veronica_rich (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
veronica_rich) wrote2009-01-15 03:33 pm
veronica_rich) wrote2009-01-15 03:33 pm
rescue fantasies and men
One thing about feminism is it sure brings up all kinds of questions even about the arts, that might not normally be considered. One of the things I see a LOT is the desire for "stronger" female characters - whatever the hell that means. I suspect it's a backlash to the oft-cited tendency of women to harbor "rescue" fantasies.
We're told this is a big reason there are so many male superheroes: Superman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Batman, I could go on and on but you get the point. Not to mention literary heroes who seem larger than life in their exploits, such as Will Laurence in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Even Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's Monster seems heroic - not only super strength, but his ability to force out unpleasant truths about his creator and others around him. Even my friend Dee believes that Edward of Twilight (created by a woman) is popular because female readers are seeking a hero/protector.
When a boy or a man writes or draws a heroic male character, it's said that it's a wish-fulfillment in the form of an extension of the creator - the ultimate Gary Stu, if you will. When a woman writes or draws a heroic male character, she's said to be seeking a hero or indulging in rescue fantasy.
What I want to know is this: Is there a male rescue fantasy? I've never seen it discussed. Personally, I think the superhero/hero thing explains just as much for boys and men as it does for girls and women - and, just as it can be a "rescue" for males, I think it can be an "extension" for females. For my part, I prefer writing male characters. I like looking at men, plus I like trying to figure them out. I figure I know about as much as I need to about being a woman already (this is not to say I don't do female characters at all, but they're just not as challenging for me personally) - for me, the only mystery of femininity is the aging process. Perhaps there are other female artists and writers who feel the same? (Or have other reasons altogether?) And, maybe there are males who want to be rescued and create these characters who are capable of doing it?
And if the superhero/hero thing isn't the male rescue fantasy - well, what is? (Personally, I don't concentrate on if a rescue is male-female or female-male - I think whichever would do the rescuing, DOES it. My own rescue fantasies usually involve some well-to-do person giving me a no-interest long-term loan to pay off my credit cards. Seriously.)
We're told this is a big reason there are so many male superheroes: Superman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Batman, I could go on and on but you get the point. Not to mention literary heroes who seem larger than life in their exploits, such as Will Laurence in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Even Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's Monster seems heroic - not only super strength, but his ability to force out unpleasant truths about his creator and others around him. Even my friend Dee believes that Edward of Twilight (created by a woman) is popular because female readers are seeking a hero/protector.
When a boy or a man writes or draws a heroic male character, it's said that it's a wish-fulfillment in the form of an extension of the creator - the ultimate Gary Stu, if you will. When a woman writes or draws a heroic male character, she's said to be seeking a hero or indulging in rescue fantasy.
What I want to know is this: Is there a male rescue fantasy? I've never seen it discussed. Personally, I think the superhero/hero thing explains just as much for boys and men as it does for girls and women - and, just as it can be a "rescue" for males, I think it can be an "extension" for females. For my part, I prefer writing male characters. I like looking at men, plus I like trying to figure them out. I figure I know about as much as I need to about being a woman already (this is not to say I don't do female characters at all, but they're just not as challenging for me personally) - for me, the only mystery of femininity is the aging process. Perhaps there are other female artists and writers who feel the same? (Or have other reasons altogether?) And, maybe there are males who want to be rescued and create these characters who are capable of doing it?
And if the superhero/hero thing isn't the male rescue fantasy - well, what is? (Personally, I don't concentrate on if a rescue is male-female or female-male - I think whichever would do the rescuing, DOES it. My own rescue fantasies usually involve some well-to-do person giving me a no-interest long-term loan to pay off my credit cards. Seriously.)
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But still, there's something about the whole scenario where a pretty, quirky girl shows up sort of out of the blue and goes way out of her way for the (usually depressed or introverted) guy she hardly knows to draw him out of his shell and get him to embrace life (and love) again. Your mileage may vary, but I think there's a sort of wistful "rescue me" quality to them. Even Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had that sort of feel to the earliest part of the two leads' attraction, though of course the chief body of the film had another route entirely in mind :3
I'unno, just me? That's just kind of what I end up taking from these movies.
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Then somehow his involvement with these women turns into saving the universe from giant mecha toadbees, at which point he discovers that he's great and never has to be a loser again. Thank goodness for the wimminz.
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That is, my impression of harem anime tends to come across more as otaku wish fulfillment than anything seen in Garden State or Elizabethtown. Then again, I could just be more kindly disposed to Zach Braff and Orlando Bloom than to Keitaro or Ichitaka. That, and my reaction to the down-in-the-dumps male leads of the aforementioned movies is.. eh, kind of pitying with a side of recognizing some genuine redeeming qualities, whereas my reaction to much of harem animu usually involves, "GOD she's not your property and you're not even as interested in her as this other girl!" or "Stop stringing her along just to make yourself feel wanted!" or something to that degree.
(A guy I dated once tried to get me into this harem series. I don't know what made him think I would be interested in watching the main character depicted as a SAINT for not raping the girl he liked, or watching the girl he liked narrowly avoiding rape by EVERYONE ELSE in every issue.) [/unnecessary ramble]
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKPJ-jydBdA
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*starts bopping "Every girl crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man"*
*curses you*
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