<i>The Full Monty</i>: Reaction to and Against Feminism

Zhuang Qing; Li Yueming

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15

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The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism

Zhuang Qing, Li Yueming

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 6)

Received: 22 November 2020 Accepted: 2 December 2020 Published: 8 December 2020

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Abstract

The development of feminism marks its influence on women’s and likewise men’s life, which is captured and presented by filmic works. The Hollywood film The Full Monty directed by Peter Cattaneo some 20-odd years ago, still reminds the world audience that we’ve already stepped out of the era when female body was the sole object to be gazed and now male body can also be on show. Superficially, the film seems to suggest that man is obliged to turn in their dignity, gazing power and above all, their authority to women partially because of the development of feminism. As the director Cattaneo says, this film is “a reaction to feminism”. However, below the surface the film is not only reaction “to” but “against” feminism by reason that the glorification of masculinity can be detected in many parts of the film with the help of film languages like montage, camera movements and angles. Therefore, this paper starts to explore for what purpose the public has changed its understanding and definition of masculinity, then questions whether the man-stripping phenomenon is a progress or setback for either the society or the development of feminism. Seeking recourse to Judith Butler’s “performative” statements and Michael Foucault’s theory on power, it intends to answer the question whether this film is a reaction against feminism, and to prove the hypothesis that this film demonstrates masculinity in an alternative “language” and thus glorifies it while man was disguised as victim of the feminism development.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15
Page(s)	335-340
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Man-stripping, Masculinity, Feminism, Performative, The Full Monty

References

[1]	Hooks, bell (1994). Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representation. Routledge: New York & London, 73.
[2]	Wiegman, Robyn (2002). “Unmaking: Men and masculinity in feminist theory”, in Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory, Judith Gardiner Ed., Columbia University Press: New York, pp. 31-59.
[3]	Holden, Wendy (1999). The Full Monty. Pearson Education Limited: Edinburgh Gate, IV.
[4]	Potter, Alicia (1997). “Peter Cattaneo Flashes Some Cheek”, Aug. 28, 1997.
[5]	Connell, R. W. (1995). Masculinities, Polity Press: Cambridge, pp. 22-67.
[6]	Frosh, Stephen (1994). Sexual Difference: Masculinity and Psychoanalysis. Routledge: London & New York, 102, 65, 89, 76, 82.
[7]	Tincknell, Estella & Deborah Chambers (2002). “Performing the crisis: Fathering, gender, and representation in two 1990s films”, in Journal of Popular Film and Television, Winter, 2002, 29: 4, pp. 146-155.
[8]	Mao, Sihui (1999). Technoligising the Male Body: British Cinema 1957-1987. Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press: Beijing, pp. 70-81.
[9]	Doane, Mary Ann (2000). “Film and the masquerade: Theorizing the female spectator”, in Robert Stam & Toby Miller, Eds, Film and Theory: An Anthology. Blackwell Publisher: Malden, pp. 495-509.
[10]	Butler, Judith (1999). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge: New York & London, 501, 179, 178.
[11]	Addelston, Judi (1999). “Doing the full monty with Dirk and Jane: Using the phallus to validate marginalized masculinities”, in Journal of Men’s Studies, Apr. 30, 1999, Vol. 7, Iss. 3, p. 337.
[12]	Clay, Andrew (1999). “Men, women and money: Masculinity in crisis in the British professional crime film 1946-1965”, in Steve Chibnall and Robert Murphy. Eds, British Crime Cinema, Routledge: London & New York, pp. 51-65.
[13]	Dyer, Richard (2002). The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations, 2^nd Edition. Routledge: London & New York, 13.
[14]	Hines, Claire (2008). “‘Brave new world’: The New Q, Masculinity, and the Craig Era Bond Films, in Journal of Popular Film and Television, 46: 1, pp. 46-55.
[15]	Awkward, Michael (2002). “Black male trouble: the challenges of rethinking masculine differences”, in Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory, Judith Gardiner ed., Columbia University Press: New York, pp. 290-304.
[16]	Cheung, King-Kok (2002). “Art, spirituality, and the ethic of care: Alternative masculinities in Chinese American literature”, in Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory, Judith Gardiner ed., Columbia University Press: New York, pp. 261-289.
[17]	Mao, Sihui (2003). “Framing the Asian male body in British cinema: with special reference to My Beautiful Laundrette”, in Decoding Contemporary Britain, Peking University Press: Beijing, pp. 285-309.

