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Inception film analysis
Inception film analysis
Inception film analysis
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In the film Inception one follows Dominic Cobb who is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the vulnerable subconscious while the mind is in the dream state. Cobb's rare ability has landed him a job with a corporate espionage to try and earn his way back home after he has lost everything he has ever loved. This final job could give him his life back but only if he can complete the seemly impossible task of inception. Cobb and his team of highly trained architects and extractors have one chance to complete their task. Now instead of stealing an idea they must supplant a new one. Failure is not an option for Cobb and he has taken extra care to exclude information about any fallacies he thinks could jeopardize the mission. Even with every base covered and an elite team, no one could have predicted their encounter with an enemy that only Cobb could have protected them from. Inception exhibits gender as a social structure with its blatant use of gender stereotypes and ‘identity codes’ (Schwalbe & Mason-Schrock 157.) The film supports these characterizations of gender with its themes of male establishment and creditability by use and exploitation of a femme fatale (Grossman 77.)
As discussed by Schwalbe and Schrock, identity codes are symbolic constituents of gender order that are learned through childhood interaction and through exposure to media imagery. Examples of these predetermined ideals are present in both the male and female characters of the film. The most prevalent examples given are the locations where each character chooses to store their most secret information. We are introduced to Cobb’s mental maze early on and see it has been constructed after...
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... are left unthanked and unaccredited. Inception is a prime example of how even on a deeply intellectual level; women are not seen as equals.
Works Cited
Bird, Sharon. "Welcome to the Men’s Club: Homosociality and the Maintenance of Hegemonic Masculinity" Multi-Cultural Film: An Anthology. Comp. Kathryn Karrh Cashin and Lauren C. Martilli. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014. Print.
Grossman, Julie. "Film Noir’s ‘Femme Fatales’ Hard-Boiled Women: Moving Beyond Gender Fantasies" Multi-Cultural Film: An Anthology. Comp. Kathryn Karrh Cashin and Lauren C. Martilli. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014. Print.
Schrock, Douglas and Schwalbe, Michael. "Men, Masculinity, and Manhood Acts" Multi-Cultural Film: An Anthology. Comp. Kathryn Karrh Cashin and Lauren C. Martilli. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014. Print.
Inception Dir. Christopher Nolan. 2010.
Examining different scenarios, such as toy proportions, outlook from inmates in jail, and the ideas portrayed of what the ideal man consist from the viewpoint of man, the movie depicts these things to show how pop culture, social constructs, and masculine identities influence their opinions. Consequently, men believe they can gain respect and admiration from others from their use of violence and threats. Katz asked inmates about their ideology of masculinity; they said that masculinity is about having power and respect. Furthermore, they showed concerned about what the other inmates thought of them and their masculinity. Boys and men have to carefully shape their persona to fit the ideal standard of masculinity, no matter the cost. Katz and Earp break down the social constructs of masculinity by looking at the ideas of the “ideal man,” violence leading to masculinity, and degradation of masculinity by attacking individuals with the notion that they are acting
Klumas, Amy L., and Thomas Marchant. “Images of Men in Popular Sitcoms”. Journal of Men’s Studies 2.3 (1994): 269. ProQuest. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Laura Mulvey claims that the camera is almost always masculine and that all women in these films are objectified and punished if they don’t please the male characters by obeying gender roles. Carol Clover, however, believes that there is more to Mulvey’s claim. Clover argues that the boys of the film also die, insinuating that punishment does not just fall on the women. She also argues that the camerawork and the film itself are about gender fluidity; both boys and girls can identify with any character of the film, be it the killer, a boy, or the final girl. Sexual ambiguity, especially in regards to the first-person camera work, are the focus of the films. To some extent, I believe both women’s claims. However, I believe there is more truth in Clover’s argument due to the fact that retributions are inflicted upon all characters regardless of gender. Yet, it does seem that women in horror films have a special place in terms of their sexuality and roles for the film. The women have ambiguous gender rules as evident by the final girl. Her act of fighting is considered a masculine activity. These masculine activities performed by females seem to be more acceptable in these films than if a male was actively portraying something feminine, such as cowering in fear. This gives validity to the argument that being masculine or
In the classical Western and Noir films, narrative is driven by the action of a male protagonist towards a clearly defined, relatable goal. Any lack of motivation or action on the part of the protagonist problematizes the classical association between masculinity and action. Due to inherent genre expectations, this crisis of action is equivalent to a crisis of masculinity. Because these genres are structured around male action, the crises of action and masculinity impose a crisis of genre. In the absence of traditional narrative elements and character tropes, these films can only identify as members of their genres through saturation with otherwise empty genre symbols. The equivalency between the crises of genre and masculinity frames this symbol saturation as a sort of compensatory masculine posturing.
