Maculinity
Masculinity can be expressed in many ways. Allot of men feel that to be caring, affectionate and to show an appreciation for the arts, they have to show their masculinity by playing a contact sport, driving fast cars or womanizing. It is much the same in movies although the film usually takes on only one side- the tough march man or the caring affectionate. Strictly Ballroom and The Big Steal are both Australian movies but have completely different ways of portraying each male’s masculinity. In these two movies the males show their masculinity through their attitudes and actions, the power they hold over others and the way the camera has helped in technical aspects.When looking at the actions and attitudes of the males you find that Strictly Ballroom takes an alternative view towards the way the male characters act and behave, whereas in The Big Steal the use of the stereotypical male is what the movie is based around. The three friends in the big steal each play important roles. The most dominant character of the group is Danny around whom the plot revolves. Danny is a likable person who loves cars and anything to do with cars including women. When compared to Strictly Ballroom’s main character Scott we find that they are
Masculinity in movies is very different to how a real life male would act and behave. A movie takes on only one side of man, the tough, stereotypical image or the caring affectionate image. In these two movies we find that Strictly Ballroom has an alternative view on the way masculinity is portrayed and gets away from the stereotypes whereas The Big Steal’s way of showing it’s masculinity is of true stereotypical fashion. Many things contribute to the way masculinity is portrayed in these movies including camera angles. When comparing the opening scenes you discover that Strictly ballroom is much more dramatic than The Big Steal. Big, red curtains open up like you’re about to watch a play but what you see is a number of ballroom dancers gliding in slow motion. When the pace picks up music and crowd noise can be heard creating an atmosphere that can almost be felt. In The Big Steal a simple but affective opening scene is used. The camera pans across a room with posters of Jaguars covering the wall until it gets to a boy (Danny) sitting on the end of his bed reading a jaguar magazine. A voice over of Danny’s thoughts can be heard telling the audience how much he loves jags. Both opening scenes are very different but both get a strong point across. One key incident when camera angles helped show masculinity was w
Some topics in this essay:
Father Rico,
Strictly Ballroom,
Desmond Steal,
Danny Scott,
,
Danny Joanna’s,
Steal Australian,
Scott Danny’s,
Barry Gordon,
Dance Federation,
strictly ballroom,
caring affectionate,
scott learning dance,
car salesman,
fran’s father,
camera angles,
masculinity portrayed,
masculinity movies,
alternative view,
act behave,
scott learning,
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Approximate Word count = 894
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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