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Zhuang Qing, Li Yueming. (2020). The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(6), 335-340. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15

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Zhuang Qing; Li Yueming. The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(6), 335-340. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15

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Zhuang Qing, Li Yueming. The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(6):335-340. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15,
  author = {Zhuang Qing and Li Yueming},
  title = {The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {8},
  number = {6},
  pages = {335-340},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200806.15},
  abstract = {The development of feminism marks its influence on women’s and likewise men’s life, which is captured and presented by filmic works. The Hollywood film The Full Monty directed by Peter Cattaneo some 20-odd years ago, still reminds the world audience that we’ve already stepped out of the era when female body was the sole object to be gazed and now male body can also be on show. Superficially, the film seems to suggest that man is obliged to turn in their dignity, gazing power and above all, their authority to women partially because of the development of feminism. As the director Cattaneo says, this film is “a reaction to feminism”. However, below the surface the film is not only reaction “to” but “against” feminism by reason that the glorification of masculinity can be detected in many parts of the film with the help of film languages like montage, camera movements and angles. Therefore, this paper starts to explore for what purpose the public has changed its understanding and definition of masculinity, then questions whether the man-stripping phenomenon is a progress or setback for either the society or the development of feminism. Seeking recourse to Judith Butler’s “performative” statements and Michael Foucault’s theory on power, it intends to answer the question whether this film is a reaction against feminism, and to prove the hypothesis that this film demonstrates masculinity in an alternative “language” and thus glorifies it while man was disguised as victim of the feminism development.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism
AU  - Zhuang Qing
AU  - Li Yueming
Y1  - 2020/12/08
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 335
EP  - 340
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15
AB  - The development of feminism marks its influence on women’s and likewise men’s life, which is captured and presented by filmic works. The Hollywood film The Full Monty directed by Peter Cattaneo some 20-odd years ago, still reminds the world audience that we’ve already stepped out of the era when female body was the sole object to be gazed and now male body can also be on show. Superficially, the film seems to suggest that man is obliged to turn in their dignity, gazing power and above all, their authority to women partially because of the development of feminism. As the director Cattaneo says, this film is “a reaction to feminism”. However, below the surface the film is not only reaction “to” but “against” feminism by reason that the glorification of masculinity can be detected in many parts of the film with the help of film languages like montage, camera movements and angles. Therefore, this paper starts to explore for what purpose the public has changed its understanding and definition of masculinity, then questions whether the man-stripping phenomenon is a progress or setback for either the society or the development of feminism. Seeking recourse to Judith Butler’s “performative” statements and Michael Foucault’s theory on power, it intends to answer the question whether this film is a reaction against feminism, and to prove the hypothesis that this film demonstrates masculinity in an alternative “language” and thus glorifies it while man was disguised as victim of the feminism development.
VL  - 8
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Zhuang Qing

Faculty of English Language and Culture, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
Li Yueming

School of Foreign Languages, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China

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APA Style

Zhuang Qing, Li Yueming. (2020). The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(6), 335-340. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15

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Zhuang Qing; Li Yueming. The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(6), 335-340. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15

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AMA Style

Zhuang Qing, Li Yueming. The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(6):335-340. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15,
  author = {Zhuang Qing and Li Yueming},
  title = {The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {8},
  number = {6},
  pages = {335-340},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200806.15},
  abstract = {The development of feminism marks its influence on women’s and likewise men’s life, which is captured and presented by filmic works. The Hollywood film The Full Monty directed by Peter Cattaneo some 20-odd years ago, still reminds the world audience that we’ve already stepped out of the era when female body was the sole object to be gazed and now male body can also be on show. Superficially, the film seems to suggest that man is obliged to turn in their dignity, gazing power and above all, their authority to women partially because of the development of feminism. As the director Cattaneo says, this film is “a reaction to feminism”. However, below the surface the film is not only reaction “to” but “against” feminism by reason that the glorification of masculinity can be detected in many parts of the film with the help of film languages like montage, camera movements and angles. Therefore, this paper starts to explore for what purpose the public has changed its understanding and definition of masculinity, then questions whether the man-stripping phenomenon is a progress or setback for either the society or the development of feminism. Seeking recourse to Judith Butler’s “performative” statements and Michael Foucault’s theory on power, it intends to answer the question whether this film is a reaction against feminism, and to prove the hypothesis that this film demonstrates masculinity in an alternative “language” and thus glorifies it while man was disguised as victim of the feminism development.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Full Monty: Reaction to and Against Feminism
AU  - Zhuang Qing
AU  - Li Yueming
Y1  - 2020/12/08
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 335
EP  - 340
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.15
AB  - The development of feminism marks its influence on women’s and likewise men’s life, which is captured and presented by filmic works. The Hollywood film The Full Monty directed by Peter Cattaneo some 20-odd years ago, still reminds the world audience that we’ve already stepped out of the era when female body was the sole object to be gazed and now male body can also be on show. Superficially, the film seems to suggest that man is obliged to turn in their dignity, gazing power and above all, their authority to women partially because of the development of feminism. As the director Cattaneo says, this film is “a reaction to feminism”. However, below the surface the film is not only reaction “to” but “against” feminism by reason that the glorification of masculinity can be detected in many parts of the film with the help of film languages like montage, camera movements and angles. Therefore, this paper starts to explore for what purpose the public has changed its understanding and definition of masculinity, then questions whether the man-stripping phenomenon is a progress or setback for either the society or the development of feminism. Seeking recourse to Judith Butler’s “performative” statements and Michael Foucault’s theory on power, it intends to answer the question whether this film is a reaction against feminism, and to prove the hypothesis that this film demonstrates masculinity in an alternative “language” and thus glorifies it while man was disguised as victim of the feminism development.
VL  - 8
IS  - 6
ER  -

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