He makes a break with his own people to live amongst them as an honored member. In JFK, we find Costner again in the lead as Jim Garrison. Garrison also alienates those closest to him so that he might pursue prosecution related to the assassination of President Kennedy. Garrisons courage stems from his resolve to seek truth with intelligent inquiry. In A Few Good Men, the male lead, played by Tom Cruise, is another seeker of truth. Instead of defeating his antagonist with brute force, he undermines him on the witness stand with cunning intelligence. Additionally, in 1993, Schindlers List depicts the life of Oscar Schindler. This lead character displayed his intellect by outwitting the Nazis to save his Jewish factory workers. However, never once did Oscar Schindler have a final, physical confrontation with Amon Gth in the camp square. This trend in portrayals of intellectual purpose culminated with Apollo 13. The film follows the brave

19 exploits of American astronauts as they journey to the moon. Again, intelligence and bravery are features of the lead male characters. While bold, yet intellectual males graced the screen at this time, biological depictions of men simultaneously emerged. These depictions were in the same vein as Conan the Barbarian, Raging Bull, and First Blood. For example, Martin Scorseses 1990 gangster film Goodfellas offers a return to the violent lead male character. Violence becomes the purpose of criminality and confirms the presence of the biological dimension of the conservative approach to masculinity. The Fugitive followed in 1993 with the exploits of a fictional Dr. Richard Kimble. While the audience knows the protagonist is free of blame, he still breaks the law to achieve his honorable ambition. Thus, the line of consistent masculine portrayals becomes muddled in films from the early 1990s. By the middle of the 1990s, the inconsistencies in male representations reached a fever pitch. Three key films best demonstrate this concept: Falling Down (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Forrest Gump (1994) In Falling Down, Michael Douglas character embarks upon a violent spree across Los Angeles against what he sees as minority and social forces working against him. He represents the notion that white, middle-class males have become obsolete in modern America. Having lost his morally conservative sense of masculinity, he seeks to fulfill one based on biologically conservative principles. In Pulp Fiction, all male characters demonstrate the biological conservatism ideal. Violence glues the movie together. Men in this film are overly aggressive, misogynistic, ill tempered, and brutal. By contrast, Forrest Gump presents an entirely new male

20 portrayal and raises numerous questions about the conservatism approach to masculinity. In the film, Tom Hanks character embodies many qualities that the conservative ideal represents. He is athletically strong, plays football, fights in the Vietnam War, starts a business, and ends up becoming a multi-millionaire. Given this, one would think this character is the quintessential depiction of an ideal conservative male. There is a catch, however. Forrest Gump is mentally challenged with a low IQ and the film makes no mistake in hiding this. Once Forrest Gump hit the theaters, the conservatism pendulum stopped swinging. No discernible pattern emerged from subsequent films. This either suggests the emergence of a new ideal depiction for men or it suggests cultural confusion as to what masculinity is at the turn of the century. To clarify, certainly depictions of male biological conservatism did not leave film; only discernible patterns became absent. Films like L.A. Confidential (1997) and Gladiator (2000) continued this perspective while Saving Private Ryan (1998), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003) and Million Dollar Baby (2004) continued to reflect the moral ideal. Male leads in these films used intelligence in the service of morality and channeled violence only for the betterment of mankind. Yet, many films emerged that began to portray men with neither aspect of the conservative ideal. For example, Good Will Hunting (1997) depicts men who cannot find a balance between work and play. This film focuses on internal struggles within the characters. The male leads in Jerry Maguire (1996) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) both seem greatly confused about how to define themselves as men. The balance between work and home is as a

21 theme in both films. As Good as it Gets (1997) directly handles the subject of male idealism and confusion as the film deals with work, hostility, sexuality, aggression. The Full Monty (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Titanic (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), Chicago (2002), and Sideways (2004) all portray masculinity in a manner completely foreign to the conservative depictions in the 1980s and early 1990s. Men in these films are neither socially controlled moralists nor thuggish brutes as in the biological ideal. Amidst this turn-of-the-century turmoil, two films emerged that portrayed men as attempting to rectify a perceived male crisis. Both Fight Club (1999) and American Beauty (1999) portray men who initially exhibit socially constructed definitions of masculinity, as found by Chesebro and Fuse. As both stories unfold, the male leads ultimately come to reject these definitions and seek a remedy for their perceived crisis. Lester Burnham in American Beauty and the person identified as the narrator in Fight Club evaluate their life and embark upon a journey that leads them back to conservative male ideals. For Lester Burnham, it is a morally conservative ideal. For the narrator in Fight Club, it is a biologically conservative ideal. Both characters use Nietzsches will to power as a solution. They directly interact with their environments and love life as it is, not as some think it should be. Their purpose becomes being. They adopt a Nietzschestyled purpose and therefore a solution to their identity crisis by engaging life head on, rejecting their corporate masters, and becoming agents and masters of their own lives. They thereby establish a new set of values to support this reaffirmed ideal. They define themselves on their own terms.

22 Herein lies the crux of this chapters argument. During a period that failed to offer any consistency in the portrayal of men, two movies depicted the perceived masculinity crisis that illustrated aspects of Nietzsches philosophy as an adequate solution. This study has two unique distinctions. First, masculinity in films has never been discussed in terms of the conservative approach. Nor has it been dealt with by establishing patterns of film portrayals through the decades. As discussed in Chapter Two, masculinity has many different definitions and ideals. It is crucial to establish the demarcations and differences between several leading ideals and interpretations of masculinity. Second, film as well as art is often evaluated epistemologically, an approach that Nietzsche linked with Plato. Epistemological evaluations include analysis based on already established forms and criteria. However, this thesis seeks to evaluate films on their own merits with subjectivism. Nietzsche described this as an aesthetic view of rhetoric. This will be explained in greater detail in Chapter Two. A detailed evaluation of Fight Club and American Beauty follows in Chapter Two. This analysis examines the films for masculine idealism, definition, and the agentpurpose ratio concept as defined by Burke and specifically detailed by Nietzsche. Material from this chapter and the second chapter will be used to construct a set of criteria with which to build this evaluation. Conclusion Chapter One establishes that masculinity in America is reflected in three dynamic definitions. The first is a perceived conservative ideal of masculinity. Chesebro and Fuses (2001) definition of masculinity shows that men define themselves differently

23 than what they see as an ideal. How men define themselves sharply contrasts to the ideal of what men ought to be. The purpose requires men to construct/adopt a definition of masculinity for themselves, based upon their own perspective in social affairs. Masculine portrayals in American cinema also are shown to vary between two versions of the conservative masculine ideal. These portrayals initially featured the moral conservative approach, then swung to biological conservatism, back to the moral conservatism, and finally arrived with no discernible pattern at all. Therefore, as the 21st century dawned, inconsistencies in male representations in film matched the discrepancy found in the American public. Two films during this period, Fight Club and American Beauty, best exemplify this dichotomy and solution. In Chapter Two presents a careful analysis of Nietzsches philosophy along with a clear explanation of his concepts is presented. Coupling Nietzsches lexicon to the modern perceived crisis and an explanation and repudiation of epistemological reasoning then follows. Chapter Three takes this information and establishes an eclectic method for critically analyzing Fight Club and American Beauty. Chapter Four presents the results of the analysis of the two films. The final chapter offers suggestions for further analysis and discusses the limitations of this study.

Chapter 2: A Literature Review Designed to Construct a Critical Lexicon Derived from Nietzsche

Preview of the Literature Review Chapter Two seeks to refute Aristotelian notions of epistemology by explaining Nietzsches aesthetics. Nietzsches concept of perspectivism asserts that art and character representation can and should be evaluated in and of itself. In Chapter Three, this approach to aesthetics is used to construct a valuable, albeit unusual, component of the methodology. Following the aesthetic overture, we turn to other concepts developed by Nietzsche including The will to power, morality, ressentiment, Zarathustra, and the bermensch. Each of these concepts are explained in detail, creating a lexicon centered on four key terms: Appearance and Essence as Paradoxical; Knowledge as Experience Contra Knowledge Based Epistemology; Essence as Purpose-Centered; and Morality as Life, Purpose, and Individual Affirming. These key terms provide the philosophical basis upon which one aspect of this studys method rests. Succinctly put, Nietzsches lexicon provides the critical philosophical background from which an evaluation of masculinity can be derived. Nietzsche did not write particularly for men as a gender; his ideas were for humanity as a whole. Therefore, it would be a disservice, if not altogether wrong, to treat these concepts as gender specific. Instead, the above four key terms act as a bridge

25 between Nietzsche and the agent-purpose ratio established as method. This will ultimately help to provide the framework for a part of the method outlined in Chapter Three. Following a delineation of Nietzsches lexicon, a social definition of masculinity is offered by using a study developed by Chesebro and Fuse (2001). This social definition is provided in the second dimension, Knowledge as Experience Contra Knowledge Based Epistemology, as explained in the first chapter. Therefore, Chapter Two provides an examination of Nietzsches aesthetics and his concepts of becoming as a philosophical backdrop to the method. The social definition of masculinity provides the necessary interpretation with which American men choose to define themselves. The following explanation of Nietzsches aesthetics breaks down the notions of absolute form and objectivism in the Aristotelian sense. Four Principles Derived From Nietzsche Cast as a Critical Lexicon Knowledge as Experience: Truth Becomes Subjective Friedrich Nietzsche spent a great deal of time developing his unique understanding of the judgment of art. His views then underpinned larger concepts related to the interpretation and evaluation of truth. For Nietzsche, knowledge was subjective. He also argued that Knowledge kills action, action requires the veil of illusion (Nietzsche, 1871, p. 209). In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche first used the Apollo and Dionysian constructs to interpret art and aesthetics. Initially schooled as a philologist, Nietzsche viewed the Greek gods as an iconic means of understanding of human nature and human

26 representation in art. The Greek god Apollo represented form, beauty, life, and reason. The god Dionysius portrayed instinct, intoxication, excess, and passion. Nietzsche believed that both the Dionysian and the Apollonian impulses were artistic inclinations. The Dionysian impulse represented reality in undifferentiated forms and the Apollonian impulse represented reality in differentiated forms as Shutte clarifies: the Apollonian and Dionysian impulses are related by Nietzsche to forces of the unconscious. Apollo is linked to the dream image, while Dionysius is associated with states of intoxication. There is a further connection with the unconscious, however, in that Nietzsche claims that these unconscious states represent natures art impulses in an unmediated manner. (Schutte, 1984, p. 17) In Nietzsches view, the two artistic impulses in humans ran parallel to each other, for the most part openly in variance and outwardly worked in synthesis, By the common term [Art]they appear coupled with each other, and through this coupling eventually generate the art-product, equally Dionysian and Apollonian (Nietzsche, 1871, pp. 167-168). The two forms working in this coupling created the Greek tragedy and thus gave birth to tragedy. The Apollonian impulse in Greek tragedy provided the form of the passion evident in the Dionysian spirit: Attic tragedy finds its brilliance in stylistic expression, the ability to reconcile conflicting inward states and tensions through a medium of aesthetic expression (Thomas, 1999, p. 164). Dionysius therefore, signified the essence and Apollo symbolized the appearance of that essence in recognizable forms namely art, tragedy, music, and language. For Nietzsche, aesthetic judgments were predicated upon the manner in which a piece of art embraces life. Reflecting on his overall assumptions on power, Nietzsche

