Gendered lens on Shame
Shame focuses on the life of Brandon Sullivan, a single bachelor in New York city, that lives a lavish lifestyle with his high paying office job and picture-perfect apartment. Brandon lives the life that men dream of living, he fits the profile of a hyper masculine male. He has numerous women and indulges in all of his sexual needs and desires. The movie establishes a distinct binary between ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits, where certain traits and acts are attributed to gender which determines their acceptability. As Brandon progresses as the main character negative beliefs and values of women are promoted causing women to be seen as the subordinate gender. Throughout the movie femininity is expressed as submissive, …show more content…
He does not want an intimate relationship with them, he uses the women only for his own sexual pleasure. He simply uses the women and disposes of them when he is done with them. This demonstrates that women are seen as merely objects meant to serve men’s appetite for pleasure (LeMoncheck, 1997). Women are further objectified by Brandon through his emotionless relations with women, he dates a woman by the name of Marianne he takes her to an apartment with a spectacular view but can not get aroused the scene then cuts to Brandon having intercourse with a new woman. This scene highlights how women are disposable to him and easily replaceable. This is similar to what LeMoncheck (1997) says is tradition in patriarchal culture regarding women as “nothing more than the impersonal and replaceable sexual objects of male lust”. These attitudes towards women further causes the viewer to see this treatment of women as normal due to overexposure in the …show more content…
When the characters go against gender norms, they are ostracized by other characters. Brandon first breaks out of the masculine frame, when he watches his sister perform the song New York New York. Brandon sheds a tear when he is watching the performance and after his boss makes fun of him, he says to his sister Sissy “you made a grown man cry”. Masculinity according to Connell & Messerschmidt (2005), men are depicted as as “unemotional, independent, non- nurturing, aggressive” traits that were maintained by Brandon until he became emotional. When Brandon shows signs associated with femininity his masculine persona is deconstructed in the eyes of his boss and the viewer. Social hierarchy is presented when Brandon is shamed for showing a trait that is not normal for males to express. The idea of anti-femininity is presented which reflects the belief that men should avoid feminine qualities (Parrot,
Shame focuses on the life of Brandon Sullivan, a single bachelor in New York city, that lives a lavish lifestyle with his high paying office job and picture-perfect apartment. Brandon lives the life that men dream of living, he fits the profile of a hyper masculine male. He has numerous women and indulges in all of his sexual needs and desires. The movie establishes a distinct binary between ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits, where certain traits and acts are attributed to gender which determines their acceptability. As Brandon progresses as the main character negative beliefs and values of women are promoted causing women to be seen as the subordinate gender. Throughout the movie femininity is expressed as submissive, …show more content…
He does not want an intimate relationship with them, he uses the women only for his own sexual pleasure. He simply uses the women and disposes of them when he is done with them. This demonstrates that women are seen as merely objects meant to serve men’s appetite for pleasure (LeMoncheck, 1997). Women are further objectified by Brandon through his emotionless relations with women, he dates a woman by the name of Marianne he takes her to an apartment with a spectacular view but can not get aroused the scene then cuts to Brandon having intercourse with a new woman. This scene highlights how women are disposable to him and easily replaceable. This is similar to what LeMoncheck (1997) says is tradition in patriarchal culture regarding women as “nothing more than the impersonal and replaceable sexual objects of male lust”. These attitudes towards women further causes the viewer to see this treatment of women as normal due to overexposure in the …show more content…
When the characters go against gender norms, they are ostracized by other characters. Brandon first breaks out of the masculine frame, when he watches his sister perform the song New York New York. Brandon sheds a tear when he is watching the performance and after his boss makes fun of him, he says to his sister Sissy “you made a grown man cry”. Masculinity according to Connell & Messerschmidt (2005), men are depicted as as “unemotional, independent, non- nurturing, aggressive” traits that were maintained by Brandon until he became emotional. When Brandon shows signs associated with femininity his masculine persona is deconstructed in the eyes of his boss and the viewer. Social hierarchy is presented when Brandon is shamed for showing a trait that is not normal for males to express. The idea of anti-femininity is presented which reflects the belief that men should avoid feminine qualities (Parrot,