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Gendered Power Dynamics in Superhero Films

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Gendered Power Dynamics in Superhero Films REAL MEN, ZEROS, AND HEROINES: GENDERED POWER DYNAMICS IN SUPERHERO FILMS A Thesis Presented to the faculty of the Department of Sociology California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Sociology by Shelby Zahn SPRING 2019 r © 2019 Shelby Zahn ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii REAL MEN, ZEROS, AND HEROINES: GENDERED POWER DYNAMICS IN SUPERHERO FILMS A Thesis by Shelby Zahn Approved by: _________________________________, Committee Chair Anne Luna-Gordinier, Ph. D. _________________________________, Second Reader Heidy Sarabia, Ph. D. ___________________________ Date iii Student: Shelby Zahn I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis. ________________________, Graduate Coordinator _______________ Jacqueline Carrigan, Ph. D. Date Department of Sociology iv Abstract of REAL MEN, ZEROS, AND HEROINES: GENDERED POWER DYNAMICS IN SUPERHERO FILMS by Shelby Zahn Despite the influx of superhero films in recent years, the genre seems to replicate the hegemonic gender relations of capitalist American society. Is there a difference between how these films from 1990-2019 use their protagonists to portray gendered power dynamics? This study analyzes thirty-six of the highest-grossing American superhero films from 1990-1999, 2000-2009, and 2010-2019 in a qualitative content analysis. Connell and Messerschmidt’s conception of hegemonic masculinity (2005) is used as a framework. Themes of demographics, violence, and relationship to the state are coded. Findings suggest that villains and heroines are often enemies of the state, and heroes are often allies. Heroines encounter male threats in varying degrees of sexual violence. ________________________, Committee Chair Anne Luna-Gordinier, Ph. D. _______________ Date v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge and express my gratitude toward my parents, Pat and Chris Zahn; my partner, Christian Schoenmann; Drs. Anne Luna-Gordinier and Heidy Sarabia; Drs. Jennifer “Jey” Strangfeld, Ann Strahm, and Tamara Sniezek at California State University, Stanislaus, my alma mater; and my friends and family. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for your endless support and everything in life that you have given me, all of the tools and resources that have enabled my success. Thank you, Christian, for always encouraging me and providing constructive feedback. Thank you, Drs. Luna and Sarabia, for greatly helping me to refine and redesign my study, always offering valuable insight and suggestions. Thank you, Drs. Strangfeld, Strahm, and Sniezek for urging me to apply to graduate school and giving me the opportunity to present at the 2016 and 2017 Pacific Sociological Association Conferences. Lastly, thank you to my friends and family for your kindness, your patience, your utter faith in me. Most importantly, I thank each of you for the love that you have shown me. My life has been profoundly enriched by all of your presences, and you have all helped to make this thesis possible. Thank you all. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................4 Overview .....................................................................................................4 “Real” Men and Their Women ....................................................................4 Working-Class Zeros and Violence .............................................................8 Badass Bitches, Violent Vixens, or Damsels in Distress? .........................11 Limitations and Proposed Expansions .......................................................13 3. METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................15 Overview and Justifications ......................................................................15 Selection Process: Six Films ......................................................................16 Selection Process: Thirty Films .................................................................17 Analyzing the Thirty Films ........................................................................17 Analyzing the Six Films.............................................................................18 Strengths and Weaknesses .........................................................................19 4. RESULTS ...................................................................................................................21 5. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................37 vii Demographics ...........................................................................................37 Male Threats against Women ....................................................................39 Disposability: Disfigurement and Mental Illness ......................................45 Relationship to the State ............................................................................54 Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................73 Appendix A: Coding Scheme ............................................................................................77 References .........................................................................................................................78 viii LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. 1: 30 Comparison Films (by Decade) (High to Low Gross) .......................................22 2. 2: 90s Films (1990-1990) (High to Low Gross) .........................................................23 3. 3: 2000s Films (2000-2009) (High to Low Gross) .....................................................24 4. 4: 2010s Films (2010-2019) (High to Low Gross) .....................................................25 5. 5: Characterization in Batman Forever and Tank Girl (1990-1999) ...........................27 6. 6: Characterization in The Dark Knight and V for Vendetta (2000-2009) ..................28 7. 7: Characterization in Black Panther and Wonder Woman (2010-2019) ....................29 8. 8.1a: 90s Hero and Director Demographics (Race and Gender) ................................30 9. 9.1a: 90s Villain Demographics (Race, Gender, Mental Illness/Disfigurement) ........31 10. 8.2a: 2000s Hero and Director Demographics (Race and Gender) .............................32 11. 9.2a: 2000s Villain Demographics (Race, Gender, Mental Illness/Disfigurement) ....33 12. 10.3a: 2010s Hero Demographics (Race and Gender) .................................................34 13. 10.3b: 2010s Director Demographics (Race and Gender) ...........................................34 14. 9.3a: 2010s Villain Demographics (Race, Gender, Mental Illness/Disfigurement) ....35 ix 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Scantily-clad in PVC leather, corsets, garters, thigh-high boots, and lingerie-like garments, modern-day female superheroes are often marketed as being empowering and as tough as their male counterparts; they too now engage in a battle of good versus evil wielding whips, swords, and guns. Although also dressed in fairly tight clothing, male characters seem to usually be completely covered, which seems more practical in combat. The woman’s clothing seems to constrain her movements; how does one effectively defeat evil in high-heeled boots and a brassière, and what purpose does that serve other than to emphasize her female silhouette and vulnerability? Beyond mere costuming, these constraints seem further emphasized by writers’ tendency to relegate superheroines to roles of love interests and sidekicks for male protagonists (Bogarosh 2013; Charlebois 2010; Gilpatric 2010; Waters 2011). It is puzzling, then, how these films seemingly promote gender equity and justice when by design they still privilege male dominance and women existing for the male gaze and support. Life reflects art, and art reflects life. In larger society, capitalism constrains men and women‘s performances of masculinity and femininity in particular ways that are reflective of the patriarchal expectations placed on their socially acceptable roles based on an assigned gender order (Lee 2010:183). Men, within this gender order, are expected to perform what gender theorists Connell and Messerschmidt refer to as hegemonic masculinity, a pattern of behaviors that perpetuates men’s dominance over women, and 2 subordinated and marginalized men (i.e. LGBT men and men of color, respectively) (2005:829). Women in patriarchal, capitalist societies are subjected to hegemonic femininity, as well as characteristics and behaviors applied to women that perpetuate their subordination to men and domination over certain types of women (i.e. women of color and LGBT women) (Charlebois 2010:29). These hegemonic gender relations lend themselves to the maintenance of a heterosexual matrix, wherein heterosexuality structures gender and the social inequities between masculinity and femininity (ibid). Specifically, women are expected to be
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