27 values art according to the grade of life it expresses and, therefore he adopts the Classical Aesthetics as his own (Morgan, 1974, p. 222). Nietzsche further explains, The aesthetic state represents an overflow of means of communication as well as a condition of extreme sensibility to stimuli and signs. It is the zenith of communion and transmission between living creatures; it is the source of languageEvery elevation of life likewise elevates the power of communication, as also the understanding of man. (Nietzsche, 1909 p. 253) However, Nietzsche felt that tragedy and aesthetic interpretation began to wane as the Greek study of reason gained prominence. Socratism was the rise of the theoretical human being as a phenomenon that both destroys tragedy andcreates a new art of its own (Schutte, 1984, p. 21). As Socratic and Platonic thought transformed the Greek world, the notion of tragedy changed as well. The birth of reason ushered in the death of tragedy. Nietzsche (1872) claimed, The Apollonian tendency has withdrawn into the shell of logical schematism while the Dionysian spirit transformed into naturalistic emotion (p. 259). He concludes in the will to power that reason is essentially an obstructing apparatus preventing the immediate response to instinctive judgments: it halts, it calculates, it traces the chain of consequences further (Nietzsche, 1964, p. 246). Nietzsches Aesthetics as Repudiation of Aristotelian Epistemology: Appearance and Essence are Paradoxical Much of Nietzsches life work stands to reverse the ideas stemming forth from Platonic and Socratic thought, including the institutions founded on those ideals. Since the time of ancient Greek philosophers, Platonic thought largely dominated the study of

28 rhetoric, art, and aesthetics. Nietzsches work was largely an inversion of Platonic thought. (Thomas, 1994, 172). Nietzsche (1872) complained that his modern world was entangled in the net of Alexandrian culture. It proposes as its ideal the theoretical man equipped with the greatest forces of knowledge, and laboring in the service of science, whose archetype and progenitor is Socrates (p. 288). Thomas succinctly interprets Nietzsches inversion of the emphasis on rational thought: The primary target for Nietzsches critique is representation. Platonic, and, later, much of Western metaphysical thought has made the distinction between essence and appearance the fundamental basis for theories of representation. Supposedly, from appearances we can divine essences. Essence is what lies behind and gives force to appearance Through overturning the essence/appearance binary Nietzsche rethinks the duality in a way that is remarkable. Rather than denying essences and appearances, Nietzsche simply rethinks the question of priority. Appearance, which is immediate and accessible, is taken to have priority over essence, which is abstract and distant. Essence, for Nietzsche, is abstracted from the appearance. Rather than treating appearance as a representation of essence, Nietzsche treats essence as a fictionalization of appearance. (pp. 172-173) In 1993, Steve Whitson and John Poulakos penned Nietzsche and the Aesthetics of Rhetoric. In this work, the writers sought to undermine and show a transformation from the epistemological approach of rhetoric to Nietzsches aesthetics. They argued that

29 Nietzsche offers aestheticism as an alternative to the ill-fated project that sought to link rhetoric to epistemology (pp. 132). The two authors further notions that Nietzsches Apollo-Dionysus attitude toward art undermines Aristotelian beliefs in epistemology. For Whitson and Poulakos, the aesthetic tradition in rhetoric can be divided into two categories: Nietzsches and Platos. They state, In the epistemic tradition, orators must know something to begin with in fact, it is their knowledge that should authorize them to address an audienceIn the aesthetic tradition, orators are not expected to have epistemological credentials before addressing an audience; their peculiar view of things and their unique manipulation of words suffice. (p. 142) A year later, Douglas Thomas (1994) comments on this changing direction in Reflections on a Nietzschean Turn in Rhetorical Theory: Rhetoric Without Epistemology? Thomas asserts, What this turn in contemporary rhetorical theory suggests, is a new direction, one that does without epistemology, or, rather, replaces epistemology with aesthetics of understanding, moving from trope to trope, rather that from topos to topos (p. 71). Thomas supports such a turn in rhetorical theory and outlines the benefits it can bring. Thomas suggests three benefits: a fictionalization of the will to knowledge, rhetoric reframed as becoming, and a reversal of Platonism (pp. 74-75). With regard to the fictionalization of the will to knowledge, Thomas believes, as Nietzsche did, that truth can and should be questioned. He does not suggest an abandonment of knowledge, but rather that we explore it in new and different ways (p. 74). With rhetoric reframed as becoming, Thomas holds that, Becoming implies change, and moreover, becoming implies series of interpretations. The simulacrum is a

30 multiplicity, containing both convergent and divergent series (p. 74). Finally, reversing Platonism gives rhetoric the ability to aestheticize Platonism, and in doing so, it brings together the divergent and convergent aspects of the worlds of essences and appearances (p. 75). Therefore, it affirms the Apollonian-Dionysian paradigm. These scholars opinion on the transformation of the theory of rhetoric has generated criticism. James Hikins (1995) rejects that such a transformation is viable, specifically due to a lack of a better alternative. Hikins asserts that the postphilosophical aestheticism of Whitson and Poulakos is radically mistaken with respect to the impossibility and undesirability of both the traditional philosophical enterprise and a counterpart theory of rhetoric (p. 354). He concludes that their argument lacks any specific or commendable replacement for the epistemological methods they indict. (p. 354) Hikins essentially misses Nietzsches point. Nietzsche asserts that there is no such thing as truth from which knowledge springs forth. All things, including art and aestheticism, spring forth naturally from the unique perspective of the viewer. The viewers perspective founded in the duality of the Apollonian and Dionysian spirits, rejects knowledge: we live in a universe in which the Earth orbits the Sun, and the Sun orbits Earth, but both cannot happen simultaneously. We are forced to make a choice between competing perspectives. We are forced to endow one with more value that the other based on our own needs or perspective. (Thomas, 1993, p. 47) In terms of masculinity, Nietzsches concepts reject that men should have any kind of consistent form. Rather, defining masculinity becomes the sole responsibility of

31 the individual; it is not to be defined by society. In Nietzsches view, men should be Dionysian in spirit. This essence then becomes the manner in which a unique form is constructed, suitable to only the individual. Essence as Purpose-Centered: The Will to Power Much of Nietzsches philosophy rests on the notion of the will to power. The concept put forth by Nietzsche in his posthumous work of the same name, is often misunderstood. He holds that individual drive is more than just the desire to stay alive. Instead, individuals seek to grow, to expend strength, and to include other wills in the process. The driving force of all will is the desire and necessity for one to expel and vent creative energy (Nietzsche, 1909). Nietzsches idea: is that every specific body strives to become master of all space, and to extend its power (its will to power), and to thrust back everything that resists it. But inasmuch as it is continually meeting the same endeavors on the part of other bodies, it concludes by coming to terms with those (by combining with those) which are sufficiently related to it and thus they conspire together for power. And the process continues. (Nietzsche, 1909, p. 121) This concept is often misunderstood as a fact or fundamental truth of life. As demonstrated in the pervious section, however, this contradicts Nietzsches belief of epistemological truths in the vein of Platonism. The will to power: signifies a constant self-overcoming, a becoming without a final goal or purpose. He asserts that will to power is a process in infinitum. Nietzsche contrasts will to power with the Platonic and Kantian notions of the soul or

32 essential self. He conceives the very nature of will to power to be self-surpassing and thus wishes to avoid positing a unitary self which must execute an overcoming (Peddle). Therefore, the will to power can correctly be interpreted as action and a sense of purpose or being for the individual. The will is the ability to discharge strength, but not in the development of new facts or ideas. For Nietzsche, the will to power is life itself. As we shall see, the will to power is a strategy employed by male characters in cinema to restore a traditional sense of masculinity. The will to power is the sense of purpose that motivates these male characters to attempt to rectify the perceived masculinity crisis. Morality as Life, Purpose, and Individual Affirming Nietzsches dynamic interpretation of morality shows the relationship between what he defines as a master morality and a slave morality. Much of the Nietzsches argument relates to linguistics and semantics. In linguistics, Nietzsche believes that the clues to various moralities portrayed themselves. Morality in Nietzsches view involves a relationship between good and bad versus good and evil: master morality was a kind of self-affirmation, self-glorification: through it the nobility affirmed itself as good, set off against the baseness of the lower class. Not actions but men were the first objects of moral approval; the worth of actions was secondary, depending upon the kind of man they typified (Morgan, 1941, pp. 155-156). Master morality represents all those things that affirmed an individuals life as good: nonlife affirming actions simply were bad.

33 In Nietzsches view, slave morality developed in the lower class as a reaction to the dominance of the higher classes. Pulling from Nietzsches work, Tracy Strong (1975) characterizes the master as saying, I am good, therefore you are bad. In this scenario the slave would responds, You oppress me, are thus evil; I, therefore, am good (p. 242). Slave morality, therefore, does not seek to reaffirm life, or the will to power, as does master morality. Rather, Nietzsche saw that slave morality embodied a sense of utility, guilt, and weakness. The development of slave morality lends itself to a psychological path of thinking that Nietzsche referred to as ressentiment. In this process, those who perceive themselves laying at the bottom of the social strata take: the outside world seriously as a cause of the pain one suffers, and thereby assumes that if only one could deal with the outside world the pain would be alleviatedRessentiment, it would seem, occurs when men do not exteriorize their affect into action, or more precisely when the affect does not necessarily lead to action. (Strong, p. 246) Nietzsche saw morality as an obstacle to be overcome. It is not surprising that Nietzsche does not propose a new morality but rather would wish to annihilate morality, since he understands it as a world picture from which we cannot escape (Strong, p. 99). Master or slave, morality suggests a perceived order of life, with foundations in absolutes or a real world, something Nietzsche haughtily contested. As Gane (1997) clarifies Ultimately the choice is a simple one. We either make our values for ourselves or observe (unwillingly) the values of others. Historically, the slave ethic

34 has predominated, but we occasionally find the will to transcend it, and thus go [beyond good and evil] (p. 117). To Nietzsche, master morality was best exemplified by the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. He also found slave morality in the society of his day and essentially in all of Christianity. Nietzsche saw slave morality, rooted in non-life affirming values, leading humanity into a cataclysm that ended in nihilism. He believed that with the onset of nihilism, society and humanity would fall: man will wish Nothingness rather than not wish at all (Nietzsche, 1887, p. 178). This embrace of nothing suggested to Nietzsche that humanity would end in a last man (or men who is complacent and resigned, uncommitted and uninspired; who is one of the multitude in the market place, unable to understand (Pfeiffer, 1972, p. 245). To combat this will to nothing, Nietzsche developed a concept he labeled bermensch. The term does not fully translate into English, however, it is often interpreted as one of the following: homo superior, Superman, Overman, Super-Human, Post-Human, Trans-Human, and Super Human2 (Lampert, 1986). For Nietzsche, the bermensch was a solution to nihilism and involved an embrace of life, not a transition to a new species. It is a resolution to pessimistic ideals in the societies in the West: The bermensch transcends the present possibilities of human beings. The bermensch is a metaphor for what it means to transcend the dualism and alienation of the human condition. To do this one must learn about lifes

Unfortunately, various groups such as the Nazis have incorrectly misappropriated the concept since the death of Nietzsche to justify racism, biological determinism, and Social Darwinism.

