DIE HARD (1988)
Option #1
Introduction
At the beginning of Die Hard 1988, John McClane, the main character has been separated from his wife, Holly, who travels to Los Angeles to pursue a career in business. McClane, a New York law enforcement officer, receives an invite from Holly to pay a visit to Los Angeles. McClane’s subsequent rescue of Holy from a group of terrorists in Nakatomi tower seems to be a gesture of his strive to reclaim his wife. However, the reasons behind their separation at the conclusion of the film tend to be meaningless, thus causing numerous concerns regarding the gender roles of each character and the sexual politics underlying the genre of the action movie. While McClane tends to conform with his masculine role, he resists adhering to his role as a family man. This paper is designed to analyze Die Hard 1988 while focusing on various elements including the role of gender and the relationship between characters from different genders.
Gender Bias in the Performance
Early in the movie, Die Hard 1988, Holy’s loyalty to her husband, McClane is somewhat doubtable. For instance, Holy fails to use his name and also tends to want him to stay with the family during Christmas. The lack of intimacy between the two couples is revealed by the allocation of a spare bedroom for McClane. Although she is unsure whether he would appear, she angrily throws the family photograph that portrays McClane as the patriarchal leader of the family. This aspect tends to mark the beginning of Holy’s new role where she portrays herself as a breadwinner. Also, the approach of throwing the photograph shows her transition into becoming the breadwinner of the family. Consequently, she delegates conventionally feminine childcare and domestic responsibilities to Paulina, a maid, during the Christmas eve at her workplace.
While McClane had initially thought that Holly would give up on her career and return to him, she emerged victorious after surviving for six months without any assistance. However, the meeting between the two is characterized by hesitance, chaste embrace, thus revealing their displaced emotions. When McClane looks at the family photo in his wallet, he smiles, thus showing that he was the most appropriate head of the family. After arriving at the Nakatomi Building, McClane is portrayed as isolated as he strives to find Holy. However, he is later revealed alone with Holy in the bathroom.
Through the dramatic change, he is portrayed in the foreground, thus revealing his masculine form. Additionally, his body language tends to be relaxed as he portrays a sense of dominance in the setting. As he confronts Holy about her use of her maiden name, he is shown interrupting her as she tries to offer an explanation. During this scene, McClane also casts himself as the patriarchal breadwinner when he claims that Holy uses his name when she is signing cheques. In this context, there is gender bias in the movie. Since McClane is portrayed as the dominant gender and that Holy depends on him for financial support.
Masculine, feminine or neutral gender in the film
Thus, McClane performs as masculine throughout the film. For instance, his human susceptibility and masculinity is revealed by his body. As a result, at the scene where the terrorist break-in, he confronts them without any protection except his bare feet, slacks and a white undershirt. While at the airplane, he offers a look of skepticism when a fellow passenger suggests for McClane to “make fists” with his toes in order to relieve jet lag. Thus, he despises this act due to its feminine nature. Thus, the movie depicts stereotyping that tends to portray men as masculine and dominant over female characters. During the film, McClane ascents to the top of the Nakatomi Plaza, where he kills the terrorists one by one. In this approach, it is revealed how he struggles to solidify his dominant status as a male. The fact that McClane takes charge of the situation to eliminate the threat of the terrorists and in an attempt to protect Holy shows how the female characters are perceived as weak and therefore requiring protection from men.
the portrayal of women, the number of characters who are male or female, how their relationships are shown,
The movie resists the stereotyping of black villain characters as violent individuals. In this case, the three African Americans featured in the movie including Argyle, Theo and Al. At first, Holy is portrayed as conforming to societal norms that perceive men as the breadwinners of the family. However, the female character, Holy transforms and seeks a career in business where she emerges successful. This approach tends to instill doubts on McClane. However, McClane tends to claim his dominant status by confronting the terrorists who appear at the Holy’s workplace. In this case, the female gender is portrayed again as inferior to the male gender.
When McClane claims that Holly is only interested in writing his name during the signing of cheques, this aspect tends to undermine the power of the female character, thus portraying her as dependent on McClane for financial support. In this case, the movie tends to undermine the contribution of a woman in the family. The picture that Holly throws on the floor tends to show how like other men, McClane was perceived as the breadwinner and head of the family as a result of his gender. McClane’s adventure to Los Angeles tends to give him an opportunity to gain back his wife. However, the manner in which he wins Holly back tends to be shaped by the idea of masculinity and dominance. Notably, McClane uses the opportunity presented at the scene to prove his role in Holly’s life.
whether the film passes the Bechdel Test.
The Bechdel test provides that the movie should depict two women having a conversation that does not include a man. In this case, Die Hard 1988, involves two female characters who are named and also talk to each other. The conversation involving Holy and her daughter, Lucy McClane, the two females talk about something that does not involve men. In this case, Lucy asks her mother if she was coming home. While the conversation ends with the two discussing whether Lucy’s father was coming home, the initial instance tends to meet the requirements of the Bechdel test. Also, when Holly talks to her secretary, Ginny, she asks her to join the party and have some champagne. Therefore, the conversation between the two women fulfils the conditions of the Bechdel test. In summary, Die Hard 1988 is shaped by societal norms that perceive males to be the dominant gender over females (Selisker, 2015).
Reference
IMDb, (1988). Die hard 1988 Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095016/
Selisker, S. (2015). The Bechdel test and the social form of character networks. New literary history, 46(3), 505-523.