Whilst it's fair to say that women's roles in the film are two dimensional we should explore how men are represented in a little more detail. We can't assume that just because they inhabit the main characters that they are represented in any more of a positive way.
The following questions are designed to make you think and to encourage discussion. Make notes on points that you make and think about how you feel men are represented overall.
- The film is about heroes - can the male characters be considered as heroic?
- We often consider the 'white male hero' to be the default position for a central protagonist - do any of the men in Kick-Ass live up to this role?
- Are there lessons in this film in what it means to be a man?
- Fatherhood is a key theme of the movie, how is it explored and represented?
- Where do men have dominance in the film?
- Does the lack of women suggest that men are capable of surviving without women?
- Is the prominence of male characters no more than a convention of superhero films/comic books?
Without doubt the male characters in this film are flawed - however does their prominence over female characters and their importance to the story make this a positive representation overall?
Write down your thoughts as if you were writing the opening of a paragraph or a conclusion, put this paragraph in the comments section below...
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ReplyDeleteMasculinity within Kick Ass is a developing theme that is stretched from beginning to end of the film. The first male impression given in Kick Ass is from protagonist Dave in which he is portrayed as a high school geek, conventional of the superhero genre. As the film progresses and more male characters are introduced such as Frank and Chris D'Amico who supply a typical representation of male gangsters, Dave's character also develops through the alter ego Kick Ass in which the stereotypes of masculinity are loosely enforced; A fighter who serves to protect. Kick Ass also helps Dave get his dream Girl Katie, a factor of a masculine man. The gangsters as previously mentioned are represented as violent, cynical individuals who follow Frank D' Amico. This is a negative representation of masculinity as it presents men as killers with no care for human life, even in the case of a 11 year old girl.
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ReplyDeleteConventionally in superhero comics/movies, the hero is a teenage male which is shown in Kick Ass, through 3 of the 4 main characters being male. However the male protagonist Kick Ass isn't exactly masculine or hero like, the character with masculine and hero qualities is the female Hit Girl as she saves the other characters.
ReplyDeleteThere are clear representations of men throughout the film kickass, many of them being conventional of typical films, applying theories such as the male gaze, Dave is seen as a hormonal teenager, fantasising over his teacher and his main aim is to impress a female, typical of how film represents male teenagers. Another representation of masculinity could be through the character of Frank D'amico, his position in society is what people aspire to be; he is seen to have power, wealth and respect. His character has a significant line, as his son is seen to be somewhat of a wimp the line "I wish my son was more like you" implies he would like a more masculine son, to carry out his name rather than Chris.
ReplyDeleteThe representation of masculinity is apparent through this film, and s clearly represented through strength and Violence. Hit-Girl n the film is one of the most violent characters, and is shown to be more masculine that most of the men in the film, even though she is female; this is reinforced later by Frank D'amico when he says, "I wish my son was like you," stating that he wants a stronger son, and a more masculine son. We know that Chris D'amico isn't masculine, as he is not very strong or violent in the film.
ReplyDeleteMost Super hero films are about becoming a man, and this is represented through Dave. At the beginning of the film Dave is seen as weak, and is not very masculine. a soon as he comes in to contact with violence (being stabbed and hit by a car) he increasingly becomes more masculine, by continuing being a super hero, and successfully defeating some bad guys; illustrating that masculinity is gained through violence.