35 spontaneity from children and one must prepare the world for children whose consciousness will not have been as impaired with nihilistic values as ours has. The superior man is someone who becomes a master of dualism, whereas the bermensch stands for the transcendence of dualism. There could be no more telling difference between the two types (Schutte, 1975, p. 127). The mouthpiece of the bermensch was the character of Zarathustra from Nietzsches Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In his work, Zarathustra acts as a herald to the bermensch and speeks as a new prophet of a coming era: Zarathustras task to diagnose present ills and provide direction for a better future. Although Zarathustras teachings are the essence of the book, much of the text is devoted to a relentless psychological dissection of modern man, the emptiness of his values and beliefs. This is a picture of a nihilistic, anti-life society which promotes the mediocre ad mistrusts originality. Zarathustra sees around him a general malaise (Gane, 1997, pp. 73-74) As Zarathustra engages society, he offers a threefold path with which to prepare for the new era of the bermensch. First, humanity should utilize their natural will to power to destructively reject and rebel against societal norms and morals. Next, the will to power should be employed creatively to overcome nihilism and create new values. Finally, individuals must continually follow a path of self-overcoming (Nietzsche, 1883). In terms of an agent-purpose ratio, as applied to Nietzsches philosophy, an individual now finds that the present morality fosters an anti-life view of the world, rooted in slave morality. By using the concept of the will to power, humanity must destructively reject this morality and embrace a Dionysian agency for life, one in which

36 knowledge and values are created and reaffirmed by an individuals perspective and are held only by that individual. By actively continuing this process, humanity then finds itself actively reestablishing ideals that Nietzsche viewed as strong. In doing so, an individual can correctly define his own masculinity. Nietzsche argued that adopting social definitions of gender, whether they come from religion, media, corporations, advertising, or social pressure, are nothing more than weak expressions of life. The strong, in Nietzsches view, define themselves based upon their own experiences and give form to their gender. In other words, they define masculinity for themselves, by self-affirming what works with them and not what functions for society. Applying the Nietzsche Lexicon to Masculinity at the Turn of the Century If Nietzsches concepts provide a philosophical backdrop for male purpose in life, then questions about the specific nature of the crisis demand attention. Furthermore, questions concerning the nature of masculinity and its definitions and ideals come into play. This chapter does not concern itself with what men are, for it has been argued that masculinity is an entirely social construct as interpreted through Nietzsche. However, what men think they are and what men think they ought to be remain the central concerns of this thesis. As women reevaluate their roles and societal definitions, increasing attention also has been devoted to men. As mentioned in the first chapter, the conservative legacy of masculinity best corresponds to what men think they ought to be. The solutions through

37 which men seek to rectify the perceived crisis, as portrayed in certain cinematic features, follows a metaphorical path as outlined above in Nietzsches self-affirming purpose of life. Kenneth Clatterbaugh in Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity (1990), evaluates the newfound interest in masculinity by examining six separate perspectives on the subject: the conservative perspective, the profeminist perspective, the mens rights perspective, the spiritual perspective, the socialist perspective, and the group-specific perspective. For each viewpoint, Clatterbaugh asks the following questions, What is the social reality for men in modern society? What maintains or explains this social reality? What would be a better social reality? How can we achieve a better social reality? (1990). Clatterbaugh sees the profeminist perspective as an acquired set of behaviors and attitudes that are maintained by a complex system of rewards and punishments; accordingly, much of the liberal profeminist literature deals with how this set of behaviors is learned (p. 44). The profeminism interpretation of masculinity became juxtaposed with female struggles to reject and transcend societal definitions of gender. As a reaction, Clatterbaugh argues from a mens rights perspective that the womens movement wrongly blames men for the oppression of women and that such blame is counterproductive to ending sexism. They also deny that men live privileged lives (p. 62). Much of the mens rights perspective spotlights legal rights for men, such as the right to veto an abortion. While the aforementioned views seek change and assign definitions largely in the public and political spheres, the spiritual perspective internalizes masculinity. Tracing its

38 roots to Carl Jung, this perspective is maintained through an interaction between society and patterns of behavior that originate in our collective unconscious (p. 87). When defining masculinity, spirituality offers men a new strength, vitality, and freedom through their contact with their deeper selves (p. 102). In economic terms, the socialist perspective seeks to define men as being divided by class interests (p. 124). The socialist perspective believes that masculinity is very much a product of the power relations that exist among men and between men and women in the relations of production (p. 124). Clatterbaugh concludes, the socialists who wish to address the alienations of men must simultaneously address the oppression of women: They must also be feminists (p. 124). The group-specific perspective is Clatterbaughs catchall for masculinity perspectives engineered by various ethnic, religious, and sexually oriented groups. From this perspective, Being masculine does not require that a man be a white, middle-class, Anglo-Saxon, protestant, or heterosexual; in fact, the men who possess these qualities constitute a minority (p. 127). While each of these perspectives processes merit for use in deconstructing and analyzing masculinity, none address the questions raised by Fight Club and American Beauty. In both of these films, the lead characters are essentially white, middle-class, Anglo-Saxon, and heterosexual. They portray a specific kind of masculine perspective and face a perceived crisis from this particular viewpoint. Therefore, it is essential to examine these characters and the world in which they exist from the perspective that best represents these characters.

39 For this, we turn to Clatterbaughs conservative perspective. Clatterbaugh succinctly defines the conservative approach, and thus the idealistic masculinity perspective, as follows: According to conservatives it is perfectly natural for men to be the providers and protectors of women; it is natural for men to be politically and socially dominant. Masculine behaviors and attitudes are manifestations of male nature. According to [moral] conservatives, masculinity is created by society in order to override mens natural antisocial tendencies; it is the civilized role men play when they are fathers, protectors, and providers. According to [biological] conservatives, virtually all social behavior is a manifestation of mens natural tendencies as selected through an evolutionary process. (p. 9) The conservative perspective, as outlined by Clatterbaugh, stands as a representation of slave morality as defined by Nietzsche. Above all else, the conservative perception views male values in terms of their utility to society, something Nietzsche saw as weak. Through various processes of evolution, men have been naturally engineered to fulfill a set of stereotypical roles in which they are fathers, protectors, and providers. As is demonstrated in Fight Club and American Beauty, this notion of masculinity might have been the ideal. Furthermore, it represents the traditional sense of what white, Anglo-Saxon, heterosexual men feel they ought to be. However, the reality is something quite different. Society not only has destroyed male utility, it has created a sense of masculinity that portrays men as mere consumers, representing masculinity in symbolic manners and as sexual objects. Since the traditional and conservative ideal has been lost and the reality of men engaging in the world has been rendered symbolic, men, as

40 portrayed in the aforementioned films, embark upon a process of self-overcoming. They reject the morals of old and seek to establish a new morality, thus creating a new definition of masculinity based on life-affirming principles. As the fourth chapter suggests, the protagonist in Fight Club fails at this and only reaffirms the old, traditional way of life. The central character in American Beauty follows suit, albeit in a far less violent manner. Social Constructed Definitions of Masculinity at the Turn of the Century For a perceived definition of masculinity, we turn to Chesebro and Fuses 2001 study, The Development of a Perceived Masculinity Scale. The authors conducted a survey of men and concluded that masculinity is now a multidimensional construct which attributes ten traits to people viewed as masculine (p. 203). The ten traits are: physiological energy, physical characteristics, gender-related sociocultural roles, idealized gender, gender preferences, subjective gender-identity, gender-related age identity, gender-related racial and national identities, lust, and male eroticism (p. 203). The authors argue that male identity is profoundly and ultimately a communication concept, a socially and symbolically constructed notion, that every culture and every era revisits and redefines in different ways and follow with masculinity is not divinely inspired, innate, or biological. Masculinity is a product of human interaction; it is social construction. Masculinity is a product of the images and characterizations that humans decide to attribute to men as a group; it is symbolic construction (p. 207, 208). Masculinity, therefore, is not an absolute universal and fundamental fact of life.

41 Chesebro and Fuses definition fails to correspond to the masculine ideal in the conservative perspective. Whether we take the conservative moralist approach or the sociobiological approach of the conservative perspective of masculinity, we find that both are firmly rooted in a belief that men have an innate set of behavior determined by nature The social roles of masculinity and femininity are considered by conservatives to be manifestations of these intrinsic values (Clatterbaugh, 1990, p. 17). The conservative ideal, as demonstrated in the United States, is partly rooted in traditional beliefs of what men should be. Citing Michael Kimmels Manhood in America (1998), Chesebro and Fuse suggest that the crisis has roots in the changing landscape of America: (1) an unprecedented level of industrialization that challenged the image of the man as self-made; (2) The entry into the labor force of women, newly freed slaves, and immigrants, who demanded rights traditionally reserved for and defining men; and (3) The closing of the frontier, denying the self-made man new options for independence (Chesebro, 2001, p. 204). Flying in the face of moral conservatism, this perspective blames the crisis on liberals, big government, big business, utopian planning, and the impact of these factors on the conditions of work (Clatterbaugh, 1990, p. 24). In short, the ideal and the socially constructed definition disagree. The ideal reflects traditional roles of men. However, the definition offered by Chesebro and Fuse suggests that these ideals are not being met. Thus, a perceived crisis is generated. Still, both strains of conservative masculinity: agree that traditional behaviors are appropriate to men and women. Together they form a loose alliance. Both moral conservatism and biological conservatism suggest that we will be happier if we maintain the traditional roles either

42 because we will live in a more civilized world or because we will be true to our natural tendencies. (pp. 35-36) However, several key dimensions from Chesebro and Fuses work indicate that while a masculine definition may not be rooted in absolute facts, several of the dimensions demonstrate a desire for the ideal. For example, Dimension One holds that high levels of androgens are correlated with particular characteristics associated with manliness and men, such as higher arousal levels, greater tension levels, and greater aggressiveness during confrontational or sexual situations (Chesebro, 2001, p. 210). Dimension Two finds that Certain characteristics are consistently associated with the manliness of men, such as more facial hair, a deeper voice, certain genitals, larger body sizes, a higher ration of muscle to fat, and a greater upper-body strength (p. 210). The eighth dimension of lust in the Anglo-saxon traditionhas been identified and viewed as decisive and significant influence in sociocultural systems (p. 17). The final dimension of male eroticism maintains that men: should use and that society uses a mans weight, muscle tone, and overall physical appearance to determine [how] masculine one is as well as believing that one should use and society uses a mans grooming, clothes, hair style, and fashion sense to determine how manly a person is. (Chesebro, p, 213) This final dimension speaks to a phenomenon in which American companies have exploited mens newfound desire to look like men, which has traditionally not been the case. Once men were not marketed beauty products. However, today an onslaught of cologne, personal hygiene, and hair products are constantly pushed on men. As will be evident in Chapter Four, the portrayals of men in Fight Club and American Beauty find

43 this trend to be discouraging and actively attempt to remove this dimension from the definition of masculinity. Succinctly said, defining masculinity as a social construct does not easily fit into the conservative ideal of masculinity as being a natural phenomenon. Yet, Dimensions One and Two propose that some of the socially constructed aspects of the definition show that men believe they should follow the traditional, conservative approach. The final dimension represents a newborn tendency of men to associate masculinity with consumer products. Conclusion Nietzsches aesthetics, his philosophy of self-affirming purpose, the male ideal from the conservative perspective, and a perceived definition of masculinity have been thoroughly explained. According to Nietzsche, no universal definition of men exists. From this perspective, the definition offered by Chesebro and Fuse is nothing more than a social construction. Nietzsches models serve as the base in which men can refute the epistemological and social construction of their identity. Furthermore, his self-affirming, purpose-laden philosophies represent the means through which an individual male can establish a meaning that is entirely unique. Some men believe that self-determination, individualism, overcoming, and the search for meaning are all steps that one can take to reevaluate and redefine sexual identity. Finally, Nietzsches views on aesthetical judgment are considered realistic and have been referenced as a key to understanding subjective formalism in cinematic representations of masculinity.

Chapter 3: Method

Any approach to the study of gender requires a multiplicity of methods. For example, theorists cannot evaluate masculinity solely on the basis of biology, for the general concept of masculinity itself possesses multiple dimensions. Biology, philosophy, communication, ethnicity, and artistic interpretation all play valuable roles in developing the social concept of masculinity. Studying gender through the lens of a single method would yield an incomplete understanding. The concept of masculinity is important in reference to the study of gender interpretations in film due to the prevalence of film. To properly decode the portrayal of masculinity in films, a heuristic approach that involves multiple methods must be used. This allows the examination of masculinity to include many angles and not just a single interpretation, thus allowing for a broader interpretation. This thesis utilizes four methods to discern masculinity in terms of ideal, definition, and purpose. By taking such steps, the reader is left with a deeper understanding of the discrepancies of masculinity portrayed in film at the turn of the century. Each film is evaluated within itself. In other words, analysis will focus on how each individual film portrays masculine ideals, definitions, and purpose as solution to a perceived masculinity crisis. This chapter is somewhat unconventional given the combined use of four different methods. This follows a tradition known as eclecticism of rhetorical criticism.

