Whether we are consciously aware or not, our gender identity and how we express it, often determines our standing in society. The acceptance or suppression of different masculinities makes up the “structural order of gender” in our culture (Bird). As the film Saving Private Ryan depicts, hegemonic masculinity classifies other masculinities and women as inferior. The men who are the toughest and bravest are seen as the heroes, whereas those who are emotional or feminine are subjugated by the hegemonic masculinity in order to maintain the dominance of these ideals (Bird). On the other hand, the film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, shows that gender equality can be reached through the dismissal of these masculine norms. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
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Initially, the film, Saving Private Ryan, clearly demonstrates how the ideal hegemonic masculinity is present by subjugating inferior masculinities in the same way it would if there were women present. According to Schrock and Schwalbe, males are accepted as “men” by putting on a “manhood act,” which comes in a variety of forms, but in this movie it is the use of either “verbal abuse” or force. In Saving Private Ryan, the men suppress Corporal Upham’s masculinity (or feminism) in order to establish their own masculinity as the standard, against which other gender identities are measured (Schrock and Schwalbe). When Captain Miller recruits Corporal Upham as a translator, Upham is overwhelmed and asks to bring his typewriter. Miller immediately dismisses the idea as there will be no time for such unmanly things on their heroic mission. Furthermore, the soldiers mock Upham for reading a book …show more content…
In the film, Saving Private Ryan, the hegemonic masculinity oppresses less masculine ideas and actions through the use of manhood acts. Star Wars: The Force Awakens instead rejects the hegemonic masculinity in favor of feminism and gender equality by representing characters with unclear or opposite gender roles. While Saving Private Ryan looks back to historical events to label the hegemonic masculinity as the norm for gender roles, Star Wars: The Force Awakens looks to the future to represent a new gender order that questions these masculine
Initially, the film, Saving Private Ryan, clearly demonstrates how the ideal hegemonic masculinity is present by subjugating inferior masculinities in the same way it would if there were women present. According to Schrock and Schwalbe, males are accepted as “men” by putting on a “manhood act,” which comes in a variety of forms, but in this movie it is the use of either “verbal abuse” or force. In Saving Private Ryan, the men suppress Corporal Upham’s masculinity (or feminism) in order to establish their own masculinity as the standard, against which other gender identities are measured (Schrock and Schwalbe). When Captain Miller recruits Corporal Upham as a translator, Upham is overwhelmed and asks to bring his typewriter. Miller immediately dismisses the idea as there will be no time for such unmanly things on their heroic mission. Furthermore, the soldiers mock Upham for reading a book …show more content…
In the film, Saving Private Ryan, the hegemonic masculinity oppresses less masculine ideas and actions through the use of manhood acts. Star Wars: The Force Awakens instead rejects the hegemonic masculinity in favor of feminism and gender equality by representing characters with unclear or opposite gender roles. While Saving Private Ryan looks back to historical events to label the hegemonic masculinity as the norm for gender roles, Star Wars: The Force Awakens looks to the future to represent a new gender order that questions these masculine