Throughout the film masculinity is portrayed in various ways from each character from start to finish. However, we first see this theme and representation when we learn about the charcter of Dave. The first impression gathered from the character is not what is perceived to be traditional masulinity, but instead a geeky, shy teenager, which is conventional of the superhero genre. We further see impressions of masulinity from Frank D'Amico who connotes power and wealth, promoting the ideology that he's the man in charge. The character of Chris D'Amico challenges typical ideologies of what is masculine with his personality and awkwardness. This is reinforced by the actor who also contrasts with typical masuline stereotypes. As Kick Ass becomes a thing we see more fragements of masculinity as he fights to protect what he knows and loves and eventually gets the girl which is a common factor of propps charcter types (hero&princess), superhero movies and a 'masculine' trait.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the whole film there is a mixed perception on the masculinity of the male characters and their roles. For example the role of Big Daddy is to bring up his daughter Mindy known as Hit Girl because her mother died, by this he is bringing her up with a corrupt view and she is learning to fight and kill at the age of 11. This isn't typical and seen as though she is one of the main characters and she is most likely the most masculine out of all characters in the film.Kick ass is supposed to be the character that we all would want to rescue us but really he isn't due to his lack of courage and muscle, this make us realise that he isn't a real hero but Hit Girl is. Also think reoccurrence of homophobic remarks towards kick ass also show his lack of masculinity, e.g. when Hit Girl refers to his choice of weapons as "gay little tazers" and the rumour going round Dave's school that he is gay.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the film we constantly see different male characters who portray masculinity in different ways. The first character we see is Dave. Dave is portrayed as the high school geek who isn't very popular and is 'invisible to girls'. This is a typical convention of a superhero genre. However as the film progresses we see Dave become more masculine which is KickAss ego, we see him become a lot braver when fighting crime and we also see him get the girl of his dreams at the end, again which is typical of superhero genre. When we meet the villain Frank D'Amico we see signs of masculinity through his power and wealth. However his son Chris D'Amico is the complete opposite from his father and challenges the masculinity stereotype as his comes across as a shy and awkward teenager which is actually how the actor who plays Chris comes across.
ReplyDeleteHit Girl comes across as one of the most masculine heroes even though she is a girl. She is portrayed as a violent killer who is very powerful and brave. This is reinforced later in the film when Frank D'Amico says "Why cant my son be like this".
The film represents masculinity through all of the characters as often the representation is fully understood when comparing the main characters with sub-characters. For example, when comparing Dave with his friends in the beginning of the film, they are all seen as equally immasculine yet when Dave comes into contact with violence and becomes Kick-Ass his masculinity becomes more prominent.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though masculinity is a theme that is consistent throughout Kick-ass. Dave, at first, is seen as a nerd and is even assumed to be gay suggesting that he is not the stereotypical man, however, as the film progresses so does Dave's masculinity. his masculinity appears to develop once he becomes Kick-ass, he begins to believe in himself more and the costume gives him the confidence he needed in himself, he is then able to show his masculine side by fighting the villains and protecting his new girlfriend, Katie. Speaking of villains we are quickly introduced to the biggest villain in the film, Frank D'Amico, he shows his masculinity through the power he has over other people including his son Chris, his wife and the people working for him. However in my opinion the most masculine character in the film is Hitgirl, in many of the other characters we see signs of weakness but Hitgirl continually shows strength and courage, whether thats helping Dave fight Rasul or getting justice for her dad, Big Daddy.
ReplyDeleteInitially, we are presented with a young, geeky Dave. Typically, we would not say that this character portrays many stereotypical qualities of masculinity such as strength, courage and assertiveness. However, as soon as Dave decides to become Kick-Ass, we see an instant change in his behaviour, he becomes more confident, fearless and acts more like a leader. It seems that by changing his identity, he plays up to the traits of masculinity that he never could posses as Dave. Even Chris's Dad, Frank D'Amico, says "Why can't my son be like this" reffering to Kick-Ass's embodiment of masculinity and courage.
ReplyDeleteThis is reinforced by the character of Chris. Like Dave, Chris is portrayed as a bit of an unpopular geek. However, when he puts on the Red Mist costume and facade, he is constantly receiving attention from the media and being pined for by many pretty girls.
All in all, this suggests that in order to be accepted by society and receive all that you desire, a male must meet these expectations of masculinity.
Male characters in Kick ass aren't exactly heroic, but some do display some admirable qualities: Chris D'Amico is against capturing or torturing Kick Ass because he is not a threat, which perhaps represents some sympathy he has for a fellow comic book nerd. Additionally Kick-Ass isn't above doing simple mundane super hero work (before his fight with the thugs that made him go viral he was trying to rescue a cat called 'Mr Bitey') and while Big Daddy, Hit Girl and Red Mist have access to an arrange of weaponry and other tech (the 'mist mobile' and the jetpack with miniguns for instance). On the other hand, Kick Ass does fulfil the default position of the white male hero, even if it takes a bit of time before he fits into that role. the film shows men to be dominant when it comes to crime and law enforcement, as there is no prominent female character shown in either of these areas; the film does make a distinction between organised crime and vigilantes, so it would be unfair to lump Hit Girl as a prominent representation of a female criminal.