45 This chapter begins with an explanation and description of the eclectic approach in relation to the broader concept of the experiential perspective. Following this, each of the four methods are described in detail and a justification for their use is provided. Additionally, each section concludes with a set of critical questions whose answers are provided in Chapter Four. Beginning with interpretation of signs, semiology is used to decipher explicit and implicit symbols of masculinity in Fight Club and American Beauty. Burkes pentad then is utilized to ascertain the dynamic agent-purpose ratio as elucidated in the second chapter of this thesis. A critical analysis provides the necessary approach to show portrayals of idealistic masculinity presented in both films. Finally, a set of critical questions is derived from Nietzsches concepts of aesthetics and Will to power to suggest the agents perceived purpose and solution to the perceived masculinity crisis as portrayed in the aforementioned films. The graph below explicitly defines this approach.

46 Figure 1:

The above graph illustrates how the four methods connect to the general concept of the eclectic approach. However, none of these methods can correctly be understood separately without the following evaluation of the eclectic tradition. An Explanation of Eclecticism as a Means to Ascertain Heuristic Meaning in Film Eclecticism uses multiple methods to ascertain meaning, in this case a qualitative evaluation of the cinematic text itself. Eclecticism falls within a larger perspective known as the experiential perspective. As defined by Brock, Scott, and Chesebro (1990), the experiential perspective seeks to reevaluate, if not altogether undermine traditional approaches to rhetorical criticism. Such an approach typically is used by a critic how has lost faith in the traditional methods, such as Neo-Aristotelian analysis, or in a universal

47 understanding of rhetorical analysis. The authors of Methods of Rhetorical Criticism (1990) find: [Critics] developed many shortcuts-providing only a historical analysis, focusing on a few Aristotelian topicswhich reduced the adequacy of the method. The critic, then, becomes interested in the sociocultural process itself, looking at discourse as something that permeates various sources yet is larger and more pervasive than any one or all of them. [Critics] recognize that any particular meaning derived from a message is not inherent or universal. The intentions of a source alone cannot explain the diverse ways people respond to a message. [An] extended political campaign or social movement may become a focus of their studies. Initially, critics attempted to adapt the traditional method to their expanded interest, but many soon began to look elsewhere for a more appropriate theory and new perspective. (p.87) Eclecticism as a critical approach is best understood as an amalgamation of approaches utilized to examine a particular phenomenon, in this case the nature of masculinity as portrayed in cinema in the first decade of the 21st Century. By rejecting an orthodox approach to establish the nature of masculine portrayals in film, the eclectic approach pulls the best methods from different sources to result in a larger and more complete, heuristic understanding of media portrayals of men in America today. According to Brock, Scott, and Chesebro, the eclectic critic exhibit these characteristics: The conscientious eclectic is apt to be more interested in the immediacy of experience than the abstract integrity of a system or method. Such a person will

48 argue that methods are but more-or-less-complete sets of tools with instructions by which to build scaffoldings or framework. They will argue that when what is made is made, the tools are laid aside, the scaffolding torn down, and the framework absorbed. When the eclectic critic does use a method, it is an open-ended one that does not force or prescribe a specific and provides the critic with a great deal of creative decision making. (91) The approach is certainly not without its critics, many see the eclectic urge as akin to a lack of good sense rather than pilfering (p. 91). However, the eclectic approach is as old as the West itself. Writers in the Ancient Rome often used various methods to advocate a particular belief about or evaluation of society. For example, Ciceros writings frequently contain systematic treatments of the subjects he discusses. Cicero was not an original thinker, but was eclectic, with an affinity for Stoic ethics and the Skeptic view (Malherbe, 1986, p. 17). Likewise, Arius Didymus in the First Century excerpted two long sections on Stoic and Peripatetic ethics. Although he has been described as a Stoic, these fragments show him to have been eclectic (p. 17). Four Methods Used in this Thesis Method One: Semiotics to Determine Masculinity Portrayals Semiotic analysis is the science of signs. As Gunter (2000) defines signs: In the media, semiology is concerned with how meanings are generated in media texts, such as films or television programmes [sic]. Semiology examines signs and the relations between them. In doing so, it separates content from form and concentrates on the system of signs that make up the text. (p. 84)

49 Semioticians often analyze facial expressions, hairstyles and hair colors, teeth, fashions in clothing and eyeglasses and jewelry, body piercing, and just about anything you can think of in terms of how they generate meaning and what they reflect about society and culture (Berger, 200. p. 35). A semiotic analysis for these purposes is understood as a media analysis that examines signs to derive meaning. In this case, subtle signs in Fight Club and American Beauty are evaluated to determine meaning where the approach is concerned with the deeper meaning of the message. The method is concerned, not with the manifest content, but with structural relationships of representation in texts (Gunter, 2000, p. 83). The meaning inherent in signs goes beyond merely the representation of reality. As Saussure (1966) has suggested, there exists a demarcation between signifies and signifieds, I propose to retain the word [sign] to designate the whole and to replace [concept] and [sound-image] respectively by [signified] and [signifier] (p. 67). The signified refers to the concept behind the message and the signifier is the medium in which the message is portrayed, through sound, special effects, visual images, set design, music, and so on. To uncover a meaning from subtle or not so subtle signs, characters are evaluated as the narrative of the film progresses. Questions regarding the meaning of body image, clothing, cars, language, hairstyle, and posture are all relevant to revealing the meaning of masculinity in the film. While signs contain ambiguity in meaning, semiology allows room for interpretation: Semiotics acknowledges the individuals knowledge of the codes of representation may differ, and also other codes of meaning influence the

50 understanding of media messagesAlthough meaning is not seen as fixed in semiotics, with texts open to a range of interpretations, analysis of content can uncover a particular interpretation. (p. 85) While these signs might represent superficial characteristics to some, this thesis asserts that they offer clues to deeper meanings and provide insight into the nature and function of the narrative. Furthermore, a sign is defined as an object of perception evoking in whoever perceives it a conditioned reflex of a definite type (Doroszewski, 1973, p. 106). Furthermore the sign has not only a value but also a function, which is something other than the sum of its relational connections with the other units of the system (p. 112). Furthering this semiotic method, a syntagmatic analysis is used. Syntagmatics integrate the order of these signs to formulate a final structure in the narrative. Structuralism in this sense is aimed at the myth underlying the narrative or the story contained in the message. Myths are considered to be deep structures that represent the essence of human nature and society (Gunter, 2000, p. 86). Method Two: Burkes Pentad to Find an Agent-Purpose Ratio Kenneth Burkes pentadic analysis is used to understand masculinity in terms of act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose. Largely known as a dramatistic approach, Burke rejected, the traditional speaker orientation, [and] shifted the focus of the rhetoric from persuasion[and] highlighted the psychological constituent of rhetoric by concentrating on the analysis of the motive (Scott, et al., 1990, p, 174). Additionally, the dramatistic perspective holds that the nature of society may [be] explained by considering the

51 interrelationships among the concepts of (1) hierarchy; (2) acceptance and rejection; and (3) guilt, purification, and redemption (p. 186). The pentads five aspects are better grasped in their relationship to each other. In other words, the idea of an act implied the idea of an agent; the idea of an agent acting implied the idea of a scene in which the act takes place; there can be no act without recourse to some means, or agency; and there cant be such a thing as an act without a purpose (Burke, 1972, p. 22). Additionally, the five terms would allow for ten (sceneact, scene-agent, scene-agency, agent-purpose, agent-agency, scene-purpose, act-purpose, act-agent, act-agency, agent-purpose, agent-agency, and agency-purpose). The ratios are principles of determination (Burke, 1945, p. 16). The agent, in this sense, is a character interacting within the environment, or scene. The interaction becomes the foundation in which the principles of interpretation are predicated upon. The principles represent motivation for individuals to fulfill their roles as agents in scenes with purpose. The manner in which they employ various instruments in this environment is known as agency. Purpose is the end goal in which an agent seeks to fulfill. In terms of criticism, the dramatistic approach to rhetoric provides critics with a language and theoretical structure that allows them to describe humans as they respond to their world and to understand basic rhetorical tendencies. With such a system the critic is able to make descriptive, interpretative judgments regarding the effectiveness of rhetoric. (Scott, et al., 1990, p. 195) The pentad establishes the primary act and various scenes of a film. An agent performs within these scenes, making use of an agency and possessing a purpose. Outside of the

52 pentad, each character is additionally analyzed to determine their place in a hierarchy of characters, if one is present, the acceptance and/or rejection to the hierarchical structure or group. As mentioned in Chapter One, the agent-purpose ratio offers a viable solution to a perceived crisis. Essential questions include: What is the characters environment? How does this setting reflect masculinity in general? What type of relationship do they have, either positive or negative, with the environment? Method Three: Media Criticism to Evaluate Idealistic Masculine Portrayals in Film This method follows a critics approach as outlined in Chesebros and Bertelsons (1996) Analyzing Media: Communication Technologies as Symbolic and Cognitive Systems. The authors assert that media criticism can reveal the subtle and unnoticed complex stimuli embedded in media experiences. In other words, media criticism can help us see more than we would from a casual viewing (p. 70). The authors continue by identifying eleven features of criticism: 1. Criticism is a form of extensional discourse. 2. Criticism is epideictic. 3. Criticism is deliberative. 4. Criticism is reason giving. 5. Criticism is self-reflexive and ideological. 6. Criticism is persuasion. 7. Criticism assessed the effectiveness of communicative acts. 8. Criticism involves an appreciation of form. 9. Criticism constitutes an exploration of the applied and theoretical.

53 10. Criticism is a form of self-exploration and self-expression. 11. Criticism is entertainment. (pp. 61-68). Media criticism focuses on five of the aforementioned features: criticism is a form of extensional discourse, criticism is persuasion, criticism assesses the effectiveness of communicative acts, criticism involves an appreciation of form, and criticism constitutes an exploration of the applied and theoretical. The first feature holds that Criticism extends the meaning of a communicative act (p. 61). Criticism in this light intends to find new meanings within the communicative act and find new associations (p. 61). With Fight Club and American Beauty, the intention is to associate new meanings beyond the scope of face value interpretations of the masculinity portrayals of the characters. Questions concerning how each male lead is presented on screen are crucial here. Criticism as persuasion attempts, to reframe a communicative act [] the decision to interpret or classify a communicative act as one social activity rather than another and the decision to praise/dispraise a communicative act with reasons and evidence are classic examples (p.64). This evaluation of masculinity seeks to define men in a new light, pointing out representations that these films in questions attempt to redefine masculinity. Persuasion in this sense suggests that masculinity is presented as an ongoing a crisis and the characters in these films react to the crisis to persuade the audience of the supposed predicament. By questioning how masculinity is portrayed on the screen, it is established that the crisis is but a small reflection of the social paradigm outside of the theater.

