Hero narratives are an important part of our story telling. A concern of these hero narratives is to establish definitions of masculinity according to cultural ideals, which might change and require a redefinitions of masculinity as well. This piece is an attempt to apply this perspective to two movies of 2008: 'Slumdog Millionaire' [Sd M] and 'Kung Fu Panda' [KFP].
It's important to identify the mythical structure in the plots of both the movies which serves to build the hero narrative. Once the hero and the struggle have been identified, both movies establish the hero as the winner through leaps of logic that are more characteristic of myth than fiction. While this might be apparent in KFP, where the Panda 'figures out' the magical 'Wushi finger' hold to beat the unbeatable Tiger, it might not be so in Sd M. But watching Sd M critically, asking how the protagonist came to have efficient reading skills without tutoring, or how all the questions asked on the game are linked to the most dramatic experiences of the protagonist's life, brings home the mythical structure that serves to complete the hero narrative.
The narratives are also concerned with the hero's masculinity. The happy endings themselves establish a definition of the masculine as the winner who 'takes it all'. This is why in Sd M, it is not enough that the protagonist just resolves the central conflict of the plot, that is, his separation from his beloved. In the end, through strokes of luck that sacrifice the story's plausibility, he not only has love but also wins fame and money.
The hero's masculinity is established in other ways as well. In KFP, the protagonist represents the 'cool guy' archetype. Contrasted with Tigress, Panda is carefree, jokes around, and gets a lot of laughs from those around. Here, you also see how Tigress serves to represent femininity in opposition to which Panda’s masculinity is constructed against. Certainly not good with jokes, Tigress is a ‘good girl’, a diligent student devoted to earning Master Shi Fu’s approval. She is the opposite of ‘cool guy’, who wins without any diligent devotion. A different but more traditional approach to this same end is seen in Sl M, in which the hero of the narrative saves the archetypal ‘damsel in distress’. The hero here represents more the anguished warrior who, as he comes of age, gets to reclaim his manhood by getting back his childhood sweetheart and becoming the winner.
But both the movies are also concerned with constructing a newer, ‘softer’ form of masculinity. The hero of Sl D is a low-income ‘chai wala’, who does not mind being laughed at for his occupation, and is only playing the game so that his beloved can see him, and not interested in winning. He also avoids a direct confrontation with the captor of his beloved. Similarly in KFP, the hero does not mind showing and talking about his feelings, and struggles with self-esteem issues. This makes sense because of the changing cultural paradigms that are redefining masculinities. Is that because of feminism or the ‘emasculation of the collective’ in late capitalism? Whatever the reason though, feminism has still a long way to go because we are still obsessed with the archetype of the masculine hero.
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the only thing I'd have to argue with is the characterization of Po as the 'cool guy' and Tigress as the 'good girl'.
Po is more of the 'buffoon' masculine type hero, a character type that one hardly ever sees at all in female heroes. I wouldn't class Po as the 'cool guy' because more of the movie he is incompetent and clumsy and in strict contrast to the Furious Five which are more the 'cool guys'. I'd also argue that Po does show devotion and reveres Kung Fu, the only thing that keeps him from being diligently devoted is his self doubt and physical limitations, he commits himself to training when Shifu finds a way to motivate him.
Tigress is more of the 'action girl' while still falling into the 'good girl' category her manner and attitude is one that's become common to be played by either gender; the 'straight guy'.
Speaking of issues of anxious masculinity I finished watching Wolverine vs The Hulk... where Wolverine was portrayed not as his familiar 'tough guy with a heart of gold' but as 'tough guy who is an unlikeable jerk' ....oh boy that was horrible...
The female buffoon may have been more common back in the bad old days of the 1950s, when it was easier to get away with negative sexist stereotyping. (In "I Love Lucy", Lucy was the incompetent sitcom spouse, playing the Homer Simpson role and not the Marge Simpson role.)
Actually, now that I think about it, I can come up with two relatively recent movies that star a woman in such a role; Legally Blond (in which the main character is a lot smarter than she appears to be) and The House Bunny (in which the title character really does live up to the "dumb blond" stereotype, but still manages to be "heroic" and save the day.) Incidentally, the first movie I mentioned is much, much better than the second.
From my point of view, the "more" masculine of the two brothers in Slumdog was the one who got gunned down in the bathroom (his only two redeeming actions in the film, really, were when he broke from form an acted selflessly to prevent Jamal being blinded and to allow Latika to escape). Salim is definitely the tough guy - and you can tell that by his attitude toward violence, power, and sex.
Jamal walks away with 20 million rupees and Latika not because he is self-consciously manly but because he is true to himself and genuine in his affection. The virtues Jamal represents are not exclusive to one gender or sex; I think that character would view himself more as a "good person" first and a "man" second (Salim's priorities, I think, would be reversed).
And you must remember, that the fame and fortune aspect of Slumdog are in someways the byproduct of the film's plot gimmick -- telling the story of Jamal, Salim, and Latika through an explanation of how Jamal knows the answers to a series of very difficult questions. The film is largely an exploration of the themes of destiny and chance.
Meanwhile, KFP's basic message is that there "is no secret ingredient" to life -- that success comes from finding one's self instead of chasing after some external source of happiness. The virtues being celebrated in this film are freedom and self-esteem.
With that said, I do think I see your point -- that there is an excessive tendency for virtue to be associated with male characters in the movies. It certainly would be nice and refreshing to have had a re-telling of these stories from a woman's perspective. In a way, that is why I really liked Lost in Translation and some other films.
Oh and I thought Legally Blonde was fantastic!
This is a fascinating discussion - I'd love to talk about how the "hero's journey" works for women - "the heroine's journey" - since it's so against any romantic notions. The only way a heroine can have a relationship with a man is if he's heroic as well - what just came up for me was the Disney animated Mulan. And now I'm thinking of the end of "Enchantment" with Amy Adams and even Beauty and the Beast - where she essentially "kisses him awake" at the end with the strength of her love. Loved Legally Blonde, too - you can look any way you want - blonde, and fashionable and in high heels, and still be a determined, brainy hero. Oh - and there's "GI Jane" (which I loved) with Demi Moore yelling "suck my dick," fighting the heroic male in the piece with her bare hands, and maintaining her relationship with a "regular" man. Thanks for this idea. If anyone has ideas about any examples of the Heroine's Journey, I'd love to hear them...Rori Raye