ReplyDeleteAt the start of the film, we wouldn't label Dave as particularly masculine, due to his nerdy and socially awkward manner. However, as he becomes Kick Ass we see a very different side to Dave, a more masculine and heroic element to him. Although parts of his stereotypically 'un masculine', quite weary parts of his personality come across, for example when Red Mist suggests going out to find trouble and Kick Ass says he doesn't usually do it at that time, he does appear to be a lot more confident, being able to stand up for himself and others unlike before. Because of this though, it can be said that this representation shows masculinity as quite weak in a way because the only time the male characters, like Dave and Chris, feel as though they can show this side to them is when their real identity is hidden and masked by this unrealistic persona. Kick Ass and Red Mist are the kind of masculine Dave and Chris aspire to be, which is overtaken by their geeky stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteInitially, we wouldn't class male characters as heroic as dave and his friends are represented rather stereotypically and we see 'geeky' dave who is a very mundane character. However as the story develops we see that the Males become the central part for representing heroism and to reinforce the ideology that men need women to save them. This can be seen through Katies need for kick ass to help her get Razul out of her life. i believe the film reinforces and pushes the ideology that to be a man you have to be strong and fearless despite how scary the situation is. it also suggests that you have to be all this to get the girl. this can be seen through the development of Katie's and Daves relationship, as she never considered him 'boyfriend' material until it was revealed that he was kick ass, presenting the idea that he is now good enough and worthy of her affection due to the fact her is proved himself and his assertive masculinity.
ReplyDeleteThere are many male characters in this film, and therefore the definition of what masculinity is in this context is very hard to define, however, we first meet Dave, who shows us a transformation from geeky and awkward teenager to confident and strong adolescent as we follow him through his journey to become a superhero. Considering that his is painted as being an ideal change for Dave as he is happier at the end than he is at the beginning as he now has "won" the princess. This could be said that masculinity is defined as being confident but also caring, however, there are other characters who have very minor roles who could be said to be a representation of masculinity, for example, Rasul is a representation of Men and masculinity which could be said to be quite damaging as he is belligerent and is even quoted as being abusive to Katie however, it could be said he is a villain and therefore this is meant to be a testament to the fact that he is a villain and not that he is male, however, a large proportion of the male characters are men and there is on a technicality only one female villain (the sex worker in Rasul's apartment).
ReplyDeleteThen there is the character of Big Daddy, who is quite geeky shown by his nerdy laugh as well as his love for drawing and creating comics but when he puts on the costume he becomes a strong willed and physically strong man who in the end dies in a martyrdom like fashion as he dies but whilst doing so helps Hit-Girl rescue Kick-Ass. Overall, men are shown to be characters who over go a transformation from these geeky men/adolescents to more matured and more mentally/physically strong characters who will risk life and limb for the ones they love.
masculinity of characters is portrayed in numerous ways throw different characters. The first male that we are introduced character is Dave. He is first represented as the nerdy character which he labels himself at the start of the ilm while he goes on to tell us why he isn't a typical superhero. then when Dave become Kick Ass you see his confidence shows through out the film you see him gain a more masculine side to his personality, as he helps hit girl at the end of the film kill Frank Damico. However, it could debated is it masculinity he has or greater confidence within himself. It could be said that Dave putting on that superhero mask is what makes him more masculine as he then becomes a superhero. Frank Damicos character shows masculinity mainly throw violence and power.
ReplyDeleteIn this film it can be said that masculinity is dendent on who you are and what your role is. or example Dave doesn't portray the stereotypical characeristics of being masculine his physique is slim as opposed to strong and his behaviour is cowardly especially when it comes to girls. However, the transition into becoming kick Ass completely juxtaposes these attributes to highlight the masculinity. From only a change of costume Dave is instantly more brave and exploits the use of being Kick Ass by getting Katie.
ReplyDeleteAs there is so many men in this film it therefore comes as a surprise when we realise Hit Girl is actually the most masculine.