54 Third, criticism assesses the effectiveness of communicative acts; the critic should be examining the effect of a speech on society (p. 65). Given this, the acceptance of both Fight Club and American Beauty in the American population is significant here. If a perceived crisis of masculinity exists and if these films portray it effectively, the ability of an audience member to identify with these characters suggests that the films accurately reflect the national pulse. Fourth, criticism constitutes an exploration of the applied and theoretical and has been designed to explain ongoing communication transactions. Such criticism is valued for its ability to reveal and resolve immediate and practical societal issues (p. 66). The assumption here is that certain men perceive a crisis, therefore it is essential to examine how they interpret, reflect, and portray this crisis in communicative expressions and in the media. Chapter One demonstrates the portrayals of men in film have varied over the years, culminating in confusion around the year 2000. Therefore, any critical analysis of these two films must be understood in the larger concepts of masculinity, as it exists in the culture itself. With this understanding of media criticism, the following series of questions are asked about Fight Club and American Beauty: What masculine ideal is presented in these films? Specifically, how are depictions of men presented as idealistic? Is a perceived masculinity crisis presented and if so, how is it presented? What is being portrayed beneath the surface that suggests idealistic manhood? How are men ideally defined in these films by the actions and endeavors they undertake? How is their ideal relationship towards women presented? How persuasive is the idealistic message? How do the answers to these questions fit into societal notions of masculinity today? Exactly what

55 are the filmmaker and/or writer trying to say about masculinity ideals? The answers to these questions accurately show how the ideal man should act and how persuasive the ideal is presented. Method Four: Nietzsches Will to power Presented as a Solution to the Perceived Masculinity Crisis As mentioned in Chapter Two, the will to power is understood when, [] every specific body strives to become master of all space, and to extend its power (its will to power), and to thrust back everything that resists it. But inasmuch as it is continually meeting the same endeavors on the part of other bodies, it concludes by coming to terms with those (by combining with those) which are sufficiently related to it and thus they conspire together for power. And the process continues. (Nietzsche, 1909, p. 121) This method derived from Nietzsche portrays essence as purpose-centered. In Nietzsches view, the purpose of life and the solution for problems rests on exerting power and overcoming oneself. Therefore, any character presented with a crisis of identity, value, or meaning will adopt such a strategy to rectify the solution. The purpose of this analysis is to see exactly how they go about doing this. Questions asked in this method include: How do male characters seek to become master of their environments? How do they exert power over themselves, others, and their environment? How do they resist society, women, and those who threaten their power-seeking process? Does this solution work in terms of reevaluating masculinity, redefinining masculinity, and/or reestablishing masculinity in terms of the conservative perspective?

56 Conclusion This chapter integrates aspects of four different methods to create a dynamic and unconventional approach to studying masculinity themes in film. Beginning with an evaluation of the eclectic tradition, the chapter explained the scope and purpose of each of the four methods. The semiotic approach helps the reader develop a unique perspective from the implicit and explicit signs of masculinity in Fight Club and American Beauty. Signs are interpreted as further indications of masculinity as defined within the films themselves. An evaluation using terms defined in Burkes pentad shows the characters fulfilling a purpose, following the agent-purpose ratio interpretation. An evaluation of the critics analysis concludes critical questions with the intention of pulling valuable interpretations of the masculine ideal. Finally, a series of questions drawn from Nietzsches concepts on aesthetic living and the will to power leaves the reader with an understanding that manhood, as portrayed within these films, can correctly be attained by self-overcoming and pursuing struggle for the sake of struggle. Combined, these four methods illustrate the eclectic approach and provides a broad understanding of masculinity as depicted in these films. Each of the methods yields a series of answers that provide one component of masculinity. Together, these components render an interpretation of masculinity in terms of a social construct. Using film as an example of a cultural text reflects national sentiments at the turn of the 21st Century. The choice to use each of the four methods is made to examine masculinity from many angles. Questions involving the use of semiotics find the core values and portrayals of masculinity. Essentially, how are men portrayed as masculine? What masculine

57 characteristics are shown as positive? Burkes pentad is chosen to show masculinity interaction within the world of drama. Both films in questions are not documentaries; therefore any examination of them requires a dramatist approach. The critics approach is chosen to render how each film treats the masculine ideal and if this ideal is presented as a positive solution to the perceived crisis, or not. Finally, the method derived from Nietzsche simply illustrates a way in which these fictional, yet ideal men solve their perceived masculinity crisis.

Chapter 4: Fight Club and American Beauty as Symbolic Solutions of the Perceived Crisis in American Masculinity

Introduction Films are elaborate symbolic and dramatic constructions that possess multiple levels of meaning at any specific point within the story they tell. For example, a film might feature the struggles of an actor who can be perceived by his gender. The film might thereby be perceived as the analysis of the struggle of men searching for answers or dealing with larger questions of masculinity. At the same time, the actions of that actor might be the object of attention of a critic. Additionally, the personality of the actor might shape and influence how a film is understood. John Wayne, for example, conveys a different set of images to an audience than does Brad Pitt. Just as relevant, the script and setting of the film, the techniques of the director, and the ongoing social context in which a film is viewed, all make a profound difference in how a film is perceived, understood, and assessed. The decision to view Fight Club and American Beauty as statements about masculinity is a highly selective interpretation. While a plot summary of both films suggests that such an interpretation is justified, the way in which masculinity is cast and interpreted becomes an equally critical issue. Craig (1992) argued that popular media have long been considered to have an important role in defining and shaping American

59 culture as well as any study of men and masculinity (p. 3). At the same time, asCohan and Hark (1993) suggested when they examined Hollywood male images in Screening the Male: Exploring Masculinities in Hollywood Cinema, critical approaches can vary tremendously in terms of a critical method and historical focus and how the male body signifies gendered, racial, class, and generational differences (p. i). Accordingly, as the title of their volume notes, a more appropriate descriptor for male self-conceptions must now be the word masculinities. Although diverse approaches can be taken when examining American masculinities in film, some common frames of reference emerge. In You Tarzan: Masculinity, Movies and Men, Kirkman and Thumin (1993) argue that different critics will select different films and different issues when exploring an issue as complex as masculinity, but they argue that there do appear to be certain recurrent sites that signal the various traits of masculinity (p. 11). They note that, Broadly these sites are the body, action, the external world, and the internal world. Indeed, these sites constitute part of the rationale for the selection of the four methods outlined in Chapter Three of this study. Despite the popularity of both American Beauty and Fight Club, this chapter assumes that the reader has seen neither film. Therefore, it begins with a brief synopsis of each film that highlights the narrative. Following these summaries, an analysis of each film is provided. Each is examined employing the guidelines and procedures outlined in Chapter Three. In brief, four methods are employed. First, a semiotic assessment of each film is provided. A semiotic analysis can be a particularly useful method for describing the implicit and explicit signals of masculine

60 portrayals. These depictions suggest that the characters in these films are facing a crisis of masculinity within their worlds, primarily in terms of their corporate and consumer identifications. In all, such a semiotic analysis of each film provides specific illustrations that then can be integrated or pulled together to reveal the structural and thematic elements of the films examined here. A second method, Kenneth Burkes pentadic method, also is employed to identify and evaluate the characters environment or scene. They then become interpreted as agents. Their agency within these environments lends way to a final assumption on their agent-purpose ratio, a ratio that is understood as changing throughout the course of the films. The section concludes showing the major characters identifying a crisis within the scene and embarking upon a quest to re-identify their personal definitions of masculinity. This leads to the third method, which evaluates the characters actions as related to Nietzsches lexicon as described in Chapter Two of this thesis. Concepts such as the will to power and the bermensch are identified and evaluated. Finally, the critics method is used to discuss the socio-cultural ramifications of the points each of the films attempts to convey to the audience. Succinctly put, Fight Club reaffirms a traditional patriarchal system where only certain men can redefine themselves according to self-affirmation. Conversely, American Beauty suggests that individualism can redefine masculinity. Both films, however, follow identical paths to reach their distinctive conclusions.

61 A Synoptic Analysis of Fight Club and American Beauty Based on the 1996 book of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (1999)3 follows the activities of a nameless American automobile company employee (Edward Norton). This nameless character is hence referred to as the Narrator. The Narrator suffers from insomnia to the point where he is up for days at a time. Upon seeking medical attention, the doctor recommends that the Narrator attend a support for men with testicular cancer to see pain. Upon the initial visit, the Narrator is able to cry freely and subsequently becomes hooked on support groups that deal with a variety of problems including tuberculosis, sickle cell anemia, and cancer. As a result of attending, the Narrators insomnia is alleviated. However, after several months, a female character named Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) begins frequenting the same groups. The Narrator pulls her aside during a cancer support group to expose her as a tourist.4 The two agree to split the various groups between them. The Narrator then leaves on a business trip during which he meets a soap salesman named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on a plane ride home. Durden is his singleserving friend.5 After the initial meeting, the Narrator returns to his apartment building to find that his unit was destroyed as a result of an explosion. With no one else to turn to, the Narrator calls Tyler and begins staying with him at his dilapidated house.

To save redundancy, all references to Fight Club are as follows: Milchan, A. (Producer), & Fincher, D. (Director). (1999). Fight club [Motion picture]. United States: Twentieth Century Fox. 4 A tourist, as the Narrator defines, is someone attending one of the meetings without having an illness. The Narrator and Marla are both tourists, meaning they do not belong to the groups. 5 The Narrator sees all things on a plane as single-serving including food, silverware, and friends.

62 At this point, the Narrator and Tyler begin fighting each other in quasi-boxing matches. Their late-night venture attracts the attention of several other men. As a result, the pair starts a Fight Club where members meet weekly to fight each other. At about this same time, Tyler begins a sexual relationship with Marla Singer after he saves her from a foiled suicide attempt. However, Tyler makes it clear that the Narrator cannot mention him to Marla. As the relationship continues, so does the fight club which accelerates into Project Mayhem. Project Mayhem turns the underground fighters into a paramilitary organization that is designed to cause mischief and anticorporate terror in the city. Seeking to gain financial backing for this time-consuming endeavor, the Narrator blackmails his boss to stay on the payroll, but not report to work. After the Narrator punches himself repeatedly in the face and throws himself around the office in the presence of his boss, he is granted his wish. Project Mayhem then becomes increasingly complex in both operation and members. This leads the Narrator to second-guess the entire undertaking. After taking an extensive trip across the country during which he finds other fight clubs, the Narrator learns that Tyler has plotted to destroy the headquarters of several major credit card companies. At this point, the Narrator learns that he and Tyler Durden are the same person. Essentially, Tyler is the Narrators imaginary friend and embodies everything the Narrator wishes he could be. After making a feeble attempt to stop the destruction, a final confrontation ensues between the Narrator and Tyler. The Narrator assumes control of the situation, shoots

63 himself through the jaw, thereby killing Tyler Durden. The film ends with the Narrator holding hands with Marla as they watch the buildings explode. American Beauty (1999)6 shares similar themes of corporate servitude and masculinity. In American Beauty, we follow the exploits of forty-two year-old advertising executive Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey). Lester is married to a real-estate agent named Carolyn (Annette Bening) and has a teenage daughter named Jane (Thora Birch). The movie begins by depicting Lester as a somewhat ineffectual male and self-described loser. After meeting Angela (Mena Suvari), one of Janes high school friends, Lester is moved to change his life. He listens into a conversation between Jane and Angela in which Angela indicates that she would be willing to have sex with him if he would only work out a little. Lester immediately begins a heavy exercise regiment that includes running and weight training in his garage. At about this time, a retired Marine Corps colonel, Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper), moves in next-door with his wife Barbara (Allison Janney) and his son Ricky (Wes Bentley). In ensuing scenes, Ricky and Jane begin a relationship. We learn that Ricky once lived in a mental institution and sells marijuana discreetly on the side. Janes father Lester is one of his customers. As the film progresses, the Burnhams marriage begins to break down, leading Carolyn to start an affair with a competing real estate salesman, Buddy Kane. Lester seeks refuge in weight lifting and smoking copious amounts of marijuana.
6

As with Fight Club, all references to American Beauty are as follows: Cohen, B. (Producer), & Mendes, S. (Director). (1999). American beauty [Motion picture]. United States: Dreamworks Video.

64 In a scene eerily reminiscent in Fight Club, Lester blackmails his boss for a years salary and a severance package. His success in doing so allows Lester to spend more time smoking marijuana and working out. He also begins working at a fast food restaurant in an attempt to reconnect with his youth when he was working the same kind of job. While at this restaurant, Lester spies his wife with the real estate agent and becomes aware of her affair. Additionally, Colonel Fitts misunderstands Ricky and Lesters relationship, interpreting their marijuana transactions incorrectly as a sexual relationship. After a fight with his father, Ricky leaves with intent to run away. Colonel Fitts, assuming that Lester is gay, ventures over to the Burnham house Visibly upset, Fitts tries to kiss Lester. Lester informs Fitts that he obviously has misunderstood the situation and has the wrong idea. Fitts leaves in the rain. While this scene transpires, Carolyn is shown holding a gun near the house. The viewer assumes that she has intent to shoot Lester. Upstairs, Ricky and Jane plan to run away together, after a fight between Jane and Angela over Ricky. Angela retreats downstairs where Lester plans to have sex with her. After learning that she is a virgin, he stops and makes her a sandwich. While she is in the bathroom, Lester sits and looks at a picture of his family. A gun appears at the back of his head. It discharges and blood spatters on the wall. Lester has been shot dead. We see each of the characters reactions and we learn that Colonel Fitts shot Lester. Carolyn comes home and cries. Jane appears shocked. Ricky smiles because he sees Lester smiling. Colonel Fitts is shown removing gloves and his bloody shirt. The film ends with an existential line delivered by Lester about the importance and beauty of life.