Over the years America’s ability to address taboo issues by channeling them through popular culture has become increasingly popular (Pruitt, 2007). Among the many taboo issues as evidenced by the number of mainstream films which minimally address the matter, is the issue of men living on the down low (Hamilton, 2009). An example of such is the 2011 film “For Colored Girls.” The film like many bring up the issue of men being on the down low, but they have neglected to go in-depth as to why men chose this lifestyle – rather than the age old notion that they fear social rejection (Pruitt, 2007). As it relates to the drama “Angels in America,” written by Tony Kushner, the work does a great job highlighting men who have secret lifestyles and two of the characters within the drama that exemplify characteristics of living on the down low – Joe Pitt and Ray Cohn (Kushner, 1993)
Kraus, Carolyn. "Screening the borderland: transsexualism as cinematic metaphor." CineAction 78 (2009): 17+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 5 Oct. 2011
Mosse, L George. The Image of Man: The Creation of Modern Masculinity. New York: Macmillan publishers, 1996.
Tragros, P. (2009). Monster masculinity: Honey, i'll be in the garage reasserting my manhood. Journal Of Popular Culture, 42(3), 541-553. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2009.00695.x
...al questions, an extended metaphor, and allusion, she persuades her audience to try and break down their insecurities in order to create a rich lifestyle for them. However, gender stereotypes have been and always will be prevalent in society. As she states in the essay, “Indeed it will be a long time still, I think, before a woman can sit down to write a book without finding a phantom to be slain, a rock to be dashed against.” It has been shown that she was correct, seeing as women are still discriminated against in a number of professions. If a woman states, for example, that she wishes to be a mechanic, or possibly even an electrician, many men and other women will likely snort at the idea and think of it as a ridiculous joke. Even though society has come a long way over the years, it will still be an even longer amount of time before women can finally feel equal.
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
The Trouble with Men: Masculinities in European and Hollywood Cinema - Phil Powrie, Ann Davies and Bruce Babington.
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. As a result of the changing societal norms, women have experienced more transition in their roles than any other class. During the period of classical Hollywood cinema, both society and the film industry preached that women should be dependent on men and remain in home in order to guarantee stability in the community and the family. Women did not have predominated roles in movies such as being the heroin. The 1940’s film Gilda wasn’t an exception. In Gilda, the female character mainly had two different stereotypes. The female character was first stereotyped as a sex object and the second stereotyped as a scorned woman who has to be punished.
Ruddell, Caroline. "Virility and vulnerability, splitting and masculinity in Fight Club: a tale of contemporary male identity issues." Extrapolation 48.3 (2007): 493+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
The representation of violence exacted upon women in cinema is inextricable from being projected upon all women. To provide a scene that objectifies the female is to reduce the feminine form to its non-dual state, e.g., a sexual object providing a vessel for male gratification (hubris and sexual) rather then being defined by its duality of sentient and physical forms. Those who construct scenes of violence against women are bound to a moral responsibility to subjectify the woman’s perspective, thus reestablishing the female as a victim rather then an object and rendering the act of violence intelligible (deplorable, open to interpretation).