rescue fantasies and men

[veronica_rich]

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.)

Comments

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

I think the male rescue fantasy is about getting their cojones stomped on (people above mention Elizabethtown and I will add Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and then getting their cojones back. Both of those movies will suffice as examples. You will note that in both those movies they are not rescued by the women. I believe that the women might help them in finding their cojones again, but they are not critical. Whereas in the classic female rescur scenarios, the male is a critical part of the rescuing.

[the-dala.livejournal.com]

Judd Apatow seems to have a thing for this trope - "Knocked Up" would count as well, since it's the male character's relationship which serves as a catalyst for him to emotionally mature and become an adult. And in "The 40 Year Old Virgin" to some degree, since it's not just any woman Steve Carrell needs, it's the right one (and in fact his male buddies fail him in this respect).

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree. I suppose you could easily say that the 40-year old virgin is about finding one's balls. Apatow also does something that I first didn't see but if you see a bunch of his movies, it's obvious. The men are really adorable and the women kind of suck. Even the nice women like the hotel desk clerk in FSM. I didn't like the Katherine Heigel character that much (but I put that down to not likeing Katherine Heigel). But Apatow's real wife played the bitchy sister in Knocked Up, and we are so sympathetic to Paul Rudd. At least I was. I mean the guy can't play fantasy baseball honestly because he has such a ball breaker for a wife?

[the-dala.livejournal.com]

I found it more aggravating in FSM, what they did with Kristen Bell's character. It seemed like such a good, well-rounded portrayal of a relationship gone badly - I actually felt for her when she was explaining why she had cheated, and the dinner part between the two couples was great. Then the film did a complete 180 and demonized her after she broke up with Russell Brand and tried to get back with Jason Segal. It completely ruined the ending for me, doing this whole Madonna/whore contrast between the two women, and the film would've worked perfectly fine without taking it that far, happy ending and all.

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

I think in Elizabethtown, you could definitely argue that the hero is rescued by Kirsten Dunst's character. Annoying as she is to the audience, she is essential to the hero final's redemption. FSM fits the model a bit less so.