65 A Semiotic Analysis of Male Portrayals in Fight Club and American Beauty The opening sequence of Fight Club provides detailed clues of the nature of the film. As the credits flash across the screen, the camera slowly pans out of the threedimensional brain sequence that features fluid, synapses firing, and various other biological processes. While this may appear to be nothing more than special effects to some, it also can be readily interpreted as a sign of the inherent nature of biology to affect identity; in this case, the ideal masculinity personified in Tyler Durden. Additionally, both films explicitly maintain that masculinity cannot be achieved through corporations and product consumerism. This is a strong theme in both films and apparent via various symbols and behavior lend credence to this. In Fight Club, the Narrator is shown as self-described slave of the IKEA nesting instinct. The Narrator laments that instead of reading pornography, he reads various catalogues from which he purchases additional furniture and items for his apartment. Signs indicating this include a negative re-creation of his apartment in the beginning of the film, rendering a catalogue full of kitschy and frivolous items. The Narrator, who is portrayed as an ineffectual personality, is often shown as being preoccupied with his material possessions. This is always caste in a negative light. For example, after losing his luggage at the airport, he comments, I had everything in that bag. My C.K. shirts... my D.K.N.Y. shoes. The airport employee suggests that the problem might be a vibrating dildo that is causing the delay. Similarly, after the Narrators apartment blows up, he comments on his refrigerator being full of condiments and no food. This seems to suggest that he has all of the frivolities of life, but no real substance underneath.

66 After this scene, Tyler and the Narrator share a few pitchers of beer and discuss the situation. While the Narrator is upset at losing his stuff, Tyler feels he is now liberated from it. The exchange indicates that consumerism is not a solution nor a purpose in life: TYLER: You know man, could be worse. A woman could cut off your penis while you're sleeping and toss it out the window of a moving car. NARRATOR: There's always that. I don't know, it's just...when you buy furniture, you tell yourself: that's it, that's the last sofa I'm gonna need. No matter what else happens, I've 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 so close to being complete. TYLER: Shit, man, now it's all gone. NARRATOR: All gone. TYLER: Do you know what a duvet is? NARRATOR: Comforter. TYLER: It's a blanket, just a blanket. Now why guys like you and I know what a duvet is? Is this essential to our survival? In the hunter-gatherer sense of the word? No. What are we then? NARRATOR: You know, consumers. TYLER: Right. We're consumers. We're by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty -- these things don't concern me. What concerns me is celebrity magazines, television with five hundred channels, some guy's name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.

67 NARRATOR: Martha Stewart. TYLER: Fuck Martha Stewart. Martha's polishing the brass on the Titanic. It's all going down, man! So fuck off, with your sofa units and your green stripe patterns. I say never be complete. I say stop being perfect. I say let's evolve and let the chips fall where they may. But that's me, I could be wrong, maybe it's a terrible tragedy. NARRATOR: No, it's just stuff. TYLER: Well, you did lose a lot of versatile solutions for a modern life. NARRATOR: Fuck, you're rightMy insurance will probably cover it, so...What? TYLER: The things you own, end up owing you. But do what you like, man. (1999). In American Beauty, Lester seeks a romantic moment with his wife. The exchange is similar as the one held between Tyler and the Narrator in Fight Club: CAROLYN: Lester. You're going to spill beer on the couch. LESTER: So what? It's just a couch. CAROLYN: This is a four thousand dollar sofa upholstered in Italian silk. This is not "just a couch." LESTER: It's just a couch! This isn't life. This is just stuff. And it's become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that's just nuts. (1999). As these two scenes suggest, consumerism and material possessions act as a signal that reflect weakness of character. In both cases, the male characters are battling

68 with the idea that fulfillment, identity, and masculinity derive their meanings from pointless consumerism. Consumerist definitions of masculinity are portrayed negatively. Testicles are also an indicator of masculinity in Fight Club. During several instances, the threat of removing an individuals testes suggests removing ones manhood. For example, in the above conversation, Tyler said that the Narrators loss of a penis would be worse than losing all of his material possessions. Additionally, the members of Project Mayhem threaten a municipal official with losing his testes if he did not relinquish his pursuit of them and the Narrator narrowly escapes them having his own removed. In each instance, the threat of losing the organs of reproduction suggests that biology is linked with masculinity. This then supports the sociobiology angle in the conservative perspective. The body is directly connected to the identity, or masculinity of the character. As explored in Chapter One, violence and aggression are the greatest indicators of masculinity in the conservative perspective. Then men fight not due to personal grievances, but solely to discharge strength and aggression. As the Narrator indicates, Fight club wasnt about winning or losing. It wasnt about words. The hysterical shouting was in tongues, like at a Pentecostal Church. When the fight was over, nothing was solved but nothing mattered. Afterwards, we all felt saved. Fight Club was a spiritual club reserved only for men in this film. Therefore, physical brutality offers a means through which men essentially can become fulfilled. Sexuality is an indicator of masculinity in both films. In American Beauty, Lester only becomes alive when he is pining after his daughters friend Angela. He revamps his entire life with the understanding that she would totally fuck him if he were only to

69 become physically in shape. Additionally, Lesters sense of masculinity is challenged directly by the financial and emotional superiority of his wife Carolyn. In one scene, Carolyn catches Lester masturbating in bed. The incident leads to a conversation during which Lester indicates that the lack of sexual intercourse between the pair has been a problem. Lester now demands attention: CAROLYN: What are you doing? LESTER: Nothing. CAROLYN: You were masturbating. LESTER: I was not. CAROLYN: Yes, you were. LESTER: All right, so shoot me. I was whacking off. That's right. I was choking the bishop. Shaving the carrot. Saying hi to my monster. CAROLYN: That's disgusting. LESTER: Well, excuse me, but I still have blood pumping through my veins! CAROLYN: So do I! LESTER: Really? I'm the only one who seems to be doing anything about it. CAROLYN: Lester. I refuse to live like this. This is not a marriage. LESTER: This hasn't been a marriage for years. But you were happy as long as I kept my mouth shut. Well, guess what? I've changed. And the new me whacks off when he feels horny, because you're obviously not going to help me out in that department.

70 CAROLYN: Oh. I see. You think you're the only one who's sexually frustrated? LESTER: I'm not? Well then, come on, baby! I'm ready. CAROLYN: Do not mess with me, mister, or I will divorce you so fast it'll make your head spin! LESTER: On what grounds? I'm not a drunk, I don't fuck other women, I don't mistreat you, I've never hit you, or even tried to touch you since you made it so abundantly clear just how unnecessary you consider me to be. But. I did support you while you got your license. And some people might think that entitles me to half of what's yours. (1999). In Fight Club, sexuality also is linked with masculinity. The Narrator can only have a sexual encounter when he acts as the domineering Tyler Durden and cannot engage in sexual intercourse as himself. His masculinity is partially defined as pursuing and fulfilling a sexual relationship with Marla. Both films also show a perceived masculinity crisis. In American Beauty, the conservative perspectives ideal of fatherhood (i.e., being the provider, the master of house and home) is an unrealistic scenario for Lester Burnham. His wife makes more money than him. He often obeys the commands of his wife. And, he is greatly ineffectual in the development and tutelage of his daughter, Jane. Therefore, Lester is unable to fulfill the traditional conservative ideal of masculinity. Instead, he defines himself as a consumer, a corporate employee, and as sexually unfulfilled. The Narrator in Fight Club finds himself in a similar predicament. He is neither a father of children, husband, or

71 provider, and he also is sexually unfulfilled. He too is defined as a material consumer and nameless corporate employee. Finally, physical fitness is shown as a sign of masculine identity. The ideal male in Fight Club is Tyler Durden, more specifically it is Tyler Durdens body. He represents how the Narrator wants to look. He has almost no body fat and is muscularly cut. While the film notes that the characters feel sorry for men packed into gyms, trying to look like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger said they should, Tyler Durden remains the idealistic male throughout. The same goes for Lester Burnham. He identifies with masculinity when he is working out and in shape. He wants to look good naked. Together, these themes show ideal masculinity as it is reflected by the conservative ideal. Sexuality, aggression, and personal fulfillment are the ideal. Yet, the consumer lifestyle provides a false identity for men. A Burkeian Analysis of Masculinity as a Pentadic Agent-Purpose Ratio How does the masculine persona of the men in these films shape their goals and objectives? This is the essential question with this method. While Fight Club represents males who are in their late twenties and early thirties, American Beauty reflects men who are entering midlife. Additionally, both films are set in modern America; Fight Club is set in a non-descript urban environment and American Beauty in an equally commonplace suburban scene. American Beauty is set in the quintessential American suburban neighborhood. The characters live in an upper-middle class area that is predominantly populated by

72 heterosexual white couples. Lester Burnham works at a white-collar advertising agency, as non-descript as the house in which they live. Fight Club is similarly set, albeit in an urban environment. The name of the auto manufacturer that the Narrator works at is not mentioned. The vagueness of the company suggests the irrelevancy of white-collar work. The Narrators residence was a condo on the fifteenth floor of a filing cabinet for widows and young professionals. Both locations, urban and suburban, represent the bland and consistent nature of the American landscape. The unexceptional white-collar jobs that both Lester and the Narrator hold are equally representative of white, middle-class, and heterosexual men in America. Both men are agents for the corporate world; their purpose in life reflects the wishes of corporations both at work and by consumerism at home. These scenes and representations of the corporate agent are meant to directly imply similar circumstances for American males of the same demographics. Men are depicted in these films as subservient to their corporate masters, engineering their entire lives to focus solely on the institutions where they are employed. Their interaction with this environment begins with passive acceptance. The Narrator in Fight Club never questions the fact that he is serving a purpose that directly harms consumers. People who die in his companys vehicles are mere numbers in an equation to be quantified. The Narrator shows up to the office every day and dutifully works as instructed, fulfilling the necessary duties on his action-item list. Similarly, he continues this passive acceptance in his home. He buys pointless products without a

73 second thought. He buys furniture for the sake of buying furniture, for the Narrator feels that a couch is a necessity in life. However, as the story progresses, the Narrator finds himself not only questioning his lifestyle, but seeking an active solution to rectify the wrongs he discovers. During this metamorphosis, he becomes hostile at work, clashing with both co-workers and his boss. He becomes disheveled, bruised, and shows very little concern about his absenteeism. Lester acts in the same way, until his job is threatened. This leads to a nearly identical scene in each movie in which the characters blackmail their bosses to receive continued financial support, without having to show up for work. Eventually, Lester and the Narrator find that the environments in which they live cannot be changed and they, therefore, remove themselves from them. Unlike American Beauty, Fight Club laments the lack of a firm patriarchy. Tyler comments that, Our fathers were our models for God. And if our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God? Additionally, women are not the answer, We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need (1999). The Narrator/Tyler desire the stability and structure of a firm patriarchy that does not exist within the environments in which they live. This then becomes the catalyst for Project Mayhem, a patriarchal organization with the Narrator and Tyler at the helm. With this, it can now be seen that the agent-purpose paradigm becomes selfenabled by the characters. Initially, both characters purpose was fulfilled by the whims of their corporate identities. Having removed themselves from these overpowering environments, Lester and the Narrator seek to establish their own agent-purpose ratio in

74 which the ultimate determining factor is their own desires and wishes. The Narrator and Lester both quite their jobs and pursue their own goals. The Narrator starts a paramilitary organization, and Lester lives as though he were sixteen. The Will to power Solution to the Perceived Masculinity Crisis Having removed societys constraints on them, Lester and the Narrator engage in behavior that exerts personal will over themselves and their environments. For the Narrator, this entails creating an alter ego that is essentially an bermensch, Tyler Durden. As Tyler indicates in the following quotation, he is the Narrators attempt to change the Narrators life: You were looking for a way to change your life. You could not do this on your own. All the ways you wished you could be...that's me! I look like you wanna look, I fuck like you wanna fuck, I'm smart, capable and most importantly, I'm free in all the ways that you are not. (1999). Following Nietzsches concept, the bermensch seeks to destroy traditional values by using the will to power creatively. Then by establishing new values based upon personal affirmation, followed by a continual endeavor of self-overcoming, the individual transcends humanity. The character of Tyler Durden embodies this. Lester Burnhams transformation follows a similar path, albeit without the split personality alter ego. Lester overcomes his weak self to establish a new set of values, based upon ideals he personally affirms. He buys a new car, gets a menial job, and exercises to accomplish the goals he has set forth. This undermines his previous will, which essentially was determined by his matriarchal home life determined by his wife and his career.

75 Tyler Durden is the will to power personified. Tyler speaks continually about goals, including domination and exerting power over his environment and other people. Because the Narrator/Tyler Durden did not have a firm patriarchy in place, they created one in the form of Project Mayhem. This patriarchys chief mission is to remove the corporate enslavement, where masculinity is rendered as a device engineered from advertising. While both characters exert the will to power, women are interjected in the films as impasses that must be overcome. The Narrator/Tyler, for example, only use Marla for sexual purposes. As she becomes increasingly intrusive in their affairs, she becomes a liability: She knows too much. We have to talk about how this might compromise our goals. For Lester, his wife represents an impasse to self-overcoming. Eventually, after a last vein attempt, Lester ignores her and he wants [her] to be happy with Buddy. Both men overcome consumerism, corporate enslavement, and women. These three things represent the instigators of the perceived masculinity crisis. Therefore, they are things to be overcome in reestablishing a new definition of masculinity. For Lester, the bermensch becomes personified in the character of Ricky. Ricky embodies everything that Lester wants to be. He is free, intelligent, capable, fearless, and not swayed by the whims of his job. After Ricky nonchalantly quits his job, Lester remarks that Ricky has become his personal hero. After this scene, Lester unknowingly seeks to become more like Ricky: physically fit, not dominated by family and career, and ultimately carefree. In a sense, the characters of Ricky and Tyler are the ideal men that Lester and the Narrator hope to become.

76 Although the characters have gone through similar changes, the two films ultimately convey entirely different suggestions for masculinity. Fight Club does not redefine masculinity in a new vein. Instead, it uses the perceived masculinity crisis as a catalyst to reestablish the conservative perspective of masculinity. The patriarchy, male dominance through aggression, and heterosexual identity are offered as the ideal interpretation of masculinity. Thus, the traditional approach is affirmed. In American Beauty, the construction of masculinity is an individual one; it rejects a communal, social construction. Therefore, it is best representative of what Nietzsche would have wanted. Lesters rejection of consumerism, corporate enslavement, fatherhood, and ultimately, sexuality, allows for masculinity to be an entirely individual concept, a concept that becomes predicated upon individual desires and objectives. In conclusion, both films show the perceived masculinity crisis as derived from consumerism and an inability to achieve the conservative ideal of masculinity. Following the will to power as a solution, both Lester and the Narrator pursue an bermensch that they believe is free of societal constraints. However, Fight Club ultimately affirms the traditional approach and recasts men as cogs in a patriarchal system, where individuality is lost to a central cause. For American Beauty, masculinity becomes redefined based upon principles set forth by the individual. Media Criticism to Reframe Fight Club and American Beauty as Cultural Representations of the Idealistic Man Fight Club and American Beauty both offer a way out of the perceived masculinity crisis. As Chapter One illustrates, representations of men in American

77 cinema reflect the nature of masculinity in American culture. Both films seek to show potential solutions that can rectify a perceived crisis in masculine idealistic identity. Fight Club suggests that by actively fighting consumerism and corporate servitude, men can rally around each other and establish a patriarchy to combat these perceived ills. The ideal man, therefore, is one who challenges the norms of modern society and actively removes himself from this environment. By following a path through which personal overcoming becomes the central focus of ones life, masculinity can be restored to a more traditional level. For Fight Club, the perceived masculinity crisis comes from the failure of conservative idealism to fit into modern corporate and consumer lifestyles. As Fight Club sees it, men are products of advertising and cannot correctly achieve a proper masculine identity due to the constraints and overall power of marketing. Therefore, it becomes necessary to reject all societal influences that are a part of this forced lifestyle. In terms of male-female relationships, women are an impasse to be overcome. Outside of sexual pursuits, women are mere obstacles to personal fulfillment. The argument can be made that upon the films conclusion, the Narrator ultimately chooses Marla over the bermensch Tyler. However, to ignore the rest the film in lieu of the ending would be doing a disservice to the film as a whole. Ideally, Fight Club defines men as violent and strong willed. Ultimately, they must sacrifice their individuality to succumb to the pursuits of the gender as a whole. With the exception of Tyler, men are not individuals in Fight Club. Rather, they are components of Tylers vision of masculinity as an agent-purpose ratio in the world. The Narrator/Tyler is the only true individual in the film, for he is the only one who self-

78 overcomes and establishes new values. The rest of the members of Project Mayhem adopt Tylers idealism. Where Tyler has become the bermensch, the rest of the men in the film have left one social construction for another. It is also essential to note that, at this point, Fight Club speaks only to heterosexual, white, middle-class Americans. While the racial identities and sexual persuasion of the characters are never explicitly discussed, most appear to be Caucasians who are working in either white-collar or service industry jobs. Therefore, the message of the idealistic male in this film is engineered for this demographic and not any other. This lends additional credence to the conservative approach and not the group-specific perspective on masculinity. The message in American Beauty is one of individualism. As with Fight Club, the perceived masculinity crisis is shown as a result of the traditional conservative perspective of the ideal male, which does not fit into the corporate, and consumer lifestyle of modern America. Where American Beauty differs is that this film shows a new ideal via the value places on individualism. Where Fight Club teaches that only certain men can escape the flock, American Beauty focuses on the individual selfovercoming. The ideal man in American Beauty is one who self-affirms individualistic principles that reject modern corporate culture and consumerism. Instead of fighting, sexual expression is depicted as a path to spirituality and personal fulfillment. Women in American Beauty are treated with more respect, albeit they still are classed as sexual objects. While Fight Club castes women as nothing more than sexual objects, American Beauty sees them as paths to spiritual fulfillment. Lesters lust or love

79 of Angela propels him to change. By contrast, fighting is the path to spiritualism in Fight Club. Conclusion Fight Club and American Beauty appear to provide guidelines that point to the development of a new masculine ideal. For Fight Club, it is the reestablishment of the traditional patriarchy to combat the perceived masculinity crisis. For American Beauty, pursuing individual goals is the ideal of masculinity. Both films treat appearance and essence as paradoxical to the extent that societal forms of masculinity are socially constructed and ultimately in need of rejection. The personal experiences of Lester and the Narrator enable a new worldview wherein truth becomes subjective and is no longer predicated on epistemological constructs of being. To overcome these social constructions, individual essence becomes the driving force behind a new paradigm that seeks to become purpose-centered and manifested creatively as the will to power. In both films, the will to power acts as a solution to the perceived masculinity crisis. Both solutions suggest that epistemological assumptions of identity are created as a product of advertising and that the personal will can overcome them. In Fight Club, only certain individuals are able the break through the mold. In American Beauty, all those who are willing can break free to establish a personal masculine identity. With regards to Nietzsches lexicon, Lester and the Narrator identify with the Dionysian instinct of passion where the Apollonian construct of form no longer becomes discernible within their respective identities. To correctly ascertain the validity of their new morality, identity becomes selfaffirmed. Lester and the Narrator no longer seek familial, societal, or corporate approval

80 of their new selves. Affirmation becomes self-fulfilled as to the pragmatic ability to please oneself in relations to subjective goal seeking. Social constructions of masculinity are caste as slave morality. To combat such morality, the characters idealize bermensch personified by Tyler Durden and Ricky Fitts. Thus, it is concluded that certain films at the turn of the Twentieth Century reflect the American perception of a masculinity crisis. Additionally, these same films portray a solution similar to that outlined by Friedrich Nietzsche at the end of the Nineteenth Century. They portray men who reject consumer definitions of masculinity and who choose a radical approach to rectify their situations. As suggested in Chapter Four, this aesthetic worldview can further be examined in other mediums and even evaluated as a positive approach to redefine masculinity in the Twenty-First Century.

Chapter 5: A Critical Analysis of Male Portrayals in Film at the Dawn of the New Century with Limitations and Recommendations for Future Study

Summary A Context for Viewing This Thesis in Early 21st Century America Since the end of the World War II, gender identification in the United States has radically departed from traditional concepts. Powerful and changing economic forces, along with social movements, created a climate that distorted the lines between polar gender identities. As women entered the workforce, men ceased to be sole providers of a familys resources. Currently, the environment has changed to the point that the retention of traditional gender roles has become generally obsolete. Society no longer needs just men as warriors and hunters; women can fulfill such roles as well. The definition of masculinity, therefore, has changed to fit the environment, but much of the culture has retained the traditional ideals. Indeed, by 1986, in Hard Choices: How Women Decide About Work, Career and Motherhood, Gerson argued that women had no choice but to carry out many of the responsibilities and tasks that had previously defined the domain of masculinity. Characterizing the nature of sex roles in the early part of the 21st century in a 2007 New York Times interview, Gerson (2007, May 31) found that Generation X fathers spend more time with their children than did baby boomer fathers, and that both sexes aspired to the same ideal: a balance between work and family (p. A13).

82 More explicitly, sex roles and sexuality appear to have evolved in some clear and consistent ways since the inception of the 21st century. As Cohen (May, 2007) argued, far from reverting to more traditional sex roles, women and men are becoming more alike in their attitudes toward balancing life at home and at work (p. A13). Cohen has characterized this balancing as a kind of gender convergence (p. A13). This echoes Sandra Bems famous 1974 study in which she clearly identified androgyny as an explicit role in the American culture. Auster and Ohm (2000) additionally found that masculine and feminine sex roles have blurred significantly over the 25 years since Bem conducted her original study. Additionally, in 2001, Chesebro and Fuse (2001) found that some 30 percent of college women scored higher on a ten factor masculinity scale than the average college male. And, in 2007, Land and Risman (2007) argued that the bulk of evidence shows a decades-long trend of convergence between women and men in their behaviors, and in their gender attitudes (p. 1). While this chapter does provide a summary of this thesis, it also draws conclusions about its major findings, identifies limitations of this analysis and also provides some recommendations for future research. As a point of departure, it is also appropriate to ask: How should the two films examined in this thesis, Fight Club and American Beauty, both released in 1999, be understood in terms of the explicit recognition of gender convergence that has so clearly been identified as a characteristic of the early 21st century? Several observations and conclusions were derived from this analysis of Fight Club and American Beauty. First, gender convergence is a description of how gender roles have evolved. This melding of the sexes is in definition only; it is not a statement of

83 what the ideal role for a man should be. In other words, it may be true that men have adopted feminine definitions as a strategy for coping with the economic and social environment in which they find themselves, just as women have adopted masculine strategies for similar purposes. However, it may also is relevant to ask not only what sex roles are today, but what the sex roles of men and should be. In this context, the roles men have adopted during a period of gender convergence might also be viewed as a matter of necessity, a question of what is required to survive in a complex societal system, and ultimately as a matter of strategy rather than a reflection of the beliefs that men actually hold. The masculine role men have adopted might ultimately be viewed as a strategy. Indeed, it may be that the male belief systems in traditional ideals, as Fight Club and American Beauty suggest, remain largely unchanged. In this regard, distinguishing between ideology and strategy would be useful. Brock, Huglen, Klumpp, and Howell (2005) suggested that an ideology is a belief system or series of consistently held orientations towards circumstances and people across diverse situations. They define a strategy as a way of responding to a specific situation. This distinction parallels the distinction posited in both traditional and media persuasion theory (e.g., Larson, 2007; and, Cialdini, 1993). Such theories hold that changes can affect either attitudes (i.e., the equivalent of a strategic change) or beliefs (i.e., the equivalent of an ideological change). While Brock and his colleagues found that ideologies and strategies can be related, it is conceivable that strategic choices also can be made at the expense of ideological commitments. For example, while one might be committed to truth and the expressions of truth in all cases (i.e., an ideology or belief system) an individual may also find it convenient, less controversial, less confrontational,

84 or even kinder, to lie in some circumstances (i.e., a strategy employed that is inconsistent with ones ideology). Once this demarcation between strategy or definition and ideology or ideal is recognized, it remains possible, if not highly probably, that a perceived masculinity crisis exists in the United States. This crisis functions as a kind of ideological schizophrenia for males in the United States leading up to the turn of the 21st Century. Within this context, this thesis has focused upon masculinity as a crisis in ideology or beliefs. The kinds of questions guiding this thesis have been: Should men share a common set of beliefs about themselves? What beliefs do and do not unify men as a group? How should these shared beliefs guide and govern men as a social collective? During historical periods when male masculinity strategies and definitions were similar, no perceived crisis existed. As mentioned in the Chapter One, male portrayals in film during the World War II did not discuss the issue of masculinity.7 Male portrayals as soldiers and providers closely matched the ideal.i As the definition shifted in subsequent decades and ran against the traditional ideal, films began to portray men as struggling to cope with the demarcation. The analysis provided in this thesis views the filmic text as a viable thermometer in judging cultural climate. Furthermore, the investigation of masculinity in Chapter One offers a thorough examination of gender ideal, definition, and male purpose as reflected in the modern cinema. It is therefore concluded that masculinity, at the turn of the 21st
7

A more accurate statement here may be that the crisis of masculinity during war has not traditionally been discussed in public by the media, reasoning that such discussions could affect the morale of soldiers during war. However, as early as World War II, the military was aware that soldiers frequently refused to return enemy fire, even when they were directly within the line of fire. As early as World War II, the military viewed this behavior as a problem. For example, see: S. L. A. Marshall, Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma, 2000). Originally published in 1947.

85 Century, has entered a period of ambiguity that is sometimes referred to as a crisis and that this perceived crisis can be studied via the media. The cinema in particular provides a valuable window into the portrayal of cultural ideals and definitions. To combat this crisis and to reassert traditional masculine ideals into the socially constructed definition of masculinity, some men choose to adopt a strategy of behavior symbolically defined by Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power, among other concepts, offers men a path to salvation, a means of restoring the traditional order of things. In this order, white heterosexual men face challenges as rights of passage; dominating each other is an aspect of a patriarchy. As the traditional patriarchy has all but collapsed in the United States, some white males are portrayed as increasingly determined to restore the definition of masculinity to the ideal. The failure to reestablish the traditional patriarchy has left many men with a sense of inadequacy due to these social, political, and financial changes in the United States. Many American men have thus entered into an era of uncertainty. This is an uncertainty where the traditional ideal of masculinity is no longer attainable practicality. The American society has simply changed too much to revert to the old political and social structure. This insecurity in identification is troubling and, therefore, is important to study. Without a careful analysis of the national pulse in terms of gender characterization and definition, severe consequences can almost certainly be expected. Nietzsches strategy of the will to power allows men to strongly pursue their own ideals to attain personal fulfillment along the lines of the masculine ideal. Nietzsche believed in individual interpretations of reality and not socially constructed definitions of morality and being; he abhorred such collective thinking. However, following the will to

86 power superficially often can lead to unnecessary violence, brutality, and unchecked dominance. The will to power represents either an individual autonomy with a balanced sense of morality, or a destructive force predicated upon ascendancy and authority. Major Conclusions Regarding Fight Club and American Beauty Both films analyzed in this thesis portray the above dichotomy. Both films accurately reflect the insecurity and perceived masculinity crisis in the thinking and behavior characterized by the male leads. Both Fight Club and American Beauty show that certain men, who once socially dominated the political structure of the United States, have fallen from favor and have become essentially equal to others in the same sociopolitical sphere. Each film portrays the indignity of corporate servitude and the vacuity of consumer culture. In Fight Club, the will to power is used destructively in an attempt to restore the traditional order. Tyler Durden is less concerned about personal fulfillment than he is about restoring a patriarchy in America. By way of comparison, Lester Burnhams chief concern in American Beauty is personal fulfillment; his happiness becomes the paramount concern of his everyday life. The main characters in each film follow Nietzsches theory to reestablish personal ideals about masculine morality. Fight Club pursues morality for destructive ends whereas American Beauty seeks a creative solution. Limitations of this Study and Recommendations for Further Research This conclusions drawn by this thesis are limited primarily due to the small number of films studied. Focusing on only two films does not provide a thorough analysis of masculinity in the modern cinema. While every attempt is made to examine masculinity from the 1950s to today, only Fight Club and American Beauty are evaluated

87 in detail. Additional films evaluated in a similar fashion would certainly yield a more complete understanding of the perceived masculinity crisis. Further research should capitalize on many films produced in a single year, perhaps even all films in one calendar year. This would provide a complete sample of films and not simply a certain few. The results of such a study could easily be compared to and contrasted with ethnographic and demographic data available for that time frame. Additionally, this thesis is also limited due to the age of the films. Both Fight Club and American Beauty were produced in 1998 and released in 1999. As the first decade of the 21st Century nears its end, the two films can no longer be relied upon to reflect current national sentiment. Any future studies should take advantage of films being produced at the time of publication. Furthermore, focusing solely on the media of film limits this study. Any reflection of gender ideal and definition also can be found in television programming, music, music videos, magazines, television advertisements, television programs, online entertainment, and even by the behavior of iconic celebrities. A collection of analyses in each of these areas, conducted with the same methodology used in this thesis, would yield a far more comprehensive interpretation of the social construction of masculinity echoed in modern media. Just as further research should include additional forms of media, it should also take note of audience feedback and interpretation of masculinity as portrayed in media. This study is limited by the lack of attention to audience. Rather it relies only on the commercial success of both Fight Club and American Beauty as proof of audience identification. Future studies on this topic should include a quantitative audience analysis

88 including personal opinions and reflections of the films in question. This would connect the audience with the interpretations on screen. Finally, Nietzsche has been inaccurately associated with the certain nefarious groups, most notably the Nazis: The general prevalence of such judgments is probably due to the controversies generated by the abuse the Nazis made of Nietzsches thought. They read him so thoroughly (and so inaccurately) as a foundation for their politics that most recent commentators, desirous of being sympathetic to Nietzsche, have gone the other way and simply ignored any political dimensions his thought might have. (Strong, 1975, p. 187). Interestingly enough, Nietzsche not only despised German culture, but loathed racism as a concept: It is an irony of history that Nietzsches outspoken hatred of racism in general, and anti-semitism in particular, should have been so effectively suppressed by his greatest proponents the Nazis (Gane, 1997, p. 148). Furthermore, many of Nietzsches aphorisms show a genuine disdain for German culture: In Germany, bad writing is looked on as a national privilegeA German is capable of great things, but he is unlikely to achieve them, for he obeys whenever he can, as suits his naturally lazy intellectWherever Germany extends her influence she ruins cultureGerman intellect is indigestion. (Gane, pp. 94-95). Nietzsches will to power in the hands of madmen can and has resulted in damage beyond imagination. While it was never Nietzsches intent to elicit such behavior with his thinking, the incorrect application of his strategies can lead to incalculable horrors as seen with the Holocaust.

89 With regard to masculinity, further studies should examine how men handle the changing definitions of masculinity with the traditional ideal still hanging above their heads. Is the perceived crisis causing psychological problems? Is male aggression and sexual aggression occurring at a higher frequency today than forty of fifty years ago? If fewer men can obtain fulfillment by pursuing the traditional ideal due to the reality of the environment, how do men obtain identity fulfillment? Additional research into other Western cultures might yield data to compare with the perceived crisis in the United States. If males in other Western nations are undergoing similar experiences, how are they handling it? If not, what positive strategies have these men adopted in the face of an ideological crisis? If a lack of a perceived crisis is present, does this suggest that the situation is unique to the United States? Finally, finding a way to reconcile the delineation between ideal and definition is of the utmost importance. While Nietzsches theories can provide a means to overcome a perceived crisis, the misuse of them can lead to unspeakable horrors. We cannot assume that the will to power will always be used as demonstrated in American Beauty. When used in Fight Club, the results of the will to power can be deadly. Regardless of the validity of traditional masculine ideals, is there an approach that can be sensitive to male adherence to the ideals, by reconciling them with the strategies men employ to deal with the ever-changing societal environment? Consequently, any research that would help in developing this connection would prove fruitful. Additionally, the filmmaker can play a powerful role in shaping new masculine ideals. In 2007, Will Smith starred in The Pursuit of Happyness [sic] in which his character stopped at nothing to provide for his son. The fathers will to power was used

90 creatively to provide for his son. The audience never viewed the father as being less masculine, but the character never employed violence as a strategy to obtain his goals. Further positive portrayals of men on screen can, perhaps, help change the ideal of masculinity without completely abandoning all of the traditional ideals. Conclusion This thesis evaluated the concepts generally held as idealistic for white American men. However, questions concerning the changing nature of masculinity extend to all American men, regardless of race or economic status. For example, in April 2007, a male student at Virginia Tech murdered thirty-two fellow students in a violent shooting rampage. The student was not of Caucasian descent, but of Asian descent. While many reeled at the extreme brutality of the event, some viewed this as another symptom of the growing unrest in American males. Camille Paglia saw the event as a mix of male sexual aggression with egotism and the ecstasy of self-immolation where the killer was addicted to the moment where impotence becomes prepotence (p. 1). Paglia continues, In American culture you always have the rough-edged loner, the anti-establishment figure which goes all the way back to the silent films and westerns and continues through Humphrey Bogart, James Dean and Marlon Brando (Times Online, 2007, p. 1). Given such extreme consequences, the study of masculinity is essential in understanding how aggression can be misused as a solution to a perceived gender crisis. If anything, Fight Club and American Beauty stand as artistic warnings of how males respond to the loss of a firm patriarchy, especially when the patriarchy is still held as an idealistic form of social order. As Auster and Ohm (2000) suggest: if the contradiction between the desirability ratings and the importance ratings

91 reflects a contradiction in societys messages about gender expectations, then individuals will continue to feel that contradiction and tension in their personal lives. (p. 256) If gender desirability is seen as ideal and gender importance is seen as definition, Auster and Ohms 2000 findings corroborate this thesis. If individuals continue to feel a contradiction, the manner in which the individual seeks to resolve it becomes of the utmost importance. In Fight Club, aggression is used in an attempt to violently reassert traditional ways, while American Beauty turns the same aggression inward, not in selfhate, but for personal betterment. Regardless of the strategy with which men choose to redefine themselves in modern America, it cannot be denied that the existence of the perception of a crisis is a commanding concept. The strategies that men employ to solve the crisis is equally important in terms of research as societal trends continue to bring the sexes close together. Men, therefore, need to recast the change of ideals as liberating and not threatening. Even Nietzsche knew that all men could not become bermensch. Yet certain men could become ideological bermensch who connect the traditional ideology with present circumstances.

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